How Long Is Too Long Between "potty-breaks"?

[Guest bebopalula]

I'm hoping you all can clear up a discussion I've been having with a friend. How long in between walks or potty breaks is safe health-wise for the average adult dog? I remember reading somewhere that adults can go 8-10 hrs. without requiring a walk. But at some point of keeping a prolonged schedule of making the dog wait 12 hrs. or so, the dog can develop bladder problems. Is this accurate? Or can problems develop if the dog is waiting 8 hrs?

 

I know many people work full time jobs and don't have dog walkers and others do. I'd like to know what is the best for the health of your dog. Just b/c your dog could go, say 12 hrs., doesn't mean he should, etc.

 

Could anyone please confirm and if you have any references to back up what you're saying I'd appreciate links to those as well?

[Hubcitypam]

When I worked 10 hour shifts and was gone 11-12 hours I had someone let them out. I would think there are LOTS of adults that can easily go 8-10. Now that there is a dog door I've seen mine hunker down for a VERY (15+ hours) long time, but that is only occasionally. I'd say of their own free will they do not go out and pee anywhere near every 8 hours.

 

Somewhere long ago I read an article that that dogs do not need to pee nearly as often as humans because they only drink when they are truely thirsty and it makes sense. Many humans drink for reasons other than thirst. Caffine and alcohol delivery, being social, habit, etc.

 

So that probably doesn't help and I don't know anything from a medical standpoint, but my guys don not pee every 8 hours of their own free will. May depend on the dog

Edited July 23, 2007 by Hubcitypam

[Guest Stretchy]

I think it totally depends on the dog, when I get home from work after being gone 9-10 hours I open the door to let Stretch out and sometimes he'll look at the wide open door, give the air a sniff or two and then return to the couch for another nap. It is almost like him saying I kinda want to go ouside, but a nap sounds even better! So, what I'm saying is that he imposes on himself no potty breaks for 12+ hours

[Guest Greensleeves]

I think it depends on the dog, but I personally like to encourage mine to go more often than that.

 

Our Nelly (who delivered 9 pups by C-section) will go once a day if she's just hanging out at home. Yes, once every 24 hours. But take her on a walk, and she waters every corner. When she was very new, we worried about this (in fact, when we first found her and she was staying at the vets' to recover from her injuries, the vets worried that she hadn't peed on her own in the first couple of days she stayed there, so they actually manually expressed her bladder and talked about putting a cathetar in!). We now realize this is just how she is. I wonder sometimes if the first or second collision with the car (either the one as a pup that broke her hip, or the one right before we found her) or the pregnancy might have damaged the nerves to her bladder, so she doesn't know when she has to go. Who knows? She was perfectly potty trained when we brought her home, and she's never had a UTI or bladder infection, so apparently it's done her no harm.

 

My DH insists that our boys have to go more often than our girls, but I'm not certain what evidence he's basing this on. (Well, Marathon Nelly not withstanding. )

[RobinM]

Every dog is different. My dogs can't hold it for 12 hours. Maybe 8 at max but even that is pressing it.

 

If they are holding it because they HAVE TO GO, but know they shouldn't (are there any of those dogs around?) I know it can increase the chance of UTIs if it happens reguarly.

 

I'm sure there are some dogs that can hold it normally for 12 hours. I do not know of any!

I would ask if they were getting enough to drink.

 

[Guest cendrine]

Mine needed to go every six hours and, if they weren't let out or walked, they peed on the floor. Needless to say, I employed a dog walker or neighbour to get them outdoors. They would pee multiple times on each walk and they always produced large amounts of urine, like three foot by one and a half foot long swathes. They had on occasion held their urine overnight and wouldn't potty right away in the morning if it was raining or too cold but the delay was usually only a couple of hours.

 

Never had a UTI or other bladder problem.

[Guest greytmonty]

Mine needed to go every six hours and, if they weren't let out or walked, they peed on the floor. Needless to say, I employed a dog walker or neighbour to get them outdoors. They would pee multiple times on each walk and they always produced large amounts of urine, like three foot by one and a half foot long swathes. They had on occasion held their urine overnight and wouldn't potty right away in the morning if it was raining or too cold but the delay was usually only a couple of hours.

 

Never had a UTI or other bladder problem.

This is about the same as Monty. He goes every 6 hours during the day but holds it 9-10 hrs overnight. He is also a frequent pooper and actually poops twice in the morning, once midday, and once at night.

[Guest weycoolgrey]

He is also a frequent pooper and actually poops twice in the morning, once midday, and once at night.

 

Holy Guacamole!!

 

 

 

Dewey holds it for about 11.5 hours while DH and I go to work- he has only had an accident once (maybe we are just lucky?) Although, on the weekends we take him out more frequently just because we are around and take him out to do more fun things.

 

[riverbosun]

Cara,

Strike my first GH had chronic UTI's which finally went away when my dog sitter (Mom) let him out midday but on average 8-10 hours is no big deal for my pups. Her dog can go even longer proven by rain or inclement weather without any issues or health problems.

[Guest wrldruler]

He is also a frequent pooper and actually poops twice in the morning, once midday, and once at night.

 

Our Nelly has it in her head that she needs to pee and poop on every walk. I have watched her go poo in the backyard, we go out for a walk, and she somehow produces a second poo during the walk. She averages 3-4 poos a day.

 

On the other hand, our George, even with his current Big D, will average just 1-2 a day.

 

- Chris

[Guest Hokiebuck]

There are several factors I have heard, that influence how often your dog needs to go:

-Activity Level: The more active, the more they have to pee. So by that theory, a dog that is crated (or just sleeps in one spot all day) doesn't have to go as much as a dog that is playing a lot.

 

-Size of Dog: I have heard that smaller dogs like toy breeds need to go more often. Not sure if that is true..but I heard it somewhere.

 

Cash is crated for about 10 hrs a day (weekdays) and has never had an accident, and he has water in his crate. Weekends are pretty random. He usually is with me enough running around that he gets it out when he needs to.

[Batmom]

-Activity Level: The more active, the more they have to pee. So by that theory, a dog that is crated (or just sleeps in one spot all day) doesn't have to go as much as a dog that is playing a lot.

 

Ditto that. If I'm home with the dogs, they usually want to go out a LOT. If nobody's home, they're fine for 5-6 hours. I arrange for them to be taken out if I'll be gone longer than that.

 

When I had a very consistent work schedule, once they got used to it, B & Z would sometimes *not* potty at lunchtime. They'd just go out and nap in the sun for 20 minutes, or mooch around the yard, or refuse to go out at all if the weather wasn't perfect. And when I got home in the evening they wanted their supper before they wanted to go out. So at those times they waited @ 12 hours. Joseph isn't like that, at least not yet. If someone comes home, he wants and generally needs to go.

[Guest bebopalula]

Well, I had to call my vet yesterday for a different reason so I ended up asking. The reply I got was that on average an adult healthy dog should be able to go 8-10 hours in between without this causing any infections, etc. However, it would be better to have a walk in there so that they get some exercise midway.

 

 

[Guest Hannah]

I think a lot has to do with the dog as many have said before, but I also think that the weather can play a significant part in it too.

 

our old whippett hated to be cold, wet, have a breeze blow when she went........

one nasty wet, cold winter my mum - by asking us all in turn - worked out that she hadn't gone out for about 30 hours. She had been given plenty of opportunities by everyone at home. We had all at various times opened the door, encouraged her to the open doorway and then each decided when she turned tail and retreated back to burrow under her bedding that someone else had recently let her out

After that mum always made sure that she was forced outside each morning and each evening regardless of the weather and even took to following her when she discovered that she would dash out of the door as far as the corner of the house to a sheltered dry spot, wait about 30 seconds then come back and shout to be let back in

[cello]

Specky once held it 17 hours during a hurricane! We had her out many times during that time, but she absolutely refused to go in the wind and rain. Finally i put a raincoat on both of us, and a large golf umbrella and just waited her out!

Carol Ann

[Guest Greensleeves]

Our old whippet hated to be cold, wet, have a breeze blow when she went........

one nasty wet, cold winter my mum - by asking us all in turn - worked out that she hadn't gone out for about 30 hours. She had been given plenty of opportunities by everyone at home. We had all at various times opened the door, encouraged her to the open doorway and then each decided when she turned tail and retreated back to burrow under her bedding that someone else had recently let her out

 

The first winter we had Whistler was very harsh--we had a foot of snow by Thanksgiving. Two days before we were scheduled to take him 4 hours north to visit my parents, there was a blizzard. He wouldn't go out *at all* the day it was snowing. The next day I took him out every hour and stalked him around the yard, but all he would do was stand in the snow and stare at me. We popped him in the car for the four-hour drive (him not having gone *at all* in a day and a half)... and then got stuck in a 3-hour traffic jam. Even a stop on the road couldn't coax him to pee even just a little!

 

Finally we arrived at my parents' house, and he happily followed their little rat terrier out into the yard and peed wherever she went! After that DH wondered if he'd only thought of peeing in the yard, maybe Whistler wouldn't have waited so long!