Confused with crate and potty training

[girlbuffalo1]

schedule

Wrigley is about on par with a Westies size and at 15 weeks his schedule was about the same as it is now (at 6 mo).

3am/4am husband goes to work and lets Wrigley out for potty
3/4am-6:30am crate
6:30am I get up for work let Wrigley out for potty and feed half cup food
6:30-7:30 out in house play a bit while I get ready for work
7:30am Potty--time for me to go to work
7:30am-noon/1--crate
noon/1pm Steve gets back from work potty and snack
1pm-3pm out with Steve playing and in house
3pm-5:30pm crate
5:30 potty
5:30-7 out in house while I make dinner ect
7pm approx Dinner 1/2 cup food
8pm walk generally around 30 minutes
8pm-10pm in living room with us while we watch TV
10pm out for potty one last time and crate
10pm-3am/4am crate

So I guess that means he goes outside generally 6 times a day. I would recommend that your pup not be gated into a room you are not in as you are just asking for accidents--the only thing we use our gate for is to keep Wrigley out of other rooms that we aren't in so he can't wander and pee..... The best rule seems to be to have them crated every time you are not watching them in the same room. Only now at 6 months and with about 5 weeks no accidents under his belt do I allow Wrigley to be alone in a room whie I use the restroom or go get something ect.

Oh and Wrigley acts like he is starving all the time too--however per the vet we were feeding too much before--was feeding around 2/3 of a cup twice daily. At 4 months he weighted around 8.5lbs and now at 6 he is around 10.5.
On this schedule and with this amount of food (we feed Eagle Pack) he usually goes #2 2-3 times a day.

 

[Westie Girl]

Wow...your dog sleeps in! You are so lucky. If I am not up by 6:30am she is barking!!! My poor husband is back in town and thinks that he will get to sleep in tomorrow...not so fast!

To answer your question, she weighs 5.4 lbs. She is 15 weeks old. Shame on me...I don't even know how much she should weigh at this point. I knwo 15 to 20 lbs. full grown but she is just a pup.

She has pooped twice at this point. I think I may just ahev been over feeding her in addition to the tummy issues. I cut back her food a bit today.

The pooping 15 minutes after eating has stopped today. She is back to her three hours later routine...yikes, everyday is a new routine!

Send good thoughts...who knows what the weekend will bring!

 

[Westie Girl]

Wrigley is about on par with a Westies size and at 15 weeks his schedule was about the same as it is now (at 6 mo).

3am/4am husband goes to work and lets Wrigley out for potty
3/4am-6:30am crate
6:30am I get up for work let Wrigley out for potty and feed half cup food
6:30-7:30 out in house play a bit while I get ready for work
7:30am Potty--time for me to go to work
7:30am-noon/1--crate
noon/1pm Steve gets back from work potty and snack
1pm-3pm out with Steve playing and in house
3pm-5:30pm crate
5:30 potty
5:30-7 out in house while I make dinner ect
7pm approx Dinner 1/2 cup food
8pm walk generally around 30 minutes
8pm-10pm in living room with us while we watch TV
10pm out for potty one last time and crate
10pm-3am/4am crate

So I guess that means he goes outside generally 6 times a day. I would recommend that your pup not be gated into a room you are not in as you are just asking for accidents--the only thing we use our gate for is to keep Wrigley out of other rooms that we aren't in so he can't wander and pee..... The best rule seems to be to have them crated every time you are not watching them in the same room. Only now at 6 months and with about 5 weeks no accidents under his belt do I allow Wrigley to be alone in a room whie I use the restroom or go get something ect.

Oh and Wrigley acts like he is starving all the time too--however per the vet we were feeding too much before--was feeding around 2/3 of a cup twice daily. At 4 months he weighted around 8.5lbs and now at 6 he is around 10.5.
On this schedule and with this amount of food (we feed Eagle Pack) he usually goes #2 2-3 times a day.

Wrigley is a cutie! So what you are syaing that if I am at home and I am not in the kitchen, she should be crated. I guess I feel bad because I can not stay in the kitchen all day and feel like I am just ignoring her. However, I am trying to get things done....laundry, bills, etc.

She has doen much better today. She has eaten twice and pooped twice. I did cut back on her food. She has been eating the Hill's i/d for diarrhea due to coccidia. However, I am not sure whn I need to switch back to just kibble. I guess I will ask vet on Monday.

 

[Herschel]

She needs to learn that alone time (in the crate) isn't a bad thing. Make sure she has a blanket in there and some toys. Our puppy commonly walks into his crate to take naps (we leave the door open now).

As far as your puppy acting like she is starving, I've heard a lot of people say that puppies should be given as much food as needed to ensure proper growth. I just follow the feeding guidelines on the Canidae bag. There is a chart here: http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html This does not apply to the Solid Gold that you are feeding. You should contact Solid Gold regarding their recommendation.

 

[Herschel]

Wow...your dog sleeps in! You are so lucky. If I am not up by 6:30am she is barking!!! My poor husband is back in town and thinks that he will get to sleep in tomorrow...not so fast!

I actually don't sleep very much at all so I've found that he goes to sleep around 9:30 but wakes up at 12 or so and has a ton of energy. I usually use that time as a late night training session and wear him out. After that, he goes to sleep around 1:30A and crashes so hard that he doesn't wake us up in the middle of the night or the early morning.

 

[silverpawz]

Most puppies and dogs will act like they're starving...all the time, every day, anytime they see food. Dogs love to eat, I doubt you really are underfeeding her so I wouldn't worry about it.

Can you feel her ribs easily without pressing, but not her hip bones? That's how I like to keep my pups and adults. Too chuby and it can effect thier growth, too skinny and of course that's not good either. You just have to asses her weight and feed her accordingly. Many dog food bags reccommend feeding more than what the dog really needs. It's a good way to sell more dog food. So I usually feed slightly less.

I agree with Herschel that she should be crated when you can't be watching her. Gating her unsupervised in the kitchen is just asking for accidents as it's too big of an area for her to know to keep clean. That's why a crate works, because dog's like to keep the area they sleep in clean. Too big of an area and they'll eliminate in one end and sleep in the other.

Try not to feel guilty (I know, it's hard!). How about stuffing a small kong toy with her meals so she has to work to get her food? That'll keep her busy in her crate and keep you from feeling guilty about putting her in there.

 

[Westie Girl]

Well, we were back to the vet for more i/d. I went on my own to just ask some questions. Apparently had had not been as truthful as I had liked. He said that she had coccidia really bad and would probably take atleast 21 days to rid her system. Now I am leary that this is not the whole truth and I am in for more trouble.

He said to keep her on i/d only and no klibble for atleast another week. I will continue the albon for atleast 7-10 more days. She at day 11 since diagnosis. I will finish out the i/d with no treats or kibble and do another fecal and then I will search out a new vet. He did say that her g/i track was still probably really inflamed and that the kibble was just too much fiber and passing right through her.

I can deal with her being sick if I know the whole truth. Maybe I am over reacting. She has done better today. We are down from an all time high of 7 poops to three and a half (too much excitement on the walk).

I think we are turning the corner adn perhaps are on teh way to better housetraining. I will keep her in the crate when not in the room. I guess I le my guilt take over and was not doing what is best for her. Keep the advice coming. If you have any ideas on how to make her sleep longer, I am all ears.

 

[Herschel]

It is 11:35 p.m. and we just got back from our night time walk. He's playing with his toys and I'm sure he will crash within 30 minutes. If I go to sleep now, we'll both probably wake up at 6 or 7.

If I wait for him to wake up at 1, we'll do a 30 minute training session and we'll both sleep from 2-9.

Puppies need sleep. If you want to sleep in, the cost is going to be that you're going to have to stay up later with her.