Tayda doesn't go to the bathroom much…

[Tayda_Lenny]

I take them out at least 3 times a day. Lenny goes just about every time I take them out. Tayda doesn't. She goes pee probably every other time, sometimes every 3rd time, and she poos probably every 3rd time on average. I don't see any signs of her going in the house anywhere… is this a normal frequency?

Incidentally on their recent visit to the vet they told me that Lenny had signs of a urinary tract infection and Tayda was normal. I wonder if they could have gotten the samples mixed up?

Although i thought the signs of a UTI included frequent urination... not the opposite...

[jys1011]

I have the same situation…I often wondered why C3PO pees every time we take him out...no matter what like clock work he will pee any place he can find some grass.

Topaz on the other hand pees about every other time...unless we take her 5 blocks down to her fav spot under a tree & very dry grass. She doesn't poop as much as C3PO either.

I wonder if they're just different..

[Quercus]

I think it may be individual variation. Querk is a camel…he can hold it forever! All of our girls pee more frequently.....When Ivy was young, though she could hold it for a long time (and still can when she must).

I don't think I would worry too much about it. One thing that a long time breeder told me was that in his breed, that is prone to UTIs (not Basenjis), his theory is that it flushes the bladder better if a dog has its bladder full, and the voids a lot all at once, rather than just voiding frequently....I think the idea is that if there are crystals in the urinary tract they are more likely to be flushed out with a great volume of liquid. So, if the is correct that would make sense that Lenny, the dog that pees frequently, would be more likely to show signs of crystals, than Tayda who holds her urine and "flushes" more effectively?

I don't know if this is at all accurate...but his theory made sense to me. Also, some Bs are prone to crystal formation, but often don't develop a full blown UTI. There is something that some folks add to the water to change the PH of the urine, but I don't remember what...maybe someone else can help me out with that.

[MaxBooBooBear]

@Quercus:

I don't know if this is at all accurate…but his theory made sense to me. Also, some Bs are prone to crystal formation, but often don't develop a full blown UTI. There is something that some folks add to the water to change the PH of the urine, but I don't remember what...maybe someone else can help me out with that.

I was told that crystals were a sign and led to kidney stones?–not necessarily a sign of UTIs? There were special dog foods for this--to keep crystals from forming because I had to use one at one time (this was about 10-12 years ago), but my vet told me that the good quality dog foods now are formulated to avoid crystal formation, so you don't usually have to get special food.