i wonder if anyone can help i have a 15 year old x breed male dog we have had him 12 years he has the normal ailments ie arthritis he is unsteady on his legs too but apart from that he seems to be doing ok. For the last few days i have noticed he is drinking an excessive amount of water so obvioulsy is needing to wee a lot more can any one shed any light on this i was thinking maybe his kidneys or maybe diabeties i am taking him to the vets but was just wondering if anyone could help me out before hand many thanks in advance

Certainly points to kidneys.  If you do get chance, I would take a urine sample in with you, will save time, as they're likely to ask for one.

ok thanks for that will try get a sample easy if they are a bitch lol

Not easy at all, as mine curtsy so low.

At this age it is likely that a major organ will fail, and kidneys is a common one, and is what happened to my oldest girl at 13 1/2.  With kidney failure the toxins gradually build up and poison the dog.

There is a typical smell to the breath too.

My old dog started to drink a lot more and it was indeed failing Kidneys sadly. I would def advise a trip to the vets because they can quickly become dehydrated with kidney problems. I feel so sad for you as I know how I felt at the time.

hi thanks for all the replies will deffo be taking him to the vets i have noticed he has also started shaking a lot like they do when they are scared

If he's shaking,he's probably in pain.How did he get on at the vets?

Drinking excessively can also be a sign of Cushing disease, but most likely at 15 a kidney issue.
Hope things go your way

> i have noticed he has also started shaking a lot

They also do this when vital organs are failing.

Had my old girl to the vet yesterday as she had been drinking/weeing a lot since Saturday. He didn't mention kidneys although it was on my mind. He said there was a lot of bacteria in the sample & lately had found that some urinary infections were resistant to the usual antibiotics he prescribed so gave her Nisamox. She seems better today so fingers crossed. He's sent a sample off to the lab to find out what it is.