# Switched to Orijen - Drinking Excess Water Now



## janeelsa (Jan 27, 2013)

Hello! My dog, Morgen, is 8 years old, half-Alaskan Malamute, half-Border Collie/Red Heeler. I've had him since he was a puppy. 

He was eating Science-Diet (I know now that's not really that good for him), but developed an allergy to grains.

He was on a raw diet with no grains for about a year, but developed an intolerance to chicken (wouldn't eat, had diarrhea). So we switched him to a diet that consisted of fish, partially-cooked egg, quinoa (high in protein), carrots, and yogurt/cottage cheese. He did well eating, and no more diarrhea, but in the meantime he'd lost some weight. 

Based upon tons of personal research, we switched him to Orijen 6 Fish and he loves it! He gained 4 pounds in 1 week, and if he were to gain another 8 I'd be happy. He weighs 42 now. He has always gone to the bathroom (BM) after eating and, except for the chicken-diarrhea, his stools are always firm.

He still has regular, healthy BMs with the Orijen 6 Fish, but his water intake has increased dramatically. There is a definite correlation between his starting the 6 Fish and his water consumption increase.

I'm thinking that because I wanted to "fatten him up", and gave him 1.5 cups twice a day instead of 1 cup twice a day, he may have been getting too much of something in the food (like humans can have too much Vitamin C) and his body was trying to flush it out.

So I backed him off to 1 cup twice a day. His BMs are still good, no diarrhea, but he still drinks a lot more water than he used to.

I know dogs can get diabetes, and excess water consumption is a sign, but there's a correlation here between that and switching to the new food. 

If he was getting too much of something, some nutrient or vitamin, wouldn't it give him diarrhea?

He's still very active and happy and doing well, other than this change in water consumption.

Thanking you in advance for any feedback!
Jane

P.S. Morgen is an indoor dog. He only goes out for bathroom, walks, and visits to Grandpa!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

sometimes more protein causes extra thirst. You might want to try Acana Pacifica, same company, slightly less protein.


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

If I'm reading correctly he switched from homecooked to Orijen? Homecooked is much more moisture filled than kibble so dogs will drink less water while on it. Kibble is dry so they will drink more while on it.


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## janeelsa (Jan 27, 2013)

Unosmom said:


> sometimes more protein causes extra thirst. You might want to try Acana Pacifica, same company, slightly less protein.


Thank you, Unosmom! I didn't know that about the protein. I will take a look at the Acana Pacifica, too.


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## janeelsa (Jan 27, 2013)

SaharaNight Boxers said:


> If I'm reading correctly he switched from homecooked to Orijen? Homecooked is much more moisture filled than kibble so dogs will drink less water while on it. Kibble is dry so they will drink more while on it.


Thank you, SaharaNight Boxers! I remember now reading that a dog will drink more on dry kibble versus something else and it makes sense that his homecooked was much higher in moisture. Your reply and Unosmom's reply have set my mind a little more at ease. Thank you, both!


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

SaharaNight Boxers hit the nail on the head. Home cooked and raw foods have much higher moisture content than any kibble. It's good that he's drinking more water, really, as he needs the moisture to be healthy since he's not getting it from his diet.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I always add extra water to my kibble that I feed my rescues, helps to slow them down a bit and then they aren't constantly making a mess of the water dish.


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## janeelsa (Jan 27, 2013)

Savage Destiny said:


> SaharaNight Boxers hit the nail on the head. Home cooked and raw foods have much higher moisture content than any kibble. It's good that he's drinking more water, really, as he needs the moisture to be healthy since he's not getting it from his diet.


Thank you, Savage Destiny, for the input and confirmation. It all makes total sense now. Phew! I was worried. The only thing now is, I think I need to take his water up a few hours before bedtime so he stops waking me up at 2 am 

Other than that, I've always let him drink all he wants; he always has fresh water available.


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## janeelsa (Jan 27, 2013)

whiteleo said:


> I always add extra water to my kibble that I feed my rescues, helps to slow them down a bit and then they aren't constantly making a mess of the water dish.


Thank you for the reply, WhiteLeo. I was told not to add water to the kibble because eating dry helps keep their teeth clean; but I was thinking of giving Morgen some of it dry, and some of it softened. (Maybe the softened one first, then the dry.) For one reason, so it's easier on his teeth (he doesn't have to eat as much dry), and for another, so he has some variety  He has a nice deep water bucket that's always full with fresh, daily-changed water, so he doesn't really make a mess  Thank you again.


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## janeelsa (Jan 27, 2013)




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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Dry food doesn't do much for a dogs teeth so I'd add the water. If your worried about his teeth and you know the only issues he had on raw were with chicken..I'd just get some turkey necks and feed 2-3 times a week.


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## Jace (Oct 3, 2012)

Yes higher protein requires more moisture for the body to break it down. It's not a bad thing, rather a more protein requires more water. As well, the change from raw to kibble.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

He is a beautiful dog!


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## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

i think he looks great in the picture, but maybe that angle is not a true representation of his current weight?

when I fed orijen, I always added water and let it sit a little so it could expand in the bowl a bit because it's really high in protein. murphy would still drink a good amount of water after each feeding. Now on PMR, he only drinks water when he's run some laps or chewed on something really complicated, so I could understand why you were alarmed at the difference in water consumption.

regarding the dry kibble will clean their teeth advice, murphy never chewed his kibble so I never paid attention to it. if your dog does I'm sure some kind of bone in item that you are comfortable with feeding will work much better


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

I add a lot of water to my dogs' kibble (till it's almost floating) and they don't drink a lot of water otherwise, unless they're hot and thirsty. I let it sit for a few minutes before feeding, to let some of it soak in.


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## woganvonderweidenstrasse (Nov 22, 2012)

He's a very handsome boy! Kibble doesn't clean teeth...? I'd go with the turkey neck 2-3/week suggestion if you want teeth cleaning benefit and add water to his kibble as suggested by other posters.


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## Losech (Jul 10, 2012)

Yeah, dogs will drink a lot more on a high-protein food such as Orijen. I add water regardless of what type of food I am feeding since I have found that my dogs digest it better than straight dry. However, the Girls will take a big drink right after they eat straight dry, so it doesn't matter much with them anyways. Conker doesn't drink that much so the main reason why I wet his kibble is just to get him to drink something. 
The Girls had nasty teeth before I moved back in and got them cleaned up. Sasha, who did not chew her kibble much at all, had really nasty teeth. Juneau, who takes her time and chews, had less nasty on her teeth. So I guess the kibble can help, but it does not clean the teeth, or I wouldn't have had to do it for them. I used raw meaty bones for most of it, and what didn't get scraped of by those I went in and did manually with a tooth scraper. Conker has never had an issue with really nasty teeth, but if he gets kibble without a raw bone for a while it will start to build up. And he chews every single little piece to oblivion and back. 

You've got a very handsome dog by the way.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

An 8 year old dog that spends most of its time indoors shouldn't be on this food.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

^ yup, that. I alway add warm water to my dogs kibble so that they don't rush to the water bowl and gorge on water. I do this because for one it really makes the food smell good and two, I figure its like eating dry cereal, would definitely need a big drink afterwards. I fill the bowls with water almost enough to cover the kibbles. 

The dogs don't visit the water bowls any more than they used to on when I fed cooked and raw.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Why do you want to fatten that beautiful guy up? From the pic, he looks perfect! 

I agree that Orijen isn't the best choice for a pet house dog, most of the time. Look into Acana if you wanna stick to the same company... less protein/fat.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

Jace said:


> Yes higher protein requires more moisture for the body to break it down. It's not a bad thing, rather a more protein requires more water. As well, the change from raw to kibble.


It's not a bad thing barring any health issues but in my experience at some point there is a threshold, speeds up digesta transit times and results in excessive moisture in the feces. Poop flushing to be direct :smile: In the case of the OP it is probably just the transition from home cooked to kibble. Water is part of all diets and it needs to come from somewhere.


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