April 21, 2011
It seems that everyone has an opinion on how long my GSD can hold her pee or poop. A friend said puppies can hold it for 1.5 hours for each month of age. Is this true?
Full Question:
Ed,I have a GSD puppy just short of 5 months old and have watched your 8 weeks to 8 months video and looked at your website and Q&A, but I can't seem to find an answer to my question. It seems that everyone has an opinion on how long my GSD should be able to hold her pee or poop. A friend told me puppies can hold it for 1.5 hours for each month of age. Is this true? My wife and I continue to take her out almost every 4 hours and she performs satisfactory each time (strange considering she isn't eating her full food amount yet, but that is another question). We feed her Royal Canin and give her treats regularly in training and pick-up the water bowl at 6:30pm. We take her out first thing in the morning and right before we go to bed. It sounds like we are doing everything right. When can I expect to get a full night's sleep or be able to leave the GSD alone for a full 8 hours during the day? She doesn't soil her crate, but she get extremely agitated when she needs to go and so we take her out right away. Should we try to keep her in the crate for longer when she whines to go outside? Is 4 hours too short a time for 5 months?
My GSD is adorable and her good behavior is testament to your training video.
Thank you,
James
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There is no right or wrong answer, all puppies are different. I’ve had some that I am still taking out in the middle of the night at 8-9 months old and others that sleep through the night by 12 weeks.
She’s still quite young so I wouldn’t be too discouraged, especially since she’s staying clean. As she matures she’ll be able to go for longer periods of time in the crate.
Cindy Rhodes
She’s still quite young so I wouldn’t be too discouraged, especially since she’s staying clean. As she matures she’ll be able to go for longer periods of time in the crate.
Cindy Rhodes
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