# Havanese Bladder



## CrazieJones

So many people say puppy's age (in month) = hours of his bladder can hold. 

Roshi is 3.5 months, but oh trust me, he CANNOT hold it for 3.5 hours. 
At night he can hold for 6.5 hours (which is already great for me and my sleep!)

During the day, he could only hold it for 1.5 hours at most, when awake and however long his nap is (2-3 hours).

So is that about right for a havanese? Can I teach him to hold it longer (no crate training b/c he pees in it... and no, he's not from a pet shop, and the breeder trained them to potty far away from the bed)? Or will his 'holding' ability will just come natural with time?


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## krandall

Any "rule of thumb" like that is simply a general rule of thumb. Just like kids, puppies each follow their own developmental curve, influenced by many factors. You can't really "train" bladder strength... you just have to wait for it to develop. The really, really REALLY important thing for now is that you make sure that when he NEEDS to go, he can get to an appropriate place in time. 

If his breeder trained him to potty away from his bed, I'm not sure what went on between then and now. Have you talked to her? Has she had any suggestions for you? Most good breeders are more than happy to help their puppy owners get over the potty training hump.


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## Ellie NY

At 3.5 months I wouldn't expect a Hav puppy to hold their bladder for more than 90 minutes. So, in my opinion, 1.5 hours seems about right. Are you teaching him to use a potty pad or are you exclusively trying to teach him to potty outside?
I decided not to go th potty pad route because DH was totally against it. This meant that I walked Eli at least every 90 min when he was Roshi's age. It was pretty exhausting. In retrospect, I realize I should have paper trained him first because now, when the weather is terrible or he has an upset stomach he's lost for a "safe place" to potty. We really don't have accidents unless he's filling sick but I do still walk him about 5 times a day at one year old. However, at one year he does hold his bladder about 9 - 10 hours at night, and can hold it for 6 hours during the day if no one is home to walk him (which is the exception rather than the rule). 

I think what I've learned about Havs is that they really don't get any true bladder control until about 7 months. That's been my experience and that of many others on this forum. Maybe Roshi will be the exception!


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## CrazieJones

Right now, I don't care if he needs to go or not. I just take him out every 1.5 hours just for consistency sake. He'll still go.
I am doing outside only training. If the weather is bad, I would lay a pad out on the (sheltered) porch, but it's still outside. It might be mean, but I have a new home. He already made it messy enough! 

The breeder is also at lost with the crate issue. Sigh. Oh well. Patience is key then...


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## krandall

CrazieJones said:


> Right now, I don't care if he needs to go or not. I just take him out every 1.5 hours just for consistency sake. He'll still go.
> I am doing outside only training. If the weather is bad, I would lay a pad out on the (sheltered) porch, but it's still outside. It might be mean, but I have a new home. He already made it messy enough!
> 
> The breeder is also at lost with the crate issue. Sigh. Oh well. Patience is key then...


You've made it much harder for yourself insisting on outside training only... You wouldn't HAVE the messes in your house if he had an "approved" potty spot in the house. Kodi came trained to a litter box, and has had very, very few accidents, even when he was a very small puppy. (and those were our fault for either giving him too much freedom too soon or not noticing his signals) The few times he's needed to vomit, he's even gone and done THAT in the litter box, and no one ever taught him that!ound:

Oh, and yes, they very quickly learn to pee on command... Kodi will always pee if I tell him too, even if he can only squeeze out a drop or two. This is actually pretty useful, especially right before getting in the car for a long car ride.:biggrin1: So just because Roshi DOES pee every 1.5 hours when you take him out doesn't mean that he couldn't have waited longer. But right now, the goal is to establish good habits, which means, as far as possible, never, ever put him in the position of having to pee in an inappropriate place.

Also, remember, it's going to take some time to undo the mistakes of the first few weeks. How long ago did you come on the board and change the way you are handling things? A week or 10 days ago? It's going to take longer than that to re-train past the habits he started to develop before then.


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## CrazieJones

Maybe I make him sound bad! 

He is getting better. When I got him at 2 months, I HAD to carry him outside to potty cuz he was too small and scared to go down the 3 steps of stairs to the door. During that time, it was a pad on the porch. So he is pad trained. Even when I go out, pad is on one end of the pen, and crate on the other. Pee and poo no problem on the pad (well, tracking poo off the pad is another story). Yay for Roshi. However, my pads are washable. The feeling of it is almost like a rug/towel. He might be confused by that?

Now I taught him to go down the stairs. He's showing signs of "getting it". For the last few days, he will give a whimper. Sometimes he will lead me to the door (cuz he's leashed onto me most of the time now). And for the last few days, he did ring the bell for pooping! Yay for Roshi again.

I'm most proud of him was when he didn't just squat right after his bath (well, i also had to give credit to his veal chew stick... GREAT distraction). Got some time to dry him up a bit and then head outside. 

It's coming along... just that I wanted to double check whether I have a pup that has a deficient bladder or something.


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## Thumper

He's still a baby pup, I think it will take several more months to get him holding it for long periods of time.

It might help if you monitor the time he drinks and pick up the bowl a few hours before bed.

Gucci has a big bladder now and can go all day, 8-9 hours, but she didn't get like that until she was older, maybe 1, 1.5 yo

Kara


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## Lizzie'sMom

You'll get through this. His bladder is not deficient-he is just very young. She used to go all the time. Lizzie is now 14 months and she can hold it all day. Sometimes I take her out because it has been so long and she doesn't have to go!


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## TilliesMom

awwwww, YES, it sounds like he IS getting it and you are learning too! great combination!! We actually didn't get Tillie till she was 3.5 months old! She had been "trained" to pee on a bathroom carpet/pee pad and for the first month or so we had her, that IS where she went, but it just wasn't do-able for us because we go to families houses and we couldn't have her peeing on thier carpets! LOL 
Tillie also has an unusually strong bladder and can hold it for 10-11 hrs at night, BUT during the day she will go every 2-3 hrs if we are home and if I leave her for longer than 4 1/2-5 hrs during the day she will have an accident in her crate. In no way is it her fault, but mine for leaving her for too long! poor girl! 

I think that you are on the right track with Roshi! Just be consistant and patient! These guys CRAVE routine and knowing what comes next is important for them! he is coming along great! keep at it!!!
OH and she pees like 5 times within 10 minutes after her bath and blow dry cause she drinks her bath water! silly girl!!


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