Potty Training Scruffles and Other Issues - Page 2 - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Bizzymammabee · 04-20-2006, 09:10 AM

The weight issue is a bit hinky but according to her and hubby's schedule she can do the 3x a day feeding. She would have to feed early and then let hubby feed before he leaves for work at 2 and then when she comes home she can feed.

I noticed that now Lex will mostly eat all of his dinner at night. The morning he might take a bite of his food but not much otherwise. He tends to ask for water during the day. I guess he doesn't need a much of his dry stuff being as he follows my almost two year old around and hoovers up after him.

Scruffles4Ever · 04-20-2006, 09:23 AM

I agree with all. He can be put on a feeding schedule. M husband’s work schedule combined with mine allows for him to be on a feeding schedule, but we didn’t put him on one because the breeder recommended letting him eat when he was hungry. We will put him on one now.

Now, I want to share something that I want to get your opinion on, but was scared to mention. His food…. The breeder fed him Iams Mini Chunks. She feeds all of her dogs Iams Mini Chunks (including puppies) and does not recommend puppy food. In her opinion, it makes Yorkies grow too fast and long before puppy food was invented, dogs were fine. This is what she said. I followed her recommendation and continued with Iams Mini Chunks. For those of you who are not familiar with this, it is adult food for small breeds. Could his food be part of the problem?

Thanks

Bizzymammabee · 04-20-2006, 12:13 PM

I personally dont' think that it's the iams chunk. He needs to be on the set schedule in order to help you out. As for her saying that they should have the adult food with no problems.... I think that is a bit out there. A young dog needs the puppy food because it has more enrichment and nutriments that are necessary because they are puppies while it's cut back in the food for older non-growing dogs. I know that is what was done back then but science has evolved and we see that they need more. I know in this day and age we coddle our pets/children way more but we know more now. Your dog being such a small dog needs the extras. I wonder if she wanted the food for the older dogs so that the pups don't gain weight too fast and end up looking too big to for her to charge the higher prices. I am not trying to disparage your breeder but with all that people know about the breed and hypoglycemia I wonder why she would go this route. This is just my humble opinion.

Muffie's Mom · 04-20-2006, 12:17 PM

I agree - I think she needs to be on a PUPPY super premium dry dog food.

Check with your local feed store, fancy pet boutique or health food store.

The grocery store and PetsMart does NOT carry the GOOD super premium foods.

She needs all the extras that are in the puppy food in order to grow healthy and get what's needed.

Scruffles4Ever · 04-20-2006, 12:44 PM

And trust me. We ended up paying more for him than we bargained for. We were quoted a starting price for males and a starting price for females. We wanted a male regardless of price and the one I fell in love with when I saw him for the first time at 6 weeks old ended up being almost 2X’s what I thought we might end up paying based on the original quote. Hey, he’s the baby I fell in love with so of course there was no way I wasn’t going to pay.

I appreciate everyone’s honest opinion and I’ve read some of the other threads on food so I will try one of the brands that came recommended.

Lissy · 04-24-2006, 10:27 PM

I don't think you'd want to feed your dog Iams anyway, even if you decided not to go for the premium dog food.

Iams Cruelty

Ritkaa · 04-25-2006, 08:49 AM

I too have a problem with these schedules. My 9 week old puppy eats when he pleases and its not his fault. The first day home he ate close to nothing cuz he was nervous. The second day home, when noone was looking he devoured everything but the crunchy Eukanuba balls, the 3rd day home he ate ok too, but the problem is this: he eats WHENEVER he wants. He picks at his food for a minute, then leaves, comes back later, eats for a minute and leaves again. So you can see why I simply cannot put him on a schedule. If I take away his food after he touches it, he wont have anything to eat till the next feeding time. So i n the mornings I just leave the food out there for him, and in the evenings, I throw away that food and replenish with fresh food.

Scruffles4Ever · 04-25-2006, 10:13 AM

Hi Everyone. On Saturday we are having a trainer come to our home for an evaluation. Since I last posted a few things have changed for the positive. I read an excellent book by Brian Kilcommons called Good Owners, Great Dogs, which completely changed my outlook on our situation. In addition, I stopped using the litter box and I’ve switched to training Scruffles to go outside. Scruffles is also on a feeding schedule. He eats breakfast at 7 am, lunch at 12 pm and dinner at 7 pm. What a difference a feeding schedule makes when trying to housebreak. Finally, I keep Scruffles on the leash in our house so I know where he is and what he’s doing at every minute.

Bizzymammabee · 04-25-2006, 10:22 AM

Ritkaa if you let him see that the food will be taken up after a certain amount of time they realize and eat at that time. When I first started Lex would do the same. I would keep an eye on him to see he was ok health wise. After the second day of doing it he caught on that he had to eat when I put it there for him and he had a time limit and it would be gone. So now eats when I put it down because he knows it won't be there forever. It helps so much in his house training.

Bizzymammabee · 04-25-2006, 10:23 AM

Scruffles4ever....

Glad to hear that things are improving. That schedule does help a lot. It has helped me be able to predict when he will go poo a lot better so I can have him outside to go there and not in the house.

JiggityJig · 04-26-2006, 01:09 PM

Muffie's Mom and others....thank you for offering so much good (and patient!) information on a subject that has been hashed over and over a million times. It REALLY helps those of us whose heads are swimming with all the different opinions and approaches we've read, while meanwhile we're struggling with our own individual specific questions and problems.

My dumb question: if the crate is only supposed to be big enough for them to turn around in....do you have to keep buying bigger crates as they grow? Does it confuse or bother them if you switch from one kind of crate situation to another? What general size should I look for?

And when they're crated overnight....they don't need food or whatever overnight, when they're puppies?

04-20-2006, 09:10 AM	#16
Bizzymammabee Luvs Lulu Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 6,931 Blog Entries: 1	Feeding The weight issue is a bit hinky but according to her and hubby's schedule she can do the 3x a day feeding. She would have to feed early and then let hubby feed before he leaves for work at 2 and then when she comes home she can feed. I noticed that now Lex will mostly eat all of his dinner at night. The morning he might take a bite of his food but not much otherwise. He tends to ask for water during the day. I guess he doesn't need a much of his dry stuff being as he follows my almost two year old around and hoovers up after him. __________________ Lulu will always be in my heart

04-20-2006, 12:13 PM	#18
Bizzymammabee Luvs Lulu Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 6,931 Blog Entries: 1	Food I personally dont' think that it's the iams chunk. He needs to be on the set schedule in order to help you out. As for her saying that they should have the adult food with no problems.... I think that is a bit out there. A young dog needs the puppy food because it has more enrichment and nutriments that are necessary because they are puppies while it's cut back in the food for older non-growing dogs. I know that is what was done back then but science has evolved and we see that they need more. I know in this day and age we coddle our pets/children way more but we know more now. Your dog being such a small dog needs the extras. I wonder if she wanted the food for the older dogs so that the pups don't gain weight too fast and end up looking too big to for her to charge the higher prices. I am not trying to disparage your breeder but with all that people know about the breed and hypoglycemia I wonder why she would go this route. This is just my humble opinion. __________________ Lulu will always be in my heart

04-20-2006, 12:17 PM	#19
Muffie's Mom And now Missy's Mom, too! Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: FL Posts: 1,496	I agree - I think she needs to be on a PUPPY super premium dry dog food. Check with your local feed store, fancy pet boutique or health food store. The grocery store and PetsMart does NOT carry the GOOD super premium foods. She needs all the extras that are in the puppy food in order to grow healthy and get what's needed. __________________ Pat...Mom to Muffie & Missy! Our Photos are HERE Missy on Dogster Muffie on Dogster

04-25-2006, 10:22 AM	#24
Bizzymammabee Luvs Lulu Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 6,931 Blog Entries: 1	Ritkaa if you let him see that the food will be taken up after a certain amount of time they realize and eat at that time. When I first started Lex would do the same. I would keep an eye on him to see he was ok health wise. After the second day of doing it he caught on that he had to eat when I put it there for him and he had a time limit and it would be gone. So now eats when I put it down because he knows it won't be there forever. It helps so much in his house training. __________________ Lulu will always be in my heart

04-25-2006, 10:23 AM	#25
Bizzymammabee Luvs Lulu Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 6,931 Blog Entries: 1	Scruffles4ever.... Glad to hear that things are improving. That schedule does help a lot. It has helped me be able to predict when he will go poo a lot better so I can have him outside to go there and not in the house. __________________ Lulu will always be in my heart

04-20-2006, 09:23 AM	#17
Scruffles4Ever No Longer a Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Monroe, NY Posts: 380	I agree with all. He can be put on a feeding schedule. M husband’s work schedule combined with mine allows for him to be on a feeding schedule, but we didn’t put him on one because the breeder recommended letting him eat when he was hungry. We will put him on one now. Now, I want to share something that I want to get your opinion on, but was scared to mention. His food…. The breeder fed him Iams Mini Chunks. She feeds all of her dogs Iams Mini Chunks (including puppies) and does not recommend puppy food. In her opinion, it makes Yorkies grow too fast and long before puppy food was invented, dogs were fine. This is what she said. I followed her recommendation and continued with Iams Mini Chunks. For those of you who are not familiar with this, it is adult food for small breeds. Could his food be part of the problem? Thanks

04-20-2006, 12:44 PM	#20
Scruffles4Ever No Longer a Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Monroe, NY Posts: 380	And trust me. We ended up paying more for him than we bargained for. We were quoted a starting price for males and a starting price for females. We wanted a male regardless of price and the one I fell in love with when I saw him for the first time at 6 weeks old ended up being almost 2X’s what I thought we might end up paying based on the original quote. Hey, he’s the baby I fell in love with so of course there was no way I wasn’t going to pay. I appreciate everyone’s honest opinion and I’ve read some of the other threads on food so I will try one of the brands that came recommended.

04-24-2006, 10:27 PM	#21
Lissy Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: CA Posts: 188	I don't think you'd want to feed your dog Iams anyway, even if you decided not to go for the premium dog food. Iams Cruelty

04-25-2006, 08:49 AM	#22
Ritkaa Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 55	I too have a problem with these schedules. My 9 week old puppy eats when he pleases and its not his fault. The first day home he ate close to nothing cuz he was nervous. The second day home, when noone was looking he devoured everything but the crunchy Eukanuba balls, the 3rd day home he ate ok too, but the problem is this: he eats WHENEVER he wants. He picks at his food for a minute, then leaves, comes back later, eats for a minute and leaves again. So you can see why I simply cannot put him on a schedule. If I take away his food after he touches it, he wont have anything to eat till the next feeding time. So i n the mornings I just leave the food out there for him, and in the evenings, I throw away that food and replenish with fresh food.

04-25-2006, 10:13 AM	#23
Scruffles4Ever No Longer a Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Monroe, NY Posts: 380	Hi Everyone. On Saturday we are having a trainer come to our home for an evaluation. Since I last posted a few things have changed for the positive. I read an excellent book by Brian Kilcommons called Good Owners, Great Dogs, which completely changed my outlook on our situation. In addition, I stopped using the litter box and I’ve switched to training Scruffles to go outside. Scruffles is also on a feeding schedule. He eats breakfast at 7 am, lunch at 12 pm and dinner at 7 pm. What a difference a feeding schedule makes when trying to housebreak. Finally, I keep Scruffles on the leash in our house so I know where he is and what he’s doing at every minute.

04-26-2006, 01:09 PM	#26
JiggityJig YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: TX Posts: 1,226	Muffie's Mom and others....thank you for offering so much good (and patient!) information on a subject that has been hashed over and over a million times. It REALLY helps those of us whose heads are swimming with all the different opinions and approaches we've read, while meanwhile we're struggling with our own individual specific questions and problems. My dumb question: if the crate is only supposed to be big enough for them to turn around in....do you have to keep buying bigger crates as they grow? Does it confuse or bother them if you switch from one kind of crate situation to another? What general size should I look for? And when they're crated overnight....they don't need food or whatever overnight, when they're puppies?