The "tiny bladder" theory

[Lee B]

Speaking from the vantage point of my OWN "hyperactive kidneys/low-capacity bladder": I can go to bed at night and not wake up until morning (well, I *used* to ), but during the day I can't pass a potty without having the urge to use it.

At night, when it's quiet, and I'M quiet, there is no "urge". But during the day, when I'm up and moving around, there are different pressures put on my bladder. Moving around uses different muscles which then exert their influence. There is also gravity to factor into equation. I would imagine that it's the same for a dog ...

Think about it: how many times a DAY do you need to use the bathroom versus how many times at NIGHT?

[QuickSilver]

See, this is why I love YT. I post a completely random question, and boom, all this new information comes back at me.

The thing that blows my mind is that my yorkie will pee indoors in front of me. He gives me this look out of the corner of his eye, like, okay, I can't pee in the hallway, the bedroom, the kitchen, or the living room, but what about HERE?

At the moment, I just take him out every couple hours, but I would love to figure out what his pee logic is. He definitely won't dirty places where he sleeps, and he does most of his business outside... but he seems to distinguish between "indoors where I don't potty" and "indoors where it's fine to potty." He might have a tiny brain, but something is going on in there!

[DukesMommy]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

It's funny you bring that up, actually. I was just watching... I think it was "It's Me Or The Dog" and Victoria said that when dogs have separation anxiety, they freak out the minute you leave - that's why you can duck out for fifteen minutes, and find what looks like hours worth of damage. My guess is your dog is anxious, not mad, but who knows.

Thats interesting, and fits well for my older one, he always pitches a fit when I leave, then pees on the floor.

[hugz4all4]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

See, this is why I love YT. I post a completely random question, and boom, all this new information comes back at me.

The thing that blows my mind is that my yorkie will pee indoors in front of me. He gives me this look out of the corner of his eye, like, okay, I can't pee in the hallway, the bedroom, the kitchen, or the living room, but what about HERE?

At the moment, I just take him out every couple hours, but I would love to figure out what his pee logic is. He definitely won't dirty places where he sleeps, and he does most of his business outside... but he seems to distinguish between "indoors where I don't potty" and "indoors where it's fine to potty." He might have a tiny brain, but something is going on in there!

that last sentence made me laugh. My sheltie is the same way and has been since we got him at a year and half. He is 8 years old now. He is compeletly house trained as long as we are around to let him out. lol.. If we would leave him alone even for just an hour and made sure we let him out right before we left he would pee everywhere and it drove me crazy, he would do the same thing at night. So he is now crated when we leave and at night and he does just fine. Some people say animals dont do things out of spite but I truly believe that they do, maybe he does it cause he knows it upsets you.

[yorkietrouble]

my 7 year old yorkie holds his bladder all day (im home with him) he rarely goes outside all day he perfers to wait for my husband or son. but at night when we go to bed he wets the floor as well as when we leave. and for him being put in a crate don't help. he has no shame and will do it there to. someone please help. and yes he is netured. has been for years.

[Nancy1999]

When I talk about the tiny bladder I'm referring to the age of the puppy not the actual size of the yorkie. Puppies can only hold their urine for 1 hour per month of age. A one-month-old dog can hold their urine for 1 hour. As they get older, if given adequate water, their bladder gradually stretches, and they can hold more urine. This is one of the reasons why withholding water is not a good way to potty train them. You are trying to get them accustomed to holding it for increasing amount of time. Also remember, bodily functions slow down at night, and the bladder doesn't feel up as rapidly.