Suggestions for eating, sleeping, walking, bathroom etc. Schedule

[Kevin]

My wife and I are getting our f1 Goldenpuppy, who we're going to call Navy, this weekend. I know some people have their pups on a strict schedule of eating, sleeping, waking up, bathroom break, etc.

Do you have an example schedule that has worked best for you? We figure if we can keep her on a dedicated schedule, it will help us and her a ton...I know some people have used schedules from books they have read or what not but we will gladly take any advice you have, wether you designed it yourself from experience or not.

Thank you - We will post pictures of Navy when we get her this weekend. Cant wait!

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Congratulations!

For us, what worked for the first little while was:

- 3 meals a day (morning, noon, dinner) - if she didn't eat within 15 minutes she lost that meal.  She quickly discovered that she had to eat when WE wanted.

- Potty breaks every hour during the day (for the first few weeks, then extended the time as she was ready), in between she was either in her crate or tethered to us.  At night she got 2 potty breaks for the first few days, then 1 until about 2 weeks.. after that she slept through the night.

- At least 2 walks (no more than about 15 mins when very little) and 2-3 play sessions a day.  A tired puppy is a happy puppy!

I don't think there's a way to completely "schedule" your day.  Puppies sleep a lot, and I would never wake her up at a specific time.  We just made sure to take her out often so that she would learn that outside was the place she needed to potty.  She was housebroken very quickly and can now "hold it" for a whole work day.

[Kevin]

That's great advice. Do you mean in the middle of the night you took her potty? I've never thought about that, I always assumed we would leave her in her crate from 11ish until 6am and then take her potty outside.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I am sorry I am laughing about the Do you mean in the middle of the night you took her potty? Oh yes, she means exactly that.....puppies cannot hold it all night in the beginning and you will definitely have to get up in the middle of the night. Our Vern is three and no one has given him the memo yet that he shouldn't have to go out in the middle of the night to do his business. Luckily, he is not the norm. I love puppies, even the middle of the night puppies, but it is a tiresome time at first. Join the Puppy Group here on DK. You will get the hang of it and all learn together what works best for you. My daughter likes to sleep late and her dogs sleep in with her. Have fun and enjoy. This is an exciting time.

By the way, I love the name Navy!

[Sarah Bennett]

I will say that I have "lucked out" with my pup.  There were only 3 nights that I had to wake up in the middle of the night to take him out.  Now, I did have early mornings, but only 3 times in the middle of the night.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Yep!  Luna needed to go out twice in the middle of the night for the first few days, then only once for a few weeks.. then she slept through the night (about 11 until 6).

[Pat and Traveler]

Congratulations on the new puppy!

I took Trav out a couple of times in the night for the first couple of weeks.  He had three meals a day when he was a baby.  I didn't know anything about dogs, but read this on the internet.  He wasn't crated at night--slept on a towel by the bed.  I closed him in the bathroom when I had to go out without him--now I'd put him in his crate, but the bathroom worked okay too.  He was an easy dog to train, so I lucked out!  He only pooped in the house once, the first night he was home.  Not peeing in the house took longer, but Nature's Miracle and lots of trips outside and praise worked pretty quickly. 

I believe pups, and dogs in general, like schedules, but also think you can go pretty basic--three meals a day, outside every couple of hours or so, sleeping in one place--add to that whatever is comfortable for you.  :)

[Adina P]

Somewhere in the depths of the Puppy Madness group there is a link to two downloadable puppy raising books by Ian Dunbar: "Before and After Getting Your Puppy."  Worth reading through.  For my pup, I had to take him out for potty every 15-20 minutes for a while.  Once an hour wasn't enough unless he was crated during that hour. When pups are out of the crate and playing FREELY, they may need to go out every 15-20 min initially.

[Adina P]

Here is the PDF I was talking about: https://api.ning.com/files/EaBpbgf1JUbD6UW*-XNXLreOBk*EBd4W7G7CXpNVufBJoB4a3BaJE1OyHMBPMQjgyuAe1oysLgaAGtgKsHVcH**9IZ725M9U/AFTER_You_Get_Your_Puppy.pdf

[Adina P]

Sorry that didn't work, here is an attachment.

[Kevin]

Perfect Thank you, I am reading it now.