Adult dog refusing to pee

[thefriendlyatheist]

Hi all, my 2yo mini aussie has recently picked up the habit of not wanting to pee on her typical schedule. I live in an apartment and work / have hobbies outside of the house so this new habit is stressing me out.

She typically gets let out morning, evening and then right before bed. We will stand outside for 30-45 mins and she will poop but not show any interest in peeing. There are times she’s gone from 7p at night until noon the next day without peeing. There’s n o evidence of any accidents in the house.

I’ve tried keeping visits outside short and letting her out a few minutes later but that’s not always feasible. I’ve tried standing outside until she pees but if it takes up to an hour, it’s not always feasible either. She gets praise for peeing when she finally goes. She doesn’t seem to be in pain and otherwise has a good appetite and I see her drink water.

This week I’ve begun adding water to her food to see if she just is dehydrated. It’s helped some but not as much as I’d like.

Shes gone through phases like this before but not nearly as bad. Is it just a quirk that I need to accept and trust she will go if she needs to?

I’m truly very frustrated because I hate to leave her for hours knowing she hasn’t peed in 8+hours already. I know I’d be miserable. I can’t always leave meetings / commitments across town because she hasn’t gone when she had every opportunity to. I wish I had a yard so she can go whenever she wants…

Thoughts?

 

[michaelgre2021]

@thefriendlyatheist Hello, Usually when a dog don't wish to pee, it can be for a number of reasons.

1. Medical, bladder stones creating issues in the urethra can be cause of why she is not consistent.
2. That you take her in too soon after peeing. Aussies like to work (mostly, we have 2 ourselves here), and dogs who enjoy outside time will often hold it once they figure out that they get taken in as soon as they have relieved themselves. Solution to this is to go up earlier and give her proper walks (if that has not been done and its just quickies in and out.)
3. Anxiety, this is something that can make a lot of dogs hold it until they have no choice but to go. And they will preferably only go in quiet/calm spots. Usually this goes for defecating too, and you say she is on schedule with that. It is easier to hold urine than fecal matter so that could potentially be it.

The way you can differentiate is if she is pacing outside, dont like to explore, try to walk into door ways to get away from the street, heavy pulling. Meanwhile if it is boredom and she wishes to be out more she will sniff, wish to walk, not trying to get back in.

Feel free to build with more questions/thoughts if you have any, I hope this helps!

Good luck!

Evee

 

[nelehjr]

@thefriendlyatheist Go to the vet to see if she has medical issue