Ask Me Help Desk - Puppy housebreaking problems

I've had my English cocker spaniel puppy since she was 4 weeks so it seems like I've been dealing with this issue forever! My puppy eats 4 times with a morning snack as she's very hungry when she wakes up. Her feeding schedule goes: 9 AM commercial dry puppy food, 1 PM yoghurt and rice, 4 PM dry puppy food and 8 PM home made ground beef, chicken liver and rice that I feed my grown up ECS. She also gets a vitamin and calcium supplement and salmon oil. The idea is to slowly move her to 2 meals of home made food at 9 AM and 4 PM like the other pets. Normally you take out the puppy after each meal and she should poop - at least most times. Now her poop schedule is weird and goes: 6 AM, 7-7.30 AM i.e around breakfast, 9-10 AM i.e. around the first meal. Only the first poop is predictable as it's so early in the day but the next 2 could be before, immediately after or some time after a meal. The thing is I'm a bit preoccupied then as I have another dog and 4 cats to feed and the cats are old and need to take meds so the feeding process is a little long (10 minutes) so I never catch the puppy circling, just get to see poop! The next poop after these 3 episodes could be between 6-7.30 PM i.e after 2 meals. Again I have to be lucky to get her to go. I guess her poop is piling up inside her. She's too young to be walked as she hasn't had her shots. Long story: the puppy has mange and is being treated for it so the vaccinations have been deferred. She's active and intelligent. What can I do different? Would be glad of advice.
Em

Quote:

Originally Posted by emerald2010

I've had my English cocker spaniel puppy since she was 4 weeks so it seems like I've been dealing with this issue forever! My puppy eats 4 times with a morning snack as she's very hungry when she wakes up. Her feeding schedule goes: 9 AM commercial dry puppy food, 1 PM yoghurt and rice, 4 PM dry puppy food and 8 PM home made ground beef, chicken liver and rice that I feed my grown up ECS. She also gets a vitamin and calcium supplement and salmon oil. The idea is to slowly move her to 2 meals of home made food at 9 AM and 4 PM like the other pets. Normally you take out the puppy after each meal and she should poop - at least most times. Now her poop schedule is weird and goes: 6 AM, 7-7.30 AM i.e around breakfast, 9-10 AM i.e. around the first meal. Only the first poop is predictable as it's so early in the day but the next 2 could be before, immediately after or some time after a meal. The thing is I'm a bit preoccupied then as I have another dog and 4 cats to feed and the cats are old and need to take meds so the feeding process is a little long (10 minutes) so I never catch the puppy circling, just get to see poop! The next poop after these 3 episodes could be between 6-7.30 PM i.e after 2 meals. Again I have to be lucky to get her to go. I guess her poop is piling up inside her. She's too young to be walked as she hasn't had her shots. Long story: the puppy has mange and is being treated for it so the vaccinations have been deferred. She's active and intelligent. What can I do different? Would be glad of advice.
Em

Contd: puppy is now 10 weeks old.

She's 10 weeks and hasn't had any "shots?" Where are you?

I don't "home cook" but I WAS told by my Vet NOT to give my puppy chicken liver because it's too rich for her. That very well be vary from Vet to Vet.

I don't think I've ever had a dog that "pooped" on a strict schedule. They spend a lot of time outdoors and go when they have to go, usually in the AM, never at a specific time.

Why is 10 weeks too young to be walked? My puppy is a rescue, surrendered at 4 weeks (the people intended to otherwise dump the litter), and he's always been walked.

I know I'm missing something here.

She was treated aggressively for sarcoptic mange since age 6 weeks so the vet held off the vaccinations as he thought too many meds were bad for such a young puppy but now she got her first vaccination today. I can't walk her outside my garden till she's had her shots obviously. Living on the third floor means I need to have a rough idea about appropriate pee and poop breaks. My vet also said the same thing today: puppies don't poop to a schedule. And that maybe I'm feeding her too often.

Puppies should really only be fed twice a day. If your puppy just seems extra hungry, try a mid day lunch meal.. For lunch time though, don't feed a full ration... you'll get a fat dog that way.

Rule of thumb is... after a puppy eats, they need to go potty 15-20 minutes after. So when feeding in the morning.. give yourself enough time to take the puppy outside for a potty break within that time.. And some puppies don't follow the rule books and will need to go potty sooner after eating.

If you cannot watch your puppy, put him in a crate. Crates will become your best friend and a very wonderful tool in house training. Seeing as how you have a small breed puppy, a large sized cat crate would be a good size for you.

Puppies that were raised from birth in a clean environment won't potty where they sleep. Feed your puppy in the crate and leave her in there until you have time to take puppy out to go potty. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The types of foods that you should feed your puppy should just be a commercial made puppy food. Supplementing other things into the diet will just make things difficult for you and its very unnecessary. Puppies just need to grow.. Feeding organic and all natural foods really isn't necessary. Once the puppy turns a year, than.. by all means, start feeding the natural foods. But for right now, find a good puppy food and feed just that. Follow the directions on the back of the bag as far as serving sizes for your puppy and base the amount on your puppies energy level. If your puppy is more low key and lazy, feed the lesser amount. If he is completely cranked and bouncing off the walls, feed the higher amount TWICE a day and maybe a lunch. But most puppies if fed correctly for breakfast and dinner don't need a lunch.

As far as vaccinations, just follow the advise of your vet. For potty breaks outside, just stick to the grassy places that aren't heavily used. Find a corner in your area and just keep with it. Avoid places where there are lots of dogs and people.. so in other words, don't take your puppy to a dog park! In the past, with my barely vaccinated puppies, I just stuck to people parks... Not to say parvo doesn't live there, but its just less likely. Its up to you if you feel like taking the risk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucky098

The types of foods that you should feed your puppy should just be a commercial made puppy food. Supplementing other things into the diet will just make things difficult for you and its very unnecessary. Puppies just need to grow.. Feeding organic and all natural foods really isnt necessary. Once the puppy turns a year, than.. by all means, start feeding the natural foods. But for right now, find a good puppy food and feed just that. Follow the directions on the back of the bag as far as serving sizes for your puppy and base the amount on your puppies energy level. If your puppy is more low key and lazy, feed the lesser amount. If he is completely cranked and bouncing off the walls, feed the higher amount TWICE a day and maybe a lunch. But most puppies if fed correctly for breakfast and dinner dont need a lunch.

Was glad to see you come along - a greenie and applause. I wasn't sure about the feeding. All good info.