New Puppy - potty question

I just adopted a five month old purebred German Shepherd. She was given away by a very reputable breeder that wanted to place the last puppy in the litter with a good home. She's a love. Only wants to please and be near us.

Now for the problem - she doesn't pee or drink water as much as a puppy should. She has no problem pooping - she ate this morning - she was being given 2 cups of dry mixed with one can of wet - she ate about 3/4 of it and then had about 1/2 cup of water. We went out for a 30 minute walk about 20 minutes later and she didn't do a thing. When we got back to the yard, she immediately pooped. I spent another 30 minutes outside with her - she never peed. Since I work from home, she's been confined to my office with me - so there's no way she's peed anywhere else. I've been taking her out ever time she got up and started to walk around - nothing. She just peed for the first time today. I'm concerned, even though she had a complete physical at the end of August and came back with perfect marks. She's been on heartworm medicine. A few people have told me it's difficulty in getting adjusted to new surroundings - we picked her up Saturday and she had been in a car for about 14 hours that day, with lots of stops in case she needed to go to the bathroom. She didn't go at all during the trip, but did once we got home.

Is there anyone with any advice or that has had this problem with a new puppy. She seems happy and has been running around and playing. Thank you!

Hello Dallas... according to post you've had her home less than 48hrs. But she didn't urinate for over 24hrs once you got her home?? While that's not normal for a young puppy... I'd give her another 2 days to settle in and get accustomed to her new surroundings, in order to gauge wrether or not she's having any problems. If she had a vet exam 3 weeks ago and was well, is active now and has no temperature, (do you know how to take it?) then I wouldn't worry, but rather give her a few more days to settle in. If you're concerned about dehydration you can pick up a couple of bottles of childrens pedialyte (flavorless) and pour in with her regular water 1/2 and 1/2. That way she's getting the electrolytes, minerals, ect. she needs until she's up and "running" like a shep her age normally would. Only do a 50/50 mix and only for a couple of days. I generally use this after a dog has a battle with diarhea. You said she's on heartworm medicine, is this because she was found to have heartworms or is it just the preventative treatment? I was curious about breeder and why she's sold all of the other pups, but giving this one away. Generally breeders will keep their potential show pick until they're 4 to 6 months of age before deciding not to keep them and then sell them as a pet for a lesser price. Hoping you got all of you paperwork, registration, health guarantee, with your puppy and good luck getting her settled in! She sounds very sweet.

Otch1, thanks for the advice. They were going to give the dog to her daughter as a birthday present, only to find out she's pregnant with her first baby and she didn't want to take on the added responsiblity of a puppy. It's my understanding that they made a lot of money on the other 10 puppies and the breeder loved this one so she almost didn't give her away until her husband insisted. He said five dogs were enough and they didn't think someone would buy an older puppy so they just asked me to reinburse them for shots and gas money as they met us halfway.

The heartworm med is preventative. No problems at all.

I don't know how to take her temp (and I'm sure I don't want to know, but I need to!). She seems to be doing a bit better this afternoon and is drinking more water (and peeing a couple of times) so you might be completely on target with your guess that she just needs time to settle. I'm just a worried new mommy - I knew there was a reason I didn't have kids! Thank you so much - what a wonderful site this is!

Hey Dallas!

Your situation sounds a bit like mine and my Boba. I adopted Boba 3 weeks ago, and the first few days we got him, he didn't go potty at all, HARDLY EVER! One day he lasted for 6 hours without going potty and there was one night when he lasted all the way until 9am the next morning after being in bed by 12, and yes I took him out every hour on the hour. It worried me until I spoke to a few puppy owners myself and they have experienced it for themselves. It takes time for a new puppy to get used to new surroundings. After a few days Boba started going more, even had a couple of accidents in the house, and now he is on a regular potty schedule, goes all the time when I take him outside, and the crate training is doing marvelous things. Give the baby a couple more days as otch1 said. Let us know the progress.

Thanks!