i am sorry, i really didnt mean to offend you; of course i understand;
i have a suspition that it has somethign to do with the food; did you ask the vet maybe you can switch to something better. what are the ingredients in the current food; maybe we can figure out if this is what's causing it. good luck

:thumbup:

If you're going to get a puppy, you really need to know it's just like having another baby. I think most parents would agree that keeping your young baby in it's crib all day except for 30 minutes would be a bit... cruel, would you? When Jackson was a puppy, I was waking up in the middle of the night when he had to go out. During the day, he would get 30 minutes in the crate, 30 minutes out, 30 minutes in, etc... I was also home for 3 weeks when I first got him and not in school/working so I had all the time in the world to be with him. If you're home all day, I don't see a reason why you can't give him more play-time. Puppies play hard and sleep hard. 15 minutes of hard play will pass him out for a good while. 30 minutes a day is not enough time, imo. Dogs are very social creatures who cannot live their life in a pen. Potty training IS very difficult and takes a ton of patience and consistency, especially w/ Yorkies being known as one of the most difficult breeds to house break. I am/was extremely diligent in Jacskon's training and he WILL still have the occasional accident. He's 99% potty trained strictly outdoors. I never messed around with the pads. Yorkies are known to take up to a year to potty train, or more, some never fully potty train, so I assume you don't want the pup living in a pen until he's 1 year old.

As for your original question about the poop, I don't ever remember Jackson pooping THAT much as a pup but they do poop more as puppies than adults. Jackson is 1 year old and generally poops 2-3x a day. As a puppy, it maybe was 5-6x, if that. I would look into maybe changing foods but do it very slowly so he doesn't get an upset stomach.

Also, I wanted to say, I hope you don't think we're coming down hard on you or anything. I know sometimes as a new poster, it may seem like that, but there's *so* much to learn on this site and we just try to help. I learned a TON from this website that I would have never known had I never asked. Sometimes I felt like maybe people were being way too harsh but most here know and want what is best for all the Yorkies out there. :D

I agree he is in the playpen too much

That sounds really abnormal for him to poop 20 times a day. I think the vet should know about that asap. 30 minutes out of his pen a day is really sad :( He could be stressed and causing him to have loose stools not to mention he's in a new home. Please talk to your vet.

I wondered if it was because he was free feeding????

I do wish you would understand where I coming from with the play pen, if he didnt keep pooping like that then he wouldnt be in there! as I said its more then 30 minutes!

I spoke to the vet and he wants to see if it settles down by the time we go back next week. its not runny like diarrhea, just very soft and speads everywhere when I try and clean it. He is fine in himself.

I am not trying to be mean or nasty to you, I am just telling you how I feel about it. You came on here for advice and I am giving it to you. His poop shouldnt be soft. Its apparent SOMETHING is going on.. maybe his food, maybe stress I dont know.. I cant help you with that you have to take the steps to get it figured out. Take him to the vet.

You need to moniter how much he is eating a day. Puppies need to be free fed. I dont think you should take up his food.. Maybe put however much the back of the food says in his bowl and see how he does. I dont understand the whole playpen thing I am sorry. Maybe if it was in a manner where you were trying to train him, and if he was able to get out most of the day. but that doesnt seem like the case, it sounds like you dont want him to poop all over your carpet and you cant watch him so you stick him in a cage all day, thats what it sounds like to me..

Try giving him some boiled chicken and rice, that might help.

When mine were very young there poop was very soft too. I have a baby kitten and its poop is very soft I think that is common for a young pup

Hi

I asked for advice on his poop and you are giving me your opinion on a method I am using to train him.

The pup has been bought up in a play pen and is VERY used to it. he is not in the yapping and fretting all day.

Even you think 20 times a day seems too much, surely you see why I am reluctant to let him have free range?? I have a crawling baby, I cannot afford to miss a poop.

He has been to the vets, check out my last post.

Come on 20 times a day he poops?? Really? U Pick up 20 pieces of poo a day?
I think at the most when Peanut was on RC he was pooping 5 times a day..

If you're doing everything your vet said and your pup doesn't seem stressed than keep doing what you're doing. Good luck.

Depending on where you live sometimes the water can be less than desireable for drinking. Maybe you could try bottled spring water until you figure out what is causing the soft stool.:)

I really don't think it's because he's free feeding. I've always free fed all of mine - from puppy to adult. I've never had a pup go that frequently. Since you've taken him to the vet, I'm stumped. Maybe the vet needs to do more in-depth testing? I hope someone more knowlegable will see this & can help you. Please keep us updated, I'd like to know what's going on.

don't put too much food in the bowl; maybe put a small amount at a time; also to make sure it's not the food; try boiled chicken and rice for few days; that will settle his stomach and make the poop harder and he will poop less; a sign of too much poop can mean that the food has lots of fillers, not great quality food. i think the vet will know best.

Of course 20 times a day is too much. This was your original question and I believe it has been answered; yet, if you provide more information in your post(s) it seems reasonable to expect that people will respond to that as well. Please don't be offended, I don't think anyone means to be harsh.

I was thinking about your situation, and wondering this.....even once the frequency problem is solved, won't you still have a puppy who is not potty-trained? This will likely continue for months and months; it's just a fact with this breed of dog.

Of course you don't want your baby to get into the poopy mess. Therefore, you are going to need to separate your small dog and child for many moons to come, not only for the toilet training issue but also for the physical safety of the dog. I think we are all wondering how you will accomplish this short of keeping the puppy confined for the next......year...or two...etc?

I adopted a rescue Yorkie at 5 months of age when I had a 4 year old child; it was a challenge, and I was a full-time mom. So, I've been there.....
and I agree that a baby Yorkie is much like having a second baby. Just hoping you don't have one too many.

Best wishes.......