# 9 wk Puppy Drinking Too Much Water?



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

Hello I have a 9 week Puppy & she consumes 16 oz of water 3 times a day(she is fed 3x a day each time she drinks 16oz. of water and still licks for more but i dont give more at that point).. which is about 6 cups and she weighs around 15lbs


We also walk 3 times a day after she eats/drinks we go for a 1 mile walk

--her stomach also gets really huge afterwards, then shortly goes back to normal as the day progresses.. I take her out to release herself every 2/3 hrs.. she don't really make any potty mistakes in the house only if she is crated and I take her out then she will pee out of excitement. other than that great pup

thanks guys


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

guess no one knows the answer to that question. so I'll present another. 

How do you get a puppy to stop peeing when you are opening the door to the crate? or when you are about to pick them up? or when you are about to put a leash on? hopefully some one has an answer to this question 

if she is just out in a room she won't pee she will just hold it.. but the second you go to pick her up to take her out, or if you try to put a leash on her to take her out she will pee.... you cant just go to the door and try to get her to follow you, she isn't the kind of puppy that follows you.. regardless if you are patting your thighs and calling her name and trying to get her attention she will continue doing w.e. it is that she is doing

only thing I can think of is reducing her water intake... she is close to only getting water in the morning at this point... unless some one has a better idea here.. but the peeing has to stop because my wife is already ready for her to go but im trying my hardest to think of ways to prevent her from peeing out of fear.. thats what I call it because these aren't accidents... she knows to hold it and she does hold it... until the things I mentioned above happens


----------



## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

Hi InControlK9,


We fostered a young dog for a while, in her former home her water bowl frequently went empty and probably wasn't refilled often. Whenever I put a fresh bowl down, she attacked it and drained the entire thing. Reasonable attempts to restrict her water intake escalated the problem and made her more frantic to get at it. It took about a month of continually providing fresh water before she started to relax and stop draining the entire bowl. Once she realized that there would *always* be plenty of fresh water available, she stopped the panicked water guzzling and consumed it at a normal rate. Bottom line - only offering water in the morning isn't healthy, and it's unsafe, especially during summer.


I'll let some of the excellent puppy raisers chime in here, but thought I'd bump your thread. If you do a forum search for "submissive urination" or "submissive peeing" I'm sure you'll find some good advice that may give you more insight.


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

WIBackpacker said:


> Hi InControlK9,
> 
> 
> We fostered a young dog for a while, in her former home her water bowl frequently went empty and probably wasn't refilled often. Whenever I put a fresh bowl down, she attacked it and drained the entire thing. Reasonable attempts to restrict her water intake escalated the problem and made her more frantic to get at it. It took about a month of continually providing fresh water before she started to relax and stop draining the entire bowl. Once she realized that there would *always* be plenty of fresh water available, she stopped the panicked water guzzling and consumed it at a normal rate. Bottom line - only offering water in the morning isn't healthy, and it's unsafe, especially during summer.
> ...



thanks ill definitely look that up the vet said sounds like "submissive urination" .. & I wasn't literally going to just give water in the morning that was frustration typing lol but Ill try out just leaving the water bowl full all day hopefully she don't keep drinking and drinking and bloating thats my fear


----------



## NYCgsd (Apr 23, 2016)

InControlK9 said:


> guess no one knows the answer to that question. so I'll present another.
> 
> How do you get a puppy to stop peeing when you are opening the door to the crate? or when you are about to pick them up? or when you are about to put a leash on? hopefully some one has an answer to this question
> 
> ...


Hmm, the only thing I can think of is put the crate right by your outside door. As soon as she comes out the crate make her go outside and pee. Or, take her out the crate more frequently. A lot of these problems will work themselves out with time. I have a 5 month old, it took her a while to get acclimated to my routine.


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

NYCgsd said:


> Hmm, the only thing I can think of is put the crate right by your outside door. As soon as she comes out the crate make her go outside and pee. Or, take her out the crate more frequently. A lot of these problems will work themselves out with time. I have a 5 month old, it took her a while to get acclimated to my routine.


she is only in her crate when I go to bed which is around midnight.. til when I wake up which is around 6-7am

sometimes I even get out of bed around 3am just to take her out and when she hear me unlatching the kennel door she will pee (im thinking to myself damnit you held it all night and now im trying to take you out and you pee)

I guess it will just take time she will be 11 weeks on Thursday.. I hope my wife can last that long though lol.. we just bought this new house and its starting to smell like urine my wife is livid


----------



## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Max as a young pup always drank tons of water it was drink- pee- drink- pee all the time. After talking with our vet she said it was okay not to leave water out all the time.lour vet said it would be very difficult to potty train him if we did give him unlimited access to water as he was such a big drinker. I was home with my pup so I offered water very often throughout the day such as when let out of crAte and went potty, after play time, during meAls, when seemed thirsty we would give him-he would let us know and sit near the sink and look at the faucet and then near fridge as we only give him bottled water, and cut it off early evening. Eventually when he had control of his bladder he then had free access to water. If you are going to restrict wAter you have to make sure you are offering it to your pup often through out the day- and yes especially in this heat.

And white vinegar removes/prevents any urine odor. Our pup never had a mistake in the same spot. If it was an area rug I would blot up excess urine then Drench with vinegar blot-used many paper towels then use laundry detergent and water to scrub making every thing smell fresh. No urine smells at all. Vinegar is also great to use on woods floors.


----------



## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

InControlK9 said:


> I guess it will just take time she will be 11 weeks on Thursday.. *I hope my wife can last that long though lol.. we just bought this new house and its starting to smell like urine my wife is livid*



Buy this (not the generic stuff from the grocery store):


https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Miracle-Stain-Remover-24-Ounce/dp/B0002XI6S8


There's no reason for your house to smell offensive. You should probably start mentally preparing yourself to coach some patience into your wife. The more calm and consistent you both are, the easier the next few months will be. 


If you're dedicated to your puppy but your wife isn't not as "into" the dog as you are, don't make a big deal out of it. Don't even talk about it or complain out loud, just clean up the messes and wipe down all surfaces with enzyme cleaner.


----------



## Malachi'sMama (Jun 10, 2013)

Worth mentioning but at 9wks or 10wks, etc puppies do not have control over the muscles that keep their bladders closed yet. It's part of having a puppy. I can't say whether the peeing is a result of her bladder being overfull when you go to pick her up or if she's having a fear reaction to being approached to go outside. I don't know why she would be unless she's been scolded for having accidents-which at that age she really can't control. 

Also, eating dry food increases a pups/dogs thirst. They need water to digest the hard kibble properly. Not sure where you're located, but walks..even short ones..in heat like much of the country's experiencing right now will only add to her level of thirst. 

My two suggestions would be:
1. Monitor how much she is drinking and call your vet to grt his/her opinion on whether it's a normal amount. 

2. Anytime I had a pup drink water, I'd wait maybe 10-30min at most before taking it outside to go. Yeah we spent A LOT of time outside in those first few months, but it always worked well for me. 

Best of luck!


----------



## NYCgsd (Apr 23, 2016)

InControlK9 said:


> she is only in her crate when I go to bed which is around midnight.. til when I wake up which is around 6-7am
> 
> sometimes I even get out of bed around 3am just to take her out and when she hear me unlatching the kennel door she will pee (im thinking to myself damnit you held it all night and now im trying to take you out and you pee)
> 
> I guess it will just take time she will be 11 weeks on Thursday.. I hope my wife can last that long though lol.. we just bought this new house and its starting to smell like urine my wife is livid


I would scream at the top of my lungs NO NO NO, pick up the pup and take her outside. I know the feeling. The pee smell is nasty. You know if they smell pee on the floor or in the house they will think that peeing in the house is ok, so make sure you triple clean wherever she pees so it wont smell. It will get better over time, the first few months is the hard part. I never really had a huge issue with the peeing because when I picked her up at 8 weeks old she was wee pad trained. I had a problem with the biting.


----------



## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

Screaming at a baby is pointless. That's what a puppy this age is. Until housebroken, we were outside every 30-45 minutes (unless crated) during the day, and I set an alarm and took him out every 2-3 hours at night until he let me know that he didn't need the middle of the night trip. Then I took him out around 4 am.

He was completely housebroken at 12 weeks and hasn't had an accident since, except for a bout of diarrhea while I was away from the house (I don't hold that against him and it didn't effect his being housebroken).


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

well it's 7:46am.. I just got back from taking her out... guess what.. she held it all night long.. yay.. soon as I unlatched the crate and she came out I seen a huge wet spot on the kennel tray... Yepp.. she was peeing again as I was opening the kennel door :frown2:

my routine is to just open the door to her kennel then quickly open the door that leads outside and she runs outside.. then I leash her once outside.. because I know she will pee soon as i leash her... and what do u know... soon as I put her leash on she peed again.. at least we were already outside :wink2:


----------



## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

Are you giving any kind of treats when she does go potty outside. I have an 11 1/2 week old pup and she definitely has the mental capacity to understand outside = treats inside = NO NO BAD PUPPY. And whisking her outside to finish potty. Maybe instead of leaving her in her crate for hours while you sleep try working her during the day. Close the door wait 5 minutes open it remove if no urine treat and day good. Do this until she gets what you want from her. Same with leash.


----------



## girardid (Aug 13, 2015)

its pretty rare that a nine week old will hold it all night. I let my pup wake me and took him out when he whined. Also he used to frantically drain the bowl too when he was young but has slowed down as he aged. IF you want her to stop peeing as soon as you open the door you should take her out more frequently. She is either holding it because she does not want to go in her crate and you are making her wait too long so she goes as soon as you open the door. Or she is just getting too excited and accidentally peeing in which case again you need to just take her out more often. 
What is her schedule right now?


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

girardid said:


> its pretty rare that a nine week old will hold it all night.


it wasn't literally all night.. she was taken out at like 3am. so it was actually from 3am-7am that she was in the crate. I'm not sure about you guys but if im already taking her out every 2 hrs during the day... I don't think it's unreasonable for me to have her in the crate from 3am-7am while I actually get some rest



girardid said:


> IF you want her to stop peeing as soon as you open the door you should take her out more frequently.


That's not the issue. she goes out every 2hrs. throughout the day. She is peeing out of excitement YAY he is here to take me out.. pee... YAY he is putting on the leash.. pee



girardid said:


> What is her schedule right now?


7am- take her out to release herself ..then I feed her food & water

then we walk around the neighborhood

by the time all of this is done it's usually about 8:30 so the next time I take her out is around 10-10:30am

(she is not crated during the day and she don't urinate in the house while being out and playing... UNTIL I go to put the leash on)

10:30AM I take her out again to release herself.. she don't pee much because at this point she already did in the house when I leashed her.. we walk around a bit and come back in the house

12 Noon- I take her out again.. same thing as above.. this time I feed her and give her some more water and we go on the same walk again... come back around 1pm

3pm we are back in the backyard again.. this time she actually poops (stools are solid)

5pm is when I take her out again and give food and water for the last time of the day.. and we take our walk again

7pm I let the kids take her out and play (I don't really let my kids out until the sun is starting to set because it's just too hot here this time of year

10/10:30pm I take her out again.. same as above... she would have either peed from me putting leash on her/or by this time I would have tried a diff. route than leashing in the house I would try to just have her walk outside on her own....but like always she don't and she runs to a place in the house where she isn't allowed and gets on our favorite carpet that's when the wife panics thinking she will urinate on it so I go to grab her to take her out and BAM.. starts peeing while Im carrying her outside

this is the reason the house has the odor of urine.. not necessarily from her squatting and peeing in the house... from excitement of being leashed/ excitement of being taken out of the crate/ fear from being picked up to be taken out <-- if I can fix those 3 areas I think she will be close to potty trained... she never just squats and pees in the house 

12:30/1am I take her out again.. and we just hang out outside a bit.... it's really peaceful and quiet at this time.. 


on some nights this will be her last time going out for the day/night... other times if I'm not tired I will take her out 1 last time before I call it a night which would be around 2:30am/3am

then I get back up at 7am and repeat everything above.. this is our every day routine.. I work from home so I'm always here and able to keep up with this schedule


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

cdwoodcox said:


> Are you giving any kind of treats when she does go potty outside.


No. I do praise her though.. I say 'YES' (which is what I use instead of a clicker so she knows YES is something good/rewarding except in this case its not a treat) and then I rub her behind the ears real playfully while saying good girl 




cdwoodcox said:


> Close the door wait 5 minutes open it remove if no urine treat and day good. Do this until she gets what you want from her. Same with leash.



Ill try this. thanks


----------



## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

I would limit her water intake. I had a pup that drank entire bowls of water then constantly peed. My vet told me to take the water up over night. 

My most current pup, who is almost 2 years now, also drank entire bowls of water. I limited her water, by putting a few ounce of water in her bowl at a time. I think your pup pees as soon as you open the crate, because she cannot hold it for one more second. She drinks so much water and has held it for as long as she can. Now you open the crate and she really needs to go - so she does.

You can discuss this with your vet, but I would definitely limit her water intake. This is not a situation where it was a learned response from not having water. This is puppy drinking too much water.


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

Stevenzachsmom said:


> I think your pup pees as soon as you open the crate, because she cannot hold it for one more second. She drinks so much water and has held it for as long as she can. Now you open the crate and she really needs to go - so she does.


I don't think this is the case but I'm going to do an experiment.. I'm going to take her outside because its about 10:30 & this is the time she goes out... when we come back in im going to put her in the crate for 20mins. then let her out... I'm willing to bet anything she pees in the crate while im opening it

we shall see lol.. be back later with an update.. it's experiment time


----------



## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

InControlK9 said:


> I don't think this is the case but I'm going to do an experiment.. I'm going to take her outside because its about 10:30 & this is the time she goes out... when we come back in im going to put her in the crate for 20mins. then let her out... I'm willing to bet anything she pees in the crate while im opening it
> 
> we shall see lol.. be back later with an update.. it's experiment time


But how much water has she already had to drink this morning? If a lot, I'm betting she WILL pee when you open the crate door. You need to experiment with limiting water intake as well.


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

Stevenzachsmom said:


> But how much water has she already had to drink this morning? If a lot, I'm betting she WILL pee when you open the crate door. You need to experiment with limiting water intake as well.


she drank 16 oz so far. 1 bottle of water


My issue is if she has to pee due to drinking too much water wouldn't she pee while being in the house running around and playing? she can run around and play for 2-3hrs without peeing but if she is in the crate for 20mins she pees the second im trying to open the door? something isn't adding up

*Update with the leashing issue*.. I think I solved it for the time being... If I leash her while she is at her food /water bowl.. she won't pee because she isn't really paying any attention to me while im attaching it :grin2:


----------



## InControlK9 (Sep 23, 2013)

UPDATE soooo good thing I didn't bet anything lol she did NOT pee in the crate this time and her ears went up today.. sign of maturity? lol hope so

fingers crossed for no more errors today


----------



## whitneyk1719 (Dec 2, 2015)

Well if you have any more accidents in the future, try training her that picking up and being put on leash is a good thing. Do it multiple times in a row and when she does not pee treat and praise her. If she is peeing in her crate then she may have too much room to move around. We bought Baron a crate that would fit him at his full adult size but it came with a divider that we used to block off the excess space. He only needs room to stand up, lay down, and turn around. They will not pee or poo where they sleep unless given too much space. I am a definite believer in vinegar. You may want to look up the ratios on diluting it with water though! The vinegar will still take out the smell and it will not be as harsh on whatever surface you use it on since it is very acidic. I clean Baron's crate once a week with it and my hard wood floors. As far as your wife getting frustrated, totally understand. We just bought our house in December and while it is not new construction, it was gutted and completely remodeled. Just keep in mind she is a puppy, she is growing and learning and as long as you stick to the potty time schedule she will adjust and you may never have an accident again. The frustrations in the beginning are worth it in the long haul. Good luck!


----------



## MoxyPup (Jun 12, 2016)

I found that my pup's accidents coming out of the crate were actually my fault. I would say "let's go potty" as I was opening the crate door. At 9 weeks she already went on command. So I was saying "potty" and she was following my command. As soon as I stopped saying that as I opened the crate, she held it all the way outside.


----------



## Suzy25 (Mar 3, 2016)

A mile walk sounds like an awful lot for a 9 week old puppy, maybe thats just my opinion, or i'm used to km since i live in Canada which is longer than mile I believe? I didn't think puppies were even meant to have walks at that age? 

Anywho hopefully she grows out of it, it sounds like she's getting better already


----------



## msk (May 12, 2016)

My puppy drank a ton of water when he was young (he's 6 months now and still drinks a fair amount). And so did his littermates. I think it's normal to drink a lot of water and from the vets I've spoken with about this, you shouldn't limit a puppy's water access or intake. Puppies' kidneys don't function as well as an adult and limiting a puppy's water is not good for them especially not in the summer months when it's hot and humid.


----------



## msk (May 12, 2016)

Also, I wouldn't feed a puppy and then take it out for exercise/play. GSDs are prone to bloat and feeding followed by exercise can be a factor in bloat. Feed after play/walks.


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

msk said:


> Also, I wouldn't feed a puppy and then take it out for exercise/play. GSDs are prone to bloat and feeding followed by exercise can be a factor in bloat. Feed after play/walks.


They shouldn't be fed or extreme water intake 45-60 minutes before OR after exercise. My guys eat once a day in the warmer months because of this. They eat about 10pm daily and are done for the night. Any other schedule doesn't work, because they would never get to exercise, swim, hike with my work schedule.


----------



## msk (May 12, 2016)

You can't feed a puppy only once a day though. It'll gobble up its kibble too fast from being hungry all day, and eat way too much in one session (which are also factors for bloat ...)


----------

