The Ultimate Guide on How Long a Pug Holds Its Bladder

pug pee

If you’re a new pug owner, you want to know how long your pug can hold their pee.

This is to ensure that they don’t pee on everything when you’re at work, play, or for walks.

And although there isn’t a straightforward answer for this, we will try to give you an average of how long your pug can stay without peeing.

 


How Long Can Pugs Hold Their Bladder?

The general answer is a healthy pug can hold their bladder between 6 and 8 hours.

A pug should pee at least 3-5 times a day because they shouldn’t stay without pee for more than 10 hours.

That said, there are many things that determine how long a pug can hold their pee. They include:

  • Size
  • Health
  • Diet
  • Age

Now let’s discuss them in detail.

1. Age

This is one of the factors that determine how long a pug can hold their bladder.

  • How Long Can a Young Pug Take Before a Bathroom Break?

The hardest days are the first days you bring your puppy pug home.

Since they’re not potty trained, they’ll need to pee after every two hours.

This is because their urinary tract systems and bladders are still developing.

Potty training helps in strengthening the contraction muscles and teaches them how to control their bladder.

  • How Long Can an Older Take Before Peeing?

Again, this depends on your pug’s age. After your pug turns 9, they’re considered seniors.

And they might not hold their bladder for a long time as they’re prone to urinary incontinence, especially if they’re sprayed.

As your pug grows, they start showing you signs that they need to pee.

Be attentive to their body language and learn how they communicate when they want to pee.

If you’re at home, make sure you take them out every six hours.

If you’re away for ten hours or more, take them out immediately when you come back because they’ll want to pee.

Let them stay out for a while as they might want to pee a couple of times after long hours.

To simplify all this, here is a small chart for you:

Pug’s Age  Time they can hold their pee
Puppy (less than 6 months) 1-3 hours
Puppy (more than 6 months) 2-6 hours
Adult (less than 7 years) 6-8 hours
Adult (more than 7 years) 4-6 hours
Senior (more than 12 years) 2-4 hours

The estimates are good for starters. Try to observe your pug’s peeing behavior to know how long they can hold their bladder.

 

2. Size

Although it’s not always the case, larger dogs can hold their pee for longer as they have bigger bladders than small breeds.

Dogs pee around 10-20ml per pound of their body weight.

That means a 5lbs dog pees approximately 1.7-3.5 oz per day.

Although that seems like a small capacity, their small bladders can only hold half an ounce or half an ounce.

That said, the amount of your dog’s pee can be affected by various ailments and fluid intake.

 

3. Health

Besides fear and anxiety, other medical problems may affect your dog’s bladder.

Here are common health conditions that can affect the hours your pug can hold their bladder:

  • Tumor
  • Polyuria and Pollakiuria
  • Diabetes
  • Liver disease
  • Overproduction of steroid hormones
  • Hormone disorders
  • Behavioral or psychological problems
  • Electrolyte imbalance
  • Kidney failure

Also, some medicines have a diuretic effect, which causes frequent peeing.

So, if your pug is peeing more often, contact your vet as it may be a health issue.

 

4. Diet

Just like you, what your dog eats affects their body functionality, which includes their urinary health.

Moist foods like wet and raw foods help in clearing toxins from the body and aid in digestion.

However, they increase the amount of pee and the frequency of your pug’s pee.

Just like human beings, you can tell whether your pug is hydrated or not by observing your pug’s pee color.

If your dog’s pee is dark yellow, it’s time to feed them with wet food, water, and raw bones.

 


Is it Dangerous for Pugs to Hold their Bladder?

Like human beings, it’s not healthy for a pug to hold their bladder for prolonged periods.

Holding their bladder for too long can put your pug prone to diseases such as:

  • Incontinence.

Although this is likely to happen with older dogs, it can happen to a dog at any age.

Making your pug hold pee for too long can lead to over-distention, damaging the contracting bladder muscles and ultimately causing leaks.

Note that incontinence has no cure, so prevention is critical.

  • Urinary tract infections.

One purpose of peeing is to flush out bacteria and toxins out of your pug’s system.

If your pug doesn’t pee, the toxins start piling up in the bladder.

This can lead to blockages, stone formations, or crystals that can lead to severe infections.

  • Urinary cancer.

Although this doesn’t easily occur, it can happen if you leave your pug holding their pee for long periods.

The longer the carcinogens in the bladder stays in the bladder, the more they’re likely to affect your pug’s cells.

 


Why Is My Pug Peeing in the House?

There are several reasons why your pug is peeing in your house.

Here are some circumstances under which your pug may pee in the house and why:

  • Pug peeing immediately, they come home from outdoors.

For puppies, this may happen when they’re not well potty-trained.

And for adult potty-trained pugs, it may be the inability to hold up to their pee before they get to their peeing spot.

  • Pug peeing late nights and early morning.

For many pugs, this happens when everyone is sleeping, so there is no one to let them out.

  • Pug peeing when there is no one home.

If your pug isn’t able to hold their pee and can’t access his peeing spot, they’re likely to pee anywhere in the house.

  • Pug peeing when you’re at home.

It’s essential to make your pug loved and free.

But if they are peeing from one room to another, they might be feeling too comfortable and you may want to make some changes.

  • Marking.

Pug territorial marking may be another reason your dog is peeing in your house.

Although it happens to dogs of all genders, it’s more common with unneutered dogs.

It’s an instinct to protect their space when a new pet or person is introduced into the family as they feel like their position is being threatened.

 


How to Stop My Pug from Peeing in the House

Now that you know why your pug is peeing in the house, we will not hang you out to dry. We have some tips that may help.

Let’s dive right in.

1. Create a Peeing Schedule for Your Pug

Having a schedule for your pug will help avoid accidents.

Here is a rough idea if you’ve got no idea where to start.

Take your pug out to pee:

  • When they wake up in the morning or when they wake up from a nap.
  • Every once in a while. On average, this means every 2 hours for a puppy and 4 hours for an adult pug.
  • At least 20 minutes before bed

 

2. Choose a Peeing Spot

Once you teach your pug that peeing and pooping should be done at a certain spot, they will get acquainted with the spot.

If the designated spot is outside, leash your pug and pick the area out of them.

 

3. Give them Enough Time to Pee

A pug takes a minute to pee, but they may take 15 minutes before they do.

Once you take them out, they might get distracted by the noises and views before they pee. So don’t rush them.

Giving them time also allows them to poop, and many pugs will take at least 5 minutes to poop after they pee.

 

4. Pet Your Pug

If your pug is peeing immediately, they come back in the house, hold them on your lap.

Many pugs won’t pee when you’re holding them. After 10 minutes, take them out outside again.

They’ll probably just urinate. This may take time before they get used to it, so be patient and praise them when they do it right.

 

5. Adjust their Mealtime

This is very effective if your pug pees early in the morning before you wake up.

As mentioned earlier, wet food causes your dog to pee more frequently, and dry food can lead to a high intake of water, so they’re pee anyway.

Therefore, the solution is to observe how long your pug takes to process their meals.

If you feed your pug at 7 pm and they wake up to pee at 7 am (that’s 12 hours), if you feed them at 9 pm, they’re likely to pee at 9 am.

 

6. Limit Access

This can help in two situations: when your pug is peeing at home when you’re around and when you’re not around. And here is how to do it:

  • Have a gated area.

Pugs love their freedom, and they don’t appreciate being contained in one place.

However, you can make them a gated area with no carpet.

This will accommodate their toys, bed, and bowls.

Many pugs will not pee on their stuff, so they’re likely to wait until you get home.

  • Tether your pug.

Use a harness and a leash to tether your pug on a certain spot and observe them.

Once they show signs of wanting to pee, rush them to their pee spot.

And when they are done peeing, reward and praise them.

This will help them know where they’re supposed to pee.

 

7. Neuter Your Pug

Spraying or neutering your pug can help with marking.

And although it doesn’t guarantee that the behavior will change completely, there is a high chance of it working in your favor.

Besides, they’re other benefits that your pug will enjoy from neutering.

 

8. Let Your Pug Know You’re in Control

This is another move to stop your pug from marking. As mentioned, marking is about authority.

And at some point, your pug may start to question your authority.

Make a few changes to remind them you’re in power, like making sure you enter or exit a room before them.

Or making them work hard for their treats.

 

9. Clean the Area your Pug Pees On

When a pug pee on a certain mat, they’re likely to pee on the spot again.

It’s crucial that you use the right ingredients to clean the pee (more on this is discussed later in the article).

 


When to Contact Your Vet?

Frequent peeing isn’t always an alarm for health problems.

It may be because your pug is drinking more fluids, and their bladders can’t hold up for long.

However, some behaviors may call for medical attention. They include:

  • Your pug showing signs of pain when peeing
  • Increased number of peeing times, with no change in fluid intake
  • Blood in your pug’s pee

 


What to Do If My Pet Pees in the House

Once in a while, your pug may cause an accident. In that case, here is what you can do:

1. Use a Urine Remover to Clean the Pee

A pug’s smell can be strong, and you don’t want it on your furniture or carpet.

Washing the surface with water and soap may remove the dirt, but it can’t eliminate the smell.

But a good urine remover will eradicate the stain and odors.

As a dog owner, a urine remover should be a must-have.

 


2. Potty Train Your Pug

The only way to stop an indoor pug from peeing inside the house is by potty training.

This may take time, but once your pug knows how where to pee, they’ll make little to no accidents.

 


Conclusion 

Even though a pug can go for up to 10 hours without peeing, it isn’t healthy to let them hold their bladder for that long.

Therefore, it’s your duty as a pug parent to make sure they get pee breaks within the right range.

If you’re not around for long periods, consider creating a pet door to allow your dog to pee.

If you don’t have a backyard, find someone to take your pug out.

That’s my blog about how long a pug holds it’s bladder.  If you’d love to learn more about pugs, feel free to visit our blog.