[meganktar]

I have a one and a half year old belgian and he has to go out every 3 or 4 hours, unless he is sleeping. How do I get him to lonly go outside to potty every 6 or 7. I have friends with dogs that only go out 2 or 3 times a day and I just don't know how to keep him to hold is bladder longer.

 

[StGeorgeK9]

Do you use a crate?

 

[DianaM]

Quote:I have friends with dogs that only go out 2 or 3 times a day

My bladder hurts just thinking about that. Just because they CAN pee only two or three times a day doesn't mean they SHOULD. I agree, the crate really helps with that. I usually prefer it that Renji goes every four-ish hours but he can definitely go double that, but that's not the norm. Remember that everyone is an individual and some dogs either have fast kidneys or relatively small bladders.

 

[Jason_Sidener]

Raw fed dogs tend to not need to potty as much as kibble fed dogs.

 

[DianaM]

I noticed that. I'm very happy my dog is a raw dog- he didn't much care for drinking out of a bowl so now I am assured he's getting all his proper fluids because A) meat is wet and B) it's easier to add water and get him to drink it because it's all flavored.

 

[Elaine]

Why would you want to make your dog hold it longer if you are home anyway? The only time I expect my dogs to hold it that long is when I'm at work, otherwise they go out every 2-4 hours like most dogs.

 

[butch33611]

When im home and Sarge comes to me and wants out, he goes no matter how many times it is. Mostly he wants out because he sees a squrrel in his yard and he just cant live with that!!! lol

If he can be a good boy while im at work and wait till I get home to go and potty the least I can do is return the favor by giving him more freedom while im at home.

So why do you want you dog not to go out so much???

 

[Chris Wild]

I agree with the others. I don't see how the dog wanting to potty every 3-4 hours would be abnormal or a major issue.

We need our dogs to hold it longer when we're gone to work, but when we're home they get out fairly often.

 

[pinkanml]

I know Vladimir, he will wake her up in the middle of the night to go pee, though he is totally healthy.

I think he's fine when she's gone all day and he's crated, though I'm not 100% sure as there is often someone home to let him out when she's not there anyway. It's just that he's never gone through the night without a potty break.

And my dogs are some of the ones she is referring to, actually. When home, I let them out every 2-4 hours, but I'm gone up to 10 hours during the week and they don't have accidents unless sick. Last week I was caught in that major ice storm, and didn't get home until 11pm. The dogs hadn't been out since 7am and still held it. I was hoping while stuck in traffic that they would just go pee/poop on the floor rather than hold it for 16 hours, but lo and behold, they held it in until I got home.

So I don't *make* them only go 2-3 times a day (usually 4-5 times a day), but they have no problems if that's all they have on some days. I also can sleep in until noon if I want with no one bothering me to go out. If someone had to go, I'd get up and let them, but if they're happy to hold it, I'm happy to sleep late. I'm not *really* lazy but I have to actually get decent and walk them as I have only a small unfenced front yard with a lot of foot traffic past it, so if I can put it off, especially now when its cold out, I do.

I think the little guy just has a small bladder. The cutie is only half the size of my dogs, so I wouldn't blame him for needing to go a lot.