Normal Puppy Urination?

[Piperloo]

Because Piper had so many urinary problems as a puppy and thus was so hard to housebreak as a result I don't have a really good idea of what's normal for a 7-8 month old puppy.

I think Hudson is doing pretty good with her housebreaking. But then again, Piper set the bar so low anything is probably good! :lol: I have been taking her out about every 2 hours. Sometimes she pees and sometimes she doesn't. It depends on what she's been doing - sleeping, playing, how much water she's drinking, etc. - I've been keeping a diary to get an idea. It seems to average about 8x per day - sometimes less. She does not have accidents every day but when she does it's mostly only 1, sometimes 2. And it mainly seems to be just when I'm thinking, gee I should take her outside......well, let me wait just another minute and see....oh shoot, too late! :lol: Does this sound normal?

As far as her crate, She doesn't seem to be able to hold it for more than 6 hours. Does THAT sound normal? I have been staying up until midnight (really late for me! :eek: ) and walking her, then getting up promptly at 6am and taking her out. One morning I overslept until 6:30 and she wet in her crate. And, no, her crate is not too big for her. It's just enough room for her to turn around and lie down. I found her sitting next to the wet spot so she must have just gone.

Like I said, I really am a poor judge here on what's NORMAL. I'm GREAT on what's ABNORMAL! :lol: So, I could really use some imput from those of you with babies about this age!

Nicole, Piper & Hudson :D

[imogene]

Hey Nicole,

I am not sure what is normal, but I know what Belzies schedule is like - how often she goes depends on what she has been doing and how much water she has been drinking. She hasn't been drinking lots of water since we switched her to raw food. She will go #1 about 4-5 times a day - sometimes less sometimes more. If we take her out she will go more often. We have crate trained her, and she is in her crate for 8 hours over night -and when we let her out in the morning she is in no rush to go out. She has also been in her crate for 7 hours during the day with no problems, but we worked out way up from 4 hours to +/-7 hours over that last 4 months. When she was on kibble I was lifting her water 3 hours before bed just to make sure she would be OK, but I stopped doing that about a month ago and she has been fine.

We started bell training her about 3 months ago -and if she really want outside she will go and ring her bell. - she doesn't alway have to go when she does this, but we have always taken her out -to her spot and given her a chance to try - in hopes that she will associate the bell with going #1. She has only had 1 accident in the house in months so I am convinced it was working (and I think she was confused because we were in new area of the house, with no outside door, or her bell) Luckily I caught her before she got more than a few drops out, ans got her to go outside right away. IMO The best way to reinforce that you don't want them to go in "Your Crate" is to catch them in the act - get them to their spot and show palpable relief when they finish going in the right spot.

[Piperloo]

I should also add here that Hudson's foster home told me that they were being inconsistent with her housetraining. They were using a <big> crate but leaving it open at night so that she could have access to pee pads. And....she's "oversocialized" with other dogs. Seems to do her business better outside when Piper's with her. If I leave Piper inside sometimes Hudson will sit against the door and pine for her - not venture onto the lawn at all.

I've made some changes to her whole housebreaking routine so I'm sure that's thrown a monkey wrench in things for her also!

Nicole, Piper & Hudson :D

[bulldoggin30]

Dutchie is 8 months old and doing a good job with potty training (never thought I would say that!). He sleeps with me or my daughter 8 hours avg with no problem and can stay in the crate 7-8 hours if he has to. He rarely goes to the door, he just stops what he is doing and stands between my feet! Then I know he has to go out. He only has an accident if we miss his signal. It's been a long road (peeing in my bed, his bed, anywhere..) but I finally see the end!

[gmacleod]

6 hours overnight for a 7-8 month old is fairly short. But it all depends on how long she sleeps! And how big her bladder is, of course (varies, just like for people).

Many puppies will sleep through through the night (7-8 hours) from around the 15-16 week mark. Some people get lucky and it's earlier - and some don't and it's later. But the thing to note with overnight is that that is the body's repair and growth phase - and non-essential functions such as urine production slow down. All mammals can hold their bladders longer overnight than at any other time, for that reason. But as soon as the dog wakes, all bets are off - they'll need to urinate.

So the issue in this particular case may not be simply that 6 hours is her limit (though that's quite possible - not everybody can do 8 hours +) but that she's waking up early. And of course, once awake, urine production is full steam ahead and she's got to go. Anyway - the point I'm trying to get to here is that once she's really settled in and relaxed at your place, and into a routine, then it's quite possible that she'll sleep for longer too.

As for during the day - I think needing to urinate every couple of hours or so is quite normal. A housetrained dog, or one that is crated, will hang on longer than that because they understand not to potty in the house and will wait the opportunity to go out. But a dog that isn't yet housetrained will simply squat when the need hits. So I don't think you've got anything unusual going on there - simply a dog that doesn't yet understand housetraining, but that with patient and consistent training as you've got underway, she'll get it fairly quickly :)

[bulldoggin30]

Just make sure if she gives you any signal at all that you respond. This morning, I let Dutchie out as soon as he woke up, then 5 minutes later after he ate he gave me the "the sign" so I let him out and sure enough, he did #1 (the first time I saw #2). Then about 20 minutes later he gave me the sign again so I let him out and he did #2 again! I used to think "you just went out!" but soon learned my lesson. :o

[Piperloo]

Just make sure if she gives you any signal at all that you respond. This morning, I let Dutchie out as soon as he woke up, then 5 minutes later after he ate he gave me the "the sign" so I let him out and sure enough, he did #1 (the first time I saw #2). Then about 20 minutes later he gave me the sign again so I let him out and he did #2 again! I used to think "you just went out!" but soon learned my lesson. :o

Yes, I understand completely about learning your lesson! I learned the hard way that Piper doesn't completely empty her bladder on the first shot. Any dog I've ever had in my life has gone out, done their stuff and come back inside empty so I <quite wrongly!> assumed Piper would be the same way. Well, my flooring told a different story! :lol: So now I've learned to either let her stay outside until I see her go again OR to accept the fact that, like you, I will be thinking, "you just went out!"

Nicole, Piper & Hudson :D

[Piperloo]

Thanks for all of your helpful responses! They have definitely made me feel better about things! And I KNOW she WILL get it eventually! I just have to keep reminding myself that she's JUST gotten here! :lol: And part of her getting up at 6am - well, I'm not sure if that's entirely her or me. She's sitting up in her crate when I come down for her but I don't know if she is up because she is an early riser :eek: (I sure hope not in this house! :lol: ) or if she hears my alarm clock which I am SETTING for 6am to prempt an accident. Perhaps I should try setting the alarm for 6:30 am tomorrow and see what happens. Maybe she can hold it longer and I am simply not giving her a chance? I just felt so awful the morning I found her wet in her crate I don't want it to happen again. :(

Nicole, Piper & Hudson :D