How to feed my puppy! Ian Dunbar way or not?

[Suzanne & Pongo]

Hi, I have been reading up on things I need to do with my puppy from day one, such as crating etc. I have read the book by Ian Dunbar, Before you get your puppy, and he recommends feeding puppy ONLY using chew toys such as Kongs. Basically, placing several filled chew toys into the crate with the pup so that he learns to only chew his OWN things. Has anyone done this and how successful was it? Thank you

[Adina P]

I did! Worked great for me =) I would feed him in kongs before leaving for work. Again at lunch time before going back to work...and a third time in the evening. But I have to admit my dogs never thought Kongs were "chew" toys...they were 'suck-treats-out-of" toys.

I like Ian Dunbar for house training quite a bit, but don't be alarmed if your puppy pees...he won't be lost forever!

[Suzanne & Pongo]

Thanks Adina, that's really helpful. This might sound silly but at what age did you give him food in a bowl instead of in the Kongs? Also, how many did you fill for him in a day. Was it one per meal? I have no idea how much Pongo is going to want to eat and how often?! Thank you for your help... x

[Adina P]

I think I used bowls when I was home: evenings and weekends. At one point he developed this weird fear of his bowl (don't remember if it was plastic or stainless steel--he had both) and I had to hand feed him. OH I also hand fed him at some meals so we could use his kibble as rewards for learning/doing sit, down, etc.

Um...Rosco was a HUGE puppy (about 19lbs at 9 weeks) so he got 1 cup per meal and it takes more than 1 kong to do that. HOW MUCH will depend on the food you use and what it says on the bag (the bag tells you serving size range for weight) -- go with the bag and adjust up or down as needed to keep weight healthy.

I fed 3 times per day until 4-5 months and then went to 2 times and later 1 x at 1 year....but switched him back to 2 x a few months ago because large dogs are more prone to bloat with only 1 meal a day.

[jamiegirl]

This seems to be an interesting concept. However, our 4 month old puppy now has about 5-6 cups of kibble per day. I wonder how long he suggests using this method.

Adina has also mentioned a concept Ian Dunbar proposes for house training. How does it work and how is it working out for you and your puppy?

[Adina P]

Jamiegirl--- Rosco is now three years old so it's been a while since we used the Ian Dunbar process...but it's not really that different than other house training processes. The main point was so that you can successfully crate train and teach your puppy to prefer puppy toys rather than household objects to chew on.

Essentially, the advice was to always crate or tether your dog when you cannot watch your dog as a puppy. When you first get your puppy home take it out of its crate every hour on the hour for potty. Always take puppy out for potty after playing and eating and napping. Reward graciously went puppy goes potty outside. there is more to it but that's the basics. he is a huge fan of Kong's so he recommended those for just about everything.

[jamiegirl]

Thanks for the info, Adina. We are in the process of potty training so any information is appreciated.

[Suzanne & Pongo]

Thank you so much Dione, that is really helpful! When do you get your puppy and what kind are you getting? Its so exciting isn't it :) x