Bladder of Steel or Concern?

[Phoebe's Mom]

With each change of season, Phoebe needs time to adjust her pottying to the new weather such that it takes forever for her to potty first thing in the morning until she becomes comfortable.  That we are used to, however, for the past week she has decided that she only needs to poop in the morning but not pee.  We have done everything from taking her to her favorite spot, to adding a long walk and walking her around and around on our property for close to an hour...nothing.  Then I drop the children at school and do the entire routine again sometimes with success, sometimes with none.  I contacted our vet after a particularly rough morning and she told me that she is not concerned as long as Phoebe pees throughout the day (which she does/she goes out 4 times a day in total) and that she has a steady stream (she does) and that nothing else seems to be 'off' (it doesn't).  She also suggested limiting our time outside in the morning to 20 minutes to encourage her to 'speed it up.'  While Phoebe has never been a big drinker--which has always worried me--my assumption is that she would want/need/have to go after 8-9 hours in her crate (my husband takes her out for the last time around 11pm).  Today, she held it 14 hours and we went on our walk not because she wanted to go out but because I did!  Anyone else have a doodle with a bladder of steel? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, yes, that would be Jackdoodle. His record so far is 36 hours, although in fairness, that was when I first adopted him and he was afraid of everything, including peeing in the wrong place, apparently.

It is not unusual for him to go 14 hours and longer without peeing. It happens almost daily.

There is a concern about this, though, because of the heavy steroid use in his past and the possibility that he may have to be on steroids again down the road. His specialist says he isn't doing himself any favors in regard to that bladder of steel causing kidney problems in the future.

[Jodi and Stella]

Stella will usually hold it if she is not at home, seems she only likes to pee in her own yard. She will wait until we get home from a walk to go. We were on a ten hour road trip yesterday and stopped several times for her to go and nothing...While we were out of town for four days she only went a few times.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Gracie heads to bed about 8 PM and doesn't get up until 8 AM and then when we walk she usually doesn't pee until we go around the block.  She does have full access to outdoors through a doggie door 24 hrs. a day but she never gets up in the night time.  When she does go first thing it is very strong and a huge pee!

[Helen&Finnegan]

Finnegan is definitely related to your Phoebe!  He can easily go 14 hours or more....I used to get worried but I've learned his schedule and that he would much rather "sleep in" on a weekend (especially if it is raining) than get up to pee first thing.  I leave the back door open (I have a fenced-in yard), I try to tempt him outside with the ball (he fetches it and brings it right back inside without stopping to pee), I take him for walks in the rain (he hates the rain) and he just doesn't pee.  So I've learned not to stress about it - we cuddle up and watch tv and have a nice lazy morning and when he finally decides he needs to pee, he wanders outside and does his thing.  It can be as late as 11a or noon before he goes and he might have not have peed since 8p the night before!  Mostly he only does that in the rain and on a weekend - he seems to know that he has to pee before I leave for work - I guess he has learned my schedule as well :)

 

[Nina]

I do and I worry.  My dog can get up, eat, play and not go outsde.  Usually if nothing has happened by 11am, I take her for a walk.  She may pee and poo.  Many times, this is it for the day.  Once in a while, I leash her up and take her to her pee spot in my backyard and wait for her to pee.  She wanders around, starts to squat, then stops.  When I continue to stand there, she wll finally pee.  I am always amazed by the river of pee that comes from her.  Should  I be worried...she's happy and healthy.  Maybe I am just neurotic about this.

[Lynn D.]

Yeah, Echo is about 11 months old. I take him out between 10-12 at night, then he holds it easily till noon the next day.

Ugh! It worried me for a bit, but I figured he was telling me that he just doesn't need to go. Just like when we were potty training.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Cooper has a bladder of steal. She doesnt always pee first thing, particularly if she has been out late at night before DH comes to bed. If he forgets (which is quite often) then she does pee first thing, but she will have held it a good 10 or more hours. She has learnt that when we come home from work she goes out to pee then runs back inside for cuddles. Again, she has held it for about 10 hours. Occasionally Cooper will only poop once a day, usually twice. If she doesnt im not too worried

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Sure do.  Sounds similar to  your post.  Annoying for us, but she is  just fine.  She has actually held it for 48 hours much to my horrors but she is just fine.  If it is windy, raining, a car makes a noise, someone speaks two doors down, a leaf falls from the tree~ well that just ends the entire mission and we have to start all over again in an hour.   It  has gotten better { I hope I just didn't jinx us }. It has taken a year with a lot of rewards, praise, commitment, and potty cheers!!!  "YEA".  UGH. 

Wish I could tell all the world to be very very quiet, my dog needs to pee. 

[Heather and Rocky]

Rocky too can hold it forever.  If it's cold outside in the morning (which is rare - but we did have a few weeks of some freezing weather this past winter) he doesn't want to go outside in the morning.  I will open the door and he will look at me and then look outside then go lay back down.  I'm just like ohhhkkk.... and then I offer him another time out before I leave to take the kids to school and usually then he will take me up on the offer - but he does his business and then comes in as quickly as possible. 

 

And, now that it's turned hot - he doesn't want to go out at all during the day.  I'll periodically walk through the house and open the backdoor and ask him if he wants to go - he will come to the door - look at me - look outside and then flop down on the tile.  He'll go pretty much all day if I don't just beg him to go out.  I worried about this a lot when we first got him because I had never had an inside dog before and I didn't know what was normal and what wasn't.... but now I don't worry too much because this is how he's been since we got him last fall.... and his foster mommy told me he had NEVER had an accident in the house - even if they were gone all day and left him at home -  .... plus, I don't worry because when when the kids get home he goes and runs and plays with them and he's in and out the rest of the evening and potties then. 

 

OH and his favorite time to go potty is around midnight right before my husband and I go to bed.  He has generally already been asleep a few hours and we will wake him up to let him out one last time - and this is the time he will spend the LONGEST time in the yard willingly.  We are always sitting on the couch yawning waiting for him to come to the door - while he prowls around outside.  I guess the weather is just right lately or something - maybe he's checking out the nightime critters - I have no idea... but he seems to like the backyard at nightime!

 

I take it from all the similar stories this is normal!!??  LOL! 

 

Rocky won't poop with an audience though - usually not a problem except when we were on vacation and he had to be leashed the entire time we were outside anywhere.  That's a topic I'll be asking advice on before we take him on our next trip!