Puppy-House breaking

We take our dog out frequently, usually between 30 minutes to every hour.

We have been doing this for over a week, and it seems like he is peeing more on the floor then before.

So often should he go out side? How often should he eat?




Hi
Actually, you're right on target. An 8 week old puppy will need a potty break every thirty minutes to an hour, and after every nap, drink, meal, playtime etc. They really have very little bladder/bowel control at this age and when they need to go........they need to GO!! Small, tiny and toy breeds have teeny bladders and need to urinate more often than medium to large breed pups.

If you're not already using a crate, I would suggest that you buy one and then read my Crate Training page.

Not only will this help you to prevent your puppy soiling the carpets etc., but it will help him practice his bladder control. Obviously he still needs plenty of supervised, crate-free time, but it will make housebreaking much quicker and easier for everyone.

As for eating - feed a puppy of 8 - 12 (or even 14) weeks of age three times a day. After that you can reduce it to twice a day. By 6 months old you can begin to feed him just once if he's a medium to large size dog. If he's a small breed, it's often better to continue to feed him twice a day even when adult. This is because small and tiny breeds have fast metabolisms and sometimes have difficulty regulating their blood sugar levels.

Best of luck with your puppy.