Pee Monster

[Sullivan]

We recently got a new puppy, another St. named Finley.  She seems really smart, but we have had a little trouble house breaking her.  She has gotten down the concept that she shouldn't poop inside, but peeing is a whole other story.  We call her the pee monster b/c she is peeing constantly, half of the time in and half of the time out.  I talked w/ our trainer at petsmart and she suggested limiting her water intake.  She said some dogs just drink a lot, sometimes more than they need. 

When we first got her I tried to have a strict water curfew, no water after around 8pm.  The problem was she was rough housing w/ Seamus even after 8pm and seemed soooo thirsty.  I inevitably ended up giving her water b/c she was being active.  I have sort of tried limiting the water on a small scale, I leave an empty bowl down and when she goes to it, typically I will give her some.  I don't know how much a puppy should drink and it just seems like it can't be good for her.  Is there such a thing as too much water? 

What should I do?  The pee monster is driving me crazy!

[dufus]

My trainer (at $100 per hour) more or less told me the same with regards to water and Day-z.

To be honest with you, nothing really worked until one day something clicked / aka day-z was big enough to control her bladder properly.

We had ages when she would let us know if she needed to go outside, but when she played too much she forgot all that and just let it go wherever she was.

It was a really hard time, but thankfully it is over.

We did all the cleaning up with Natures Miracle, even bought a steam cleaner etc, etc but she seemed to think it was ok to sometimes go in her room.

But, she has been dry for months now.

[Lyn]

I had a similar problem with Bubba when we were housetraining him. He would down his water, and I'm talking a large 2 pound ice cream bucket full and then proceed to pee everywhere. It was just too much water for him to hold.

I ended up giving him half a bucket instead and just letting him go to town. Then I took him outside every 30 minutes or so, sometimes sooner. Every 2 hours I'd give him another half a bucket. It was a an all day job that's for sure. But eventually he started running to the door on his own. But it seemed like we were outside more than we were inside for about a month.

I too did give him some water after curfew. Either a small amount, or a bunch of ice cubes instead. When I did though I was prepared to get up during the night and let him out to pee, or I stayed up a bit later and let him out then went to bed.

Congrats on the new puppy. We need pics.

[Saintly Girl]

I was very consistent with Maxwell and he still took 7 full months to completely house train.  Now he can hold it for 10-12 hours easy.  No water after 7 or so I would say.  If Fin is playing give him a bit and then put him out before bed time.  Also very important is cleaning with pet stain remover and not regular household cleaner.  It might take 7 months for Fin to get the point.  My cocker was completely house trained by 11 weeks old.  Quite a difference in breeds!!!

[shangrila]

I would suggest trying to keep them from rough housing when it is past her water curfew, and also make sure she doesn't have any salty treats at night. That way you don't feel as much like she needs water late at night. Also, ice cubes work great because that way she gets cool and gets some hydration but without too much water going into her bladder. And whenever you give her water, try to take her our 20-30 minutes later.

Whatever you do. don't give up because saints are very slow to housetrain

[Kermit]

Sullivan, I can relate completely. My pup Nigel is only part Saint Bernard, but he is 100% pee monster. At 7 months old he still has accidents just about every day. And they are accidents, not marking or anything like that. Sometimes he makes it to the door, and sometimes he even makes it out the door! But very often you can see it happen- he stops playing and then BAM the next thing you know he is peeing on the floor. And I take this guy out ALL THE TIME!!!! But when he drinks water he will drink the whole bowl unless I remind him not to. I try my best to limit his water without dehydrating the other dogs! It has been a struggle, and I have stationed paper towels and Simple Solution in different places around the house because this is just something I have to make it through with him. I love him but man is he hard to housetrain! My other dog Zoot was completely housetrained by 13 weeks! I did not see it coming with Nigel but oh well! Also he is half bloodhound which is apparently another hard-to-housetrain breed! All I can say really is I feel your pain!!! We'll make it though!!

[LuvmyMal]

Nala is the same way, I tried to limit her water intake, but with 2 it was a little harder because Tonka was use to drinking when she wanted. Some days we go without any accidents and others well lets say I am going to clean  my carpet soon. They get playing and she does not remember to go to the door, so I find myself constantly reminding her every 10-15 mins to potty.  I have to stop them from playing so Nala will go potty, she is 9 weeks old and drinks like a horse.

[tonyc]

Nikki is now at 8 months... and last week, she still let out a HUGE spread of yellow water after she got jealous of Cody for being petted.

as far as buckets o' water goes, I've given up on the refilling the water dish routine and went to a 14 qt bucket for both Cody & Nikki. she can finally drink at nite and hold it til morning so i figured the bucket is ok...