A feeding schedule for potty training puppies is important because you can have better control over when your puppy has to go potty. Sticking to a feeding schedule is therefore an important step that can help your puppy succeed and progress through the potty training process faster. A feeding schedule for potty training puppies may not be feasible for all dogs owners, especially those who are away most of the day; however, nowadays there are some solutions that can turn helpful.
Advantage of Predictable Outings
The main advantage of using a feeding schedule for potty training puppies is that it leads to predictable outings. After a dog eats, food takes a certain amount of time to be absorbed, pass through the entire digestive tract and then be discarded under the form of feces. Getting better accustomed to this timeframe can help speed up the potty training process.
Generally, after a puppy eats, you should expect him to feel the urge to poop a few hours later. This takes place courtesy of what’s known as the gastrocolic reflex.
What happens in this case, is that after eating, the colon’s motility will increase and trigger defecation. So, it’s not really like your puppy pooping what he just ate or peeing what he just drank, it’s just that drinking and eating puts pressure on the pup’s small bladder and bowel which, can only take so much space, and therefore, triggers a reflex to empty to make more room.
Being unaware of this reflex often causes puppy owners anger and frustration. A puppy owner may take the puppy just out to potty prior to a meal, and then feeds the puppy, and then, just moments later, the puppy has an accident. Why do puppies poop so much? Puppies tend to poop a lot because they are growing and have a high metabolism.
On top of that, just like human babies, puppies need to be fed more often. Young puppies are often fed anywhere between three and six times a day depending on their age. Luckily, these times are rather short-lived. As the puppies grow, sooner than later they can be fed twice a day (AM and then PM) as most dogs are fed for the rest of their lives.
Using a feeding schedule for potty training puppies can therefore turn handy as it allows a better level of control over a puppy’s outings since the time when you feed your puppy influences the time he needs to go potty.
Factoring in Some Variables
Of course, a puppy’s exact elimination times can never be totally predicted because there are several variables that may need to be factored in. Nature’s calls don’t like to be exact. Being aware of these variables can be empowering, as the saying goes “being forewarned is being forearmed.”
For example, puppies may need to go potty more frequently based on the diet they are being fed. Cheap dogs foods that are filled with fillers such as excessive corn or wheat may cause puppies increased stool volume andan increased frequency to go potty. The excess fiber tends to cause this effect. It may therefore be worthy talking to a veterinary nutritionist to find a better diet.
The puppy’s activity levels are also a great variable. Generally, the more the pup runs and is physically active, the more the digestive system speeds up. This explains why you can relax a bit more at night when your puppy is sleeping since the pup’s body respnds to “idle time” by slowing down its bodily functions.
” Too much fiber can increase the volume of stool, making your Yorkie poop like a Labrador.”~Lisa Weeth, board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
Creating a Feeding Schedule for Potty Training Puppies
With the knowledge about a puppy’s gastrolic reflex. the effect of physical activity on bodily functions and the advantages of predictable feeding times, puppy owners may therefore wish to create a feeding schedule for potty training puppies.
Most puppies will need to be taken out to potty after they wake up from a nap, after playing and after being fed. In the schedule below, yard time is always schedule after playing and training just to give the pup the opportunity again to potty before crate time. Talk to your vet whether walks in certain places are fine based on your puppy’s vaccination schedule.
Puppies also may need to pee shortly after drinking, so keep tabs on when your puppy drinks and how much since a need to pee may shortly arise. Many puppy owners restrict access to water after a certain time in the evening so to help the puppy hold it better during the night.
Of course, each puppy is different and therefore, mishaps can happen even with a perfect feeding schedule for potty training puppies. When this happens, keep tabs of when an accident occurs and make adjustments accordingly. So for instance, if your puppy has an accident at 12:45, you can take him out earlier the next day around 12:30 in an attempt to prevent that.
Problems with the Schedule
Not all puppy owners are fortunate to be at home with their pups all day to help them succeed in potty training. Free-feeding food during the day (food made readily avaialable for the pup to nibble on when he feels like it) may lead to accidents because the puppy may feel like going potty at any time. Food dispensers may help keep the puppy on a feeding schedule.
Having neighbors, friends or a dog walker stop by to feed and take the puppy out during the day may also be a solution. An older pup may do well with being taken out midday around noon, while a younger pup under the age of 6 months, may need twice-a-day outings, typically once mid-morning and once mid-afternoon.
However, many puppy owners prefer to simply train the puppy to pee on pads or newspaper when the need arises, and therefore, the use of a feeding schedule may appear redundant at this point.
Indoor potty training may be a temporary measure or a permanent one for busy dog owners or dog owners living in an appartment on a high floor. The puppy this way can go potty whenever he feels the need without having an accident.
Some pups can learn dual-elimination habits too. This means, that these flexible puppies learn to eliminate outdoors during the weekends and evenings, when the owners are at home, and eliminate indoors during workdays when the owners are out and about.