Dog drinking less water.

Over the past week, my dog has been drinking less water than usual. She usually drinks about 2 cups per day in addition to the water I put in her kongs (which I freeze), and in her dinner (about an additional 1/2 cup).

Everything else has been normal (appetite, energy levels), so I assumed that she was less thirsty, even though the weather has gotten warmer. She is not acting lethargic, and I've tried the dehydration test where you pull the skin around a dog's neck up and see how quickly it snaps back. Hers snaps back immediately.

I visited my dad this weekend, which is 3 hours away by car. Travel always makes Honey a bit stressed, and she was somewhat constipated yesterday (much smaller stools than usual, although she did still poop). This returned to normal on our walk this morning.

While we were away, her urination seemed normal, but then this morning, she peed much less than she normally does. Maybe just about enough to fill a shot glass? It was a bit paler than usual, too, although definitely still yellow.

This concerns and perplexes me because when we got home last night around 10pm last night she drank water, which she normally doesn't do before bed (but, we had just been in the car for 3 hours driving home), and still she produced such a small volume of urine this morning. Her morning pee is usually her biggest/most concentrated one of the day.

On the rest of our walk she did her normal "marking" pees, which is just a tiny sprinkle when she smells where another dog has gone. She has always done this.

She does not seem to be in any pain, and her urine does not smell any different from usual, although the possibility of a UTI has crossed my mind, although I thought that would make her drink more water, not less.

I have an appointment for a regular wellness check up for her tomorrow (Tuesday) evening because she is due for a heartowrm check, annual bloodwork, urinalysis, and a fecal...so I imagine if there are issues, we will discover them then. I made this appointment a while ago, before these symptoms started.

However, if these symptoms sound more urgent, I will take her in sooner. Could producing less urine be a symptom of kidney failure? Is it normal for her to be drinking less water even though the weather is warmer?

If it is something that can wait until tomorrow, I will happily do so, but if you think it is urgent, please let me know!

Thanks for your reassurance! The reason I asked the question is because it is hard to find any information about decreased thirst in dogs online (everyone says an increase in thirst is a clear sign of a problem!).

On our subsequent walks today she seemed to be producing more urine, so I'm hoping it's just a change in response to recent stresses/weather. She still hasn't been drinking much, but I added extra water to her dinner and she drank that. It seems like she just isn't seeking out water to drink, but she's not resisting it.

I'm definitely going to mention it to the vet tomorrow. A urinalysis is part of their "Adult Wellness Package", so that's going to be done anyway, and I'm glad because it will give me peace of mind.

I thought she might have some pain in her mouth, but I brush her teeth every night and she hasn't shown any signs of discomfort/resistance. As far as a neck problem - I certainly hope that isn't it. She's been very active, so I will be surprised, but hopefully I'm just being paranoid about all of this (I live in Boston, and this past week left us all in a highly anxious state).