Generally, dogs can hold their urine for about eight hours. However, if your dog is frequently urinating, it can be scary. In most cases, it is nothing to worry about, but it can be a health problem in some instances.
Are you wondering when you should be worried and when not to worry? Continue reading this article and discover some of the primary and common reasons your dog urinates frequently. This article contains well-detailed information regarding dog peeing frequencies and more regarding the topic.
Why does my dog pee every few minutes? Is it normal for my dog to pee frequently? There are several reasons, both behavioral and health-related, why your dog pees frequently. Some of these reasons include age/aging, marking, and health issues like diabetes.
Why does my dog pee every few minutes?
Behavioral causes
Age/ aging
How old is your dog? Puppies are known to pee frequently as their bladder is not yet fully developed. Their bladder tends to fill very easily, increasing the urge to pee. This behavior might continue for about five to six months. In this case, there is nothing to be worried about.
Similarly, as the dog ages, its bladder becomes loose, making it challenging to hold urine for an extended period. They will then end up peeing every few minutes, especially after drinking or during cold days.
Weather change
Does your dog pee more frequently during summer than any other season of the year? How many hours does he spend out during these warmer months? If they spend more time outside, the sweating increases the urge to take water, often resulting in frequent urination.
Before you get worried about this behavior, observe how your dog’s behavior changes under those circumstances. If other seasons do not urinate frequently, the weather change might be the cause.
Marking
Dogs are generally territorial. They will pee at different spots to prevent other dogs or pets from stepping there. How do you differentiate between marking and normal urination? Usually, when the dog is marking, it pees a few drops, while normal urination happens in a large area.
Involuntary urination
Involuntary urination is where your dog pees even without knowing. This happens when your dog cannot hold urine for a long period and ends up peeing anywhere. Lack of bladder control is the primary reason why your dog pees.
Attention seeking
How often do you spend time with your dog? Dogs love it when they play and spend time with their masters. If you always ignore and do not spend any time with your dog, it might develop this behavior as a way of seeking attention.
In this case, the solution is to start spending time with your puppy, and this behavior will disappear.
Health problems
Urinary tract infection
UTI is one of the primary causes of frequent urination in dogs but is treatable. It is a common issue among senior dogs and affects female dogs more than males.
How do you know if UTI is the cause? You should look for blood in the urine, the time it squats before peeing, and if it is whining while urinating. If you observe all or some symptoms, your dog has a bacterial infection.
Is UTI treatable? Yes, it is possible to treat this health problem through the simple use of antibiotics.
Diabetes
If your dog has diabetes, especially diabetes mellitus, it might exhibit behavioral changes like frequent urination. This problem in dogs develops when their body is unable to convert food into energy.
Due to low blood sugar, the dog has less energy and will feel the need to eat more. In an attempt to avoid food sugars, it will compensate by increasing its water consumption levels. Increased water intake will result in frequent urination.
Kidney infection
Is your dog suffering from a kidney infection? If yes, that might be the reason for its frequent urination. Similar to UTI, this health issue is treatable through antibiotics.
How can you know if your dog has a kidney infection? The best way is to visit a veterinarian and let it be examined.
Kidney stone
Similar to a kidney infection, a kidney stone can cause your puppy to pee frequently. While this is a real problem with dogs, it can still happen. It is recommended to seek veterinarian care regularly to prevent it from occurring.
Medication
Is your puppy on medication? What type of medication is he taking? It has been recognized that some medicines can cause frequent urination. As the veterinarian prescribes it, they will warn you of a possible change in urination frequency.
This is a temporary problem and will disappear after medication is over.
Tumors
When your dog has a brain tumor, it might press the nerves between the dog’s brain and bladder, resulting in an impaired ability to control its bladder. However, it is most common among older dogs. As the tumor enlarges and exacts pressure on the pituitary gland, it results in hormonal imbalance resulting in frequent urination.
Why does my dog pee so many times on walks?
If you are reading this section, you have noticed frequent urination by your dog during walking time. Does it bother you that your dog is peeing numerous times as you walk?
Most of the time, it should not worry you as it can be a simple act of marking. However, it can be a medical problem. In this section, we will examine the most common causes of frequent urination.
Scent marking
Scent marking is a common behavior among dogs. Have you noticed your dog peeing regularly during walking time? It is possibly doing so to let other dogs walk along the same path that has recently passed.
It also helps them identify unfamiliar dogs in the area. Usually, the dog sniffs and then pees. Additionally, they can learn so many things about each other through scent marking.
Anxiety
Anxiety is another reason that might result in the regular peeing of your dog during the walk. Some anxieties include separation anxiety, new family members, and frequent quests at home, resulting in anxiety in your dog.
While walking, it is the only time the dog is not anxious and feels free to release itself. Especially if you have many guests in the house, the dog will not feel free doing its business as usual.
The most effective solution for this issue is to identify and eliminate all possible causes of anxiety.
They are in heat
Is your dog a female? Could it possibly be in heat? If so, this could be the cause of your dog frequently peeing during a walk. Usually, when a dog is in heat, they want to make it known to the world by repeatedly peeing while walking.
However, while they want the whole world to know, their primary target is male dogs. They hope that male dogs will pass by and notice their needs.
Urinary tract infection
Is your dog suffering from a bacterial infection in the urinary tract? This can be a common reason why your dog frequently pees during the walk. The disease makes it challenging for the dog to hold urine for a long time as required. As a result, it will result in urinating severely while out on a walk.
Back injury
Could your dog be suffering from a back injury? Back injury is another reason that could result in frequent peeing. The solution to this problem is visiting the veterinarian for treatment.
Why is my dog suddenly peeing a lot?
Polydipsia
Polydipsia is a medical problem that causes dogs to urinate frequently and in large quantities. If you realize your dog not only urinates frequently but also in large amounts, it might be suffering from polydipsia.
It usually manifests itself as an increased urge for water intake resulting in peeing large amounts—these three types of polydipsia.
Physiological polyuria is a common issue resulting from a large amount of water consumption. Pharmacological polyuria, on the other hand, results from increased salt consumption.
Some drugs like steroids can also result in this problem.
In these two types, there is nothing to be worried about. However, Pathological polyuria results from metabolic problems such as kidney failure. In such situations, a veterinarian’s opinion is necessary.
Kidney disease
Kidney disease can be the reason why your dog pees in a large amount of urine. When your dog’s kidneys are not properly functioning and cannot maintain water, the dog will increase water intake. Large water consumption will lead to the urination of large amounts of urine.
Brain tumor
Is it possible that your dog is suffering from a brain tumor? You are probably wondering what the brain tumor has to do with an increased amount of urine. The correlation between cancer and urine is that as the tumor enlarges, it can potentially squeeze the pituitary gland, resulting in an increased urge to pee.
Increased water consumption
Is it possible that your dog has recently increased its water intake ratio? If so, there is nothing to be worried about as increased water intake will result in excessive water loss through urination.
Before panicking, observe behavioral changes in your dog. If any, determine if they could be related to excessive water loss through urination.
Weather change
Usually, during the summer seasons, a dog’s water intake increases. This is because, under the heat, some dogs keep drinking water to cool themselves, and as a result, they end up urinating in the same quantities. Could the impulsive behavior of urinating in large amounts have started during summer?
How do you solve this issue? If weather change is the cause of impulsive behavior, let it continue taking enough water to cope with harsh weather. Also, you can regulate the amount of time your puppy spends outside in the sun.
Increased exercise
Is it possible that your dog is exercising too much? During exercise, your dog could lose water through heavy panting, resulting in increased demand for water intake.
If your dog has recently started spending a lot of time playing or training, it could be the reason for increased peeing.
Increased food or water intake
Has the feeding changed recently? Could you be feeding your dog more excessively than usual? If you have increased the amount of food ratio, it could result in high water loss through urination.
Why does my dog pee for a long time?
How long does it take after squatting for the dog to pee? You probably have noticed that it takes more time than usual. Two primary reasons could result in this problem.
First, your dog may have a lot of urine to excrete. Secondly, your dog might be taking more time trying to get the urine out than actual urination. Let’s examine these reasons in detail.
A lot of urine
After taking a lot of time peeing, what quantities does your dog excrete at the end? Is it more than usual, or is it normal? If it is more than normal, it is possible that your dog had a lot to drink, and that is why it might have taken him time to urinate. However, if it is just the usual quantities, it can indicate a more serious issue.
Urinary retention
This is a health issue that can cause your dog to spend a lot of time trying to pee. In this case, your dog experiences difficulties passing urine, resulting in taking too much time while peeing.
How do you know if your dog has a urinary retention issue? If your dog takes a long pee, but the quantities are not more than usual or less, it is time to visit the veterinarian.
What causes urinary retention? There are numerous causes of this health problem, including obstructions, cancer, and neurological conditions. All of these problems require a visit to the doctor.
How can you solve this problem? Based on the cause of urinary retention, there are numerous medical solutions that are available for you. Some might require surgery while others can be resolved using simple antibiotics.