HOW OFTEN SHOULD MY DOG PEE?
When you feel that urge to pee, you just have to go for it. You definitely are not going to risk holding it in for a long time. The same logic goes for our dogs. They need to go outdoors and do their thing frequently enough, this is very necessary if you want to avoid your house being messed up or worse still health problems from an overstressed bladder. For most dog parents that are getting a dog for the first time, the question still looms “How often should my dog pee?”
How many times in a day should I take my dog outdoors to pee? You should have a number in mind if not you will always end up being worried when you see your dog sniffing out some corner of the house, or that shelter dog you adopted investigating someplace in the house. Is he or she checking out that spot to pee on it? Having a good understanding of how many times you expect your dog to pee daily will not just make you a better dog parent, but it also helps to put your dog at ease that one of its physical needs is going to be met in this household.
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So again, How often should my dog pee?
For adult dogs, the professional recommendation from Veterinarians is that they should pee every six to eight hours daily. This means that on average your dog should be peeing every three to five times daily. Find below a table to give more insight into professional recommendations for peeing according to your dog’s age.
| AGE RANGE | EXPECTED HOLD PERIOD | AVERAGE PEE SESSION DAILY |
|---|---|---|
|
0 to 4 weeks |
2 hours daily |
12 plus pee sessions |
|
4 to 8 weeks |
3 hours daily |
8 sessions on average |
|
8 to 12 weeks |
4 hours daily |
6 sessions on average |
|
12 to 16 weeks |
5 hours daily |
5 sessions on average |
|
16 to 20 weeks |
6 hours daily |
4 sessions on average |
|
20 to 24 weeks |
7 hours daily |
3 to 4 sessions average |
|
24 weeks and above |
8 hours daily |
3 sessions on average |
So the above gives an overview of the answer to the question “how many times does a dog pee a day?” But you need to understand something. Every dog is unique. Most dogs would easily fit into the timetable above but there are various situations or circumstances that can lead to a dog peeing more than required.
Based on this uniqueness, “How often can dogs hold their pee” is dependent on the following
The dog’s breed.
When you think about it, this sounds logical. Some dogs basically have bigger bladders than others, hence it is likely that the ones with smaller bladders would be more often. A chihuahua for example would likely pee more often than most big dogs. Cocker Spaniels are known to urinate frequently based on the sentiments they feel at that moment. For example, if they get very excited or scared, they will pee at that moment.
If your dog seems to pee more than the average above, first thing is to confirm from a breeder that this situation is not a breed thing.
Your dog’s Age.
As a dog gets older, he or she will develop better control of their bladder hence the probability of them messing up your house. In a way, you can say this attribute is similar to humans. As a baby, we have little to no control over our pee, but as we get older, we start to have more and more control over it.
Having said that, puppies would need more attention when it comes to peeing than a younger dog would. A good trick for puppies would be to take them on a small walk after ten to fifteen minutes of them having a meal or drinking water. This way your puppy would get used to the fact that peeing and even pooing is something that should be done outside the house. They also get some training and attention which is a double win for everyone.
Just as we humans also experience a decline in controlling our pee as we get older, our dogs as they get older also start to experience the same problems. Most older dogs or as we like to call them senior citizen dogs need more potty breaks. They would pee not less than four times a day. Note that in this scenario, we are looking at perfectly healthy senior citizens.
Now if you have a situation where you might not be around to help your dog out. Hiring a pet sitter would come in highly recommended in that setting. If you are operating on a tight budget, you can purchase pee pads for them and train your old dogs to start using them. In addition, you can paper train them to poo on paper indoors when you are not available, the whole idea is for them to know that peeing in a particular spot in the house is acceptable instead of doing it in different places all over the house.
Size and weight.
As we mentioned earlier smaller dogs are more likely to pee more often than larger dogs do. You see, even if a tiny dog has perfect bladder control, the quantity of liquid that it can hold would still be very small when compared to larger dogs. This would lead them to pee more often than the larger dogs. This also would be more predominant if you find that they like drinking a lot of water.
Now, this is not to say that larger dogs do not have issues holding their pee, in fact, studies have shown that a larger dog would more likely have problems holding their pee than smaller dogs do, the only advantage the older dogs have in this scenario is the volume they can hold.
With regards to weight, the heavier they are the more pressure that will be applied to their abdominal region. This is purely a result of their anatomy. The increased abdominal pressure will make your dog need to pee more than is actually necessary. A leaner dog would generally not have this problem, this is one of the reasons why you are always advised to watch your dog’s weight.
General Health and Medical condition.
A healthy dog would naturally follow the table above for their pee schedule, but when the dog has a health problem or a medical condition, you will notice an increase in their urge to pee regularly.
Medical conditions like:
Diabetes– A medical condition that occurs when the dog’s pancreas cannot make enough insulin, leading to an increase in their blood sugar due to their inability to regulate glucose in their body
Kidney diseases– a situation where the kidney is affected by bacteria, excessive hormones, or weakening of its muscles leading to it not functioning at its optimal level.
Cushing’s disease– A condition where the dog’s body produces too much cortisol hormone, leading to the hormone being stored in the adrenals above the kidneys and affecting its functionality.
Obesity– In simple terms the accumulation of fat in a dog’s body that causes abdominal pressure leading to a dog peeing a lot in addition to numerous other health problems
Bladder infections, stones, or inflammation– A medical condition where the bladder is affected by bacteria or parasites. The crystallization of minerals in the dog’s body leads to solids forming in that region (called bladder stones) which apply pressure to the bladder leading to your dog peeing a lot and being in pain while peeing.
There are many other health conditions that will make your dog pee a lot but the above are always the major suspect. The main thing is to watch out for signs like Straining to pee, Unusual odor, Excessive drinking, discolored urine, and Blood in the urine.
Contact your vet doctor immediately if you see any of these signs in your dog, as the popular saying goes “It’s always better to be safe than sorry”.
Diet and water intake.
What our dogs eat and drink affects their well-being in almost all parts of their life. Dogs do not sweat like we do, they expel heat by panting, through their paws and urination, so a dog that eats a lot of wet dog food or canned food containing salt would find itself peeing a lot.
The same thing occurs to dogs who drink lots of water. It is worth noting that a dog drinking a lot of water can be an indication of a health issue like high blood sugar or diabetes so getting them checked up by your vet doctor is very advisable in these instances.
Medication.
It is no secret that some medications can lead to your dog drinking lots of water and that in turn makes them pee more than they would do in normal conditions. Medications like heart medications, oral steroids, seizure medications, etc. can actually do this.
Examples of these medications that can lead to an increase in thirst are prednisone (a form of cortisone) and furosemide (a diuretic or “water pill”). In conditions like providing your dog with a pee pad is one of the things you can do in a bid to avoid having your house messed up.
Lack of good potty training.
This is often an overlooked cause of a dog peeing in the house. When medical conditions or health issues have been ruled out as the cause of your dog peeing and yet you still have accidents happening here and there all over your house, then you should have to consider the possibility that you have not potty trained your dog well.
This problem is more prevalent with puppies and newly adopted dogs. This is so because most times they are new to their surroundings and are still trying to adapt to them.
Potty training a puppy or dog requires consistency, patience, and rewarding your dog when they get it right, in fact rewarding your dog with praises or even treats has a more positive effect on making your dog want to potty outdoors than most other tricks put together.
Your dog’s activity level.
Simply put, the more active your dog is the more they would need to drink more water and the more they will pee. The less active a dog is the more energy they conserve and the less it would need to pee.
So there you have it, these are all the possible reasons why your dog may be peeing more than necessary. The question “how often should my dog pee?” is one that brings up more questions with it. But before we go into that, if your dog exhibits some of these signs, it is likely that he or she needs to potty:
i. Crying at the door
ii. Standing close to the door and looking outwards
iii. Being restless
iv. Pawing at you
v. Not sitting still
vi. Whining and Crying
vii. Sniffing around
viii. Barking
OTHER COMMON QUESTIONS
How often does a senior dog need to pee?
Senior dogs are known to pee every four to six hours daily, that is 4 to 6 sessions daily. If there are medical complications involved, these sessions will be significantly increased.
How many times does a dog poop and pee a day?
A dog is expected to poop at least once daily, the pee sessions, it is heavily dependent on the dog’s age, medical conditions, size, activity level, and training.
How many times a day should a small dog pee?
A small dog would pee more frequently than its larger counterpart. On average a dog will produce 10 to 20 ml of urine for each pound of its body weight daily. This ideally means that a small dog on average will pee 3 to 5 times daily.
How many times a day should a large dog pee?
A large dog would pee less frequently than its smaller counterpart. On average a dog will produce 10 to 20 ml of urine for each pound of its body weight daily. This ideally means that a large dog on average will pee 2 to 4 times daily.
How many times should a female dog pee a day?
Dogs whether male or female will follow the same rule of averages for their pee sessions daily. You can use the table above to determine how many times a female dog can pee daily.
Can a dog pee only once a day?
A dog should not be peeing only once a day. In fact, a dog peeing once a day is a huge sign of an underlying health problem with that dog.
How long can a dog go without peeing?
An average dog can go from between 8 to 10 hours in a day without peeing, this is heavily dependent on the dog’s age, medical conditions, size, activity level, and training. Keep in mind that anything that will make a dog hold its pee is not healthy for them
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Hi, I am Charles Nwankwo Editor-in-Chief, Mydoggything.com. Gleaning from Professional Dog Trainers, behaviorist, Registered Veterinarians, and Breeders. We are passionate about making dog care easy for you. My job is to make sure that you get the best-updated dog care information to understand and take care of your dog or dogs.