I have a couple of questions about having a puppy. can someone help me??

Question

I have a female Pomeranian puppy (8 months) and and I've only had her for a week. I'm new to this whole "having a dog thing" so i have a couple questions:

1) how much does a puppy sleep a day? Because every time she is in my room she's awake for about 5-10 minutes then after that she is back to napping.

2) Is it normal for a puppy to eat most of her food at night? because i leave a whole bowl of food & water for her during the day and night so she can gain some weight (my family got her malnutrition). She will eat a couple of piece of her food here and there in the morning but at night, i wake up and i see her bowl empty.

3) Ever since we got my puppy, i have seen some signs for her to go outside when she needs to poo/pee. She has been pooing/peeing in my backyard for a couple of days now... BUT at night she has had some accidents (while im sleeping) on my carpet in my room. I've tried to let her poo/pee before she sleeps, but the fact that she eats her food & drinks her water at night i cant really monitor her while i'm sleeping! (hence question #2)

please help!

Answer 1

you may want to try crate training her. she can stay in the crate at night time. she may use the bathroom in her cage the first couple weeks but she will learn not to.

Answer 2

Puppies sleep lots to grow big and strong.

Now when it comes to her eating problem try getting away from free feeding meaning don`t leave food down for her all the time.

Feed on a schedule in the morning and very early evening. She will more than likely eat her food with more gusto over a short period of time. Just follow the directions on the bag as to how much to feed your dog on a daily basis.

Anything that isn`t eaten in 5 to 10 minutes should be taken away. She will learn to eat all her food when it is put down for her.

Another suggestion I have is to take her water away about 2 to 3 hours before you go to bed so that you can take her outside to do her business just before you go to sleep and not have too many accidents to clean up.

Another suggestion I have is crate training her. Most dogs will not pee or p**p where they sleep and feel far more secure having a den of their own.

Good luck and God bless.  

Answer 3

1) They sleep for around about 12- 14 hours.

2) Yes it is for some of them. They are not used to you and the people in your house yet.

3) All puppies have those accidents (well Most) very few do not if any.

Answer 4

I do the same for my dogs, and they eat mostly at night, but eating at night means going potty at night too.  Here are some tips, use what helps.

I use a crate* to potty train with, but only for potty training and then I break it down and store it.  I put blankets and a small food and water dish in the crate.  Dogs don't potty where they eat and sleep.  When they are first little, I only expect them to hold their potty for 4 hours, and then 6 hours, then 8 hours and so on.  So when they are first little, I set a timer or alarm clock to wake myself up at night to take them *out.  I only allow my puppy in the bedroom* or the living room, only one room at a time.  They have to graduate to more space.  If I allow them to have full run of the house, it will overwhelm them.  I take them out the same door each time.  I tie a dinner bell to the door handle.  Do not use a jingle bell as they could get their toe caught in it.  So when they are little, I ring the bell for them, and then open the door to go *outside to potty.  When they get bigger, I take their paw and whack the bell and open the door to go potty.  Eventually getting to the place where the puppy will ring the bell and let me know when they need to go potty.  Dogs want to please you, so it is your job to let them know what behaviors please you and what doesn't.  So when my puppy goes potty, I give her a treat*, and clap, and make a fuss and praise her.  So she learns that going potty outside makes me happy.  If she has an accident, make a disgust sound like “tsst”  and take her out right away.  I never yell* or spank* my puppies.  Take them out when they first wake up, after they eat or drink, before nap, finish romping, when their activities change, or when they are sniffing around. Some puppies go pee right away, but may not go p**p until 10 minutes later, so wait for the p**p.  I have a little play time here, because sometimes I think they are done, and they are not.  Puppies train at their own pace.  While I may have a puppy that hasn't had an accident in several weeks, I don't let my guard down.  I don't expect my puppies to be "fully potty trained" until one-year-old.  If they have a setback, shake it off, and start over.  I only have my puppies in the crate when I am not watching them.  When I am sleeping, cooking, ironing, doing chores, basically when I am not watching her.  All other times, she is out of the crate practicing being a "big girl."  This is the time I train her how to behave in the house.  So we are practicing "no barking", 'no biting", "no jumping", and "don't eat the furniture."  I also have to practice "playing inside" so she doesn't knock over things.  You must keep the puppy in sight when they are little because they don’t know the difference between newspaper and carpet, and you don’t want them sneaking off and getting into trouble.   Some puppies can sleep through the night around 3-months-old, but their bladder is grown around 6-months-old.



REVISIONS:



*I use a crate to train with.  It is the method I prefer, compared to other methods I have tried.  I noticed that if they are in the crate, while I am doing chores, they are o.k., because the crate allows them to see me and be re-assured.  The crate can also be a comfort when stored in the basement for dogs who live in areas where thunderstorms and tornados are an issue. .  However, use the method that works best for you.....a laundry basket, a cardboard box, a woof-woof house, x-pen, child gates, whatever works for you.



*Outside, pee pad, litter box, whichever method you are using.   When the puppy is first little, keep the pee pad, litter box near the food and water dish, so the puppy can eat and drink, and then go potty.  You can move it away as they get older.  The pee pad has a scent that smells and initiates potty.  Sometimes a pee pad makes a sound that scares some puppies, so you might want to use a litter box if that happens.  The pee pad allows a puppy to walk around, but a litter box keeps the puppy in one place.

*Bedrooms, I use the bedroom and living room for training, because it works for me.  Choose rooms that work for you, but watch for rooms that are damp, or drafty.  While my puppies sleep in the bedroom during training, once they are trained, I let them sleep where they want to.  They don't have to sleep in the bedroom forever.

*Treats.  While I use treats for training, you don't have to.  I like Charlee Bears for training (a little cracker for a little mouth,) I use them for training, but once they are trained, I cut back on them.



*Some puppies will go potty in the same spot each time.  Some puppies have to be told to go potty.  A command like "go out" for pee, or "go finish" for p**p, might work for you, keep saying “go finish” until the puppy poops.  This is a good thing to train if you travel with your dogs.  By using commands, the puppy won't get confused when you are visiting someone, on vacation with you, or when you get to a  

Answer 5

you should pick up her bowl at a certain time at night. say 7ish, regardless if she has ate much during the day. this will get her on a routine to start eating earlier in the day, and that will help with the accidents at night.  she will catch on quick that she needs to eat earlier because she will know her food is being picked up at night. also pick up her water after a certain time too. she will be fine until morning! i promise! =]

Answer 6

Your puppy sounds like she has her days and nite mixed up.  I'd crate train her at nite.  Put her crate in your room with a doggie bed in it and a towel over it but leave the towel off the front so she can still know you are there.  

Only feed her during the day and leave water out all day and take it up 2 hrs before bedtime.  

She will eat during the day if she's hungry.  You are right about her eating and drinking in the middle of the nite is causing her to have accidents.  

She might balk and cry at first with the changes but it will be well worth it in the end.  DO NOT give in or give up.  Buy ear plugs if you have to.  Just get her on a schedule. Feed her 3 times daily and if she doesn't eat it, pick it up after 20 minutes and serve it again the next meal time.  She'll get the message and in a few weeks, you'll have a happy well adjusted, potty trained dog that sleeps at nite and eats and drinks during the day....the way it should be.

Answer 7

1.) Yeah, puppies sleep a TON. Totally normal. They're babies, ya know?

2.)You should not be letting her free feed. Feed her once in the morning. Leave it down for 20 minutes, and if she doesn't eat it take it up. Repeat at nighttime. She probably will rebel and not eat for a few days, but dogs *will not* starve themselves. She WILL eventually eat and get used to her new schedule after a couple of days.

3.)Using the method above, she should get on a schedule of when she needs to go, and then you'll be able to make her a potty schedule of when she needs to go. You may also want to try crate training.(google it) Also, try taking up her water at about 8 every night for a few more months. She should eventually get to the point of being able to hold her bladder through the night, but as a puppy you will probably need to take it up.

Good luck!

Answer 8

1. My 5 month Havanese sleeps about 15-18 hours per day depending on how much activity she gets when she's awake. Dogs, especially puppies, sleep a lot- it's normal.

2. You should definitely regulate her food. Our pup is about 5.5 lbs- I give her 1/4 cup food in the morning. 1/8 cup for a snack. 1/4 cup food for dinner btwn 6-7pm. It's good to make them eat on a regular schedule- it helps make their p**p schedule consistent also.

3. I don't give my pup water past 11pm. Like I said above, if you stick to a more regular schedule and give them dinner around 7ish, your puppy definitely should not need to p**p in the middle of the night. Also, invest in a crate so your puppy gets used to this as her bed. It should only be big enough for her to lay down and turn around inside. She might make a couple mistakes, but she'll learn not to p**p or pee where she sleeps. Our pup learned to hold it through the night starting from 3 1/2 months.

This is what we did w/ our puppy and she's perfectly potty trained w/out any mistakes anymore at 5 months. Good luck!

These are our stories/experiences as first time puppy owners. Hopefully it helps to ease worries/anxieties:

http://thepuppyexperiment.wordpress.com/

Answer 9

1. puppies sleep alot . just as a  baby would.

they need their puppy sleep so it is natural that your puppy sleeps alot, they like to play and sleep ahah

2. Dogs all have diffrent times where they eat more. just set out alittle for it to eat in the morning/afternoon and watch it and make shure it eats some . then at night put more out casue thats when it lieks to eat just always have water out for it .

3. yeah. it is still a puppy so it isnt use to the whole holding bladder thing it will learn over time try putting paper down where it usually goes to the bath room at night and wehn you wake up if the puppy went to the bathroom show the puppy were it went and scold it. and continue taking it out at night always arounfd the same time and in the morning it will get the hang of it  

Answer 10

Your puppy should sleep at night and keeps awake during the day.So you must feed her during the day only.In a couple of days she will get used to it.Before she sleeps let poo/pee and both of you will have a restfull night.

Answer 11

For question number one, puppies sleep on and off all day.  When my dog was a pup, she would play for 30 min, sleep for 30 min, on and off like that all day.

Second question- I think all dogs are different when it comes to eating food.  My dog eats all her food when she gets it, some just have it sitting out all day and eat whenever.

Third question- Puppies can only hold their bladder for so long.  The rule is however many months they are plus one is that amount of hours up to 8 hours.  Your pup should be able to hold her bladder for 8 hours, so I'm not sure why she wouldn't be able to hold it.  Maybe you can try letting her out after 4 or 5 hours in the middle of the night, and praise her when she goes outside.  I always feel that positive reinforcement works well with dogs.  Dogs love praise.  Also, I have heard to withhold water after 9pm for puppies.  She should be fine throughout the night and give her water all throughout the day.  

Answer 12

As far as help with your puppy's nutrition I would visit: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum

There are a lot of very knowledgeable people that will help you out.

Answer 13

1)There is no real answer to how long but it is normal if your puppy is really hyper then he is going to have to crash after awhile. it's like crashing after a sugar high.

2)Yes, I don't know why but my shih tzu/ poodle mix eats his food more at night. I think it's b/c then he can eat in peace with no one to interrupt him/her.

3)my dog wakes up at 5 in the morning to go to the bathroom and whines or licks my face to wake me up.

Answer 14

1) puppies sleep a lot, but don't forget to exercise her even though she's so little, she needs the exercise to sleep well at night and build her appetite.

2)  Feed her one in the morning and around tea time - take her food away after 20 mins.  This will improve her appetite and solve problem three.

3)  Take all water away from her after 6.00 and give her a good walk in evening or play out side in the yard with her.

Follow all three above and I guarantee your problems will be over and she will be happier with the routine.

Answer 15

1- puppies sleep a lot that is normal so don't worry on that account, just make sure that she is not sleeping because of boredom get her some toys to play you can find in any good pet shop.

2- do not feed your pup all the time you should feed her thrice a day or at the max four times but i would say three times is good her first meal should be at 8 in the morning second should be at 2 in the afternoon and her third meal should be at 8 in the night.

3- your pup has a good habit of poo/pee try to improve on it. this meal plan that i suggesting  to you will help control her night routine after her dinner take her for a walk this will help. always keep a fresh water bowl for her  do not keep food in night you need her to be healthy and happy cultivate good food habits it will take a while but i assure you that will be the best for your pup.