Housetraining an adult

Hi,
Housetraining is progressing well with Kizzy; we have only had two accidents in the house so far! But, I have a question, she doesn't seem to drink very often, but when she does, she drinks a lot. This seems unusual as our other dogs drink smaller amounts more frequently. I wonder if this may be something to do with her puppy farm past?
The problem with this is that she very rarely pees! For example, yesterday she went at about 3pm, we took her out 3 or 4 times in the afternoon and evening before we went to bed and she wouldn't go. So, she didn't do until 8am today (holding it for 17 hours ). DOes this seem normal?

I'd have the vet check her out to make sure she isn't dehydrated or having some sort of urinary tract problem. That's a long time to hold herself. Are you absolutely sure she isn't going when you are not watching (eg secretly inside for example? Is she watched 100% of the time?). Many people find their dogs are secretly going on a rug or in a corner out of sight in this kind of situation as it is easy to believe they are ding better than they are on housetraining. They can do a wee in seconds and it can be very hard to spot at the time.

Thanks Karlin. She is watched carefully when she is out of her crate, so I don't think that's the issue. She does seem to be drinking more frequently today, so I'll keep an eye on it and take her to the vets if nothing changes. We also think it might be that she just doesn't like going out when it is dark, cold or wet (and who can blame her!), as she is much more willing during the day.

Oliver (7+) years old) drinks large amounts at one time, but doesn't drink frequently. He is also a camel and can go from 7 a.m. until sometime in the later afternoon. I don't think he's ever gone 17 hours, but I also don't think he's having accidents inside. I am outside with the rest of the dogs frequently -especially since Oz is still a pup at 16 months old. Sometimes Oliver will join us, sometimes not. I don't worry about him.

The longest I have ever seen a dog hold pee was my little Oz and it was 23 hours!!! He was diagnosed with a grade 1 murmer and intermittent 2nd degree heart block at 4 months of age and had to wear a holter monitor for 24 hours. It's very light weight and was held on his back with stretchy gauze tape. He thought he couldn't move!!! Wouldn't jump, run, play - all he did was lie in his crate or in my lap. I had to write down his level of activity for the 24 hour period, when he ate, slept, peed and pooped. I was watching like a hawk because he was so young. He pooped several times but would not pee!!! It literally was 23 hours. He was such a baby! The cardiologist laughed when I told him. Now, he likes to go out every 20 minutes!!

My Casey drinks A LOT of water, all at one time, and also holds her pee. She will go out after dinner, around 7 and usually not again until the next morning! To make it even worse, she will NOT go out in the morning until AFTER her breakfast, around 8am. So, she regularly holds it for 13 hours between pees. I don't get it either.

I have a couple of dogs that only drink a couple times a day, but they camel (drink significantly). If you are worried, ask your vet to run a blood panel-- depending on the age, my vet charges 45-95 dollars depending on what we are targeting.

Many illnesses cause dogs to drink copious amounts of water all the time and have accidents (kidney issues, diabetes, UTI's)-- so I wouldn't be overly worried, but it doesn't hurt to ask a vet.

Poor Oz!

Thanks for all of the replies. We've found that when she relaxes outside and starts to sniff around, she will go. But, as we've only had her for 3 weeks, she is still quite nervous of some situations and all of the recent fireworks don't help! If only our garden was warm, dry and quiet

all of mine drink a lot but not that often it sounds quite normal .......its also possible she has been used to holding for a long time before you had her again i would say if she is bright and happy the answer is in the trainng not with the vet

good luck x

I'm brand new here, but I'll throw in my two cents. Clancy sleeps in the bed with us (of course - he's like a little stuffed animal!) and he will sleep all night, sometimes 9+ hours, and then still wait for a while before he'll pee outside. I don't think he was housebroken when we adopted him, though we think he's probably between a year and two years, so we're pretty vigilant about his potty habits still.

Our three old dogs used to be inside our house when both my husband and I worked all day, and sometimes, due to traffic or unexpected delays, they'd be inside for 11 or 12 hours (not that that was usual) and still wouldn't be desperate for go outside when I got home.