# Puppy Peeing CONSTANTLY - No UTI



## Gurntown (Nov 15, 2016)

Hey there! Just wanted to get some insight from some of you dog owners!

My wife and I have an 8 month old Norwegian Elkhound named Loki who's already about 45-50lbs and is an awesome dog. He has done a great job of training, and does really well with crate training, walks and obedience.

When he was younger, we taught him to ring a bell by the door when he needed to urinate. We'd walk down our apartment stairs, let him pee, praise him, then take him back upstairs. We had some accidents as we were training him (probably caused by allowing him access to too much of the house too quickly), so we'd back pedal a bit, and then reinforce training. When he was younger and playing, it was very common for him to need to go pee every 15 - 30 minutes, and even while walking him, he'd stop and pee a few times.

Now we are eight months in, and it seems like he never really developed his bladder control. He does great in his crate (could go 6 hours no problem) and obviously when he's sleeping, but when around the house with us, he rings the bell every hour AT LEAST to go pee. I tested it to see if he was just wanting to go out, but he ended up peeing in the house instead because he had to go so badly. I tried working his control back up by setting a timer and adding time every other day, but he never got past an hour and fifteen minutes.

I took him to the vet who did a urinalysis and blood test, both tests came back with a clean bill of health. He also hasn't lost any weight, his urine is clear as water, and he isn't straining. 

We've got a pretty clear routine with taking him out, crating time, etc... And for context, I feed him in the morning and evening, and give him a bowl of water each of those times plus a half bowl at lunch. After having the water bowl out for 15 minutes, I typically take it up, and then let him out 30 minutes after he has eaten.

For context's sake, I live in Northern Virginia and we've had a relatively mild summer and fall. I've paid attention to how much water he drinks and it's typically at least 8 cups daily. When I tried to lower the amount, he caused a lot of trouble trying to get more water.

Would love any thoughts anyone has!


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## Lillith (Feb 16, 2016)

Perhaps you could try just leaving the water bowl out all the time. That way he won't slurp it all up and feel like he has to get a ton of water at once.


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## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

Restricting water is a pretty surefire way to cause pee accidents because the dog then drinks far too much at once when the water is accessible.

And water restriction increases the acidity of the urine in bladder, which makes a dog prone to urinary tract infections AND may increase the frequency of urination. Only giving access to water three times a day is really unhealthy for your puppy. 

Also, I don't think needing to pee every hour is that excessive for an 8 month old. So perhaps increase access to water and lower your expectations a bit? He's still very young and immature, and the time he can hold it at once will increase as he gets closer to a year in age.


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## Sandakat (Mar 7, 2015)

Did your vet also check for diabetes? Diabetes can cause excessive thirst and urination.


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