Raw feeding, poos, and toilet training.

[Shrap]

Hey everyone

Got my pupster last weekend and changed him over to raw on Friday there.
He's just on ground chicken with bone atm until his stomach gets used to it. Then I'll start giving him some chicken wings and chicken fillet for a better balance and add in little bits of offal one at a time.

Basically his poo schedule has gone the opposite way I expected it to :s I would have assumed he'd be doing little poos or have diarrhoea every few hours. But since the change on Friday he's pood once on Friday afternoon, then Saturday morning (16 hours later), Saturday night (14 hours later), and this morning (nearly 12 hours later). They look the same as his kibble poos.

Is this normal?

It's really messing up toilet training when I never know when he's going to poo. He's having to be crated an awful lot right now because he messed in the house 6 times in one day the other day (pees and poos), and since then I've decided I'm just not giving him the opportunity. It sets us back too much.

Will his "motions" become more predictable soon? It's stressing me out quite a lot. I feel like I can't do anything with him in the house for fear of him toileting! Our routine seems to be outside to play and pee, see if he'll poo, back in the crate. Until he poos. Which isn't very often...

I feel like a terrible mummy!!

[lhczth]

Yes, it will become easier. For one thing raw contains more water than dry food so I have found they do tend to need to pee more often. My older dogs maybe poop 2X per day, though sometimes only once. The puppies, usually 2X.

You will find it easiest if you just get yourself on a schedule with him and take him out every 45 minutes or so. Make sure he goes and praise, praise. That way you can cut down on/eliminate all of the crating time and also the accidents in the house.

[doggiedad]

your pup went in the house 6 times because
you weren't watching him. i took my pup out
every 15 minutes, then every 1/2 hour, 45 minutes
and so. take your pup out a lot. he's not going to
learn anything being in the crate a lot.

[Shrap]

That is correct doggiedad! Well noticed!!

We normally had about 1 accident a day from day one. Then I invited my friend over on Thursday and asked my mum to keep an eye on him. He had 4 accidents in the space of 6 hours, anyway he was tired so he went in the crate for a lie down and I closed the door. Then went to take him out again, as I always do when we get out the crate, he knows the routine. I open the door and he follows me to the back door and we go out and he pees.
Well after a whole day of pissing/pooing in the house, he now thought it was okay to do it in the house. He stopped half way to the back door and peed on the floor. And no he wasn't desperate because he can hold it as long as he needs to when he's in the crate.
So now he's been crated whenever he hasn't gone, we play outside so he can't do anything in the house after the play session. We only play in the house if he's just peed and pood. Then we'll go out again before he goes for his nap. I take him out every time he wakes up and starts walking.
That one day of asking my mum to watch him set us right back so he no longer went to the back door. Hence the crating. He'll get more time out the crate as he gets better at it. It's not like he's there permanently trying to bust out. I tire him out first. I also now have to carry him to the door so he doesn't pee on the way again until he gets back into the habit of going outside.
Yesterday we didn't have any accidents, although we were at Schutzhund for the first time so out of the house a lot. But the accidents occur after 3/4pm anyway so I doubt it made much difference since we weren't back much later than that :S

So, lhczth, puppies that are fed 4 times a day generally go twice a day? If that's true that would make it much easier lol!

It's the poos I've been wary of. I don't know why but he went to the back door to get out and pee, but would come back in and play for 10 minutes, then wander off elsewhere and poo. Yes I was silly, I let him wander because he'd just peed! Don't know why he thinks outside is for peeing and inside for pooing lol.
Scratch all of that though now. He doesn't go outside to pee anymore because of Thursday so I just started again from scratch with a different tactic.

My friend's pup is younger than him and already squeals at the door every single time she needs... I know I shouldn't compare, but since when were labs quicker learners than GSDs :|
It's not like the 6 times thing has happened before, he was always really good going to the back door before.

But yes the original question is mainly, how many times will he need to poo per day, being fed 4 times a day. If it's usually twice a day and he's pood in the morning then he'll barely have to be crated I'm fine to take him out for pees etc. I do know I have to take him out often. Atm he goes about an hour to an hour and a half. But after 45 mins or so, if he gets excited (like trying to chase the cats) then he'll pee where he stands... So I need to get him out quick when he's had an encounter.

[lhczth]

You really only need to feed 3 times per day at this age.

[Shrap]

Aye I know, he just gets hungry about every 4 hours. Would it help the toilet situation if I moved him to 3 meals? He's started going more often now btw. Once in the morning around half 7/8am and then around 11ish. Then later on in the day and/or before bed.
It's still kibble consistency though, and I was under the impression that the ground stuff actually has too much bone in it, so I don't really understand :|