# Potty Training and Limiting Water



## wwagner (Dec 11, 2019)

I'm having trouble balancing water consumption and potty training with my 9 week old V, Ace. I've had him for two weeks and was told by my breeder that their water consumption needs to be monitored when young or they'll just drink and drink and drink. I followed their advice, giving water next to all three meals, a couple times in between (after coming in from walks or after playing), mixing his food with water, then not giving him water after 7pm. I was told you can tell if they're properly hydrated by grabbing the skin on the back of their necks and if it doesn't immediately fall back down then they're dehydrated. This seemed to be working and potty training was progressing nicely. Ace always pees immediately when we go outside and only had 2-3 accidents in the first 10-12 days. I started feeling confident in him so I've begun giving him standing water in his bowl the past couple of days. Problem is, if I do that he literally pees every 5-10 minutes and without any signs - just stops middle of the living room and pees, no trying to go to a door or whining. I know he can hold it longer, as he sleeps 4-5 hours every night before whining to go outside. 

Looking at the forum I'm seeing pretty unanimous advice to never restrict water, but right now he'd be peeing non-stop. I want to start introducing him to swimming (we live on a lake but until vaccinated I'd use a kiddie pool or bathtub), and I'm starting to get concerned about creating an obsession with him drinking any water he can find. 

Do I just give him all the water he wants, and let him have a bunch of accidents in the short term? When I catch him in the act I say "No" sternly and carry him outside. Do I just have to start back at square 1?


----------



## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I don't ever limit my puppy's water.
I do set a timer, and take my puppies out every 20 minutes when awake.


----------



## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Please don't limit the water intake for the puppy.
One, it's bad for his health.
Two, you could start off a Polydipsia syndrome, and or, a Polyuria syndrome.
Clean, fresh, water is critical for an animal growing as fast as puppies do.


----------



## Huggytree (Apr 21, 2020)

My over peeing Vizsla is 7 months old now and still having a accident weekly.
II’ve found he is not emptying his bladder in order to have pee for marking. He has gone 5x in an hour on the floor. Possibly your dog is doing the same thing. When you take him out pay attention if he ends his squirt abruptly. Or if he appears to be fully emptying. My dog is improving veeeery slowly. You may be in for the same thing I’ve gone through. At the dog park my dog has marked as much as 20x in an hour. I’ve had him checked for a uti and he Clean

advice given here was to play outside after peeing and then try to get a2nd pee out of him. This has worked a bit for me. Not great but it has been successful sometimes.

Good luck. If he pees every 20 mins take him out every 19 mins


----------



## wwagner (Dec 11, 2019)

Thanks for the advice, all. For the past few days I've not restricted water at all with mixed results. At night he is still sleeping without a peep for 4-5 hours which I'm happy with. However during the day he has stretches where going out every 20 mins is enough, and stretches where he'll pee inside every 10 mins. I work from home and am struggling to mute myself and run outside 2-3 times in a 30 minute meeting. He does not seem to be cutting his stream off, peeing a lot and it's crystal clear. It's just running through him and he continues to drink.  

I won't restrict his water anymore but I sure hope he learns to hold it more. I'm still just so confused about why he's so good while sleeping then just doesn't seem to care when he's awake.


----------



## Huggytree (Apr 21, 2020)

Another thing I’d do is 1 hour out of the cage. 2 hours in. If he doesn’t Pee in his cage then I recommend this tactic.

for that 1 hour out I would play a full hour w him. Throwing a ball or walking him


----------



## frankzzm1996 (10 mo ago)

Hey wwagner

How did your V go? I am having the exact same issue with my 15-week boy Alfie. Today is the first day for me to not restrict his intake at all and he drank 90oz (I kept a note and I was quite surprised). I don’t think he has any health issue but he just can’t stop drinking whenever he sees water. He peed so (too) much today…I took him out for a 30-min walk after a water break and he peed every 2-3 minute, the urine were crystal clear too.


----------

