How do I break up with a client over dog's health?

I think you should be more insistent and request a diabetes test result. Tell them how much you Love and Enjoy sitting their pets but you are really concerned that (pups name) does have a health issue. Explain that you are Very attentive of each dog individually and (reiterate) how concerned you are about the (pup) drinking so much water. Review with the pet owners your knowledge and experience. Do some research to provide to them and their vet. Also, provide a detailed written "report" for them to give to their vet.

When I fostered dogs and kitties/kitties, I would be the one to take my fosters to the vet for scheduled medication, vaccinations, etc. I always provided a detailed one page that gave brief info of each pet. The vet always reviewed, discussed with me and really appreciated it. While I was there the vet. would call the Director of the foster org. and give them an update of each pet and if medications were needed- for approval. I think if they provided something like that to their vet, the veterinarian would have more detailed information, directly from you.

Hope this helps.

If you're planning on dropping them as a client if nothing changes, there's not a lot to lose by getting pretty forceful about what you've seen. On the flip side, this dog could suffer needlessly for weeks, months, or even years if he goes undiagnosed. Send them information as well as your observations. If they're really skeptical, suggest finding someone with a glucose monitor and testing his blood themselves. Let them know just how severe his symptoms have been at your house; stress can aggravate his symptoms since the release of the stress hormone cortisol triggers the breakdown of glycogen stores and the inhibition of insulin, raising the available blood sugar in preparation for a fight or flight response, when large muscles will need excess energy. They may not be seeing very severe symptoms at home yet, so emphasize that early detection is far better (and likely far less costly in the long run) than waiting until they see him get worse. Be his advocate as best you can. If you're right, you could very well save his life. Good luck!

I find it odd that he would drink so much water at your house and not his own house. Does he have access to water at his house all the time? I'm thinking the owners doesn't leave water for him all the time because of the comment they made about "resource competition." The first thing I would think is that he definitely has some sort of health issues, diabetes, urine infection, kidney, etc. If the owners insist he is fine then I am thinking he is having a party at your house because he has access to water all the time. I would definitely ask them for a clean bill of health. Tell them something like, "I am concerned about Fido's excessive urination to the point that he wakes me up at night to go potty. Before he boards with me again, can you please make sure there is nothing wrong with him, I am very concerned about his well being." Some owners are nonchalant about things and act like they don't care. If that is the case then you'll have to be firm with them the next time they book with you and insist that he gets checked out first and bring proof. I am sure if they do a thorough analysis they'll find something is off. Good luck!

Based on the information provided, it sounds like this dog is no longer a good fit for your home and a visit to the vet may not solve the stated issues.

After looking at your profile, I see you don't currently offer sitting or walks at the dog's home. Since it sounds like you genuinely like the dogs but not the behaviors in your home, would one solution be to suggest you could visit or stay with the dogs in their home? (My thoughts are the dog may be more comfortable in his home environment & these issues may go away).

If that solution doesn't work, then I'd recommend that you nicely tell the people that as much as you enjoy their dogs, your home is no longer a good fit for their comfort, because in order for the 10 year old to be happy and comfortable he needs constant access to empty his bladder -- perhaps he'd be happiest at home with a traveling sitter or another home where he'd have safe access to relieve himself and empty his bladder as often as needed because you've witnessed that is sometimes as frequent as every ten minutes.