# Should mealtime be all you can eat?



## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

OK, here is our dilema... Chica currently has access to her food all day and night. We leave it down for her during the day (she is baby gated in our powder room w/ her food/water/toys/bed/crate/wee-wee pads). And we come home to "accidents" all over the place, but almost never on the pads









My husband was told that we should feed her twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening for about 45 minutes and take the bowl up. This would cut down on her having to "go" all day long and leaving gifts for Mom and Dad to clean up







. My concern is that she will not get enough to eat doing it this way. Hubby says she will learn that this is mealtime and she will eat enough to hold her over until her next feeding. Probably true, but she is just so darn cute and I just give her whatever she looks like she wants!









He wants to crate train her and I have heard this is the best way to get a furbaby house broken, but I am not sure about Maltese babies. They seem like they are different for some reason. Could be that I am just in love w/ her and hate the thought of her being crated all day.









Any input on ways to help her along (and us) in this process??


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## I found nemo (Feb 23, 2006)

A puppy needs to be fed more than an adult so I would leave her food out all day. When Nemo was about 10months I switched him to adult food and then I started feeding 2x a day.I feed at 6 am and then 6pm.. Give or take a few minutes. I crate trained Nemo in the beginning and it worked great for us..
Good Luck,
Andrea


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

I think if you aren't home with her, it would be easier to crate train her. On the weekends you can leave her out with you, but keep her on a tight schedule. Eat, then maybe 20 minutes later, take her out or put her on the pee pee pad. Tons of cheers of encouragement when she does go in the right place. This done several times a day should work.

Personally I'd rather feed mine at certain times of the day so they are on a constant schedule, but if you're not home for an extended period of time - maybe you do need to leave dry kibble available. 
But, if she eats it all up right away - don't give her more....cause the little piggy might keep eating!


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## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

> A puppy needs to be fed more than an adult so I would leave her food out all day. When Nemo was about 10months I switched him to adult food and then I started feeding 2x a day.I feed at 6 am and then 6pm.. Give or take a few minutes. I crate trained Nemo in the beginning and it worked great for us..
> Good Luck,
> Andrea
> 
> ...



That is what I was thinking too, that she needs to be able to graze since she never just sits and really eats. So you crate trained AND gave Nemo access to his food all day in the beginning?



> I think if you aren't home with her, it would be easier to crate train her. On the weekends you can leave her out with you, but keep her on a tight schedule. Eat, then maybe 20 minutes later, take her out or put her on the pee pee pad. Tons of cheers of encouragement when she does go in the right place. This done several times a day should work.
> 
> Personally I'd rather feed mine at certain times of the day so they are on a constant schedule, but if you're not home for an extended period of time - maybe you do need to leave dry kibble available.
> But, if she eats it all up right away - don't give her more....cause the little piggy might keep eating![/B]



Do you think I should just put the pads all around the floor where she is gated? We have 2 down now during the day, and she seems to do #1, but we have yet to get #2 on the pads.







And you are right, she is a little piggly-wiggly and will eat as long as the food is there.


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## Bella Rose (Mar 21, 2006)

There are so many different opinions on this but I don't think there is a right or wrong answer. My babies are such grazers.... that I leave their food down all the time. They eat a piece of kibble here and there all the time. Very seldom do they actually stand over the bowl and just eat, eat, eat. If your baby is still a puppy, I would be hesitant to only feed twice a day. I would seriously look into crate training so that their area while you are gone is a lot smaller than being confined to a certain room.


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## Tina (Aug 6, 2006)

One reason she is probably missing the pad for poop is that Maltese circle and circle and circle, they circle right off the pad.











Tina


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## Bella Rose (Mar 21, 2006)

> One reason she is probably missing the pad for poop is that Maltese circle and circle and circle, they circle right off the pad.
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OMG!!! You are soooooooo right! I often wondered if Kaley was the only one that did that. It's hilarious, she takes forever searching and circling to find just the right spot to poop. Now Bella isn't too particular, she can be in mid run and if the urge hits her, she stops and poops, and continues on with whatever she was doing! LOL! I just love this breed.... they truly find their way into your heart!


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

I haven't had a chance to read all replies so I'm sorry if this is a duplication of what has been said already. But conventional wisdom is that puppies should have access to food all the time. What I would do is put the food out and if after several hours it still wasn't eaten I would hand feed. This is what I did with my first Malt, Rosebud (1989-2002) and both K & C. I did this for several months and eventually they gobbled the food up. 

Here's what my breeder had told me:

We do not recommend putting young Maltese puppies on a feeding schedule. A feeding schedule of no less than three meals a day can be implemented when the puppy has finished growing...usually at about 6 to 9 months of age. When Maltese puppies are in their rapid growth stage, up to 6 months, we suggest allowing free access to food and water at all times. He/she will be more likely to eat when things are calm and quite. 

It is a good idea to offer several pieces of kibble by hand very often for the first few days to encourage frequent meals. If he/she seems disinterested in the kibble, try moistening it with just a tiny bit of water. This will often stimulate their appetite. It is also a very good idea to have some "puppy formula" and/or canned puppy food on hand to encourage meals if the appetite is off from traveling or a digestive upset. The dry puppy kibble should remain their main source of nutrition and these yummy tempting things be used only as an occassional addition. It is very important that young Maltese puppies eat frequently to avoid low blood sugar/hypoglycemia. 

They are very much like toddlers at this age and can sometimes be so busy and having so much fun that they will forget to eat.


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## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

> One reason she is probably missing the pad for poop is that Maltese circle and circle and circle, they circle right off the pad.
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Whew, I am glad to know she isn't







. I just stand and watch her make herself dizzy on the pee pad before she squats!











> There are so many different opinions on this but I don't think there is a right or wrong answer. My babies are such grazers.... that I leave their food down all the time. They eat a piece of kibble here and there all the time. Very seldom do they actually stand over the bowl and just eat, eat, eat. If your baby is still a puppy, I would be hesitant to only feed twice a day. I would seriously look into crate training so that their area while you are gone is a lot smaller than being confined to a certain room.[/B]



Thank you! That's my Chica too, she is a grazer. A couple of pieces here and there, but she does manage to get it all down, it' just takes all day! I will look around from some threads on how to crate train her.



> I haven't had a chance to read all replies so I'm sorry if this is a duplication of what has been said already. But conventional wisdom is that puppies should have access to food all the time. What I would do is put the food out and if after several hours it still wasn't eaten I would hand feed. This is what I did with my first Malt, Rosebud (1989-2002) and both K & C. I did this for several months and eventually they gobbled the food up.
> 
> Here's what my breeder had told me:
> 
> ...



Thanks for the advice. She does eat, she just grazes at it all day until it's gone. Hubby thinks this is the cause for her accidents b/c she eats when she feels like it and eliminates when she feels like it, with no regularity to either. I am going to look into how to crate train her. She has a crate that she never goes inside of (it's in the powder room w/ her), but she LOVES her pink bed and sleeps in there for naps and during the night.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

One thing to consider is that since Chica is a puppy mill puppy, she spent her life in a cage up until this point. Housebreaking these puppies can be very difficult because they have become accustomed to soiling their cages as opposed to puppies who are raised in a house and have been started on pad training when you get them.

Mill puppies can be hard to crate train for this reason. The theory behind crate training is that dogs don't like to soil their "den", but Chica's instincts for that have been ruined by being caged. Her mother wasn't housebroken so she had no role model.

Do you work all day? It going to be hard to her to get the idea unless you are home with her to praise her when she goes where she is supposed to. You shouldn't lock puppies in a crate for eight hours a day anyway. You could try covering her whole area with pads and gradually removing one at a time and hope she figures it out, but it will be difficult without being there to train her.

I agree with the others that you should leave her food out all the time at this point especially since you are gone all day. How old did the vet think she was? She's still pretty young.


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## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

> How old did the vet think she was? She's still pretty young.[/B]



The vet said she was 10 weeks old, which is what the breeder told me. She was born March 3rd.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Yes, definately leave her food down all the time at this point. If she is alone all day, you don't want to risk her going hypoglycemic.

When she gets older and you can feed her on a schedule, it will be easier to housebreak her. For now you will just have to be very patient with her as she has no idea what housebreaking is and no instincts to keep her area clean. When you are home, do you take her to her pads after she eats, wakes up from a nap, plays, etc? When she goes where she is supposed to praise her like crazy - immediately. Keep your eyes on her 100% when she isn't confined so if she starts to sniff and circle you can run her to her pads quickly. Every time she potties where she shouldn't, it reinforces that she can go anywhere she feels like plus the smell gets into your carpet which will attract her back to that spot. You really need to be trained before she can be trained if that makes any sense.


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## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

> Yes, definately leave her food down all the time at this point. If she is alone all day, you don't want to risk her going hypoglycemic.
> 
> When she gets older and you can feed her on a schedule, it will be easier to housebreak her. For now you will just have to be very patient with her as she has no idea what housebreaking is and no instincts to keep her area clean. When you are home, do you take her to her pads after she eats, wakes up from a nap, plays, etc? When she goes where she is supposed to praise her like crazy - immediately. Keep your eyes on her 100% when she isn't confined so if she starts to sniff and circle you can run her to her pads quickly. Every time she potties where she shouldn't, it reinforces that she can go anywhere she feels like plus the smell gets into your carpet which will attract her back to that spot. You really need to be trained before she can be trained if that makes any sense.[/B]


Yes we take her to her pads and tell her to "go potty". It's hard to do it after she "eats" b/c she grazes. When we see her sniffing and circling we take her to her pads and tell her to potty. After she circles on the pad (I think that is so cute







) sometimes she will pee but more times she picks up the pad and runs across the room with it







. When she goes we make a big fuss over her and tell her what a good girl she is. We have been using the Nature's Miracle on her accident spots.

QUESTION: When she goes where she shouldn't, should we put her back in the confined area w/ her pads down?


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## starry (Sep 4, 2006)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=378897
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Just keep trying and put her on her pad if she "forgets".
I wouldn't give her tooo much freedom of your house or she may get confused where to go.
Make the potty pad rewards a special really good treat just for that situation.
Crating for 4 hours is about all I would do to her at this age.
Maybe u shld reduce the size of her area OR get a big crate that has room for a pad and bed and toys and food. An x-pen will work best I think. That way u can grow the size.
Even if she was caged alot I think since she is soo young u will be able to train her just fine.







.
My malt is 8 mo and she still poos away from her pad sometime. That is easier to clean than the pee at least.
Having carpet is hard with dogs. Good Luck and have fun with your baby..


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## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

[/QUOTE]
Just keep trying and put her on her pad if she "forgets".
I wouldn't give her tooo much freedom of your house or she may get confused where to go.
Make the potty pad rewards a special really good treat just for that situation.
Crating for 4 hours is about all I would do to her at this age.
Maybe u shld reduce the size of her area OR get a big crate that has room for a pad and bed and toys and food. An x-pen will work best I think. That way u can grow the size.
Even if she was caged alot I think since she is soo young u will be able to train her just fine.







.
My malt is 8 mo and she still poos away from her pad sometime. That is easier to clean than the pee at least.
Having carpet is hard with dogs. Good Luck and have fun with your baby..








[/QUOTE]


Do you have a suggestion for a good, edible "treat" for a puppy her age? The vet just suggested she stay on chew toys b/c she could choke on pieces of hard treats that she could break off.


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## I found nemo (Feb 23, 2006)

I have to correct myself I didn't mean that I potty trained him by using the crate.Nemo from day one went on the pads, the only accident he would have is if he missed the pad. I crated him to get him used to sometimes being alone..I don't work but I do go out sometimes and when he was a puppy I didn't trust him alone in the house.When he was either 10 or 11 months is when he was fine by himself.
Sorry for the confusion, I do this alot







I mean confuse people...
Andrea


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## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

> I have to correct myself I didn't mean that I potty trained him by using the crate.Nemo from day one went on the pads, the only accident he would have is if he missed the pad. I crated him to get him used to sometimes being alone..I don't work but I do go out sometimes and when he was a puppy I didn't trust him alone in the house.When he was either 10 or 11 months is when he was fine by himself.
> Sorry for the confusion, I do this alot
> 
> 
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Gotcha!


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

Just an FYI (everyone has already given you great info) I have always kept food down 24/7 for Ollie and, regardeless, he does tend to eat at regular times anyway AND his poop and pee is done at very predictable times too. You may not notice any patterns initially--she will need time to adjust, to housetrain, etc. etc. then you'll notice patterns emerging and you can take it from there. I especially liked keeping his food available around the clock when he was a baby so I knew he was eating. 

What I've learned the most from this forum is that "one size does NOT fit all", whether or not you are comparing big dogs to small or toy breeds to other toy breeds. All breeds are different and every individual dog is different. You'll be able to know what is best for yours more and more as time goes on...good luck!


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## starry (Sep 4, 2006)

Just keep trying and put her on her pad if she "forgets".
I wouldn't give her tooo much freedom of your house or she may get confused where to go.
Make the potty pad rewards a special really good treat just for that situation.
Crating for 4 hours is about all I would do to her at this age.
Maybe u shld reduce the size of her area OR get a big crate that has room for a pad and bed and toys and food. An x-pen will work best I think. That way u can grow the size.
Even if she was caged alot I think since she is soo young u will be able to train her just fine.







.
My malt is 8 mo and she still poos away from her pad sometime. That is easier to clean than the pee at least.
Having carpet is hard with dogs. Good Luck and have fun with your baby..








[/QUOTE]


Do you have a suggestion for a good, edible "treat" for a puppy her age? The vet just suggested she stay on chew toys b/c she could choke on pieces of hard treats that she could break off.
[/QUOTE]

You can use a few bits of cereal (cheerios?) or even an animal cracker. 
I am surprised this vet COULD NOT at least suggest some type of soft treat>







Do they have some displayed in their office for you to purchase?
I am not a fan of any science diet crap..
It's not hard to find something in your pantry they will like.Maybe keep it by the pads so you can quickly reward her.
Even a bite of homecooked chicken or liver treats (I found at petsmart.)Believe me Chica will try and potty if you give her some treat she loves..
PS. Try and not outside train her along with the pads..I think it's hard for them to do both so early.
Also don't take her to any parks or car rest areas untill she has had ALL her shots, and NOT given at once either.


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## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

> Just an FYI (everyone has already given you great info) I have always kept food down 24/7 for Ollie and, regardeless, he does tend to eat at regular times anyway AND his poop and pee is done at very predictable times too. You may not notice any patterns initially--she will need time to adjust, to housetrain, etc. etc. then you'll notice patterns emerging and you can take it from there. I especially liked keeping his food available around the clock when he was a baby so I knew he was eating.
> 
> What I've learned the most from this forum is that "one size does NOT fit all", whether or not you are comparing big dogs to small or toy breeds to other toy breeds. All breeds are different and every individual dog is different. You'll be able to know what is best for yours more and more as time goes on...good luck!


Thank you, great response!










You can use a few bits of cereal (cheerios?) or even an animal cracker. 
I am surprised this vet COULD NOT at least suggest some type of soft treat>







Do they have some displayed in their office for you to purchase?
I am not a fan of any science diet crap..
It's not hard to find something in your pantry they will like.Maybe keep it by the pads so you can quickly reward her.
Even a bite of homecooked chicken or liver treats (I found at petsmart.)Believe me Chica will try and potty if you give her some treat she loves..
PS. Try and not outside train her along with the pads..I think it's hard for them to do both so early.
Also don't take her to any parks or car rest areas untill she has had ALL her shots, and NOT given at once either.








[/QUOTE]


THANKS! I will try the cheerios. No, they only had the different size "greenies" that I noticied. We didn't spend much time in the lobby, so I didn't get a chance to really look around. The cereal sounds like she would enjoy it though!

Another question.... I keep reading about people using an "ex pen".... what is that??


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

"Ex" pen is short for exrecise pen. They are a must have for a puppy!

http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/product_family....F81C5FF66975915


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## ChicasMom (May 5, 2007)

> "Ex" pen is short for exrecise pen. They are a must have for a puppy!
> 
> http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/product_family....F81C5FF66975915[/B]



THANKS!


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## LMJ (Feb 16, 2006)

I feed Jeffery Natural Balance "regular". I give hime 1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup in the evening. I do however leave it down until he eats it. On occiasion I'll come home to find the am portion not eaten, so I leave it down. I don't add another 1/2 cup and this is why.......

Once I fed Jeff in the afternoon and he ate it right away and acted like he wanted more. So I gave him more. He ate 2 potions that evening and ate again in the AM. Later that day, his stomach was filled with gas. The vet told me that his food has lots of fiber and vegetables in it. Those two things can cause gas if too much is eaten. Needless to say, he spent the evening "farting" and the gas went away, but I don't give him extra food anymore.

He does get treats a couple times per day in addition to his food and he has maintained the same weight since he was full grown.

This, along with the scheduled BM's is good reason to feed your puppy on a schedule. However, I wouldn't put him on a schedule until he is at least 6 months old or your vets says he's old enough to be given limited food.


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