Dogs can naturally go long hours without needing a potty break. However, there are various factors that would determine how long your dog can hold his poop. Some of these factors would include your dog’s age, his diet, his health status, his background training, amongst other factors.
An older dog would most certainly need to use the potty more often than a younger, healthier dog. Knowing your dog’s limit to holding his poop will help you not to be caught off guard when he gets to his holding limit and seriously needs to use the potty.
Hence, you would be prepared whenever he finally needs a potty break. This would also help you plan out your schedule to suit you and your dog for when he needs to go.
How Long Can A Puppy Hold Its Poop
Experts have proposed a rule for calculating how long your pup can hold his poop: your pup’s age plus 1. If you have a pup who is 4months old, then 4 plus 1 means your pup can go approximately 5hours without having to use the potty.
According to this rule, you would need more patience and closer monitoring when your puppy is younger. Your dog would need less monitoring as he grows, since he would be able to hold it all in much longer as the months go by. However, there appears to be a limit to this once your dog is 8 months old.
This simply means the maximum hours a dog can hold in its poop and pee is 8 to 10 hours. Although, you must ensure to take him to use the potty after meals or drinks, after naps or after playtime. These are the most likely times for your pup to want to use the potty.
Technically, the plus 1 rule does not always work for all puppies, due to the differences in their personalities and the unpredictable nature of puppies. A puppy can decide to have his potty break whenever he feels like it and at whatever location he deems fit, especially if he has not been trained.
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Should I Feed My Puppy If He Hasn’t Pooped?
You can and should absolutely feed your pup if he hasn’t pooped. For all you know, he might not have pooped because he is constipated. For this reason, it is that you feed your pup with foods that are rich in fiber and increase his fluid intake.
This would help greatly in softening his bowels and making it easier for him to pass out feces. Keep him always hydrated and engage him in exercises more often. This way, whether your dog is constipated or just skipping his potty times, he ends up needing to use the potty anyway.
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How Many Times Should A Puppy Poop?
As much as dogs are naturally able to hold in their poop for long hours, you should be observant to know when the hold is becoming longer than necessary. This is because, at a point, holding in urine and poop becomes hazardous to your dog’s health.
Under normal and natural circumstances, your dog should go for potty breaks at least once or twice every day. If your dog has gone one or two days, that is, 24 to 48 hours without pooping, it is advised that you visit your veterinary doctor immediately.
Although, it is not always a medical issue, since dogs can decide to skip potty times throughout a whole day. Nevertheless, getting your dog checked would not do any harm. Basically, dogs rarely hold it in so long enough for it to pose a medical threat to them, unless on rare occasions when they are very stressed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can Puppies Hold Poop Overnight?
During the night, puppies can hold in their urine and poop for a longer time without having to go to use the potty every other hour. At some point, Most likely when your dog becomes 4 months old or more, he is able to sleep through the night without waking to use the potty at all.
However, to reduce the number of times your pup wakes up to use the potty each night or totally put a stop to it, ensure you take him to use the potty after his meals or drinks. Make it a routine to take him to use the potty first thing once his wakes up and the last thing before bedtime. Regular training would help your puppy get to the stage even faster and at an even younger age.
During the training period though, your dog is bound to call for attention on random nights and going in his crate might happen a few times. This is perfectly normal, since your dog will not experience a drastic, magical change at once.
Hence, while training, expect to still have to get up every once in a while and also to meet accidents in his crate, before he finally outgrows that stage. Although it is quite normal for your pup to need to use the potty couple of times during the night, it is however very abnormal for your pup to need to use the potty four times or more during the night.
If this is observed about your pup, consult your veterinary doctor and get your pup tested and treated before the situation escalates, especially since you cannot tell if it is just a minor issue or a major medical issue.
How Long After My Dog Eats Should He Poop?
Puppies, at their young age, tend to eat three meals to four in a day and should ideally use the potty after each of these meals.
For most dogs, the process of digesting food to the final stage take about six to ten hours and after this, your dog would most likely want to use the potty and might not really be able to hold it in after digestion is complete.
It is advised that you keep your puppy on a feeding routine so you can keep a tab on the times he has to use the potty. Irregular feeding routine automatically results in irregular potty time. A routine feeding gives you an idea of the latest time to feed your puppy at night to avoid waking up in the middle of the night to attend to his potty needs.
In rare cases, your dog might experience irregular potty time even when he has a regular feeding routine. In such cases, be sure to consult your veterinary doctor as soon as you notice this and get your dog tested for parasites or infections.
Conclusively
After all has been said, this is not a 100% guarantee of how long your dog will be able to hold his poop. It is, therefore, of utmost importance for you to be observant and vigilant to your dog’s body language. When he needs to poop, there are obvious signs that he shows like sniffing around the floor.
Once you observe this, it simply means your dog needs to use the potty and it would be advised that you take him immediately to do so. If your dog is holding in his poop longer than necessary, ensure you do not ignore these signs. It may start out as your dog just skipping his potty time or as a minor constipation.
If this is ignored, it graduates into a condition that is more severe than constipation. This is known as obstipation. This is a critical malfunction of the large intestine At this point, the dog cannot get the poop out, even if he wants to, because the poop has become too hard and dry to move out.
The dry poop could then begin to spread bacteria through your dog’s body system, resulting in serious health issues.
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