Good evening, all - I had a (hopefully quick) question which does not have a set answer.

Nikolai hit his 16 week (gotta fix my age ticker) mark today. He ultimately understands that outside is where he needs to go to do his thing, but he seems to have quite a few 'accidents', which have isolated themselves to the door leading to the back yard. He only half grasp the concept of vocally letting us know when he needs to go outside, but we're working on that.

I read forever ago about a puppy's ability to hold it for X hours based on Y weeks (a relatively subjective guideline IMO). Nikolai also seems to have the ability to pee twice as much as he drinks anywhere between ten to thirty minutes after consumption. Based upon my research on the topic prior to posting from multiple sources, I am greeted by the same repetitive answers.

Nikolai does not have a UTI, nor does he have a birth defect. He does not 'leak' - he simply assumes the position and opens the floodgates. His water is regulated when the evening winds down. He is also given multiple opportunities to pee outside, to which he will pee a lake (and on uncommon occasions will come back inside only to pee another lake in front of the door).




TL;DR - Nikolai does not have any medical issues and pees WAY too much WAY too often. Is this a product of him still developing, and if so, what would be a good ballpark figure as to when his bladder will toughen up? Also based on what was stated - is the "puppy should be able to hold X hours for Y weeks old" model too subjective of a guideline?

Thanks again, y'all... and remember - it's a headache err... husky thing.

A puppy won't gain full control over his or her bladder until around 6 months old.

The rule isn't "X hours for Y weeks" it's "X hours for Y MONTHS" and it is a very very loose guideline as all dogs and puppies are different.

A 4 month old puppy i would be taking out at max every 2 and a half hours. I'm extremely cautious. Though with regulated water (which for a puppy I don't really suggest) could probably go 3-4. Puppies also have to go out right when they wake up from every nap and after each time they eat/drink or play.

Hope that helps! Just sounds like a puppy that isn't being taken out and understands to go to the door to go potty but the humans aren't reacting fast enough.

Oh boy welcome to my club lol. I had Balon tested for uti and other things too, he has no physical problem. He is 5 months and still has at least 1 accident a day if not more, I am attributing some of this to the beginnings of "marking" and my vet said he is mature enough to be neutered and this will be done on Friday (I know some of you do it much later but my vet said he will be just fine). Balon does not leak when sleeping or any other time. And he has never pooped in the house.

Some of what he does is walking around and "spritzing a bit here and there" ie marking. Other times he goes to the front door and just lets it go. I bought potty bells since he was not letting us know by barking or making a sound, (or coming to us and staring at us like my 1 year old lab does lol). But he barely touches the bells so it still isn't heard.

The best thing I have found is limiting his water intake. I offer water both times he is fed, and small amounts throughout the day, but he does not have access to a full water bowl all day long. And he gets no water after 8pm since he also pees in his crate. We also keep a short leash on him and he is where someone is at all times. We have to watch him like a hawk and take him out about every 45 minutes more if he gets excited playing or when he gets up from sleeping.

I have read that huskys can be hard to housebreak, don't know if that is true. I am just being really patient with him and hoping this too shall pass.

Good luck to you, he is adorable~!

Sounds like typical behavior to me. It can get very tough when a puppy is this young. When we first got Cato he was 10 weeks. He peed after every playtime (even if it was just rolling around on the floor) every nap, every meal and then we took him out every hour on top of that. We had to do this until 5 months and he could finally go two hours without having to pee. At night, we had him in our room with a smaller water bowl, so he always had access, but he could go 2 - 3 hours when sleeping. He is on our schedule so night time meant sleeping. He didn't even wake us up to go, we have to wake him. Lots of alarm use going on those nights. Now, at 6 months, he wakes us up when he needs to go and rarely has accidents. He can go 4 - 5 hours comfortably, but we still take him out at least every 2 hours.

I would not suggest limiting water during the day, especially during the summer. Puppies are very busy little guys and you do not want to take the chance of them getting dehydrated. I have never restricted access during the day, I just have to go out with them a lot. At night, Cato gets a much smaller bowl of water, but I still don't take it away. Very rarely does he even drink any, but I want it there just in case.

You may want to try potty bells so that you can hear him when he needs to go out. I know this has worked for many people, especially until the dog figures out how to wake you up, or get your attention. As you know, with huskies, they figure it out and will woo at you

Good luck dear!

Puppies, unlike humans, don't think about having to go to the bathroom until they actually have to go. For very young puppies that means have to go like NOW. So by the time you recognize the signs that a young puppy needs to go its already a problem (this will improve with age somewhat).

The best thing I can recommend is to establish a very specific routine for potty breaks and stick to it. For example, your puppy should go out before he goes to sleep, when he wakes up, and after every meal. In addition to these times, he should go out say every 1 1/2 to 2 hours (adjust as needed). Stick too it no matter what. This way your puppy will learn that he can count on going out to potty at these times and he will be more likely to wait for outside time. (BTW this is the same technique I used to potty train my daughter! Husky's are so much like toddlers. )

I should probably have made more clear what I mean by limiting water, Balon would drink 3 gallons of water everytime if I let him lol, he isn't outside except for a walk late evening due to our extreme heat. I was told by my vet to withhold water after 8 because he was/is peeing in his crate at night, even with us getting up twice to take him out. He is given water many times during the day, just smaller amounts, I sure don't want anyone to think he has a completely empty bowl all the time, it just isn't completely filled up. I think they come equipped with super soakers, I know Balon did lol.

Again, good luck.....

Thanks for the clarification y'all.
I figured as much based on your responses - just confirming my speculations for my own sanity.

In regards to limiting water - I only practice this around 8:30-9:00, so it's not as if he's being completely denied any (for the record) or that action to get him outside isn't taken fast enough.

He has a knack for waiting until nobody is looking, and it takes no more than two seconds for him to pop a squat.