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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.

Does your puppy pee a lot? Check out our Puppy Potty Schedule
Does your puppy pee a lot? Check out our Puppy Potty Schedule

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.

Puppies need a potty schedule. Just ask Archer.
Puppies need a potty schedule. Just ask Archer.

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

TIMEDESCRIPTIONPEE/POOP
7:00amPuppy wake up. Take to potty spotPee Only
7:15amFeed puppy (drinks water).  After eating take to potty spot.Pee and Poop
7:30amTake puppy for walk.  Pee’s before and after walkPee (2)
8-10amPuppy Sleep…YAY! 
10:00amPuppy up from nap.  Take to potty spot.Pee and Poop
10:15amPuppy training (drinks water). Take to potty spot every 5-10 mins.Pee (2)
10:30-12:30Puppy Sleep…YAY! 
12:30pmPuppy wakes up from nap.  Take to potty spot.Pee Only
12:45pmFeed puppy (drinks water). Take to potty spot.Pee and Poop
1:00pmPuppy play (drinks water). Take to potty spot every 5-10 mins.Pee (3)
 1:30-3:30Puppy Sleep…YAY! 
3:30pmPuppy wakes up from nap.  Take to potty spot.Pee and Poop
3:45pmPuppy training (drinks water).  Take to potty spot every 5-10 minsPee (2)
 4-6pmPuppy Sleep…YAY! 
6:00pmPuppy wakes up from nap.  Take to potty spot.Pee Only
6:15pmFeed puppy (drinks water). Take to potty spot.Pee and Poop
6:30pmTake puppy for walk.  Pee’s before and after walkPee (2)
 7-9pmPuppy Sleep…YAY! 
9:00pmPuppy wakes up from nap.  Take to potty spot.Pee Only
9:15pmPuppy play (drinks water). Take to potty spot every 5-10 mins.Pee (3)
10:00pmOne final chance to get it all out before bed time!Pee and Poop!

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. Poop6 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.

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little puppy going potty on gravel
My puppy pees a lot!? Is it normal? Check out our puppy potty schedule.

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.

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80 Comments

  1. I have almost 8wk doodle. Mini
    8 15 am poop and pee out. 741 pe out 800 eat. Raw chi Ken, pureecarrot or pumpkin. 818 p out sleep 930 po and p out
    930 out
    938 house
    945 house
    10 house. Continue all day also licks after peeing. She pees in bed all night as crate has been impossible
    Took to holistic, gave holistic suffer, but no change.dang breeder over vaccinated at 6 weeks, vet thinks could be contributing. She plays with my woosy year old amstaff. I stop her and bring her out . Success comes in and pees again
    Uccsometimes succ but still comes in amd pees again. Looks like complete emptying

  2. Thanks for posting the tally. I saw another article that said an 8-week old puppy should pee once every three hours and started worrying that maybe my 8-week-old collie has a UTI. I’m glad to know that she probably doesn’t.

  3. This schedule is spot on to our new Basset pup (8weeks old), I was worried thinking she had a UTI, went to Vet for her shots, had a fecal and health check, she is perfectly healthy.
    Thank you for this article, I was going to print it out and give it to my cousin, who will be dogsitting while we are on vacation on next month.

  4. Hi, I have a 14-week golden retriever puppy and he was peeing 25-30 times a day so we run several tests and the vet told me that the results do not show an infection, diabetes or kidney problems. During the last few days he pees 15 times a day which is still a lot according to the vet. Is it normal? could this be a behavioral issue related to house-training? We are going to run more tests to make sure he does not have a rare disease

  5. HI! My new puppy is 12 weeks old and he seems to be peeing constantly but only small little piddles. How do i get him to take bigger pees less frequent?

  6. My German shepherds poop was mushy and often all 13 years of his life. They have VERY sensitive stomachs and I’ve heard others say their shepherds have irritable bowel syndrome. What worked for me- meat, rice, veggies cooked in a pressure cooker with chicken or beef broth- not water. Sometimes he would get dry dog food if his poop was extra mushy or if he got diarrhea.
    Eventually you’ll figure out something that works well for yours. Good luck!

  7. Hi–My 8 week old puppy seems to be on the exact same schedule you shared above. When do I start extending the time between potty breaks while playing? Will she just start to exhibit fewer potty cues and naturally go longer than 5-10 minutes between potty breaks over time? It sounds like her urine frequency is normal right now (3-4 potty breaks every hour while awake and playing), but I’m having trouble figuring out when it will stop being normal or slow down.
    Thank you!

  8. Your puppy could just be regressing. I take a step back in his training and treat him like you just brought hime home at 10 weeks. Keep an eye on him 100% of the time in the house and take him out any time you see pre-potty activity like circling, sniffing, or squatting. Also, make sure you take him out first thing in the morning, after nap times, after eating, and every 10 minutes if he’s playing. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your training!

  9. I have a 17 week old Frenchie/pug mix. I got him around 10 weeks and after about a month he seemed to be taking to potty training (only a few accidents inside here and there). But now he has started peeing everywhere inside – carpet, tile, his bed, etc. even when I take him outside frequently and consistently. Sometimes he will pee 4-5 times within the hour. His vet ruled out kidney issues or infections. What do I do?? I’m starting to feel like he will never get it.

  10. Following the puppy potty schedule in the article is definitely helpful when potty training your puppy. If you’r puppy is having accidents in the house you may be giving him too much freedom when he’s in the house. We like keeping our puppies on leash by or side when they are young and don’t yet understand potty training. As they get older and have a better understanding of potty training as well as a stronger bladder we slowly start giving our puppy more freedom. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your training!

  11. Hi,

    We have a two month old goldendoodle puppy. He at first was going outside most of the time and then all of a sudden he has been peeing alot inside. Should I be following the schedule you put in this article? How do we discourage peeing in the apt?

  12. Elsa is the first puppy I’ve had that regularly poops twice in a row after she eats. Once you figure out this pattern it’s easy to avoid the second poop accident in the house. As far as mushy poop we add pumpkin as a topper for our pups. Elsa’s breeder gave us a few Weruva Pumpkin Patch Up (affiliate link) in her new puppy basket. We used all of them in the first few weeks to help get her poop to a regular consistency. When we need more than just a few packets we get a few cans of pumpkin from our local grocery store. If you buy from your grocery store just make sure the only ingredient is pumpkin. In the past we’ve used Libby’s 100% pure pumpkin. I hope that helps. Good luck with your puppy!

  13. 9 week old German Shepherd, male, pees twice every awake hour. Sometimes outside, sometimes on the pee pad in his crate of covering my rigs on the hardwoods. He poops twice after each meal. Not once but twice! It is often mush but the vet says he has no parasites. Put is fed 1 3/8 cup divided up in 2 scheduled feedings. Not people food. So it sounds he his schedule is what you are describing and I don’t need to fret like I am! LOL! Any thoughts of mushy poop?

  14. One thing you’ll want to do is to make sure you thoroughly clean up any potty accidents with an enzymatic cleaner. If your puppy can still smell the potty accidents he will be compelled to go in the same spot.

    Most puppies don’t have full control of their bladder at 10 weeks old. We’ve also had puppies have accidents due to urinary tract infections. If this is the case you’ll want to take your puppy to the veterinarian. Also, we usually notice this at a later age, but our puppies will also eventually start to mark.

  15. Hi!
    We have a 10 week old mini schnauzer (got him right at 6weeks old) and he is crate trained and does well peeing and pooping outside but he will come in and do little pee spots like every 15 minutes even tho I take him out quite often. (he does drink a lot but I know he CAN hold it because he does in he’s crate and when he sleeps with me at night) what would you suggest? Any tips? (I’ve been told bells on the door but I have toddler so that’s impossible to actually work for us haha)

  16. Since your puppy is already 12 weeks old there is a chance he may sleep through the night. If it were me I’d probably let him sleep and see if he can go through the night without a potty break. However, if you didn’t get him a potty break shortly before he went into his crate I would consider waking him up for a final potty break then break him straight back to the crate. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your puppy!

  17. Hello, it’s our first night with our new puppy, an almost 12 week old German shepherd mix. My question is whether we should wake him up right now so we can take him out of his crate to go pee one last time before we go to bed. He has been asleep since 7:30 pm and it is 10:30 pm right now. It was a long, exhausting and emotional day for him, so I’m not surprised he’s asleep. I hate to disturb him:/.

  18. We’ve raised a lot of puppies over the years and I can say we’ve never had one pee 7-10 times in a 15 minute span. You might want to have another vet check your puppy for a urinary tract infection or other medical condition. Also, if you haven’t already make sure you clean up all the accidents thoroughly with an enzymatic cleaner to remove the smell. Often times a puppy will want to potty in the same spot.

  19. My 15 week old pug just doesn’t stop peeing. She will literally pee 7-10 times in 15mins all over the house and it’s driving me insane. We constantly take her outside to a pee spot where she will pee/poop after a few minutes but as soon as we come back in she will start peeing all over the place again. I raised this with the vet and he just said ‘yes puppies pee a lot’, but i’ve had puppies before and never experienced this. Can it be normal?

  20. If you think your puppy has a health problem it’s best to consult with your veterinarian. That being said, I’ve had puppies pee 3 or more times in under a minute and it was normal behavior for them.

  21. I have a 6 week old puppy. He had his first set of shots august 22, 2020. Which was Saturday. I work in a dog grooming salon and he went pee and poop normally but then I had him running around the salon after hours and he peed three time within a 10 or less than 10 minute time frame and he has a worm belly. I have to go back in two weeks for his second round of shots and fecal and pee tests. Is it normal for him to pee like that?

  22. Hello. My puppy is 8wks old. He pees a lot, like every 5 – 10 min. I’ve never had a pup to pee this much. Is this normal? I’m afraid he may have a urinary tract infection. Please advise. Thx

  23. Congratulations on your new puppy! We love Aussies! Linus was an Aussie mix. Regarding your question: we never use puppy pads when working on potty training. One thing I’ve learned over the years is the more often you are able to get your puppy to potty in his regular potty spot the sooner he will understand that’s his spot to go. I don’t think it’s an issue to have the potty pads in the house, but I do think he will learn faster if you make sure you teach him to go regularly to his normal outdoor potty spot. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your puppy!

  24. Hi! My Aussie pup is 4 months May 8th. He is still wanting to use his puppy pads. I take him out often and make sure to schedule food and water and take him out every time he drinks water. Is it bad we keep the puppy pads out ? It helps when he randomly has the urge to go and goes on them pretty well, just want to make sure it doesn’t effect potty training for outdoors ? Thanks

  25. Hi, we have a 8.5 week old staffy pup. He is fed 4 times a day – 7-11-3-7. He goes in garden and pees/poops, he is having accidents in the house also. He will pee outside, be in for a little while and pee again, this seems to be worse in the evening. Sometimes when he goes out he will wee 3 times (is this normal)? Have read that you should put him out every 20 mins but doesn’t seem like I go that long sometimes, i am struggling to get it right. He always wees/poops outside hen we take him out .

  26. Congratulations on your new puppy! He’s still pretty young and you’ll definitely still have some mishaps as you work on his training. One thing I always preach is you need to be persistent, consistent, and patient with your puppy. I’ll warn you that we also usually notice some regression at around 6-8 months. As far as your puppy goes at his young age I’d still be getting him outside every time he wants to go out as long as he’s going potty when you take him out and continue to keep him outside longer to try and get everything out. Good luck with your puppy!

  27. My puppy is 4 months old. He’ll sleep from 7pm until 6am. I’m not complaining…he used to get me up every two hours! Now, following his taking care of business right after coming out of his crate, as soon as we get up the stairs, he wants to go back down to do #2 again. Then, when we return back up the stairs, 5 minutes later, he’ll want to go back down to do #1 again. I’ve tried staying out longer (doesn’t work) and ignoring him sitting at the gate to go downstairs (I end up angry and cleaning the floor). I’m happy he’s trained, but it seems as if he had this 73 y/o trained too! Suggestions?

  28. It can take a little longer for some puppies before they are potty trained. It could be that she was setback a little by the infection. If she’s still having problems with the pee outside then inside I would try monitoring her for the first 10-15 minutes when you get back inside and if you see any signs of her having to potty again like circling, sniffing, squatting, etc immediately bring her back outside to her potty spot. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your training!

  29. Hello! Thank you for the article! We have a 4 1/2 month old chocolate lab puppy who is having difficulties potty training. We take her outside at least every hour when we are home, sometimes multiple times in an hour and she will pee every time, however, within 5 to 10 minutes of coming back inside she pees again. She has never had an accident in her crate at night or during the day when we are not home. We took her to the vet a little over a month ago and she was diagnosed with a bacterial infection and placed on antibiotics. We returned 2 weeks later and had her retested and the infection was gone and all results were normal. Could she just be taking longer to get the hang of training or could something else be wrong?

  30. My puppy, an 8-week old mini poodle, is doing the same thing. He’s in the crate for his nap, but he pees the second he wakes up, or maybe in his sleep, in the crate. I’ve never had this happen before and don’t know what to do. It hasn’t happened when I let him sleep in my arms. I’m thinking he wakes, stands, pees, then cries. I have no idea what to do. Hoping he’s just going to grow out of it. He also pees right next to his food in the exercise pen, right after I bring him in from peeing to eat. It’s maddening. I’m baffled.

  31. If you think your puppy has a health issue then take her to the vet. One thing you might try at night is setting your alarm clock several times to wake you up before your puppy has an accident. As she gets better at holding her pee reduce the number of times your alarm goes off. We had one friend have this same problem with her GSD puppy and started by setting her alarm every hour for the first night. It was crazy for her, but she eventually got her puppy to sleep through the night without accidents.

  32. Hi, my puppy has dinner at 5pm, then water then NOTHING after 6pm.

    We take her for a pee the last time at around 10pm and then she still pee’s 2-3 times while we are all sleeping 😱

    She is 12 weeks of age (Giant Schnauzer)

    Is this just puppy or would you suggest we take her to the vet?

  33. Great article, thank you.

    A week ago we got a beautiful 6 mo. old male miniature poodle from a woman who only had him a month. She had purchased him from an Amish farm and said she didn’t have the time to care for him.

    My husband is retired and I only work part time so we are home the majority of the day and take him out every half hour. He still has accidents and sometimes wakes up from his naps wet (crated for naps/bedtime). We took him to the vet for vaccinations and urinalysis. He does not have a UTI or crystals but his urine is very diluted. A second urinalysis of first morning urine was done with same results. Vet said next step is blood work to check kidneys and liver. Before we do the bloodwork, do you think this is a medical issue or just not enough training? He always goes pee when taken outside and has never had a poo accident in the house. He is not nervous or anxious. He’s a laid back boy and very loving.

    I worry that this is going to be a lifelong problem with no solution. I appreciate any advice you can give. Thank you.

    PS. My husband and I have had many puppies in our lifetime with no potty training issues. We always reward them immediately after going outside and never scold if they have an accident inside.

  34. Congratulations on your new puppy! Yes, we put our puppy in the crate during their nap periods. When our pups fall asleep we move them from the floor the crate. If they’re not too accepting of the crate then we just put them in and leave the door open until they become more comfortable with their crate.

  35. Hi there, thanks so much for the great article! I also haven’t had a puppy in 12 years and forgot how much they pee.

    Quick question about the schedule. I have an 8 week old puppy and am starting her on a potty schedule and crate training as well. Should I be putting her in her crate during the “Puppy Nap” periods? Or should I let her sleep wherever she wants? She hates it when I close the door on her crate and howls bloody murder, but I want her to get used to it asap so we can keep her safe when we’re away.

    Thanks!

  36. She’s still a young pup and I’m sure she’ll get used to potty training in no time. Good luck with your puppy!

  37. Thank you so much for this article and the time table. This is my first puppy in 14 years. You get used to the laid back senior life of your dogs who might have the occasional accident to a puppy and I was also worried if she was peeing too much. I was setting an alarm for every 30 minutes and it was working then I cut it down to 20minutes. I’m happy to see 5 to 10 minutes. That what it feels like. She is around 8 to 10 weeks old.

  38. Thank you for rescuing a dog from the shelter and congratulations on your new puppy. It’s always a good idea to take a new puppy to see your vet for a check up especially if you think there is a possible health issue.

  39. Hi, i have a 14 week old german shepherd mix. I got her from the shelter yesterday and has no pooped yet. We are feeding her the same food she was feed in the shelter. It has been about 20 hours since we picked her up. Should i be concerned that she hasn’t pooped?

  40. Congratulations on your new puppy! Have you noticed her drinking a lot of water? Does she pee because she’s excited? You might try keeping a potty schedule noting when she eats, drinks, sleeps, pees, and poops. It could help you predict her behaviors a little better. Also, she’s still young and it could just be that she doesn’t have full control of her bladder yet meaning even she doesn’t know when she has to pee sometimes. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with your puppy!

  41. I have a 13 week old American bulldog female and I find shes peeing alot then what I think Is normal..I can have her outside for a hour to hour and half and she will pee outside every 5 to 10 minutes apart she will come inside and pee again on the floor after coming in from being outside in the house shes doing it 10 to 20 minutes apart I’ve taking her to the vet about this they have done pee tests on her and everything comes back normal I’m at a stand still as to why shes peeing so much and would like to no what is causing her to pee alot any help or suggestions as to what I can try or do would greatly be appreciated thanks

  42. Congratulations on your new puppy! These are questions you probably want to ask your veterinarian. Most of the puppies we work with are larger breed dogs like Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and German Shepherds and that is what we based our puppy potty schedule on in this blog post. Again if you’re concerned with your puppies bladder control please talk to your vet.

  43. We’ve had many puppies pee when they get excited. Our solution has been to try and stay more calm around our puppies rather than rile them up. So far all of our puppies have eventually outgrown this behavior. However, we have had friends tell us that their pups have continued to have a problem with their pup’s peeing when excited.

  44. I have a 4 months and 3 week old girl Yorkie. We have her about 1 month at this point. Being it is still cold where we live and she is only 3.2 lbs we have wee wee pad trained her. She poops 5-6 times in a 24 hour period and pees a lot! I don’t have an exact number. Sometimes it’s a really big pee and sometimes it’s just a little pee. We do keep food and water in her cage at all times because she is so tiny and is still growing. She is completely potty trained and runs into her “pen” to pee on the pad. Is this normal? Is she peeing so much because she has access to water all day? And why is she drinking so much? Should I be concerned?

  45. Hey,

    I have a 5 month old Labrador puppy Scooby . He pees like 5 to 10 times whenever he plays the intensity with which we play is high . We run a lot , we play intense tug and he barks a lot . Is this normal ? . We had him checked for Polyuria and Diabetes both results came out negative .

    Note:
    Moreover I used spend almost 24 hours with my puppy for the past two weeks he is with my parents and they are taking very good care of him and they are spending quality time with him

    We are very worried that we are not able to find a solution for our puppy .

  46. Congratulations on your new puppy! One thing you might try if you already haven’t is put your puppy on leash every time you take her outside. At 12 weeks old I wouldn’t try and make her hold it. If she indicates she needs to go out then put her on her leash, take her to her potty spot, let her potty, then bring her back in. As she gets older she’ll start getting better at holding her bladder. If you haven’t already take a look at our article on how to potty train a puppy: https://puppyintraining.com/how-to-potty-train-a-puppy/. Good luck with your training!

  47. Hi, I have a German Shepherd puppy that’s about 12 weeks old. I see that in your potty schedule a typical puppy should pee about 24 times a day. When my puppy is awake, I kid you not, she goes to the door to go out and pee probably every 20 minutes. And if I try to wait it out and make her hold it, she just pees right then and there. I know some people may say she’s doing it to go outside and play, but she whines when she goes to the door and just gets louder the more I try to ignore her. Do you have any suggestions on trying to train her to hold it? I’m definitely gonna be calling the vet as well to get it looked at.

  48. I had the same issue and even thought to return the puppy back to who I got it from. But she’s learnt a lot, and yes, crate training is the most efficient way to train them to pee and poop outside or on a pee pad. Make sure you’ll limit the crate space to her size only. she also sometimes peed on her blanket inside the crate. accidents happen. I also bought a playpen and left her with two pee pads in it, so when I’m away for longer hours, she pees on one and poops on another one. if you leave her one pee pad only, she poops one it, and pees on the floor.
    So yeah, you must be patient…

  49. Were you able to resolve this issue with your puppy? I am currently having the same issue with my puppy unfortunately.

  50. Same here! My puppy peeps every 15 minutes! A lot of breeders just leave puppies in a cage with something to absorb all the pee and poop. Sad but it’s true.

  51. I got my English BD last week at 7 weeks old I’ve never seen a puppy pee so many times. I talked to the breeder and she said puppies pee a lot but she didn’t think 20 to 25 times a day. Needless to say I got quite a relief after reading this post Duncan is pretty much what this schedule was written for. Thanks for sharing this.

  52. We just got a new 10 week old puppy and have had him just over a week. We are going to crate train him but haven’t yet. I take him outside as often as I can, but he will hold his poop and pee. As soon as we get inside he starts looking for a place to go, or just stares at me and goes on the spot. I’ve tried going inside and right back out, but no avail. I have had him pee only twice outside, rewarded him nicely. He refuses to poop outside. He only poops twice a day, after breakfast and after dinner. Again I time it to 20 minute to up to an hour after. He will wait until I get him back inside and get distracted and poop by the door. He pees everywhere. I interrupt him when I can but he pees through the interuption and just looks at me. I have had him outside for 30 minutes first thing in the morning when he wakes up and nothing. The moment we get inside and I glance away he pees. I don’t know what to do. He has amazing blaster control to be able to hold it like he does.

  53. Thank you sooo much for this! I was starting to get genuinely concerned about our puppy but turns out her schedule matches the one you posted here almost to a T! It is absolutely exhausting to have to monitor her so closely and take her out so often but I am glad to know it won’t be as frequent for much longer. She is an 11 week old havanese.

  54. We just got our first lab. She is 8 weeks old and I have never seen a pup pee as much as this one does. I have raised rotties and a Dalmatian but never seen anything like this one. She also has to pee every hour and 1/2 to two hours all night long. I mentioned this to the vet at her check-up and they laughed at me and did not check for a UTI and after reading thru the comments here I am leaning toward it maybe being normal but geeze. lol We crate her and let her out as soon as she wakes and take her immediately outside. We are taking her water up several hours before bedtime so not sure what else we can do.

  55. My puppy pees constantly. We take him out a lot during the day. I, especially, make sure to take him out after every meal, after naps, first thing in the morning, etc. but little Bo pees constantly. I’d say he pees within every 10 minutes and it’s not little dribbles either. We’re definitely going to make a vet appointment but wanted to hear your input as well.

  56. I just got a 3months old daschund puppy today and I have had her for about 10hours and she has yet to pee or poop and she’s had multiple naps and playtimes and ate…but yet nothing…I’m getting worried. Any insight?

  57. This article is so helpful!! i was worrying that my dog was diabetic or something. we have a boxer who is 1 1/2 and he is potty trained. Our lab is 15weeks old. We didn’t know they have to pee so much as puppies. we have only had a dog when they were 6mo, so having our lab is the first time we had a real puppy puppy. Thank goodness… i didn’t know they had to pee all those other times either lol 🙂

  58. Hi, could you tell me what your vet said? We have having the same issues with our 8 week old English Labs we brought home yesterday 10/4/17. Thank you.

  59. I took my puppy for a check up and complained about him peeing so much. My vet said I may be feeding him too much salt and he drinks too much water. I did not know dog food had salt in it, they are not required to report. Look up lowest salted dog food. Changed his food and after a few days, he improved considerably. Now at 5 months he is house trained except for a few times he wants to play and has an accident, because he does not want to stop.

  60. I know how to potty train I have the poop down right after she eats. My problem she a lab and I never had a lab since there water dogs any way she is drinking all the time and she 9 weeks old so I can’t get that down and she kept inside she only outside when I go outside it been more in the morning now because it been over a 100 outside and bad fires.

  61. Hello! I just brought home my 8 week old English bulldog yesterday. I have her vet check scheduled tomorrow but I’m concerned that she has a problem with her bladder. She pees a little every few minutes while awake. I’m constantly taking her out. She pees every time then after being in the house for about 5 minutes she’s peeing again. It’s usually a little bit. I wonder if it could be a nervous thing since we just brought her home?

  62. Fortunately, I haven’t had to go up and down stairs to let my puppies out to go potty. However, if I were in that situation I think I would force myself to go up and down the stairs for potty training. One thing I’d recommend if you do decide to bring your puppy up and down the stairs is to make sure you give him enough time to “get it all out” Sometimes puppies will only do a little bit of their pee in the initial squat then come back inside to go again. Take a look a this article when you have a moment: https://puppyintraining.com/crate-training-puppies/ Good luck with your training!

  63. Hello, we live on the third floor in an apartment in Texas. It can get quite hot outside in the summer. For the periods of training and play time (in which the puppy will pee a lot), would you recommend taking him up and down the stairs over and over or trying to do these things outside? I feel like if we were to take him up after every pee, we would immediately be going back downstairs.

  64. Congratulations on your new puppy! Awesome! I’m glad the puppy potty schedule helped. Puppies pee a lot and it’s a good idea to have a general idea of when they might go. Good luck with your training!

  65. Hi all,
    I have a 9 week old Lab and he consistently pees all over the house.
    We have puppy pee pads scattered everywhere and he never uses them even though i absorb a pee with it to see if he will go back but he doesn’t.
    I found this page and i have to thank you so so much… i started watching him and this example schedule you have here and i could not believe that Dash is doing pretty much exactly what your schedule says… i have saved it on my phone so i can get used to what i need to do as i also have 4 kids so as you can imagine i forget what pup might need next. 🙂
    Thanks again youre a lifesaver

  66. Yes and no. If my puppy is not yet crate trained and I’m at home I will crate him. If he is crate trained then I don’t worry about crating him. If I’m at work then I keep him on leash or on tie down at my desk by my feet.

  67. It’s amazing how much a puppy can pee. I totally understand peoples concerns if they’ve never raised a puppy before.

    I was thinking about creating a printable PDF for this post. Maybe I’ll do that in the coming weeks.

  68. I wish that this could be printed off and every new puppy owner could see it! It;s one of the most common questions we would get at the vet.

  69. We taught our puppy how to ring a doggy doorbell… it says, “How are you? Please, open the door.” Ha ha! At one year old, he’s very good about using it but does abuse at times it just to get our attention. The major downside to the doorbell is that our cat likes to ring it, too; he is an inside cat who desperately wants to be an indoor/outdoor cat. We have to watch him like a hawk when we open the door for the dogs to go out or come back in.

  70. Our puppies pee quite a bit when they are young, but as they get older we probably only have to take them out a few times per day.

  71. never thought of it like that but my dog – must admit he is getting older must pee a good 15 times+ a day.

  72. Yeah, the most common times for a puppy to have to potty:

    1. First thing in the morning.
    2. After each meal.
    3. After a nap.
    4. During and after playtime.
    5. During and after training sessions.
    6. Before, during, and after walks

    And you should have them potty right before you and your pup retire for the night.

  73. When I was raising puppies on my own it was a lot easier to keep the mental schedule, but now that there are two of us it’s a little more difficult to keep track and a written puppy potty schedule sometimes works better. Even with our dogs all house trained I have Ali give me updates as to who pooped and pee’d so I know just in case I have to leave all the dogs at home for a long stretch.

  74. The amount of times a puppy goes pee can vary a lot based on how much they play. I’ve noticed my pups will usually pee 2-3 times during play sessions. Linus’ dog trainer’s favorite formula: Play = Pee. I’m a little neurotic when it comes to minimizing the number of accidents in the house and may take my puppies out a little more often then your average person. I figure the fewer accidents in the house the quicker your puppy gets potty trained.

  75. I never really planned it out in a written out schedule, but I pretty much follow what you laid out when I have a new puppy…and so I guess it is 24 times a day! I didn’t realize it was so much! haha. I don’t have kids, but I wonder how that compares to a baby.

  76. Since we had littermates, creating a schedule (although a mental one) was key in reducing the amount of accidents in the house. Rodrigo, Sydney, and Blue taught us a lot, so when we had Scout and Zoey we were prepared.

    Our puppies needed to go outside after excitement (guests coming over to see them), play time, nap time, and eating time. We’d take them right outside, then again 10-15 minutes later until we figured out what they needed. We also got them in the habit of going outside before bedtime (which we still do today).

    We never taught our dogs to ring a bell, instead, they do two things:

    1) go to the door and wait or
    2) come to me and stare at me or crawl into my lap

    That last one can be confusing; if they’re vocal, then I know they need to go outside.

    It’s kind of fun learning to speak dog.

  77. 24 times! Haha! Wow, and yes that sounds about right!

    I take Remy outside at least 10 times a day and he pees at least once each time we’re out and sometimes I take him out more like 12 or 13 times. I was going to keep a journal the first week so I could track this but I figured I would just take him out pretty much every 45 minutes when he’s not in his kennel or sleeping.

    I did quickly notice his “accidents” were at the same times: shortly after my lunch when he was loose in my office and I lost track of time after he’d had water and also Saturday evenings when we had him loose in the living room while hanging out and trusted him for too long. So keeping track of “accidents” helps but ideally if you’re taking him out enough he might not have accidents.

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