Hello! I have a 16 week old puppy and am working on getting her on a feeding schedule now that will work for her when I return to work in 3 weeks and I’m looking for suggestions...probably dumb to ask but I am a novice at this and would like to know if I’m right on the right track or if I should be doing something differently. I am working on gradually increasing her time in the crate during the day to make the transition as smooth and stress free as possible. She is currently eating 3 times a day: 6am, noonish, 6pm. I am currently having two crating sessions a day...1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon ranging from 2-3 hours and gradually increasing, and ping ponging the amount of time (crate training hasn’t been easy...I goofed and waited too long and she isn’t liking it too much). For each training session I give her a Kong with something like a little bit of grilled chicken and sweet potatoe and a dab of peanut butter to help the training along. (I reduce her kibble amount at lunch time to make up for that). She has access to water all day when I’m home. When I return to work my schedule will look like this: 6:30am - leave for work 9:30am - potty break given by a friend 12:00pm - potty break from friend 3:15pm - I will be home I’ll be waking up as early as 4:30 am to get ready and to also exercise her. My questions.... 1. Would it be better to feed her when we first get up...it’s pretty early...or right before I leave? 2. Should I be working towards eliminating lunch, but leave Kong treats with her care taker for each time she goes back in the crate after her potty breaks? (Crate training has been difficult I want to give her something). I have a friend with a lab puppy whi is just one day older than her, and she feeds him once in the morning, crates him 4 hours, he gets a potty break, crates another 4 hours, and feeds again in the evening. He doesn’t get any water or food during the day. That seems a little harsh to me, but he’s adjusted well. Like I said, it hasn’t been easy for my girl to adjust to the crate so that just seems to be too much. Any input would be soooooo greatly appreciated!!!! I feel really dumb when it comes to all of this and just want to make sure I’m doing everything right for my baby .
Whatever you decide about food, you must leave water available. Not to give water isn't harsh, it's dangerous.
You have 3 weeks to work on a routine. You will see what is best for both of you. I would feed her just before I leave. I put some kibble in a kong and the res in the bowl. Give him the bowl first, after he is finshed I give him the kong and leave him. How much time does your friend have? It might be better if you just give her potty break and he does some exercise/walk. If she is not comfortable in the crate, she will have to be tired enough to calm down. Maybe he should give her another (frozen) kong. The friend who comes at 12 could first walk/give her potty break, and then feed her just before they leave. Mango gets a (medium puppy) kong just filled with kibble with first meal around 8am (some kibble in his bowl, and the rest in the kong), than a frozen one with banana, soaked kibble/sweet potato and soaked kibble at 11am, when he goes for a nap. When he wakes up I give him his second meal, and around 3-3:30 pm, he gets a (large classic) kong with apples and soaked kibble before another nap. He gets his last meal just before bed time (8-8:30pm) with another (medium puppy) kong....he has gotten so used to Kongs, he just waits for them every time, won't move from the crate, and he also doesn't like it very much. I work a very patricular schedule (2 days morning, 2 days dayshift, 2 days night shift, 2 days off) so I need some help for him to stay in a routine from friends and family. When I work mornings, I get up at 4:50 and don't take him out. He just lifts his head when I get up and falls asleep in a second. He is an early bird, but not that early. Also...how big is her crate? You should leave water in there. And some chew toys you can trust her with besides kong. Mango has a 116x77x86 cm crate, and when I first got him I divided it in quater space free for him. He did not step in there wth the only exeption when he went to pee in there . So I took divider out and he started going in by himself. I started feeding him in his crate, he went in too sleep on his own after a few days. I guess he saw the whole room as his den before ever stepping in the crate, because he never had another accident in my room.
Thanks so much for the input, Mango! My friend won’t have much time to exercise...she’ll pretty much just be able to let her out to potty. That’s why I’m hoping to be able to to exercise her in the morning. I just might have to do it in my work clothes and be a hot mess when I get to work. Haha. I might be able to hire a student who gets home early to exercise her at noon though. I haven’t had much luck with freezing stuff for her in the kong. She hasn’t quite figured it out. Same with mushy stuff. If it’s too difficult she just leaves it. I’m going to play around more with her higher value treats and see if that helps keep her interest though. As far as water goes I’m thinking I’ll see I might get one of those bottles that attaches to the crate. Her crate is 36” so there’s lots of room but she likes to stretch out and shift positions a lot. She’s a very active sleeper so I’d hate for the bowl to take up her wiggle space. Thank you so much for responding! Obviously my friends don’t always have the best advice. It helps to be able to talk this out!!
Have you considered giving the pup the run of a room - we had Nibbler in the kitchen with a gate so he had more room to walk about and had water . We very quickly trusted him with the run of the whole house ( not bedrooms but hall, living room and kitchen) - now he mostly lounges on the couch. He never took to a crate but we never really shut the door on it - he always had free run of kitchen.
I actually have....but EVERYONE except for my vet has advised me not to...so I’m Very interested in what you have to say. I actually left her once for a couple hours in the living room (with her crate open in there), everything else is closed off. I recorded her and...not a peep. When I came home (no barking) she came running out of her crate! I really do trust her in the room...I would want to make a couple of adjustments...but I do think it might work with her...
I've raised pups without crates, everyone did at one time. Crates are brilliant tools for potty training, and great for destructive older puppies (I've had a few of those too ) But they are not necessary for some older pups, and if your pup doesn't eat half your furniture when you are out, why not try to manage without one. If she is a chewer, you can get some pretty tough puppy pens now too, that will contain most Labs and give that bit more space to a dog during the day.
