9 lb dog - how often?

[Scurvy]

OP, I'm sorry. I won't give advice because I know you don't want it, but I have to tell you that there is no simple anwer. It isn't a weight issue. My dog and my sisters dogs are almost exactly the same weight. My dog goes out around 3 times a day, and not at all during the night. If we are out all day, she can "hold it" until we get home, regardless of how long we're gone. She has free access to water. My sister's dogs have to go out every four hours (usually more often than that), and will wake people up at night if they need to go out. They also have free access to water. There's no right answer to how often dogs need to go out. Even two dogs of the same breed who are the same age may have different needs or habits.

This is either a health issue, behavior/training issue, or the dog just has a small bladder. It doesn't matter what other people say about their dogs, because in your situation, your dog is the only one that matters.

Just to follow rule #1.

I'd say every 2 hours, and then again 20 minutes later.

 

[jrmasm]

My 4lb chihuahua is convinced he needs to go out every hour.

 

[MnParrothead]

My nine pound male chihuahua goes out every 1.5 hours when we get home from work/school and he still has accidents. He's kenneled when we're gone (up to five hours).

We live in snowy Minnesota and it's cold this time of year, so he needs to go #1 and #2 on two separate trips outside (about 20 minutes apart).