Feeding a puppy

dvalencia22 · Nov 29, 2013

Hi guys, would Iove to know how much and how often you all think a 9 week old puppy should eat. Also, is it normal for a puppy to want to drink water non stop when it's available to him?

davidh · Nov 29, 2013

First off do not withhold water from a puppy, they need water available 24/7. If someone told you withholding water helps with potty training they are full of it, as that is a myth. So for your food question, feed him three times a day and about 1/3 t0 1/2 cups each feeding until he is about 6 months of age then go to twice a day. If his poop is soft or runny reduce his food a little, if it is hard increase his food a little so it becomes normal. Hope that helps.

Alice Kable · Nov 30, 2013

davidh said:
First off do not withhold water from a puppy, they need water available 24/7. If someone told you withholding water helps with potty training they are full of it, as that is a myth. So for your food question, feed him three times a day and about 1/3 t0 1/2 cups each feeding until he is about 6 months of age then go to twice a day. If his poop is soft or runny reduce his food a little, if it is hard increase his food a little so it becomes normal. Hope that helps.

Exactly as David said. It is important to get poop to nice logs (tootsie rolls).
Puppies drink a lot of water, it helps them digest the kibble. If a puppy gets dehydrated it can affect brain development.

Julie Stevenson · Nov 30, 2013

Solid advise. I think David and I differ on the withholding of water at night as I have seen this make a huge difference in potty training, but to each his own opinion. What works for me will not work for everyone. I do still pick up my water about 2 hours before bedtime so that Ollie does not have accidents ar night and it has worked well for me. I do not withhold water during the day at all. They have access to it in two places outside and inside from the moment they wake till about 7PM. I would follow the other recommendations above on food, seems to be the norm. Some feed three times a day and some only two. Really depends on your schedule will allow. I feed twice a day persoanally but that's what works for my schedule.

davidh · Nov 30, 2013

To me the health of my pups are more important than wondering if they may potty train a little faster by withholding water. They need plenty of water to stay healthy. So that's why you should never withhold water from them. A pup will potty train on his own time. Some faster than others.

coolcat46 · Dec 1, 2013

dvalencia22 said:
Hi guys, would Iove to know how much and how often you all think a 9 week old puppy should eat. Also, is it normal for a puppy to want to drink water non stop when it's available to him?

I have a 11 week old frenchy and feed her 4 times a day about a 1/4 cup with a bit of moist food with it....I feed her around every 5 hrs...seems to work very well...
I have water available at all times

Babette · Dec 1, 2013

We leave water down for our pup (who's now over a year

) all the time. When we got her she was already around 3 months old and it took us about 2 weeks to house train + crate train her. We were fortunate, she's a very quick learner. I think we started with giving her 1/4 cup three times a day. She's now on 1/3 cup three times a day and occasionally gets 'table food' mixed in, like bits of egg or yogurt to help with her coat... and whatever I miss the hubby sneaking to her. Are you crate training?