My Puppy Pees A Lot…Is It Normal? [A Puppy Potty Schedule]

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Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of puppy pee pee poo poo questions here on the blog.

Of course, pee and poop go hand in hand with potty training, crate training, and puppies in general so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by all the poop I’m hearing.

QUICK RECOMMENDATION: We highly recommend crate training your puppy. We love our MidWest Life Stages Double Door Crate w/ Divider and use it with all of our puppies in training.

By the way, much of what I hear is about whether or not “this” or “that” is normal for a puppy.

For instance, the other day someone emailed me saying: “My puppy pees a lot…I mean a lot, a lot…Is that normal?”

Unfortunately, that was the end of the question and I have no idea what “a lot” actually means.  Please define “a lot”

QUICK ACCESS: If you’re having puppy training problems then you should join our Puppy Training Tips email list and get instant access to our New Puppy Owner Checklist PDF. To get started CLICK HERE.

Does My Puppy Pee “A Lot”?

As defined in the Free Dictionary:

a lot [noun]

1. a lot or lots Informal
   1. a large, extent, amount, or number: is in a lot of trouble; has lots of friends

I know what you’re thinking: Okay smart ass (referring to Colby) we know what “a lot” literally means, but obviously when it comes to the statement “My puppy pees a lot…” we are looking for more detail.

If you don’t have exact numbers on when your puppy normally pees and poops then consider keeping a puppy potty schedule.

What are we looking for in a Puppy Potty Schedule?

Of course, we want details on when your puppy pees and poops, but this is not all we want in our puppy potty journal.

We also want to know when your puppy eats his meals, drinks water, sleeps, plays, works on his training, etc.  The more details the better.

QUICK RECOMMENDATION: For the past few years we’ve been feeding our puppies Wellness Core Puppy Formula.

What happens is you’ll notice your puppy sticks to routines and schedules.

Based on when your puppy eats, sleeps, drinks, plays will also determine when he will pee and poop.

QUICK TIP: Start your puppy potty schedule today and keep track for the next week. See if you notice a pattern.

Did you notice your puppy poops within 10 minutes of his morning meal?

Did your puppy pee within the first 5 minutes of playtime?

Did your puppy pee immediately after waking up from his afternoon nap?

Puppy pee and poop are very predictable when you keep a puppy potty schedule.

Here’s a hypothetical example of an 8-10 week old puppy potty schedule:

Puppy Potty Schedule

QUICK RECOMMENDATION: If this is your first puppy or if you need a brush up on your puppy training skills we highly recommend reading Puppies for Dummies. It will give you a good foundation on how to raise and train a puppy. In fact, Puppies for Dummies is the first puppy book I read before bringing home my rescue pup, Linus.

How Often Should My Puppy Pee And Poop?

Okay, folks did you total everything up?  If you’re not keeping score then I have a tally for you:

1. Pee = 24 times a day
2. Poop = 6 times a day

Does that sound like “a lot”?

Based on the last half dozen or so puppies we raised this is a fairly normal puppy potty schedule.

Every puppy is a little different and depending on how much more or less you exercise your puppy, how much more or less your puppy eats/drinks will both play factors in how much and how often your puppy has to potty.

I’d like to reiterate, that the above table is a hypothetical for an 8-10 week old puppy.

As your puppy gets older he will have better control of his bladder and bowel movements.

These numbers will slowly decrease as your puppy increases in age.

Your puppy’s potty schedule will most certainly be different than the one above, but you’ll notice as you put together your own puppy potty journal that there is definitely some predictability when it comes to when your puppy will pee and poop.

QUICK RECOMMENDATION: We recently started training our puppies to alert us when they have to go potty by using a potty training doorbell called the Smart Bell. It requires a little bit of training, but it’s a good alternative to your dog scratching up the backdoor.

What do you think?

Have you put together a puppy potty schedule?

Do you know approximately when your puppy will pee and poop?

Tell us about your experiences and let us know if you have any puppy potty training tips in the comment section below.

That brings us to the next question: How long will it take to potty train my puppy?

We have tons of great puppy training tips throughout our blog organized on our training page.

However, if you’re looking for a good book to help you with puppy training basics please check out Puppies for Dummies.

We recommended it earlier and wanted to mention it again because it’s a great puppy basics book and also a quick and easy read.

Good luck with your puppy potty schedule! Let us know if you have any questions.

By the way, remember that I’m not your vet so if you think you’re puppy is having bowel problems or issues with bladder control then please visit your veterinarian for a thorough health examination of your puppy.

Top Picks For Our Puppies

1. BEST PUPPY TOY
   We Like: Calmeroos Puppy Toy w/ Heartbeat and Heat Packs - Perfect for new puppies. Helps ease anxiety in their new home.
2. BEST DOG CHEW
   We Like: Mighty Paw Naturals Bully Sticks - All of our puppies love to bite, nip, and chew. We love using Bully Sticks to help divert these unwanted behaviors.
3. BEST DOG TREATS
   We Like: Crazy Dog Train-Me Treats - We use these as our high-value treats for our guide dog puppies.
4. BEST FRESH DOG FOOD
   We Like: The Farmer's Dog - A couple months ago we started feeding Raven fresh dog food and she loves it! Get 50% off your first order of The Farmer's Dog.

Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist.