less than a week 'til puppytime! more questions...scheduling, potty, eating, nutracal 1) do you have your baby yorkie on a schedule? What does your schedule look like? do you plan naps? I am a SAHM so I'll be around alot and want to make sure he stays rested 2) pee pads...if I have him on a schedule and say take him outside every 2-3 hours can I expect I won't need these in his space unless we will be gone longer? Should he be in a smaller kennel/crate those times so he won't feel like peeing in his space? Will he be too young for that? Should he then be in a bigger space w/a pee pad when we go for longer (it's rare, since we still plan around our girls naps, but a long stretch will be around 4 hours) 3) food should always be available correct? what age do you switch to meals? Or can I start right away w/meals, just 3 or maybe 4 meals. We will have treats throughout the day, for potty, training too. When would I be able to cut back to 2 meals a day? (I realize it's all approximate...depending on his size, etc...just looking for ballparks) 4) I did buy nutracal...Do you proactively feed a smidge after each meal (like was suggested in the big new puppy sticky thread) or use as needed? or can just use honey as needed and return the stuff? |
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Water was always available both in his xpen and crate. 3) for older pups that are a good weight, ie not under three pounds I did not use the nutrical. But it is always good to have nutrical on hand, in case of an emergency 2) peepads and outside training. Again depending on how young pup is, you should either take outside or to pee pad immediately after waking up, after eating, after playing, and every 2or3 hrs. Expect to get up at least once during the night to either take outside to potty or put on his peepad. I like to use the xpen for both containment when I can't watch him, and for his peepads, set up a separate arean within the playpen/expen one for peepads, and one for sleep play. You will need to determine where he is going to sleep at night. In his playpen on his bed, or in his crate by your bed. I use the crate for travelling-harnessed up to the seat belt, and also for his sleeping in at night. The crate is just large enough for him to get up and turn around in, and laydown. Also what I've found useful in the early days of training to walk around the house with a little fanny pack on me with treats in it. That way I can immediately reward for good behaviour, and training becomes part of the day. Your in the kitchen cooking, call him to you, or dusting in the livingroom etc. As puppies schedules work best for eating, sleeping, playing etc. Such an exciting time for you! |
Yup, I read it, and have it printed and in a 3 ring binder! Most of my questions come when I come across discrepancies. Like one breeder said they always leave food out, then I hear meals are ok as long as they are frequent enough. So just getting reassurance that either method/whatever works is fine. And then getting an idea of how fast others' puppies grew/what I can roughly expect. |
I free feed Beamer and Lil Bit - food and water are always down for them. |
I think the free feeding vs meals is going to depend on your baby. While your baby is young & small it's probably best to have food available all the time to make sure she is eating enough to prevent hypoglycemia. But some may find that their pup is eating too much if food is available at all times. So you really just need to see how your pup does & then go from there. If you do decide to do meals instead of free feed, be sure to feed small meals often to prevent hypoglycemia...as your pup grows & gets older you can decrease the number of meals (while increasing the amount of food) a day as hypoglycemia is less of a risk. With the potty training, I chose not to use potty pads at all. I did buy some & have them on hand just in case I need them one day, but so far we haven't needed them. I take Lulu outside to potty frequently. She's not doing great with the potty training, so I'm not going to pretend that I'm an expert. ;) We take Lulu pretty much everywhere with us so there is no extended amount of time that she is alone where she would need a pee pad. But I do have some just in case! I will warn you, though, that I've seen many people say that their baby tore up the pee pad. So I'd suggest getting plastic pee pad holder if you need to use them. The Nutrical...I gave a little to Lulu for the first week or so that she was with us. She was 14 weeks old & 2.2 lbs when she came home to us. Once I was certain that she was eating well, I stopped giving the Nurical. I do keep in on hand, though. I know you are getting excited! I can't wait to see pictures of your baby's arrival! :D |
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