Dog care questions.

[diamond]

I mentioned in the previous thread..we got a dog few days ago. He is about 25lbs, 9 year old lahsa apso.

1) As per the recommendations given to us we give him 3/4 cup whole hearted orange bag food in the morning around 7am and 3/4 cup food in the pm around 6pm. We give him some wholehearted treats randomly during the day (about 6-7 times). and water...nothing else. Is that enough food for him? Is the 11 hour time difference in meals ok or too long? He seems to like food and we are eating he whines and comes looking for food, sniffing etc...Can dogs eat our food? if yes what can we offer him? should we offer at all? My DH thinks it will make things complicated..just stick to his food. But we are all novices and learning..

2) how many hours do dogs sleep? we let him in his crate at 8pm last night. and we let him out at 6.45am. He whined but slowly became quiet. I peeeped in at 10am before going to bed and he was still up and sitting and looking, but quiet...My husband woke up at around 3am in the morning and he peeped in and said he was up and sitting and saw him...He was whining for about 30 min and then became quiet. When I let him out at 6.45 he was awake and sitting still quiet. We were wondering if he is really sleeping and getting enough sleep? Is that normal for dogs to be awake in the middle of the night? I think my husband opening door and probably switch on light woke him up? Do dogs need a dark room/spot to sleep well? Our dogs crate is in the hallway and facing the front door and some light streams in from the street the top glass of the door...Is 11 hours in crate at night a lot?

[mmsmom]

That definitely sounds like enough food. Look on the bag and it should tell you how much to feed by his weight. The time between feedings is fine... you should base it on when you can take him outside. Her should go out for the bathroom about 30 minutes after he eats. He is begging for food probably because it is what he is used to. He may have been fed from table in another home. Some dogs can have very sensitive stomachs and eating human food could make them sick. This is really a personal decision. We mostly do not feed our dog human food but will occasionally give him steak scraps which we put in his bowl after we eat so he does not learn to beg for food.

I think 11 hours in the crate at night is a little too long, unless you are sleeping that long. I would put him in when you go to bed and let him out when you wake up. A dog that age should be able to be in crate and sleep the same hours as you. After he gets used to your home I wouldn’t put him in crate and night and instead get him a bed in your room or kids room so he can sleep in there.

[twowhat?]

Food is definitely enough, it actually sounds like too much to me. Go by the weight recommendations on the bag as a starting point and then monitor for weight gain; you will likely have to adjust based on activity level. Feeding times are fine. I bet he was given treats at the table...think about how annoying that could get over time (and the begging will increase in intensity if you cave even just once) before you decide whether you will partake, LOL. Until our dogs have gotten really old (and earned privileges for being spoiled), they never got handouts at the dinner table - only in their food bowls as a treat. Since the dog is new to you, I'd hold off on human food until the dog has had more time to adjust but in general I don't see a problem with giving small amounts of human food (piece of meat, a carrot, etc) as a treat. No chocolate!

Crate - our dogs always just go to bed when we do and wake when we do. Our schedules are fairly consistent so it works well. 8pm does seem a bit early to me. 10pm probably better. Generally when the house quiets down, the dog will settle down too. Remember that your dog is going to need time to adjust and sleeping well might not come until later when the dog feels more comfortable.

[doberbrat]

Sounds like plenty of food to me. Dogs like to eat and sleep. If he's hungry, he can have some fruits or veggies as treats. no grapes/raisins. Celery, carrots, peas, apples are fine. If he scarfs down the food, look for food delivering toys. buster cube, iq pets makes one, kong etc to slow down how quickly he eats which will help him feel full and give him something to do.

That is a long time to be in a crate at night for a non puppy. Its fine while you're housebreaking but generally, I'd look at putting him in the crate when you go to bed and letting him out when you get up. If you turn on a light and move around, of course he's going to wake up. He wants to see what you're doing. You're new to him. For all he knows, 3am is your wake up time or when dh sneaks him a treat. He'll settle in to whatever schedule you want.

My dogs are used to random walks at all times of day. I'm just as likely to take them for a walk at 2am as 2pm. They're good. Teddy isnt a morning dog so sometimes I have to carry him out of bed - Princess jumps up if I roll over if she thinks I'm going to get out of bed to let her out. If I offer a cookie, they're happy to eat it. If I ask if they want to go for a walk, they're at the door.

[carolinamama]

I mentioned in the previous thread..we got a dog few days ago. He is about 25lbs, 9 year old lahsa apso.

1) As per the recommendations given to us we give him 3/4 cup whole hearted orange bag food in the morning around 7am and 3/4 cup food in the pm around 6pm. We give him some wholehearted treats randomly during the day (about 6-7 times). and water...nothing else. Is that enough food for him? Is the 11 hour time difference in meals ok or too long? He seems to like food and we are eating he whines and comes looking for food, sniffing etc...Can dogs eat our food? if yes what can we offer him? should we offer at all? My DH thinks it will make things complicated..just stick to his food. But we are all novices and learning..

2) how many hours do dogs sleep? we let him in his crate at 8pm last night. and we let him out at 6.45am. He whined but slowly became quiet. I peeeped in at 10am before going to bed and he was still up and sitting and looking, but quiet...My husband woke up at around 3am in the morning and he peeped in and said he was up and sitting and saw him...He was whining for about 30 min and then became quiet. When I let him out at 6.45 he was awake and sitting still quiet. We were wondering if he is really sleeping and getting enough sleep? Is that normal for dogs to be awake in the middle of the night? I think my husband opening door and probably switch on light woke him up? Do dogs need a dark room/spot to sleep well? Our dogs crate is in the hallway and facing the front door and some light streams in from the street the top glass of the door...Is 11 hours in crate at night a lot?

Congrats on the new dog!

1) It sounds like plenty of food to me. The dog's previously home may have fed food scraps so your dog is conditioned to ask for them. You do not need to feed him people-food. DH and I do not feed our dogs from the table, but several of our kids like to sneak food to them so we have gone over repeatedly what food is dangerous to dogs. If DH and I eat dinner together without the kids, our dogs stay on their beds. If the kids are at the table, they both sit under the table and wait for food. So make your decision based on the behavior you want from dogs would be my advice.

2) Your dog is in a new environment and currently hyper alert. He will likely settle down and your routine family and house noises will become normal. I wouldn't worry about it right now. It sounds like you are providing lots of opportunity for him to sleep in a safe, designated place. We don't usually kennel our crated dog until we go to bed for the evening - 10:00-11:00. We keep his crate in the family room where we hang out in the evenings so he can relax in there or on a large dog with his fur brother. If you want to kennel starting at 8:00, I would probably take him outside before you go to bed. Our dogs are spoiled rotten, sit on the couch with us pups though so this works in our house. Make sure your dog has a safe place to go for a break or nap during the day and teach your kids to leave him alone in that situation. We don't mess with our dogs when they voluntarily "kennel up" on their own.

[DualvansMommy]

We adopted our rescue 6 weeks ago and tried the crate at nights. No go for us with him, he just didn’t like it and we took a gamble in just leaving him downstairs on his dog bed. It worked. Although we did get dog gate at bottom of our stairs so he wouldn’t go up and get on our beds etc cuz my kids is allergic to dander. Want to minimize dander upstairs.

Once he realized that is his routine; choice of sleeping on his dog bed in living room or on the couch in den, he was fine. I wouldn’t crate your dog for that long, dogs are social so if you’re just hanging out at night, have your dog hang out in same room as you guys. Only use crate when last person is going to bed, or leaving house completely.

I echo what pp said re: food. Sound a out right. We do NOT give our dog our food cuz he has a highly sensitive stomach. Can only eat chicken. Anything other protein just upset his tummy. We do give him chicken treats 2x a day between his AM & PM feedings. It takes a while for a dog to become less alert and settle, it took us about 2 solid weeks of our dog being awake at nights, etc up earlier than usual and I slept on the couch few nights to help him feel settled.


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[smilequeen]

1. Sounds like enough food. Previous owner may have had a habit of feeding him human food. Depending on what it is, it's not the worst, but we have always made a point of not feeding them what we are eating because they will learn to beg. But they get some...like they gobble up their meds in cheese or peanut butter...just not close to where/when we are eating.

2. All dogs are different but I don't put mine to bed until I go to bed and I let them out when I wake up...so they basically sleep my hours. I have one prone to UTIs so 1. I don't let her roam free at night and 2. I have to make sure she gets out right before I go to bed and first thing in the morning. But they sleep all night as adult dogs.