# How many times a day do puppies normally go to the bathroom?



## RoughCollie (Mar 7, 2011)

We have had Aidan, a 9 week old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier puppy, for one week.

We feed him what the breeder did. He weighs 7.75 lbs. He eats 2/3 cup of Eukanuba Puppy Chiot Growth Croissance for ages 1-12 months, 3 times a day. I prepare his meals according to the breeder's instructions. I pour 1/2 cup of boiling water on the food and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then I pour more water on it, along with 2T-3T of canned goat milk.

I tried preparing it without the goat milk, and Aidan refused to eat it for 3 meals. I tried preparing it with the initial 1/2 cup of water only, and Aidan refused to eat it. I tried feeding it to him dry, and that didn't work either.

Aidan will eat the dry food as a reward for coming to me when I call him. He chews it for close to a minute before he swallows it. He won't eat more than 3 pieces per session, and he has taken to batting each piece around and pouncing on it before he eats it.

I took him to the vet the day after we bought him, and his teeth and bite are just as they are supposed to be.

When Aidan eats, one of us stands right there with his leash and collar because if we don't, within 2 seconds, he poops on the carpet.

The only way to keep up with him (and avoid having to clean messes in the house) is to take him out immediately after he eats or wakes up or drinks a lot of water or every 45 minutes. We set the timer. We are bell training him. We use the key word "outside" and before he eliminates, we give the command "Aidan, potty". Afterward, he gets a puppy treat and praise. We are doing everything right as far as housebreaking him goes and he is still not housebroken. Admittedly, I was spoiled by our Collie (now deceased), who took 24 hours to housebreak, bell train, and eliminate on command, using the same method.

The problem is that if Aidan poops less than three times outside, after he eats, he will poop in the house right after we bring him in. 

The other problem is that he poops _at least_ 12 times in 24 hours. They are soft and small in amount.

When he urinates, it is not all at once either. He doesn't lift his leg, but he tinkles a little here, a little there, and I make sure he's done that at least 3 times before I bring him in, too.

Does all this sound normal for a male terrier puppy? Does it seem to you that the goat milk may be the cause of the problem? The cup of water in his food may also be a cause. He drinks plenty of water, aside from what he gets in his food. 

I would like to feed him a different puppy food (not done researching yet -- but want a wheat and corn free premium brand, not a grocery store brand). I know how to transition him to a new food, but how do I get him to eat food without a cup of water added to it? 

I have never seen a dog chew its food like Aidan does. He does not chew heavily watered puppy food, though, because it is mush

I will greatly appreciate any advice about whether Aidan's frequency of elimination is within the normal range, and about what to do about his food if indeed that could be the cause of the problem. It has been 8.5 years since I had a puppy, and Aidan is entirely different than our Rough Collie was when he was a puppy.

Thank you.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Did your breeder say _why_ your pup needed all this special preparation? The milk very well could be causing his soft and frequent stools. Sydney usually poops between 1-3 times per day depending on the amount of exercise she gets. If she's running around a lot in the back yard she goes more and if it's a busy day and she's just laying around most of the day, she only goes once. I would definitely call 12 times excessive, but I'm coming from the standpoint of an adult dog...idk though, even for a pup that sounds like a lot.

As for the food, I suggest trying get him to eat just normal kibble. Don't dress it up. When he's hungry he should eat. Also, Eukanuba isn't the worst but it's not the most nutritious food out there. You might try out some different foods and see if he likes another brand better. Check out this site that reviews dog foods to give you an idea. Sydney used to hardly ever finish her food on a couple different brands, then when I switched to Taste of the Wild she started to really enjoy her food.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

If you want to add something to his food, you could try a bit of cottage cheese, or yogurt (the plain, reg kind, not the fat free... If you can find it lol) with hot tap water semi-drained. That's what I do & my dogs love the heck out of their food. I also practice the 15 in rule, if they don't eat it in that amount of time they get it taken up & they have to wait til next meal time.

There are a lot of good foods out there, you might have to try a few before you find something that works for you, some dogs do very well on the top of the line, others like a food that's still very good but not quite tiptop.


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## RoughCollie (Mar 7, 2011)

Thanks, kafkabeetle. The breeder didn't say why -- I figure this is how they started out getting the pups to eat solid food, and they didn't "wean" them off the mush. They mostly discussed how important it was to feed him food that doesn't have wheat or corn in it. 

Aidan is so little, I'm afraid to let him go very long without eating -- I did it for 24 hours (3 feedings) and became afraid I would starve him to death. I am not very confident with him because he is so different from a Collie, which is the breed I am accustomed to. 

My four teenagers were devastated when our Collie died unexpectedly from lymphoma and liver cancer at age 8.5 in February, and were adamantly against getting another Collie because they just wanted Teddy back. In one week, little Aidan has brought laughter back into this house and my kids (along with my husband and I) adore him.

Taste of the Wild is one of the brands I've got on my short list to check out. My sister said that some of the high quality pet food manufacturers no longer make the food themselves - they have farmed it out to a larger manufacturer. She is worried that the quality control won't be as good. I haven't had time yet to find out if Taste of the Wild is one of them. I'd ask my sister for more information, but she has a very sick, paralyzed dog and between caring for him and her other pets and working full-time, I don't want to bother her with this.

Thanks, dogdragoness. I will try yogurt tomorrow. I have the 15-minute rule, too. I feed Aidan at the same times every day. He's gotten to where he naps next to his water bowl right before feeding time. We are also not feeding him any of our food.


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## lisak_87 (Mar 23, 2011)

Now I feel like I'm starving my dog... I feed my 10-week old lab/shep mix about about 1.5-2 cups of Blue Buffalo puppy every day. (That's what the bag says to do)...and he won't finish it unless I leave it out all day.

My puppy poos on average about 2 times a day. sometimes 3.


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## RoughCollie (Mar 7, 2011)

I took your suggestion, kafkabeetle, and bought Taste of the Wild dog food at Tractor Supply today. One serving is 68 grams, so today, I put 6 g of it in each of Aidan's 2/3 cup of dog food for his two remaining meals. Over the next 11 days, I will add TOTW to his food rations until he has completely switched over.

I bought plain yogurt and cottage cheese today, dogdragoness. Aidan ate 2 meals today prepared like this: 2/3 c. dog food, 1/4 c. boiling water poured over it (instead of 1 c.), and 1/4 c. plain yogurt mixed in it after it had cooled. I did not add goat milk. 

He ate all the food, even though it was nowhere near being mushy! I took him out twice, once for 20 minutes and once for 25 minutes, and he did not poop. He finally pooped around 8 pm, but my teenage son refused to take a flashlight with him so he could report on this subject. We live in the country and it is pitch dark out there. Naturally, Aidan never eliminates in areas that the porch light illuminates.

Nonetheless, Aidan would have pooped 8 or 9 times between 2 pm and 9 pm, but he only did so once since I removed 3/4 c of water and the goat milk from his food, and added yogurt. 

Thank you both very, very much for your help.



lisak_87 said:


> My puppy poos on average about 2 times a day. sometimes 3.


Thank you for letting me know. I had thought that Aidan was pooping way too many times. I don't think you are starving your dog. Blue Buffalo is a higher quality food, and from what I recall, dogs will eat less of that than of the grocery store brands. We used to feed our Collie Flint River Ranch, and the serving size was less than than that of Iams.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

That's great news! Glad to hear this is agreeing with him better.


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## Cairnterrier (Mar 26, 2011)

oh my goodness - that is one cute cute puppy. I have a Cairn Terrier who is just six months. I remember only too well when we first got her home she seemed to poop constantly. Our breeder suggested putting oatmeal and hot water over her kibble and because that is what she had done, I continued the routine. I'm sure that had a lot to do with all the poops. Since we stopped adding oatmeal and water to her kibble, she now goes three to four times at most a day. We too live in the country and have an outside light - but they always seem to go in either the shadow or darkened areas and I'm never sure if she actually goes - so now I take a flashlight with me and make sure all business is taken care of by bedtime.


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