how do people expect their dogs to hold their urge all 8+ hours?

Question

i see a lot of advice on training your dog to go outside but it's almost like it's for people who don't really have to leave home for work.

so i'm curious how some people do it. does your dog just hold it for the time you're gone for work ? does it have a doggy door if you live in a house?

i've always used wee wee pads (they're great and really do work, just takes time and effort) since i lived in an apartment and do have to work during the day but curious as to if dogs really hold it for 8 hours or more until their owners come home. i mean i can't imagine making my dog hold it for that long and think that holding it is bad for their bladders, just like humans. And if we don't need to use the bathroom at a certain time, we just can't "go".

Answer 1

At this moment I am at work. I own five dogs that are running loose in the house and I have five fosters that are crated. No one potties inthe house or in their crate.

A friend of mine is at work she has four of her own and 9 fosters right now and they will not potty in the house!!!

Answer 2

The size of the dog dictates the size of the bladder. A small chihuahua will have a smaller bladder and can't hold it as much as a 120 lb rottie.

Dogs don't actually drink a lot of water when they are healthy, inside and resting. Dogs usually go #2 2 or three times a day. Some dogs can hold it all day. When I've been caught in traffic, my 100 lb greyhound has held his for 10 hours, and will hold it longer if it's raining when I get home!

To those that think this is cruel and unusual treatment, I say there are many things we do for our dogs that are kind and still very unusual if you apply the same rules to humans. Example: Would you be happy eating only breakfast and dinner? How about just dinner? Would you be happy eating the same exact thing for years? Would you be happy bathing once a month or even once every four months? Would you be OK with not having your teeth brushed, or at least not brushed very often?

Dog physiology and psychology is very different from a human's. I wouldn't try and equate the two.

Answer 3

some dogs can hold it depending on the age but a owner who isn't home for long periods of time should make arrangements for someone to let their dog out to at the very least allow him/her to go ; not making arrangements for your loved pet is just animal cruelty and just plain irresponsible to say " I leave my dog for 11 hours and they hold it " poor dogs , first to be left allow and the fear of not being able to go if they have to ; if you have a dog , you should make adjustments so everyone can have a good , healthy life ; that is a responsible and loving owner.

And for once and all a crate and crate training is not house training; using a crate for punishment is just that PUNISHMENT ; a crate should be used to safe guard an unattended animal and 8 hours in a crate is excessive. I have 2 dogs that roam the house and don't pee, poop or destroy but they were trained with time , patience not punishment. Also , I don't leave stuff for them to get into, I dog proof just like baby proof so to protect them; they are house trained, they have a crate with the door open so they go in and out as they please.

The difference with holding it at night is because their meals are over for many hours and if they had to go , they would come in and wake you up b/c you would be home not at work; oh it's a living breathing, loving unconditionally animal that's the difference. An animal who is abused and treated cruel still loves its owner no matter how bad so much for human superiority ; there are others who give the love and respect back to an animal; puppy mill owners feel that they are okay to lock a dog in a crate/cage ; leave it alone, breed it to death etc b/c they are superior to an animal; where does that get us - no where real fast.

Answer 4

First of all, crate training dogs and puppies IS NOT abusive/cruel like someone mentioned. I am saying this from experience, and I am currently a vet science student specializing in animal behavior. I work with a VERY knowledgable Vet/Certified Animal Behaviorist and he will agree with me to a T. IN the wild, wolves live in dens. A crate mimics a den...my 2 dogs will often go and sleep in the crate by themselves without me telling them to do so--as is with many other dogs I know. You shouldn't be using wee wee pads, that's the dumbest thing ever invented. You are teaching your dog it's okay to use the potty in the house--not good and it WILL backfire one day. This is because potty training is a CLASSICALLY conditioned response--meaning the dog reacts to specific environments, smells, etc. The opposite is operant, which is when you teach your dog a trick. You are conditioning your dog that the house environment is the place to release their urges, instead of the sight...smell...sounds..feeling of the outside. Both of my dogs are able and willing to hold their urges for 8-9 hours.....one is a medium sized dog and one is a 7 month old 3lb yorkie, so it goes with all sizes. When the yorkie was a younger puppy and I had to leave her alone for 8 hours, I would set up her crate so one half was bedding and the other was newspaper--dogs will not naturally go where they sleep. As a general rule, puppies can hold their urges for 1 hour for every 1 month in age they are. Of course, this only works until about 9 or 10 months, no dog should be made to hold it for 12+ hours. Crate training is the best thing you can do for your dog. This gives them rules,boundaries, and a structured environment--just as they would have in the wild. A dog is still a wolf at heart. People have failed at breeding the strong pack instinct out of their domestic pet. A really good website is www.leerburg.com lots of good info there. There are some people on here who are atributing human emotions to dogs (would I want to be locked up in a crate for 8 hours? NO, but then again, I am not a dog. I dont' enjoy licking my butt or eating poop either). Dogs are dogs and humans are humans.........2 different species for a reason. People mess up dogs very badly by giving them human emotions and thoughts--trust me, I've seen it.

Answer 5

My dogs are able to hold it for a long time. I leave for work at 6:30, and often don't get home for 11-12 hours. I have a doggie door, but usually don't let them all the way out -- they have access to the patio, but not outside. My dogs are trained to use the tub in the bathroom if they have to go and can't get outside. There's a temporary bad smell if I get home and they've used the tub, but a little water rinses it away!

Answer 6

we never had it where everyone in the house had the same exact work schedule. Kids are home from school around three, mom stops by home on her lunch hour sometimes, dad goes into the office later in the day. The dogs rarely had to go more than 6 hours, I'd say.

However, my aunt has a yorkie that is very small and has an equally small bladder, and they have an indoor spot for him, just the tray from a dog cage, where he can go when he has to.

Answer 7

Both of my parents dogs hold it for 9 hours while they are at work, and my 3 month old pup holds it for 8 hours during the night. It's not mean or cruel. When I was in school I would hold it in for 9 plus hours because I refused to use public bathrooms. It's easy, and once one is used to it it just becomes routine.

Answer 8

What's the difference between holding it for 8-9 hours while you're at work and holding it for 8-10 hours while you sleep?

My two dogs are on a schedule, they get up at 630am, go for a walk, do their business, play outside until we leave at 730, stay in the house alone until about 330pm. They go out and pee again, and then at 530 every night is the "sh*tting hour". They then eat dinner and play with us until the last out of the night which is around 930 or 10.

If you establish a routine, your dogs eating schedules and everything will fall into place.

When my old dog got up there in years, my neighbor came over at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm to get him up, stretch his muscles and take him outside. My other two had no problems getting back into their routine once we lost the other one.

Answer 9

Those that do not have the time to train a puppy and take it out several times during the day because of work schedule, should either get someone that will be able to go take the pup out for them or maybe consider an older pup or young adult that is already house trained.

Answer 10

I used to work an 8 hour a day job. My dogs were both crate trained (or caged) we would put our dogs in a cage while we went to work, or just ot for a while. they will not go wee wee in the place that they are sleeping. Then when we got home, we would take them outside to go potty. If they went to the bathroom in the house we would take them outside and then put them in thier cage. every time they would be put in the cage they would go directly outside when the cage was opened. when they did something wrong the cage was the place they would be put to show they were wrong.

Answer 11

My dogs have never had a problem holding it until old age set in.

My dogs do their business at 9:00 at night and then don't go out until 7:00 in the morning. That's 10 hours, no problems!