# Feeding & Bathroom Schedule?



## Yui (Sep 12, 2009)

Well, I'm trying to think of a schedule I can use (before the dog gets here) so that there is a less likely chance for any accidents on the carpet. I have to leave early in the morning (6:30ish) and was thinking of feeding at 5:30am and taking him out at 6:00am. Is that good or should I take him out first (since he should wake up and probably need to go out) and then feed before I come back at 2:00pm and take him out then? Or take him out, feed him, and quickly out again? *He's 3 1/2* so I was thinking that it would be normal for him to eat once a day (Wellness Super5mix), but should I feed twice if he's being fed so early or should I feed once and wait till I get home at 2:00 to feed him and just take him out in the morning and feed later? If I feed twice I was thinking to split the serving in half (2/4 cups I think is the recommendation on the bag) so he's feed twice, but I don't know...In general I was thinking take him out at 6am then 2pm(some days it will be 12am) then 8pm...but I'd like help on what the feeding schedule should be and how long after to take him out. >w< Cause I don't want to take him out and feed him and then he will have to go right after without me realizing after I leave...How soon after eat does a dog need to go out?

I was told he is already house broken, so I don't think I'll need to go through that crating process...


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

There is no answering this without the dog's age. We usually get 7 week olds. Even with older dogs, they go out before being fed. The younger the dog, the sooner after eating it needs to go out, maybe even 5 minutes. 

The dog guide school has us feeding 3 meals to 3 months and 2 to 6 months and then one. That is fewer meals than many others do. 

We have never had a problem with leaving puppies crated 4-5 hours at a time even from 7 weeks. I don't think any dog should be left longer than that.


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

If you're talking in the morning when the dog first wakes up, take them out, then feed them, then take them out shortly afterwards if it's a puppy. Short walk outside the first time, then longer walk the second time, if you have the time in the morning, that is. Hope that helps.


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## Yui (Sep 12, 2009)

His age was in the middle of the post, I bolded it, but just so you don't have to go back and look he's 3 1/2. I finally got him today! As far as I know, he hasn't gone out since atleast 1:30pm and I've taken him out 3 times and he just won't go...it's been 8/9 hours. ._.; He just stands in the grass and stares at me...(after feeding him)I tried walking him, then jogging/running, and then playing for awhile, and nothing...


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

Yui said:


> His age was in the middle of the post, I bolded it, but just so you don't have to go back and look he's 3 1/2. I finally got him today! As far as I know, he hasn't gone out since atleast 1:30pm and I've taken him out 3 times and he just won't go...it's been 8/9 hours. ._.; He just stands in the grass and stares at me...(after feeding him)I tried walking him, then jogging/running, and then playing for awhile, and nothing...


Oops, sorry! That's what I get for skim-reading!

Well, the good news is that he has to go eventually, the bad news is that it might be in the house. This is going to sound like a very annoying thing to do, but I would suggest taking him out every ten minutes. Even if it's only for a couple minutes, keep taking him out. Obviously you want to carry treats with you so the very moment he goes, you make it out to be the most awesomest thing you've ever seen! Good luck!


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

I apologize for missing the age. That was pure carelessness on my part. I always try to carefully read a question before answering.


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## Yui (Sep 12, 2009)

Hehe, that's okay you guys! :]
I took him out after him holding (by choice) it for 10 hours and after standing in the rain for 10mins(the umbrellas was useless xD), he went, to pee...however, he hasn't done "#2" since he's been here...o.o;


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

Yui said:


> however, he hasn't done "#2" since he's been here...o.o;


o-o That's somewhat frightening...Well, like I said, he has to go eventually, and hopefully it won't be in the house!

One thing that I thought of that might help is walking him instead of standing outside. (I know it was raining, but you have to do it anyway!) My dog is very picky about where she poops. She LOVES to poop on dead leaves and bushes. I don't think I've ever seen her poop on normal grass. You might just have to find what inspires your pup to poop!


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## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

JLwillow is right about the walking. Guess I was having a bad day that I not only missed the age, but forgot to mention the walking. I am taking 11 week old Raven to a dinner party tonight at a public event center. Trust me, she will get a good walk before we go in. 

Not only to empty her out, but also, a tired puppy is a good puppy.


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## Yui (Sep 12, 2009)

It seems that when he pees, he doesn't need to be walked very far (a few feet away from the house) but when it comes to pooping he wants to be out for a good 5-10 mins. He seems to like the bushes best, but he went in regular grass about 2 times. :]

Is it normal for a dog to go #2 only once a day...? Specifically a small one?


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

The walking sounds pretty normal in my opinion, walking definitely helps the dog poop. I don't know how small your dog is, even after rereading your post, but my dog is 19-20lbs, and she poops two to three times a day, but the thing is is that I know her biorhythm, and I know when she tends to poop. So not only have you not own the dog for very long, therefore he's not all the comfortable yet doing things like going #2, but you don't know the times he tends to want to poop, so you don't know exactly when you should take him out. The good news is, though, that all these things will come in time, so you'll figure it out. 

Also, after rereading your post I realized that you asked about how many times to feed, and in my opinion it's better to feed twice a day, morning and night. It's good for their digestive system and makes it easier to predict when they're going to poop.


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## Yui (Sep 12, 2009)

He is about 9lb, sorry, I would have swarn I mentioned that...xD He seems to like to go in the night time 9:00pm-ish, though, I will have to see when he will go in the morning...He doesn't seem to be much of an eater, but I'm going to try having him eat in the morning and at dusk.


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

Well, he's adjusting to your house right now, so he's probably not going to eat all that much, and he's 9 lbs, so he's not going to eat that much anyway. XD

Also, I would be wary as to the amount of food that the bagged food suggests that you give your dog. Wellness tends to be a good brand, and I'm not saying to not try the amount it suggests at all, I'm just saying that not every dog works the same, and your dog could lose or gain weight, so just keep an eye out. If the amount of food seems to be working for him and he stays at a healthy weight, then that's great!  If not, some adjustments might need to be made, but it's not a big deal.


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## Spitzy (Oct 13, 2007)

First off, Sunny is so adorable! (I've been over to your picture thread, too.) I remember reading your thread in October about looking at older dogs, and I'm glad that in the end you were able to find such a perfect match! Hurrah!

I agree with JLWillow, especially that part of what you're contending with is just the settling-in process of a new dog. I saw that Sunny is also not that big an eater of his kibble - behaviorally, he sounds a lot like my big dog when she first came home from the rescue. She hardly ate anything, and she wasn't really pooping anything like regularly until she'd been home for about two weeks! As she became more comfortable, she began peeing in more places and being more regular in terms of eating and #2. Like Sunny, she also seems to need about 15 minutes of walking before she'll poop. My little dog (~12lbs and also ~3.5 years) with a less-anxious personality adjusted more quickly, but I think he also was a little off in poop-schedule for the first couple of days we had him home from the shelter.

I think I read somewhere that they take about 14 hours to digest kibble, and I've found that to hold up roughly for both my big and little dog. In my observation, the window is about 10-16 hours and my little dog tends to range on the shorter side of that time schedule and is more likely to go more than twice a day compared to my big dog. Particularly back when I was feeding Wellness Core Ocean - he seems to be going less volume and less often now that he's adjusted to Orijen.

Based on my (very limited!) experience I would guess that if Sunny has two meal times, that once he gets more comfortable he'll be going at least twice a day. So if you're feeding ~6am, 9pm is in the window for the digestion of that meal. And it sounds like you were thinking of feeding a second meal at 2+pm, so that seems like it lines up okay with your morning times for going out.

For reference - my little dog eats at about 9am and 8pm. He always poops in the morning when I take him out before breakfast, he almost always poops on our afternoon walk ~4-6 pm, and he sometimes poops in the evening (either ~9pm or ~midnight).

(Wow - how many times did I say "poop" in this post? ; Ah, the joys of dog ownership!)


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## Yui (Sep 12, 2009)

I guess I should be more patient then. :] It's only been a few days, so I haven't seen any change in weight, as far as I know he's still 9lb.


@Spitzy - Thank you! :3 I'm glad I got an adult dog, puppies will find homes quick anyways; I never did find out what happened to that Japanese Chin...
I never assumed he wasn't eating because he was new here, since when I was at the shelter he was quick to eat the treat I gave him. >w<
Hmm, that seems right. I fed him at around 5am and took him out at 3pm (I sent him out at 8am and he didn't do anything but pee) and he went #2(and #1 xD). Now that I know that, I can make a schedule a lot better! Thankies for the reference! <3
---

I have another problem...he has pretty loose/mushy stool.
I'm assuming it will go away once he completely switches to Wellness though, I hope...D:


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## JLWillow (Jul 21, 2009)

He has loose stools because he's not adjusted to his new diet yet. I would give it about two weeks to have him fully adjust, and if he still has loose stools at that point, you might want to look into another food.  But until then, you can put canned pumpkin in his food, and it will magically make it hard!  I'm not kidding, pumpkin does magical things to a dog's poop! XD But make sure that when you get the pumpkin, the only ingredient is pumpkin!


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Yui said:


> Hehe, that's okay you guys! :]
> I took him out after him holding (by choice) it for 10 hours and after standing in the rain for 10mins(the umbrellas was useless xD), he went, to pee...however, he hasn't done "#2" since he's been here...o.o;


This happened when I first got Nia too. She came home at 6 pm. Didn't pee again until 8 am the next morning or poop. And this was a 5.5 month old puppy too.

I think it's just the stress of leaving for a new home. Glad he's doing well now though!


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## mrslloyd09 (Jul 12, 2009)

Michiyo-Fir said:


> This happened when I first got Nia too. She came home at 6 pm. Didn't pee again until 8 am the next morning or poop. And this was a 5.5 month old puppy too.
> 
> I think it's just the stress of leaving for a new home. Glad he's doing well now though!


Same with Mandie, although, she'd also been spayed a few days before.

The foster, Alice, is a smaller dog than Mandie, about nine lbs, and she poops three times a day. Mandie, who's twenty-five lbs, goes twice. Alice does get fed three times a day because she's puppy and Mandie gets fed twice a day.

What other food are you feeding him and what ratio of that food and Wellness are you feeding him (I'm a Wellness feeder myself )?


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