How Often Should I Walk My Dog to Pee?

Dog owners often schedule bathroom trips after their dogs:

• Wake up
• Eat
• Drink 
• Play

Other than that, there are signs you shouldn't ignore—especially when your dog starts circling or sniffing. These are nothing but indicators that they need to pee.

Time to get the answer to the frantically Googled question, “How often should I walk my dog to pee?”

Jump in!

Why Pee Breaks Matter More Than You Think

Dogs do speak—not in the same language as humans do. The dog's language is all about the way they behave and interact. As a responsible pet owner, you need to learn and understand the language, those gestures and signs your dog shows to ask for a pee break. But is the effort all about saving expensive Persian rugs? Not at all. 

Your dog needs to be saved from serious health issues, including UTIs, bladder stones, and kidney infections that result from storing urine for long periods. Other than serious concerns, if your dog stays anxious all the time, this is the time you create a regular pee schedule and ensure comfort and relaxation. 

Coming to the question, ‘how often should you walk your dog to pee?’.

Your dog's age will tell how much control they've over their bladder. 2-3 month old puppies, and even senior dogs, having decreased bladder control, expect to visit the elimination space every 2-3 hours. As for adults, pee breaks should be after 5-6 hours. 

How Often Should I Walk My Dog to Pee at Night? 

To create a deep understanding and a profound bond, it's a prime responsibility to take care of your canine pal's midnight bathroom needs. Here’s the dog potty schedule by age:

Nighttime pee breaks highly depend on the meals your dog consumes during the day as well at night. If your dog often eats meals in late-night hours, even if adult, have to pee every once in an hour or two. 

You might need to create a pee schedule for your little puppy in order to protect your clean floors and bed covers. Schedule should be as per your dog's age:

• 1 Month puppy: Pee Tour after every 1 Hour
• 2 Month puppy: Pee Tour after every 2 Hours
• Three-Month-Old Puppy: Pee tour after every 3 Hours

It might burden you in the beginning, but after a little while, your dog will be able to independently manage the nighttime pee visits. 

How Long Can Dogs Hold Their Pee? (And When You Shouldn’t Push Their Limits!)

Adult dogs can hold their pee for longer hours (9-10), but you shouldn’t test their limits unless you want them to have urinary problems. Also, pushing your puppies’ bladder control limits only means as if you're allowing them to ruin your freshly mopped floors. 

This doesn't end here. These limits will affect your dog’s bladder muscles negatively, weakening their ability to hold pee for no more than 2-4 hours as they age.  An unpopular opinion that oddly makes sense is that you should make your dog drink more (fresh) water during the day to ensure hydration. 

This will create a balance between their pee breaks without making them feel dehydrated during the day and night. Instead of putting water in their container for the whole day, consider using smart water fountains that ensure your dog gets fresh water whenever they feel dried out. 

How to Tell If Your Dog Needs an Urgent Potty Break?

It's all about understanding body language!

If your dog is behaving oddly, sniffing corners and trying to find a space where they can eliminate, it's better you take them to the right place to relieve themselves. 

Even restless behavior and sudden out-zoning during normal activities refer to the need for a pee break. If your dog scratches the doors in desperation or makes soft voices just to get your attention, you should take those vocal and expressive hints as the ‘bladder-relieve time’. 

If you fail to understand these clear indicators, your dog might get renal dysfunction issues due to holding pee for too long. 

If your dog's body language is too hard to understand, just create a proper dog potty schedule by age. Invest in a smart feeder just to ensure proper mealtime and potty breaks so you won't have to struggle while sticking to your canine companion's pee schedule. 

How to Handle Pee Breaks on Road Trips or Long Travels

Second to comfort and safety, regular pee breaks are a must to consider while traveling with your dog. 

Dogs, regardless of age, require a pee break every 2-4 hours during long road trips or travels. Preventive measures include: Instead of letting your dog overeat during the long trips, resulting in more frequent potty breaks, make sure to use smart automated options such as automatic wifi pet feeders. Keep one with you while traveling, and you won't regret the decision. 

FAQS 

Q1: How many times should I walk my dog to pee?

A: For healthy bladder development, you must take your dog for a pee walk once every 5 hours. If that sounds too much, train your dog to pee at a specific space, and they'll have pee breaks on their own. 

Q2: How long can dogs hold their pee for?

A: Not more than 10 hours, only if they've a strong bladder. In case of puppies and senior dogs, the pee-holding limit won't pass even 5 hours. Holding urine doesn't just cause bladder issues, it makes your dog anxious and stressed. 

Q3: Is 2 walks a day enough for a dog?

A: 2 walks of 30 minutes are enough for most dog breeds. But for high-energy breeds, walking and overall activity duration should be more than 60 minutes. 

Q4: What is the best potty schedule for dogs?

A: The ideal dog potty schedule by age is all about taking care of the 3 most crucial times: meals, playing time, and sleep. After all of these daily rituals, you must take your dog for a pee break. 

Final Words

The healthier the bladder is, the happier your pup will be. 

It's all about strictly sticking to a proper dog potty schedule by age and training your puppy till they enter senior years and develop stronger bladder muscles. 

So, how often should you walk your dog to pee? Goal is their comfort and happiness. Just look whenever they're nervous or showing small gestures, take them for a quick walk to the excretory space. 

Those restless movements ruining your sleep at night might have left you questioning, ‘How often should I walk my dog to pee at night?’. Instead of going through the same struggles by waking at night again and again to help your adult dog pee, try a smart solution.