Successfully coexisting with your dog requires understanding their bathroom habits. If you are housetraining your dog, you’ll need to take them out frequently. Even if your dog is already house trained, it’s essential to know when to expect them to pee.
How long after drinking water will a dog pee?
How long your dog can wait between bathroom breaks will depend on their age and size. Adult dogs can hold it for several hours after drinking, but puppies will need to go very quickly.
Puppies
You should expect your puppy to pee within 15 minutes of drinking water. If you see them take a drink, take them for a potty break within 10 minutes to avoid accidents.
Puppies can hold their pee for about 1 hour for each month of age. At 3 months old, you can expect your dog to hold their pee for 3 hours. However, it’s best to take them out soon after they drink, especially during the housetraining process.
Adult Dogs
You can expect an adult dog to hold their pee for up to 8 hours. This can vary some based on the breed and size of your dog. Smaller dogs will need to pee more often than larger dogs, because their bladders are smaller.
Senior Dogs
Senior dogs can typically hold their pee for 4-6 hours. If they have a medical condition, they may need to pee more quickly. Some senior dogs experience cognitive decline, which can cause them to forget to pee.
Why does my dog pee so soon after drinking?
If you’ve noticed your dog needs to pee very soon after drinking, you may be wondering if something is wrong. Dogs, like humans, can hold quite a bit of liquid in their bladder, and shouldn’t need to pee after every time they consume water.
How Long After Drinking Does Liquid Enter the Bladder?
Liquids travel through your dog’s system very quickly. In humans, 50% of liquid has left the stomach within 10 minutes. The time frame will be similar for your dog.
However, just because the liquid enters your dog’s bladder quickly shouldn’t make them need to pee unless their bladder was already full.
Full Bladder
If your dog occasionally needs to go pee right after drinking, it’s safe to assume they simply have a full bladder. Keep in mind that puppies, older dogs, and small breeds will have a smaller bladder capacity. Just like humans, when the bladder gets full, your dog needs to pee.
Pollakiuria
Pollakiuria is a term for bladder urgency in dogs. It can be caused by many different factors that cause your dog to drink excessively or pee more often.
It’s important to distinguish between an occasional full bladder and pollakinuria, which typically indicates a medical issue. If your dog has pollakiuria, they may have accidents in the house, particularly at night.
You may notice them needing to go pee more often or waking up in the night needing to pee. You may also notice them drinking more water than usual.
Increased Urination
There are several medical conditions that can cause increased urination. This is usually caused by a problem with the lower urinary tract. These issues can cause your dog to feel like their bladder is full when it isn’t.
When they pee, there’s a lower volume of urine than usual. If the issue continues, the bladder will become accustomed to small amounts of urine, which can make the issue worse.
Urinary Tract Infection
Urinary tract infections are common in dogs, just as they are in people. The symptoms are often the same for both humans and their canine companions.
The infection will cause your dog to feel like they need to pee very often. They may strain to pee or seem to be in pain when they urinate. It’s common for a dog with a urinary infection to have difficulty controlling their bladder. They may begin having accidents or dripping urine.
If the infection is severe, you may spot blood in your dog’s urine. You may also notice a pungent abnormal smell due to the bacteria present in the urine.
Your dog may begin licking their genitals frequently. They do this in an attempt to keep the area clean and relieve discomfort.
Urinary Stones
Urinary stones are another common culprit for urinary issues. The symptoms are often similar to those of a urinary infection.
Your dog may have pain or strain while urinating. They may only pee small amounts at a time, and need to pee frequently. If you notice your dog staying in the pee position for an extended time period, this is another sign there’s an issue.
If your dog begins vomiting, loss of appetite, or blood in their urine, you’ll need to get them examined by a vet as soon as possible.
Tumors or Polyps
Tumors or polyps can cause issues with your dogs urinary system. Polyps typically develop after recurring infections which lead to inflammation and scarring. Tumors and polyps are usually benign, but they can be cancerous.
Kidney Disease
Kidney disease is unfortunately common, particularly as your dog ages. 1 in 10 dogs will develop kidney disease during their lifetime. The kidneys have several important functions. They help cleanse the blood, remove waste from urine, and maintain the correct balance of electrolytes.
Kidney disease often goes unnoticed until it becomes moderate to severe. When a dog is diagnosed, they typically have between 33-25% of normal kidney function, which can cause serious health effects.
The most common first sign of kidney disease is needing to urinate more often. Accidents and waking up in the night to urinate are also common.
As kidney disease progresses, other symptoms occur. These can include vomiting, lethargy, dehydration, weight loss, and bad breath.
Increased Thirst
Increased thirst can also cause your dog to pee more frequently. Pee output is all about volume. What goes in must come out, and the bladder can only hold a certain amount of liquid at one time. Once it’s full, your dog will need to pee.
Thirsty
If they drink a large amount of water at once, they may need to pee soon after. Your dog may be very thirsty after being without access to water or in very hot weather. Salty snacks can also make your dog thirsty. Occasional thirst isn’t a concern, but if your dog frequently drinks a large volume of water, they may have a medical condition.
Hormonal Imbalances
Hormonal imbalances can cause your dog to be excessively thirsty. This is often caused by diabetes or Cushing’s disease. Diabetes occurs when your dog’s body doesn’t produce enough insulin to process the sugar in their diet.
Cushing’s disease occurs when your dog’s body produces too much cortisol. It can cause depression, fatigue, weakness, and anxiety, in addition to excessive thirst.
Liver Disease
The liver is an essential organ for humans and our canine counterparts. Symptoms of liver disease include excessive thirst, increased urination, loss of appetite, and nausea and vomiting. They may also have blood in their pee and poop. Other symptoms include confusion, weakness, and loss of coordination.
Medications
Medications can cause increased urination or thirst. Common medications include cortisone or steroid-containing medicines and anti-seizure medication. Diuretics can also cause frequent urination because they flush more water from the body.
Should I let my dog drink during the night?
It’s important to allow your dog plenty of access to water each day, but do they need access to water at night?
Puppies
Puppies need frequent access to water. Puppies that haven’t been weaned do not need water. They get complete nutrition and hydration from their mother’s milk.
When they begin to eat solid food, you’ll need to begin offering them water. Young puppies need about half a cup of water every few hours during weaning.
Older puppies will need 1/2 to 1 ounce for each pound of body weight. A puppy that is 10 pounds should drink 5-10 ounces of water each day, which is around one cup.
Once you begin housetraining, you should remove water at night. It’s best to stop giving water at least 2 hours before bedtime to prevent accidents. Be sure to take them out right before bed for a potty break.
It’s important to give your pup plenty of access to water during the day to prevent dehydration.
Adult Dogs
Adult dogs can safely go overnight without water. Just like puppies, you’ll want to remove water access a few hours before bedtime.
Water During Crate Training
Crate training can help you potty train your dog. Dogs will instinctively keep the area where they eat or sleep clean. This is a denning instinct that developed in wolves and wild dogs for cleanliness and safety from predators. Your dog’s crate becomes their den, and they will do their best not to soil it.
You may wonder whether you can put water in your dog’s crate. Water in the crate can be problematic for a few reasons. First, it can cause your dog to need to pee while in the crate. If your dog pees in the crate, they may get used to doing so. If they become accustomed to peeing in the crate, it will override their denning instinct.
Second, it can be difficult to avoid the water spilling in the crate. If you feel the need to place a water bowl in your dog’s crate, a metal bowl that attaches to the crate is best. This will keep the bowl from tipping over and soaking the crate, and prevents your dog from chewing on the bowl.
Excessive Thirst or Urination
If you notice your dog being very thirsty at night, it’s time for a checkup. Your vet can check for medical conditions that can increase your dog’s thirst.
Excessive urination is also a concern. If you don’t give your dog access to water at night and they still have accidents during the night, or they pee very often during the day, it’s wise to get them evaluated by the vet.
How long can a dog go without urinating?
Generally, a dog can go one hour for every month of age as a puppy. Adult dogs can hold their pee for 8 hours. Senior dogs can typically go for 4-6 hours without a bathroom break.
Keep in mind that size also plays a role. Smaller dogs will have a smaller bladder, so they will need to pee more often than larger dogs.
How Long Can A Dog Hold It?
It’s best to give your dog plenty of opportunities to use the bathroom. During the potty training stage, take your dog out every hour if possible.
Once your dog is potty trained, if you are using a crate, let them out at least once if you are gone all day. Arrange for a neighbor, friend, or a dog sitter to let your dog out, particularly if you are going to be gone for more than 8 hours.
Even if your dog isn’t confined to a crate, you’ll need to arrange for them to have a bathroom break if you are gone more than 8 hours.