Is my walk schedule (9am/4pm/11pm) unhealthy? (senior dogs)

[flawedsheep]

I'm dogsitting for a friend (10+ y/o yorkies) and she usually lets her dogs out in their backyard 5-6 times a day to poop/pee, but I'm in an apartment (no yard and can't house sit). I've been walking them at 9am, 4pm, and 11pm to make up for the frequency they usually get and also because I read that dogs should pee every 6-8 hours. They never indicate if they need to use the restroom (no scratching, whining, going to the door, etc.), maybe because they're in an unfamiliar environment. She usually goes to bed at 10 pm. Is the 3 walk times going to mess up their schedule when my friend comes back in 3 weeks? I've been doing this for a week so far.

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Extra question if anyone reads this far: Is the late night walk bad for the dogs' sleep or health? Sometimes I walk them around midnight. The dogs get a small treat after every walk. Sometimes I have to wake one of them up to do the last walk but he jumps up right away when he sees me holding the leash. But since it gets them excited and they get treats, and then I put them to bed after, I worry it's bad for their digestion or REM rest...? Is it better to just let them sleep and do a big walk at 6pm instead? Or just keep doing 3 walks a day? I also worry if they'll get a UTI or something but I could be overthinking

 

[wassa78]

@flawedsheep That’s my schedule as well for my middle aged chihuahua. She is used to it. Doesn’t seem inherently unhealthy.

 

[flawedsheep]

@wassa78 Oh good, glad to hear Thank you!

 

[tabitha007]

@flawedsheep We walk our two senior dogs at 6am, 11am, 4pm and 11pm. Usually we have to encourage them to go for a walk. They go for very short walks (10minutes) because they have arthritis and it hurts too much (they get painkillers etc). We give them a snack or their food afterwards

 

[flawedsheep]

@tabitha007 Thank you so much, this is reassuring