Management and Behavior Info for Puppies

Feeding

How many times a day should you be feeding your puppy?

Well, Ecko is still getting three meals a day and will likely continue to be fed on that schedule for another month or so. Feeding three meals a day allows us to feed slightly smaller meals than if we were feeding only twice per day. Ecko is a bit of a glutton, so feeding three meals a day does not interfere with her eagerness to work for treats when we are training.

Feeding twice per day is a perfectly fine option for your pup if he or she is maintaining weight well, and might even be a better option than three meals a day if your pup can be a bit of a picky eater sometimes. The hungrier the pup, the less likely they are to be fussy about what they are eating! If your pup enters a rapid growth spurt and seems ravenous, you can always bump him back up to three meals a day for a few weeks.

The only option I absolutely do not condone is free-feeding your pup. Reasons not to free-feed:

• When you free-feed food becomes a less valuable commodity and your dog will be less excited and eager to work for food treats. Your dog will likely become more picky about food when allowed access to it whenever he wants.
  
• Potty training can be more difficult because you don't know when and how much your pup is eating so they are less likely to have a potty routine.
• Controlling a valuable resource (breakfast and dinner) makes you more important in your pup's world. You can even make her work for her meals by asking her to sit or down or..... before putting the bowl down.
  
• Some dogs self-regulate their feeding habits, but some become overweight when free-fed. Although you may not see this in a young puppy, when your pup's metabolism slows as he reaches his full size he will be more likely to gain weight.
• Finally, if you feed your pup at scheduled interevals you are more likely to become immediately aware if he is not feeling well. If chow-hound Ecko turns her nose up at a meal, we know we have a problem on our hands!

Behavior

The PWDCA (Portuguese Water Dog Club of America) recently contracted with an animal behavior consultant, Dr. Lore Haug, to monitor the PWD e-mail list for a week and answer questions about behavioral issues. Dr. Laug gave advice on such issues as barking, puppy nipping and biting, separation anxiety, noise sensitivity and fear, clothes eating etc. A synopsis of the discussion is available as a PDF file on the PWDCA website and you can click here to get directly to the PDF file.

Resources

Many of the resources and suppliers I've mentioned in past blog entries are now indexed to the right of the latest Blog entry. I've catalogued them by type such as "Book", "Chews", Collars", Foods". I will include the link to this behavioral discussion under "Behavior" in case you should want to refer back to it.