How many time should I feed the 16 weeks old Maltese puppie? While the weather is hot, should I leave the water out all day long or should I only put the water out with the food? What is the quatity of food should I let her have?
Thank you,
Jannie

Would be feeding 3 times a day unless it appeared it would be better to feed 4, you have to read your own puppy. As to quantity your breeder should be able to advice you on this or some one who has reared a number of your breed. Water in my opinion should be available all the time, day and night, this is very important if you are feeding complete food. Jackie

Hello Wondah,

Water must be available to your puppy/dog 24 hours a day. I do not leave the same bowl of water down all day, I change it every so often to freshen it up.

I would agree that probably 3-4 feeds a day are required. As for amount, well that depends on the size of dog and what food you are feeding. Contact your breeder (do not think she will think you are wasting her time or that you 'should know')! - She will be delighted that you are turning to her for advice because you care and want to get things right.

The Maltese is a beautiful little dog, (lots of grooming)! - I looked after one for a little while some years ago.

All the very best,
Denise.

My breeder fed her with wet food and I have changed her to dry food and therefore it is hard to compare. She is only
3 1/2 pounds and 16 weeks old. For house breaking, some books suggest to give food with water and take away both once she is done. I have taken her home for over a week and she still wee and poo occassionally outside of the paper. Any suggestion or I should just be patient?
Thank you

If you are feeding dry food then you MUST leave water down ALL the time, it is very important, as to amount, let her eat what she will, put it down and remove after about 15 to 20 mins, 4 times a day. Don't worry about her house training she is still to young to have control, take her out when she wakes and after meals and about every hour in between, and stay with her and praise if she goes but try to stay relaxed about it, she will get there prommise. Ja:)kie

Water is absolutely essential, esp. considering her small size + how hot/dry it is in summer time. She can dehydrate quickly. Fresh water needs to be available to her all day :)

Since she's 4 months old, you can opt to give her a final 'drink' about 15 minutes before bedtime and then take it away for the night time. But make certain you're up early to let her out and provide her with water when she wakes up for the day :)

She sounds adorable. :)
toodles

Yes, she is a great pup and she already understand "no" and she is very playful. Any suggestion on how to train her not to avoid brushing teeth.
Thank you.

Follow the guidance that comes with the food for how much to feed over the day - then split it into three or four meals. Be guided by what your girl eats. What she leaves after 15 minutes - remove. Always Always leave water down as has already been said this is vitally important with dried food - it usually says so on the packet.

Teeth is down to patience and perhaps alternatives. there are many chewy toys around that serve a dual purpose in that they clean teeth also. Ragger chews (the multi coloured knotted rope toys) are excellent as the fibres brush the teeth as the dog chews. When she's older you can give her bones etc. Nylabones will be very good fer her at this age too as they will hgelp her with her teething.

hth

Pam n the boys

Also as she gets older you may like to use the kind of bowl with a lid, and a hole in this lid, often used for travelling. this will help with avoiding her geting her ear and facial furnishings in the water! You could also try a spaniel bowl. this is narrow at the top and deeper thanmost bowls!

Will try and this is a good suggestion. While she is still learning and if I leave the water, she wee every where. I guess I should still leave her water all day long.
:)

Hi Wondah,
I see by your 'profile' you're in the Pac. Northwest..... I'm originally from Bellevue and still call it home :) You're up rather late over there. :)
toodles

We leave two water bowls for Max - one inside and one outside - but they usually get filled 10 times a day because Max has had this strange habit of washing his paws/digging in his water bowls. What exactly he is trying to do is anyones guess. :rolleyes:

My Maltese don't drink that much, only one or two bowls a day. Is this abnormal? She also eats around 15 pieces of dry dog food twice a day. She is small, 3lbs and 16 weeks.
Wondah

Wondah. At 16 weeks she should really be on at least 3 meals a day. Her little stomach cannot take in enough food at one time for her needs. so if you think she is in need of more food, more meals is the best way to go rather than trying to get her to eat more in one sitting.

Most folk that I know with toy breeds give two meals a day once they are adult too. For their size small dogs eat more per pound of body weight than do medium or large ones! My Elkhounds eat a similar amount to my friends Jack Russels, and another freinds Border Collies (similar in size to mine) eat almost double what mine do!

The only way you will know if the amount she needs to eat is by her body condition. You should be able to feel the ribs, and she should have a slight waist, and the backbone should be feelable, but not prominent!

Yes, my office is actually in Bellevue. This weekend we will have Seafair, do you still remember that with Blue Angel flying around I90.
Wondah.

Aww Seafair :) :) HYDROFoil racing-- the crashes, the crowds, the chaos, oh my :D ..... Brings back memories of frying in the 'rare' sun :D :D My mom used to ride her horse up on Cougar Mountain and watch the Blue Angels from up there. She now rides at Bridle Trails and the trees are too high to see anything. :) My parents still live in Lake Hills. :D

My favorite fest still is Bumpershoot though :D Took my hubby in 1995 and he really loved it. He's from NJ, so he has this idea that the Northwest is nastily humid and rains ALL of the time ;) :rolleyes: He was 'converted', but doesn't tell any outsiders about the 'sun' :)

I miss there, but not as much now as when I lived in the brown hot deserts in NM. I'll be back when our 'stint' is over in about 12-14 years to live :) Not necessarily Bellevue, but the PacNW for certain :)
toodles
btw, it's really nice to meet someone from 'back home' :D :D

Yes you must leave the water down, after all a few puppy puddles are much better than organ damage which could happen if you don't allow her free access to water. Jackie

Please May I ask? Why have you changed her to dry food? when obviously the breeder had recomended the other food am I alone in being suprised and bewildered by people who buy a pup and then change the diet ? usually a breeder has a tried and tested diet for their dogs.
Maltese are usually quite fussy eaters My Bobby (also a maltese) would never eat dry complete he usually likes meat,chicken,liver with small bite biscuit he also will drink lots of water which should be available all the time,by the way he is twelve and a half and his diet has suited him very well.I followed the advice from his breeder as I'd not owned one before.

My Labradors are on a mix of dry complete and meat but Im seriously considering a more natural diet.

I visited two breeders and both are pure Maltese breeder. One said dry is better especially for teeth and the other breeder said wet is better and he gives rice and chicken. The breeder we bought the dog from gave her dry instead of wet. Our vet said dry is better for her teeth. I may try this weekend to give her chicken and dry at night. Should I give her vegetable?
wondah :)

Just my personal opinion....
but feeding dogs veggies and fruit should be held off until full adulthood. It can be really hard on their tummies and puppies just don't 'need' it. I'll probably get a 'talking to' for it with everyone's exceptions ;) But I think that introducing foods to young'uns should be done carefully, just like we introduce foods to babies.
Allergies are easy to accumulate and can be difficult to diagnose and eliminate. But again, that's just my viewpoint. :)
toodles

thank you for your advice.

Wondah, a little chicken with her food will be fine but I would not worry too much and don't change her food around, try to spread the food over more meals a day and leave the water down. You could try a little tuna fish (tinned) or scrambled egg just to encourage her to eat a little more but if she is growing and putting weight on I would not worry. If you are not sure how to weigh her hold her in your arms and get on the scales and then weigh yourself and take your weight away from the weight of you & her. Do it about once a week, and sorry if that sounds as if it treating you like a child only I have been asked how you can do it if you don't have big enough scales. Ja:)kie

That's a good suggestion to check her weight, will monitor that. Do you have a Maltese as well?
wondah

No Wandah, I don't, I have Elkhounds and would find it was getting difficult to pick them up when they are the age your pup is. But most puppies need the same sort of treatment when it comes to the first 6 months. Not sure how many on here have Maltese but no doubt they will make themselves know in due course. Ja:)kie