She's been great in pretty much every area, we are lucky! She was 12 weeks yesterday. Breeder was feeding her one cup of Kibble morning and night (12 hours apart) so that is what I continued with. Although I did change her food over with no problems. I had thought that was a lot for such a little thing, but Vet said she was good with that. I am aware puppies are ALWAYS hungry too! However, she is fine during the day but about an hour before her feeding time she gets pretty antsy, which is also fine ... we play and I keep her occupied. She doesn't get a lot of treats ... just 'training' ones each time she goes out and does her business and an occasional ice cube that she loves to crunch. My question really is, she's good through the night. She sleeps with us ... I know, I know .... but getting her from another state, staying in a hotel on the way home, etc., doing the crate thing early on was circumstantial and this is where we ended up. I did some research and found it's really a personal thing and since she settles down quickly now at night and pretty much sleeps through, we're good with it. But, she wakes me SO early!! She lays on my head, licks and sometimes chews my hair (lovely!) .... but it's really not to go out, although she does do a very looong pee!! We have a system, she goes out right away, I get myself together and then she eats. She's very good with manners and just sits while I get it in her dish too! She immediately goes out and poops and we are pretty good for awhile. I think she wakes and wants to get up because she's hungry? We see the Vet next Monday and I will ask him then, but just wondering what you guys think? Thanx!
Cupar was fed 4 times a day up until 6 months. He then went to 3 times a day until about 9 months. My adult dogs are fed twice a day. 7am and 4 pm. I would be feeding more frequently. If you changed the food you need to check the new foods feeding guidelines and feed accordingly. you may find she needs more food. Decide how many meals you're going to feed , weigh the recommended amount and divide by ? If she starts to look pudgy cut down and skinny up the food. Remember you can also use her kibble as training treats. Just take it out of her allowance for the day. As for getting antsy before feeding time, if you get a solution to that with a Labrador you'll be rolling in it. If you're happy having your dog sleep with you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. She's not going to rule you or try to dominate the world because of it. I don't but only because I used to have to share my bed with my children ( they all had their own beds just chose ours) , so no way am I giving up a kingsize bed for the dogs. They can have the sofas.
Shadow generally wakes up around 6am these days. He's coming up 11 months. He'll give a couple of barks, OH will get up and go into the living room. Shadow will jump up onto his lap and have cuddles then fall back asleep. I've tried to tell OH that the way to deal with it is to ignore the barking, but I think he likes the cuddles just as much as Shadow. The point being, he's not hungry, he just wants attention. My two do pester a little bit when they want something, but I always ignore them and sort them out when they're calm and I'm ready. No way I'm going to reinforce that behaviour, so they do realise very quickly that it's getting them nowhere. As for amount of food, you should be able to tell whether she's having enough by looking at her and feeling her. Like Cupcase says, though, it could be that she would be better with smaller, more frequent meals. Mine are still, and probably always will be, on three meals a day. It suits me best, it suits them and it breaks up the day a bit for them.
I agree, I think she needs more meals a day. Mabel is just 7 months and I recently changed her to 2 meals a day mainly because it works for me. I'll keep it this way too. The one thing I do is take some of her breakfast allowance mix it with water and freeze it in her kong. It was so hot today it just helped her to relax as well as eat (her favourite pastime apart from pruning) and stay out of the sun. I changed Mabel on to Arden Grange they have a nutritionist you can call for advice. They emailed me loads of useful information which I found invaluable. I'm sure other brands must do the same. Regarding sleeping on the bed, it's entirely your choice. Mabel sleeps in the kitchen, in a crate but with the door open so she can get water. She very rarely gets up before 7.50. She's normally snoozing on the sofa by 20.30 or watching TV. Such a lazy bones. I find this hysterically late but that's just what shes like.
Her feeding quantity will change so it's best to follow the manufacturer's guide to start with; she won't stay on a cup full all of the time. Weigh your puppy at the vets' and if you have scales at home then weigh weekly. I kept a chart for months when Chepi was a very young pup. Feed 4 times or at least 3. I think I gave Chepi some of her daily allowance about an hour before bed, out for a poo etc bed around 11pm and then she slept until about 5.30. I slowly stretched the 5.30 out until 6.30 and that's our normal get up time. I can understand her sleeping with you and I may have done the same except my cats needed special time so Chepi still sleeps in her crate at 14 months old.
Thanx for the responses! I too thought she should eat 3 times a day, but since the twice began with the Breeder and she was used to it, I kept it up and asked the Vet when I saw him. He said it was fine. He also knows the dog food I'm using and said the 2 cups a day was fine. She's on Nutro, btw. The Breeder had her on adult dog food and the Vet had recommended a large breed puppy food before I got her and likes Nutro. It seems to be working well. @ Cupcase .... I hear you on not giving up your bed. We never did have the kids with us, but our other dog Maggie slept on our bed after she graduated from nights in the crate right up until she could no longer jump up because of age issues. We began with a Queen and got a King to accommodate her! Not too spoiled, right? So, I wasn't too concerned with Maui following suit. At first it was just the 'settling down' when we first get in the bedroom, but found if we ignored her, it went much better. @Fiona .... I think you may be right on the 'attention'. I do ignore her for the most part and sometimes she will settle down and go back to sleep. I just do keep in mind that she is a puppy and just 'might' have to 'go'!! LOL!! So sometimes it's easier to just get up and start the day. For the most part, I do ignore her antsy behavior and not reward her. Like when she's in her crate for whatever reason and whimpers .... I ignore till I'm ready and she's quiet before letting her out. It works usually. Back to the food .... I think she looks fine. I swear she's doubled in size since I got her ... but in length, not width!! I can't 'see' her ribs, but can feel them. My husband thinks she's skinny, but I think she's fine. We will see the Vet next Monday though and will reconfirm all of this. Appreciate the comments! Again, thank you.
Wow Pilatelover, that is great that she sleeps so late! At this point, even gated in the kitchen I could never trust Maui alone .... she adores chewing the door and wall moldings!! We're working on that! Anyway ... as I said, I always did the multiple times for feeding, but at this point, she's used to it, the Vet agrees and it seems to be working. I also do the kibble in the Kong, usually in the mornings when she's pretty active. All part of the 'routine'. I will however, question the Vet again on the 3 times a day. I could do it, but it also works for my schedule as well. Really appreciate the comments ... thank you!
Thanx Jane .... sometimes Maui poops before bed, sometimes not. Always right after a meal tho! She's like 3-4 a day .... usually 2 in the morning and then after dinner. Anyway ... I would love 6:30 ... about the time I like to get up anyway. The 5-5:30 just makes me more tired earlier and her probably as well! We'll get it together at some point! In the meantime, she's an awfully good little girl! Thanx for the comments .... and yes, I'm going to stick to the amount fed and timing till I see the Vet but definitely ask about multiple feeding times again since so many do it. Might make a difference, who knows?!! Thanx again!!
Looked up their site and puppy feeding guide for Limited ingredient puppy food - and their recommendation on weight/age and cups of feed per day. I don't know the weight of your pup or if this is the right formula, but it does look and depending on how you pup looks...that you could increase slightly but split over 3 small meals per day which is what I would be inclined to do. Weight 6 - 11 weeks 12 - 16 weeks 17 -28 weeks 29 -52 weeks [TABLE="class: prd_fg_table, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0, width: 600"] [TR] [TD]15 lbs.[/TD] [TD]2 – 2 1/3 cups[/TD] [TD]2 – 2 1/4 cups[/TD] [TD]1 2/3 – 2 cups[/TD] [TD]1 1/3 – 1 2/3 cups[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]25 lbs.[/TD] [TD]3 – 3 1/2 cups[/TD] [TD]2 3/4 – 3 cups[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Link to the page - http://www.nutro.com/natural-dog-food/nutro/dry/puppy-chicken-whole-brown-rice-oatmeal-recipe.aspx
Just to give you an idea of how their feeding pattern and amounts change. When I picked up Molly at 8 weeks she was on 4 meals a day of 60grams each a total of 240 grams. At six months she was on 390 grams a day. She is now now 21months and has 250grams a day, just 10 grams more than when she was a sweet little pup. There should be a feeding guide on the back of the food you give her. They need a lot in the early months to fuel all that growth and energy. I have always erred on the low side of the range offered and she seems healthy and energetic.
Thank you Beanwood and Mollly! Yes it does seem like I could increase some ... maybe a small snack in the afternoons. Appreciate your help, all of you! Will keep you posted! Thanx again!
Forgot to mention, she was one of the smaller ones of the litter, not the runt, but weighed less than the others when they went to the first Vet visit. She was 12 pounds then. When I brought her to the Vet when I got home, just 2 days after being 9 weeks, she was 18.2 pounds. The Vet estimated she would be like 25 pounds at next visit the way she was growing. I haven't weighed her, but as I said, she's growing like a weed!
What I could never figure was......The amount I shovelled in the top end, minus the amount I shovelled up in the garden. How come she was still able to grow all that muscle, sinew, fur and bone and expend all that energy.
