How often is TOO often?

[HilyBee]

So I have a male mini who is only 4 mo. old and only weighs 5 pounds. He needs to be taken out every two hours or he will have an accident. According to our training tips for doxies (from our breeder), for every month old he is until 5 mo. old there should be that many hours between trips outside. So 4 hours between trips since he is 4 mo. old. I can tell you one thing, he definitely can not make it four hours without going out. Is that bad or is that common for minis? I've had one other doxie and he was a standard. I try not to compare them too much because I know they are very different because of their size with potty training. Any thoughts? Is he going too often?f

 

[sherlock]

I'm not an expert, but from what I've heard, every dog is different. If he needs to potty that often, then take him out! Definitely better than having accidents, and he learns where to potty.

However, do you let him free water? That can lead to needing to go out more often. When we first got Watson, he only got water at mealtime or after playing. Otherwise, he'd need to go more, and it threw off our schedule.

 

[natural curl]

Is it 2 hours around the clock? Ours is fine for up to 12 hours at night. But, seriously, has to go out every 45 minutes from around 4 to 8 PM. It's not a behavior thing but a real need, I can estimate the volume and wonder where it all comes from. Once he just flooded the sidewalk (thinking he was going against a bush). He weighs around 13-14 pounds. Late afternoon seems a little early to pick up his water but I could try it.

2 hours sounds good to me.

 

[HilyBee]

yay! glad he isn't strange. We definitely take him out whenever he paces, sprints like crazy (his biggest tell) or just every two to three hours. He's picking it up okay for being so young. He does have an auto-water bowl because he shares a water dish with our cat, so yes he does have access all the time. He doesn't drink a ton normally, only when he's being crazy and sprinting around or playing hard. lol

 

[vizzla]

every dog is different so you need to adapt to what your dog needs. Just watch out for problems peeing, like peeing just a few drops but all the time or pain when trying to pee. Our got a urin infection shortly after we got him.

 

[amparra]

Have you ruled out a health issue? UTI? I got my mini at 5 months old and she weighed 5lbs also (she is now 8 months old and i'm guessing around 7lbs). We had accidents here and there, and still do sometimes but she was definitely able to hold it through the night and for more than 2 hours during the day.

 

[HilyBee]

Took him to the vet yesterday for shots and asked about UTIs as well. They did a full exam on him including a urine test and said he's ok. The vet said it is probably just because he has water all the time and his bladder is so tiny. He has gotten a bit better, now up to 3 hours between walks. yay!