Going to work, can boxer hold its pee?

[Tyson44]

How long is too long for a boxer to hold himself from peeing? I'm going to be moving out of my parents house and have to go to work from about 7:15-4:15 so my dad will no longer be walking him every few hours.

I was thinking of giving him minimal water in the morning, obviously walking him before I go to school. He is five years old and has been spoiled so this will be a big change for him.

Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Tyson

 

[StellaBee]

How much time do you have before the transition? I'd start getting him used to holding it a little bit at a time. Sort of like crate training. Do a little at a time until they build a tolerance. I guess you could hold water, but that just seems unhealthy to me. If they're thirsty, they should drink. You could also look into hiring a dog walker (or Dad, if you'll be in the area) to come over until he's used to holding it.

All that said, Stella holds it all day while I'm at work (8 hours - otherwise I call someone to come over because I'm afraid she'll get a UTI). After your baby has some time to adjust, I'm sure he'll be just fine.

 

[NateBazooka]

This is definitely workable, though I think that not allowing him to relieve himself for 9 hours straight on a daily basis is a bad idea, and one that might lead to a UTI (urinary tract infection).

Do you work far from home? Can you not take a break in the middle of the day to go for a quick run and let him potty? As was mentioned above, maybe get your Dad (or a neighbor, friend, anyone) to come over in the middle of the day and let him out?

I'm no doctor, and am far from an expert on boxers, but I see a four/five hour of "holding it" as no problem, and eight as about the limit on what you'd want to do on a semi regular basis. I know that on days when, for whatever reason, I don't get home in the middle of the day to let my dog out, I'm stressed/worried about my buddy on the way home.



Now, the other part of this is if the dog is crate trained, and I kinda suspect he's not (just based on him being a "spoiled" 5 year old guy and you're not sure how long he can hold it, sounds like he's had a pretty good life : ) ). I think if you're planning on leaving the dog out in the house for 9 hours a day, you'd be wise to invest in a steam carpet cleaner or something like that. If there's any option availiable to him, I don't think the dog will hold it for that amount of time, and I think you'd quickly discover what location in the house most approximates "outside" for him. But if he's in the crate, there's a powerful incentive for him to not potty. And honestly, if I was leaving the dog alone for that amount of time I'd want to crate him anyways, just out of fear that he'll get bored, get into something he shouldn't get into, and then you've got a sick (or worse) dog on your hands. If the dog isn't crate trained, than thats' a whole nother issue and you should probably start working on that with him.

 

[gmacleod]

A general rule of thumb is that the maximum amount of time that any dog should regularly be asked hold his bladder is 8 hours (that's adults, of course, not puppies).

Some dogs can last longer, but this should be an irregular ask - it's not reasonable for health or comfort to do so regularly (pretty sure you can imagine how your own bladder would feel and there are long term health consequences to holding toxins within the body, that should have been released in urine, for such unnaturally long periods).

And of course, there are some individuals for whom 8 hours is just too long for their physical endurance, and who just can't manage it.

It should be reasonably clear from the above that if you don't have to ask your dog for this - it's much better not to. Of course, we all live in a less-than-ideal world and sometimes have little choice. But if the +8 hours is going to be a regular thing, then I would strongly urge you to look into what other reasonable solutions you can find. Sometimes it's not as hard as you think to find some neighbourhood kid happy to earn a little money by dog walking. Other options include dropping the dog off with family members during the day, doggy daycare, hired dog walkers, etc.

 

[Kilby'sMum]

I definitely wouldn't restrict water intake. As for how long is healthy I think it does depend on the dog.... Kilby can go for 11+hrs without going potty (even when she's outside with us and we're telling her to go!) whereas Kona can barely hold it for 5 hours. I would have thought that 6-8hrs was the norm though. I would definitely look into getting someone to let him out during the day, especially if he is used to going every few hours. Good luck with the move

 

[JulieJay]

I would have to agree with some of the other posts..
Caine holds his for approximately 8 hours while we are at work. Now that is every two weeks as the Fiance is on shift work. Caine is not crate trained anymore.. he hasn't been in his crate since he was 1 years old and has full range of the house. Now on occasion he has had an accidnet in the house...
if your dog has full range of your place, maybe you could "fence" him in the kitchen with his bed and some toys and if he does need to releave himself it would be in an easier spot to clean up.
But I think you may be okay.. but i think it your move is happening soon.. then i would start the process now so he will be used to it by the time you actually move.

Good Luck