Hi Robin,

It’s hard for me to know why your dog can’t hold urine overnight but I can give you a few ideas to start with. The fact that the urinating is occurring at night suggests that your dog is peeing too often. We call this symptom Pollakiuria. There are a few conditions that cause it and some are a urinary tract infection, diabetes, Cushing’s disease, kidney disease, among others.

In the case of a urinary tract infection, there can also be discomfort and difficulty sleeping as you mention if there are concurrent conditions with the bladder such as a bladder stone, a bladder mass, or inflammation from the urinary tract infection. My recommendation is to have your veterinarian perform a urinalysis and a culture and sensitivity test on the urine. It will help determine if there is an infection or crystals that could indicate stones or abnormal cells. If these tests are negative, I move to imaging of the bladder (an X-ray) and urethra to determine the cause.

Other conditions that cause excessive water intake and urinating in the night can easily be evaluated by performing a urinalysis and blood work. I would recommend you consider this as the next step if a urinary tract infection is not found.

Thanks for your question and good luck!

Dr. Clayton Greenway