Why is my dog bald, limping, gassy, and drinking too much water?

Excessive thirst can be a sign of many different diseases including liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes, infections, Cushing's Addison's, etc. Have your vet take a look at him to determine the cause. Your vet can run lab-work to help diagnose and then determine the best way to treat. The limping may be unrelated and your vet can examine his leg to try to figure out the cause. Hope Hunter feels better soon!

Regarding her itchiness and bald patches, I do worry this could be a skin infection. Skin infections can be caused by bacteria, yeast, or both, and need long courses of oral medications as well as frequent medicated shampooing. Regarding her increase in thirst, that could be related to things like diabetes or kidney disease. In older unspayed females, if the uterus becomes infected and needs surgical removal, increased thirst can be one of the first signs. I would take Storm to see a veterinarian for a full physical exam when possible.

Oh my - it sounds as though Riley has a lot going on. It's likely that his excessive licking is associated with the hair loss that you've noticed, as licking is a sign of itchiness in dogs. I agree that his whining sounds like a sign of discomfort. This could all be associated with his other issues, or due to other skin conditions, like mange, ringworm, or allergies. Vomiting, diarrhea, weight gain, and excessive urination could be due to a number of different health conditions. Some of these possibilities include gastrointestinal viruses, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney disease, liver disease, endocrine disorders (such as Addison's disease), or food allergies. The challenge is that all of these conditions are treated very differently, so it's important to figure out the root cause of all of Riley's issues. At this point, Riley really needs to be examined by his vet and have some diagnostic testing performed. I assume that your vet will likely recommend some baseline bloodwork to check on his organ function, as well as a fecal flotation test for parasites, and skin testing to see if any infectious conditions are present. Based on their findings, they'll be able to come up with the best course of treatment for Riley. I hope that everything goes well!

I am sorry your dog is not feeling well. The information provided and picture don't really match. If a patient is drinking more and losing weight I would be concerned about endocrine diseases like diabetes and cushings disease. However the picture looks more like possible skin mites or an underlying autoimmune disease I would recommend taking her to a veterinarian to help you resolve the issues. They most likely will need to run basic bloodwork and possible a skin scrape to determine if mites are present.

I'm glad to hear that Charlie is still playful and eating well despite these changes. With his excessive drinking and urination, hair loss, and skin discoloration, my main concern is that he may have Cushing's disease, which is an endocrine disease in which the adrenal glands produce excess quantities of steroids. Other possible causes of his increased drinking and urination could be related to diabetes, kidney disease, urinary tract infection, among other issues. At this point, I strongly recommend taking Charlie to his vet for an exam and blood testing to try to get to the bottom of this issue so that treatment can be started. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Without knowing Gunnars full history and tests that have been performed it is difficult to say what is going on. I would recommend starting for scratch even if you have already had labs done. I would have a complete blood panel and chemistry panel with thyroid testing preformed. I would test for heartworm disease and tick born diseases. I would also recheck a urine sample and check a blood pressure. Things can change over 2 months so while there may not have been abnormal results then, there may be now. There are many diseases that cause the signs you are seeing so without new labs there is no way you can rule them out for sure. If everything is still normal I would have an abdominal ultrasound done to see what’s going on inside his abdomen. Good luck and kisses to Gunnar!

These signs could be compatible with a metabolic or possibly endocrine disorders. Diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, renal failure, liver problems can be all responsible for those signs. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Blood tests and urine analysis would be ideally needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.