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When an australian shepherd pees a lot it can become concerning. No matter how many times you let your pup out they seem to still need to go out frequently to pee.
Is it normal for australian shepherds to pee so much or is something wrong?
Why Do Australian Shepherds Pee So Much:
More often than not your australian shepherd will pee so much because of their inability to control their bladder. This happens more when they are young puppies as well as when they become seniors. Other reasons why they will pee more are anxiety, marking their territory, or a hormonal imbalance.
In this post you’ll discover:
- When an australian shepherds peeing is abnormal
- 8 reasons why an australian shepherd will pee so much
- 5 tips to help your australian shepherd pee less (Tip #3 can help a lot with peeing inside!)
- And much more
Let’s jump right in.
Table of Contents
How To Know If Your Australian Shepherd Is Peeing More Than Normal
To help understand if your australian shepherd is peeing more than they should for their weight, here’s a simple calculation you can follow.
A normal amount of pee is equal to 2 ml per kg of their weight, per hour.
For example if your pup weighs 30 lbs (13.6 kg) they should produce roughly 27.2 ml of urine an hour, or about 652.8 ml per day.
250 ml is approximately 1 cup to give you a better idea.
This means it’s normal for your 30 lbs australian shepherd to have a good pee in the morning, during their evening walk and a couple smaller pees when they’re let out in the backyard throughout the day.
If you’re noticing they’re peeing far more than this they may have something going on internally that’s causing them to have to pee more.
Another thing to keep in mind is some australian shepherds will do a bunch of partial pees over the course of their walk.
They won’t empty their entire bladder during their first pee because they want to spread their scent in many different spots.
So it may look like they’re peeing a lot more than what would be considered normal, but are actually just having many little pees over the course of their walk until their bladder is empty.
8 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Pee So Much
1) Overstimulation
One of the more common reasons why your australian shepherd is peeing so much is because they get over excited often.
This typically happens more if your aussie is a younger pup or moving into their senior years.
Simply because a young pup hasn’t quite yet learned how to control their bladder and senior dogs start losing control of their bladder as they age.
Which means in both situations whenever your pup gets overstimulated they will have trouble stopping themselves from peeing which causes them to pee more.
It’s always exciting seeing your pup after a long day but do your best to contain your excitement to help your doggo contain theirs.
2) Young Bladder
Young australian shepherds not only haven’t quite figured out how to control their bladder, but their bladder is much smaller in general.
Which means they’ll need to be let out or taken for a walk very frequently to ensure they don’t have an accident inside.
It’s normal to have an australian shepherd puppy pee a lot and would only become worrisome if they got into their later months or first year and still were needing to pee every hour.
3) Marking Territory
If your australian shepherd pees in many different places over the course of their walk, they’re more than likely just marking their territory.
It’s also a way for your doggo to communicate with the other dogs in your neighborhood.
Interestingly, when your pup goes number 1 and 2 on their walk, it’s like they’re commenting on a doggy forum.
As they sniff around and relieve themselves in a variety of different spots they’re communicating and contributing to the neighborhood doggo conversation.
Which means your australian shepherd may only let a little pee out each time they go so they can contribute to as many different places as possible.
So what might seem like your pup is peeing a lot is actually just little pees every time they squat or lift their leg to spread their scent as much as possible.
4) Moving Into Their Senior Years
When your australian shepherd moves into their senior years, incontinence is common.
The muscles that control their ability to hold back pee become weaker.
This stops them from being able to hold their pee and wait until their bladder is completely full.
Which means you’ll likely see your senior pup peeing much more because each time their body starts to build up urine, they have no choice but to let it go.
Related Reading: Top 8 Best Beds for Australian Shepherds
5) Daily Water Intake
Depending on what season it is or where you live will impact how much water your pup drinks.
If you and your australian shepherd live somewhere where it’s cold in the winter but super warm in the summer, they’ll drink more than usual in the summer which makes them pee much more.
Simply because they need to hydrate more and help themselves cool down.
The more water that goes in their mouth the more pee that’s eventually got to come out!
6) Recently Neutered Or Spayed
If your australian shepherd was recently neutered or spayed that can cause them to have a hormonal imbalance which makes them pee more.
When a pup gets spayed or neutered their body is going through a big change.
Over time the amount they’re peeing should go back to normal as their hormones balance out.
7) Overly Stressed/Anxious
When an australian shepherd is feeling overly stressed out or anxious it can make them pee much more than usual.
Things that are known to cause normally stress-free dogs to become more anxious are big changes to their environment.
Your australian shepherd doesn’t like change anymore than you do.
Which means if some big changes have happened recently it can bring on strong negative emotions that make them pee more.
Things like a loved one passing away (canine or human), moving to a new home/location, a change to their daily schedule, or a new person living in your home full time.
Each of these situations dramatically change the environment your pup is used to which can make them feel overly stressed or anxious.
Which can cause them to pee much more than usual.
Related Reading: Australian Shepherd Anxiety: Symptoms, Causes & Solutions
8) Minor & Serious Health Conditions
Some minor health issues that could cause your australian shepherd to pee more is a bladder infection or a urinary tract infection.
Thankfully, these can be treated quite easily with a trip to the vet.
Some of the more serious health conditions that can cause your aussie to pee more than usual are diabetes, cushing’s disease or a kidney disease/infection.
If you think there’s a chance your pup has an underlying health condition it’s important to take them to the vet to have them looked at.
5 Tips To Help Your Australian Shepherd Not Pee So Much
For the reasons not related to a health condition, here are 5 helpful tips to ensure your australian shepherd doesn’t pee so much.
1) Don’t Overexcite Your Pup
While it’s always great to see your aussie pup after several hours of being away from them, do your best not to overstimulate them.
Speaking in a high pitched voice and playing with them as soon as you get in the door when they have a full bladder is asking for an accident.
Either you have a young pup that’s not quite learned how to control their bladder or you have an older pup that’s starting to lose control a bit.
In both situations you’re not helping your pup when it comes to holding in their pee.
The best thing to do would be to go right out into your backyard and be excited with them out there.
Then they can go pee where they should and you can still give them all the lovin’ you want right when you get home.
2) Find What’s Triggering It
Whenever your australian shepherd is behaving unusually or doing something you wish they wouldn’t, one of the best things you can do is find their trigger.
In this case, your australian shepherd would be peeing a lot because of something in their environment.
More specifically stress, anxiety or excitement.
When you’re able to figure out exactly what’s happening that’s causing them to pee so much you’ll be able to reduce it.
Either by making sure they aren’t around their trigger nearly as often or by helping them become comfortable being around their trigger where it doesn’t affect them anymore.
3) Thoroughly Clean Messes Inside
If your australian shepherd pees inside and it’s not thoroughly cleaned up, the familiar scent of their urine will make them want to continue to pee inside much more.
Which is why it’s important to give places they’ve had an accident a real good cleaning as soon as possible.
You don’t want them to be able to smell their urine at all or it’ll only increase how often they pee inside.
4) Healthy Diet
When your australian shepherd is fed a healthy diet it limits the chances of them eating overly salted foods that would make them drink more water and have to pee much more.
The best thing to do is make sure 90% of their daily food intake is from their kibble and only 10% is treats.
Whether that’s dog biscuits, table scraps, vegetables or other yummy food they enjoy.
Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing.
Which is why it’s best to keep 90% of their daily diet to a healthy dog food that gives them all the nutrients their body needs and keeps things balanced.
5) Have a Veterinarian Look At Them
Sometimes when your pup is peeing much more than usual it’s because of something going on internally.
If nothing has changed in terms of their diet, activity levels or environment but they seem to need to pee much more often it’s a good idea to have a vet take a look at them.
They’ll be able to see if anything’s going on and help them get back to normal or assure you it’s just a phase.
Other posts you might find interesting:
12 Best Harnesses for Australian Shepherds
9 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Nip + 5 Helpful Tips
11 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Are Good Dogs + Tips
9 Reasons Why Australian Shepherds Pace + 4 Helpful Tips