Urinating when they are scared is another common puppy problem
This often stems from a general level of anxiety. It should never be punished as this is only likely to make matters worse. Frightened puppies need lots of reassurance and positive reinforcement, gently building up their confidence. They should be provided with a safe place where they can retreat to if scared. If the behaviour seems to be getting worse rather than better it may be sensible to consider speaking to a qualified behaviourist who can help you with strategies to reduce their anxiety.
How Often Should a Puppy Pee? What’s Normal?
Adult dogs can hold their bladder for impressive lengths of time. Many only require three trips outside per day, meaning that they are waiting at least 8 hours between pit stops.
But young puppies, whose bladders are much smaller and bladder control much poorer, must be allowed to tinkle far more often than this.
Even if it seems like your dog is peeing in the house right after being outside, it could have already felt like an eternity for your little fella!
For example, an adult dog may drain his water dish and then go fall asleep on the couch all night before needing to pee in the morning. He may really need to go by the time he licks you into a conscious state around 6 AM, but he’ll hold it all night without problem.
Conversely, puppies will usually need to void their bladder within 10 to 30 minutes of filling up their tanks.
In general, young puppies (less than about 6 months old) should be taken out once every hour or two. The AKC suggests that puppies can wait for the same number of hours as their age in months up to about 9 months of age.
This means that a 1-month-old puppy will need to pee every hour, while a 5-month-old puppy will need to relieve himself every 5 hours.
So, if your 5-month-old puppy needs a break every hour or two, something is probably wrong, and you should consult your veterinarian to get your puppy the help he needs.
Your vet can help you treat medical problems, but if your pup is healthy, the root of the problem is probably behavioral in nature. You’ll have to correct these problems (potentially with the help of a trainer or behaviorist).
Why is my puppy peeing every 5 minutes?
It would be abnormal for a puppy to pee every five minutes. However, it’s best to determine the exact amount of time between toileting. It can sometimes feel as if only 5-minutes has passed when in reality it is longer. If your puppy is peeing every 5-minutes over a prolonged period of time, you should take them to your vet for a check-up.
Dogs and puppies that have a urinary tract infection will urinate often and in small amounts. Sometimes, you may even see your puppy squat to pee without leaving more than a drop or two behind – if anything at all. In this instance, please take your puppy to your veterinarian.
However, frequent puppy urination could also be caused by excitement, playing, and/or drinking lots of water (as long as 5-minute peeing is not continuing over long periods of time, then this is healthy behavior).
There is also the possibility that it feels like 5-minutes when it’s in fact over a longer period of time. When a client approaches me saying “my puppy is peeing every 5 minutes!” I first ask questions to find out if the puppy is actually peeing every 5 minutes, or if they are simply urinating more frequently than the owner expected.
It could be normal for a puppy to have gone to the bathroom 3-4 times over an hour. This is especially true if the puppy is running around and playing, getting hot and tired, and drinking water because they’re then thirsty.
I’ve also personally experienced a situation where it felt like my puppy was peeing often, yet it wasn’t an abnormal amount. After getting home from work, the puppy went outside to pee. Then I started cooking dinner while the puppy ran around and played, grabbed a few drinks from the water bowl, and then their bladder quickly filled up again as their body was moving things through due to the movement. This led to an accident as I was preoccupied with cooking.
After cleaning up the accident and taking the puppy outside to ensure they didn’t have to go again, I resumed cooking. As my rental house had a smoke detector in the kitchen, it would be set off almost any time the oven was on. Thus, the smoke detector was triggered, which led to another accident from the puppy as he was startled by a sudden loud noise.
At the moment, all of this felt like my puppy had to pee all the time. However, in reality, my puppy peed a normal amount for a young dog his age, especially considering he was being active, drinking water, and had gotten startled at one point.
You may be interested in reading our post: Puppy Still Not House-trained: Age expectations