puppy and water

[Kathleen]

Sunday I brought home my doodle puppy( 8 weeks).  May I ask what opinions are out there in regards to water? I've read that to properly house train, water should be given 3x with meals and once alone 3 hours before bedtime.  My breeder is saying to leave water out all the time.........doesn't this make training difficult?

Any thoughts,ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

K

BTW. My lovely boy does go to the door when he needs to go do his "businness"

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I've always left water out all day and picked it up for the night a few hours before bedtime. It didn't make training harder, because I always took them out after eating, drinking, playing, or sleeping. And since they did one or the other of those things all day, we went out at least every 30 minutes at first. The only long stretches without going outside were during sleeping.  Both of mine slept through the night very early on using this method. Good luck

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I used the same method....only restricted water just before bedtime.

[Kathleen]

Thank you for your thoughts!

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

I leave the water out unlimited all day, but after 7, I restrict it. If the puppy seems to want a drink, I give them ice cubes. It worked for both of my doodles.

[Kathleen]

I so appreciate your experience!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

My doodles are now 5 and 3, but when they were puppies I did not restrict water.  I still always have fresh water in the kitchen and also outside near the step. If you are thinking about restricting, go with Sue, Murphy & Bella's suggestion. I hope your puppy is one of those that catch on to potty training quickly, but be prepared that some are trained by 4 months and others even may be 6 mos.  Not all puppies are created equal! LOL

[Kathleen]

Thank you for sharing!

[Julie, Eloise & Beasley]

When my girls were puppies, I left water out all day when I was home - but it was also "controlled" access because they were always in the same room with me, so I knew when and how much they were drinking if it wasn't with a meal.  I also picked up water in the evening a few hours before bedtime, and both my girls slept through the night (no outside potty trips) pretty much from day one.  However, out of necessity, when they were very young, I didn't leave water in the crate on days I went to the office and they were crated several hours at a time (and my vet said this was perfectly fine).  Congrats on your new puppy!

[Devita Johnston]

I leave water down at all times my Goldendoodle is 14 weeks old and never pee's in the floor! They need water available at all times.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I haven't ever restricted water. 

[Sue Ryzdynski]

Dear Kathleen,

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW PUPPY!  Get ready to expend some energy on TRAINING the new guy into the perfect pup!!

We had luck with giving water unrestricted, except remove it at 8 p.m. (they have smaller bladders till about 6 mos. or so)

It's very good he goes to the door when needing to go out, now, hang a bell from the doorknob, teach him to touch/ring it, then you can hear it no matter where you are!

Teach him to go 'on demand', in the proper area, when you go outside. (give a small treat when he does good, give him treats to 'shape' his behavior, to get him to do what you want)

Good Luck!!!  They are smart, which can turn into cunningness!

Sue, Mark and Tess