I have had my dog for over 7 years now. He is around 8, beagle shepard mix, 60lbs. He is well trained with the basic commands and is an overall well behaved dog.
Within the past few years, he has developed an obsession with water. Not swimming in it, not playing in it, but drinking it. We are no longer able to leave a bowl out for the other dogs. He will finish an entire bowl and beg for more. No, he is not dehydrated. I give him controlled amounts throughout the day. As time went on it has gotten much worse. He forces his way into the bathroom after a shower to lick the tub, he licks the ground after rajn or snow. I have a very small pond in the backyard from the previous owner and he is obsessive about climbing in to drink.
Outside of this, he listens to commands very well. If we are outside and he is getting into something he shouldn’t, a ‘leave it’ works just fine. If he is drinking/licking, there is no command that seems to work. I have taken him to the vet where they ran several tests and found no issues. He has a collar that beeps and vibrates to get his attention, both to no avail.
I am really struggling with how to handle this. Especially as it starts to snow, he is basically unable to focus on anything but licking the snow up to go to the bathroom. This ends up with me dragging him inside where he inevitably has an accident.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
submitted by /u/arte_fact
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