frequent urination

[Dawn B. Roy]

We just picked up our second puppy last week. He is almost 9 weeks old and we started crate training using what worked for our female puppy in the past.  Our 2 year old was potty trained by 4 months. We use the bell method which works great. We started by taking our puppy out every 30 minutes, after each meal and twice at night. This worked great for our last puppy. Our new puppy cannot hold more then 20 minutes. 10 minutes if we let him drink freely. We now water him 3 times a day. With that he can last around 20 minutes. I checked his urine and it is crystal clear. He also urinates in his crate if he is left more then 2 hours.  We take our time outside to ensure he empties his bladder.  Any further suggestions from the group. He is so adorable and it is difficult to get angry when he throws the cuteness at you.

[Dawn B. Roy]

Also he does urinate in his crate if watered too close to crate time or if he goes past 2 hours.  Maybe he just has a smaller then usual bladder.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

He is adorable but oh my goodness, this must be frustrating! I'd be confused cause this was not at all our experience, and I'd ask the vet for a sample check. Unless he keeps smelling his own urine? Are you using potty pads in the house or taking him out? Using Nature's Miracle? Or, is his crate too roomy?
I remember our breeder telling us to take out Rip no more than every two hours cause his bladder is capable/can stretch and to not take him out at all during the night. This worked well for us and proved true, but I know lots here take out pups every 30mins. I'm not sure if you need to stretch/train their bladders to "hold" more or what but I'd def make sure it isn't medical first. Also I wouldn't restrict water. :(
Wish I could help more - hope you find some answers! Best,

[Sarah Kuiper]

How long would you sleep at 'night' when you didn't take him out? My dood has only peed in his crate at night once and that was around 8 hours. I assumed he probably cried but I didn't hear him? I usually take him out right when he cries and that is about 1-2x a night and right when the sun comes up (I usually try to go back to bed for a bit) 

[Kim & Rosie]

Our Rosie couldn't hold it for longer than 20 minutes w/o an accident during the day. However, she stayed dry in her crate at night. She did have recurring UTI's. This all just cleared on her own and she started to slowly hold it longer. It was very frustrating!!! She was not fully housebroken until almost 8 mo. We've always had our pups housebroken by 4 mo. I can't really offer any insite, but I can sympathize with you and tell you to just hang in there! It will eventually get better.

[Tiffany Hubbard]

I can definitely relate! I have a 5 month old female with reoccurring UTI. She has been on antibiotic since I got her. I have been through so many emotions and even thought what have I done? The 4 month mark was the turning point for us so Hang in there! It does get better.

[Tiffany Hubbard]

Oh and one thing I had to do was take all bedding out of her crate. Once I did that she stopped urninating in her crate.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Have you had the vet check for a UTI? Absence of color in the urine doesn't definitely mean there is not a UTI.

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

Gracie was the same way. She didn't have a uti, but couldn't hold it. I did restrict her water only because she seemed to drink it like there was no end and then of course the more she drank, the more she peed.
I gave her water throughout the day and cut her off at 7pm. Maybe giving her an ice cube after that because her zoomies always kicked in when her water was cut off for the night.
She's just now, at 6 mo, she is able to leave some water in the bowl and not have to drink it all.
It was an exhausting 4 -5 months for us always going out every 20-30 minutes, but now she's like what everyone says dogs should be like. ;)
I think dogs must be like children - some fit the mold and reach milestones like they should and some just keep you on your toes and don't follow a timeline. :D

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Some puppies just like to drink a lot of water. My Oscar was that way. He wasn't exactly fixated on water but he would take a long drink at a time and go back frquently. Of course, he had to pee more frequently too. We just took him out more often. I've never restricted water, though, because I believe all pets should have access to clean water. Although I never did it, cutting off access after 7pm would be acceptable, to help get them through the night. It's possible your puppy has a UTI, as excessive thirst, frequent urination, indoor accidents and clear urine are all indications of one. OTOH, your puppy is so young that accidents will happen regardless, so it's difficult to tell without a urinalysis. If your puppy does have a UTI, restricting water will only make it worse.

[Cammy Todd]

I feel like our Izzy (14 weeks) has to urinate frequently too!  Part of our problem is that she will pee every single time I take her out - whether it be 15 minutes or after 2 or 3 hours of crate time.  I really never know when she NEEDS to go out. 

Definitely check for a UTI - Izzy was diagnosed with one last Thursday with very few symptoms. 

Our vet said restricting water can actually make them have to pee more often because the urine is more concentrated and triggers the need to go more. 

[Sarah Kuiper]

Same deal here! He will force something out whenever we go out! 

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

One thing to consider is that a puppy is suppose to be able to hold their urine for 1 hour per month of age, but that's not for a puppy who is awake and playing. That would be for a puppy that just eliminated and then was crated and is sleeping.
We didn't leave Gracie in her crate too long when she was younger, except at night. Also, one thing I read was that if your puppy pees in its crate at the hour mark, then you should take them out at the 45 min mark so that they are successful in their potty training. Make sure he doesn't have too much room in his crate. I guess it also depends on what he did at the breeders. If he was allowed to eliminate in a crate, that's what he will think is ok to do.

When I mentioned restricting Gracie's water, I didn't mean that I only gave her a certain amount. We initially had a self-waterer, but she would constantly be over there drinking almost like it was a fun game. So, we took that bowl away and introduced a smaller bowl. One so that I could see how much she really was drinking and to see if she was asking for too much if I didn't allow her free access. What I found was that she was just going to it after every play session with us or with our other dog and using it to get a break, but also she didn't have the cutoff cue. Some dogs will over drink just like they will over eat. Gracie would definitely be an overeater if I had a self-feeder.
She learned to ask for water if the dish was empty and it was always filled back up. One other fun thing is that she asks for ice cubes too since we have a bottom slide out drawer freezer. :)