Feeding a pup??

[Grabs]

Well the day is here, I pick up my 52 day old English Setter, Brady, tonight.

Its my understanding that a pup should be fed three times a day, correct?

What times of day should the pup be fed? He'll be home alone in a crate from 6:40am until 4:30pm and we don't work close enough to be able to go home and feed him or let him out, so what intervals are appropriate to feed a pup three times a day?

I assume I should try and follow a similar schedule on the weekends also to maintain a routine.

Thanks

[fivebucks]

Grabs,
Just went through the new puppy deal. My lab is 13 weeks tomorrow. I had him in a crate but was able to go home at lunch. For the first week we took vacation days or 1/2 days to help the pup out. It will be tough on the pup the way it is so if you can swing a couple of 1/2 days I would recomend it. I fed my pup 3 times a day for the first 3 weeks and then switched to 2 times once his tummy could handle more food at one time. He now is in the crate inside during the night and in the kennel all day while we work. Good luck with the pup and have fun.

[Grabs]

Well I might just end up bringing him to work with me then for the first three weeks and feeding him over lunch. Is there any harm in letting him sit in the crate in the truck vs. sitting in the crate at home? Of course I would need to allow proper ventalation during the day from the heat. I plan to have him out in the outdoor kennel during the day once he is old enough and ready for it.

[yellowlab]

I don't know if this is the correct way to start a pup but it sure did work for me and my dog. Ever since I've had him he has always had a full bowl of food. He is now 7 yrs old and still fit and trim. My thoughts on this is if he always has food he will never just keep on eating. So far this has worked. He konws that when he is hungry there is always food for him.

[Canuck]

I pick up my puppy in 9 hrs and 50 minutes but who is counting. The breeder wouldn't let her go home until she was 8 weeks, I prefer 7 wks but so be it.

Feeding: I always feed my new pups 4 times a day until 12 wks of age then down to 3 times and eventually to twice per day for the remainder of their life. When I was working (retired now) I would take two wks holidays when my pup came home. I found the bonding time at this age extremely important, let alone the feeding. I will be feeding at 7AM, 12NN, 5PM and 10PM.

Today will be the longest day of the year, WAITING. There is nothing like a new lab puppy to make a house a HOME.

[Grabs]

Ok now I am completely confused and faced with few options.

I want to raise a godo pup, but I only have 2 weeks of vacation for the entire year so the option of taking all that time off is not one. We have arranged to pick up our pup on a Friday evening, tonight, so that we can spend the entire weekend with it before we need to leave it home alone on Monday.

But I have few options other then to bring it to work with me and let it sit in the crate in my truck and then go out and feed it.

And until the dog is house broken and can go outside in his outdoor kennel leaving a bowl of food out is not an option either as he'll be in his crate during the day.

Less then four hours now!!

[Marmot]

Why not pen the pup off in part of your kitchen or entry way (somewhere with a hard floor that can be cleaned)? Leave newspaper for him to mess on, chew toys, food, water, and access to the crate.

A doubt a pup has enough control over bodily functions to not mess in his crate while you are working.

My 2 cents...

Marmot

[Cootz]

With my first pup I took him to work with me everyday. On breaks and lunch I'd spend time with him doing simple obedience sessions. That way I could work him four times a day in short sessions besides being there to let him out when necessary. I'll throw my two cents in about feeding. Not sure on the schedule of a pup but more on the pup having a full bowl all day. Did the same thing with Mav. I can leave food out and sometimes not have to replenish the bowl for two days. It's great 99.9% of the time. The 0.1% of the time it's not is during hunting season when I'm trying to get some calories in him the day before we are going to be out so he can last longer. I don't visually see him dying off but have to believe if he got a jump start on calories he'd be a little better off.

------------------
So many scientists, so few rockets.

[Hossienda]

Grabs,

I am in the same boat as you somewhat. I get my lab pup tomorrow from Saukriverlabs and will not be able to be there during the work week with her. I at least only live 5 minutes from my office so I will be able to leave and see her. I plan on feeding 3 times a day, and eventually going down to 2. Good luck with yours. I know I can't wait!

-Hossienda

[Bryce]

I may be comparing apples and oranges here since we breed labs, but we have the pups on 2 feedings a day when they go home. 49 days but we have let all but one litter go home a few days earlier as they were mature enough. We reccommend having the pup to once a day feeding by roughly 6 months. Been on too many trips where the food has been left out constantly and the owners have too basically force feed their dogs. Also a pain to have to keep my dogs away from it. May not work for every dog but it works for ours.

[Canuck]

Grabs: Don't get confused. I am sure U will make out OK. Do the best U can and go from there. Had the pup home for 2 hrs so far and doing the first feeding in 15 min. Had her out for a walk about an hour ago and already did her business on the driveway. I wonder how many guys and gals will get so little sleep over the next few nights. But WHO cares.

I have only ever had Labs and if I ever tried to have food out 24/7 it would be useless as they are vacums. I feed Eagle and only 1 1/2 cups total per day but split that up in two feeding when they are about 4 months.

[Grabs]

Well so far so good! I found a bag of the food my breeder was feeding so we have that. The trip home was great, just a few whines and then silence!

Came home, got out of the truck and he did his business. Played for 30 minutes or so and then got him some food. Ate his food and then walked outside and made a #2 this time. Played for awhile longer this evening again and then just before bed he showed me that it was time to go by finding the edge of the chair. Brought him outside right away and then he went right away. Now he is fast asleep in his crate after about 30 seconds of whining. Hopefully he sleeps that way all night!

Boy am I a happy guy!! Brady is going to be a ton of fun!

Thanks guys! Sounds like a few of us are all in the same boat with pups this weekend!

Tomorrow another new adventure, my new 2004 dog named Duramax and his sister Ally!!

[Benny]

I will just tell you how it went for me.I work about the same hours as you, I had to just feed her in the am and let her out to go.I did limit her food intake and water intake as she would be in the crate for that long.
Just had to clean the crate a couple of times she couldn't hold it.

Then at night I let her eat as much as she wanted up till 9PM then I only let her drink water after that time.
I know that there are those who say 3 or 4 times a day , but I to just couldn't follow that.

My vet said she is perfectly healthy and that she will do fine on the feeding times.
Those guidelines are just that, guidelines!
Long as the pup gets a good amount of nutrition and water they can adapt to any thing we chose for them.