Up to the age of at least 20 weeks, puppies haven't yet developed full bladder control, so they will need to urinate at least once every hour or so when they're active.
Very young puppies (7 to 12 weeks old), especially of small breeds, need to urinate more than once an hour if they are active. It's a good idea to take them out every half hour, or even more frequently, while they are alert and active. If puppies are playing, chewing hard, running around, getting very excited, or generally being active in any way, there may be a few times during the day when they need to go out just 15 minutes after the last trip.
As a general rule, dogs tend to be more metabolically active first thing in the morning and again in late afternoon and early eveming. These are times when you'll want to be especially vigilant.
Puppies need to go out right after eating or drinking. By "right after" we mean within a minute or tow of finishing their meal or having a long drink.
Feed your pup on a regular basis so that she can defecate on a regular basis as well.
When they are sleeping, puppies can wait much longer periods without needing to go outside. But don't make the mistake of thinking that just because your puppy can sleep through the night without urinating that he can wait as long during waking periods. He can't. Dogs, like humans, are more metabolically active when moving about than when they are sleeping. After all, you might be able to sleep through the night without visiting the bathroom, but you probably don't go eight or nine hours during the day without doing so.
Sometimes puppies don't go at all when you take them outside. It's even normal to have your puppy "go" outside, come inside, and then need to "go" again in 5 or 10 minutes. He's not trying to make your life more difficult, it's just the way his body works. Learn your dog's natural pattern so you aren't taken by surprise once you both return to the house. If your dog has a tendency to need to potty right after coming inside, you may need to spend a longer time outside with him until he's done. Then, play with him and bring him in. If he won't finish his business after you've waited several minutes, bring him in, put him in his crate or room (or stay right beside him, watching him carefully) and take him out again in 10 minutes to try again. Don't give him free access to the house when you suspect he might still have to go.
As a rule of thumb, the number of hours a medium- to - large-sized puppy can "hold it" while confined is the number of months old they are plus one. So, during the day, a three-month old Labrador Retriever can be crated for four hours and a four-month old Golden Retriever can be crated for five hours. A pup of a small breed like a Shih-Tzu, Wired haired Fox Terrier....probably couldn't make it that long. This is one of those general rules that no one tells the dogs, so there's lots of variation from puppy to puppy.
It's a good idea to occasionally take your puppy outside on a leash to potty even if you have a fenced-in yard. If your puppy never potties on leash, he may grow up unwilling to do so. That can turn into a problem on a vacation, at the vet clinic or a t a friend's house. It's also wise to teach a puppy to eliminate on a variety of surfaces, because dogs become "loyal" to them once they're older. At minimum, be sure your dog is familiar with going on both dirt and grass.
And last, but by no means least, the scent of urine is a neon sign that says "restroom" to dogs. That's why it's so important to clean up accidents correctly.
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