could do with a bit of help re my toy poodle on two things. If anyone can help would be great

2 problems - feeding at breakfast time and keeping dry at night time.

So if anyone is around that can help that would be super!

If you would like to elaborate on the problems we will see what we can do to help?
Aileen

ok here is the problem re feeding.

we feed him winalot shapes for breakfast  but he doesn't seem to eat them. he likes them but he only manages to eat the one and makes eating the others seem like an effort, as if they are hard to chew or something. so he'll either play with his food or he just sits there and looks at is as if to go 'ok how do i eat this now?' which puzzles me because if he can eat one, how come he wont eat the rest?

At first i thought maybe hef inds it hard to chew so i break the pieces a bit smaller  which would make it easier for him but that doesn't seem to do the trick at all.

And its not like he's not hungry because the minute you come down in the morning he asks for food

Not sure Shapes are the best breakfast for him. They are not a complete diet...we only give them as a treat on odd occasions. I would feed your usuall diet for brekki. What does he have? how old is he?
Aileen

he's a year old now.  we've always given our dogs biscuits for breakfast

which puzzles me because if he can eat one, how come he wont eat the rest?

Boring.  I wouldn't want to eat dried biscuits for breakfast everyday either.  I struggle with cereal! :(  I bet if you offered a raw chicken wing he'd eat it without any problem! :)

in answer to what is hhis diet normally? He eats raw meat from prize choice at dinner time.

we've always given our dogs biscuits for breakfast

Has he always eaten them before? If not then I think he is telling you he does not want them. Try splitting his meat into two meals and see if he eats that. I would keep the shapes for treats, then one at a time will be fine.
Aileen

no. he used to eat puppy bonios but even then he wouldn't eat them either.

He seems to eat them if i give them to him as if they are a treat, from my hand - my mum says i shoudln't do that because i'm spoiling him that way - but my main concern is he should eat.

My Norwegian Elkhound eats Bonios in the morning for his breakfast, so did my cocker spaniel (rip) and he has no problem.

2nd problem is he is weeing at night time still

I can't understand how he can't hold his bladder for 7-8 hours in the night when he can manage it perfectly well throughout the day when we're at work? He seems to always pee in the same spot - on the rug by the door. I have used stain and odor removers to remove the smell, and stain - and that actually did work before so why its not working now i don't know......

We let him out before we go to bed, and he does go outside in the evenings.

He's fed his dinner at 6 - 6.45 at the latest depending on whos' home first.

Any advice on that one? We dont crate him anymore as he likes the company of being with my other dog, who also appreciates his company - that and his bed prob woudn't fit in the crate.

How old is he?

Also, I would bin the run immediately.

Has he ever been clean at night?

My Norwegian Elkhound eats Bonios in the morning for his breakfast, so did my cocker spaniel (rip) and he has no problem.

But this little chap does have a problem so if you are worried he is not getting enough feed him more meat (You need a variety to make a good diet, and veg etc.. but that is another post) or find  a well balanced compete diet and give a morning meal of that. Royal Canin do many breed specific or small dog diets as do many others. I think he is just finding these buscuits to much for his teeth.
Aileen

run - oh you mean the rug? ha ha yeah try telling that to my mother lol!

Has he always been dry at night...you know what for a while i thought yes we'd finally got there - this was at 7 months of age - but no.....hes just not getting it

HI Merlot

He doesn't like eating dry food period if i'm completely honest - we used to give him dry kibble for his breakfast but he doesn't eat it.

When we got him as a pup the breeder had given us Purina dry puppy food to add with his butchers.

He didnt eat that when we got him.  We were so worried he wasn't eating that we changed to Hills - which he ate for a while then didn't want that. Then we put him - or my dad put him - on the dreaded bakers and again for a while he ate that then didnt' want that anymore.

we tried him on several other dry mixes but he woudn't eat them. Finally we put him on Pedigree Small bite mixer and he did eat that - for a while and then stopped eating - in fact at dinner he would pick out his dry and spit it out and just eat the meat we gave him.

So yeah you can see he doesn't like his dry. lol

sorry fingers sometimes ignore the brain - yes I meant the rug!

If you do not remove that rug he will continue to have a scent on it which in turn is meaning he will keep going on it.

I would probably take it right back to basics with the housetraining - the rug won't be helping if its not removed though!

It sounds as though he is used to getting his food changed when he decides not to eat it.  Dogs aren't stupid and if we pander to them messing about with food then they will continue to decide what to eat.

I would choose a food (preferably not the shapes as these are meant as a treat not a meal) and stick with it.  If he is really hungry then he will eat.

As was suggested - what happens if you give him a chicken wing to have a chew on?  I bet he's eat it all up!

does he have to have biscuits  ?many dogs are raw fed both big and small dogs? If he likes meat I would give him meat as people have suggested try a raw chiken wing and then you can could up from there. I would keep the b
iscuits for treats (broken up) and make sure he gets a treat after weeing in the right place during the day.
And sorry Mum the rug goes ! Can you take it up have it cleaned and then keep it up until he is completly sorted.

> He's fed his dinner at 6 - 6.45 at the latest depending on whos' home first

Is it possible to feed him  a bit later? The reason I ask is I have had trouble getting my dog 'clean' through the night. He is coming up 2&half years old now. I think we're finally getting there and are having very few accidents in the house (maybe once per fortnight as opposed to 5 nights per week - YAY).
I went back to basics and made sure EVERY wee he had in the gadren was praised heartily.
I am sure the reason for weeing in the house at night was due to me training him on paper/puppy pads, so he learnt to wee on something in the house. Also I have found that his last meal time plays a part in a wee over-night. If I feed him later than 10pm he'll wee in the house during the night (obviously not enough time for things to pass through & wee in the garden before bed ). I am sure if he was fed earlier he would be up in the night looking for a snack - and have a wee while he was up! (probably on my sofa )

Maybe your dog is getting hungry and waking in the night? May have nothing to do with it, but it's worth changing the meal times a bit to see what happens - wont do any harm.

If your dog is getting hungry in the night, it may be a reason why he is not keen on eating in the morning, allthough he may feel hungry he may have a belly ache? Also, soaked kibble (complete food, soaked in water) instead of dry biscuit treats may be more appealing.

> I can't understand how he can't hold his bladder for 7-8 hours in the night when he can manage it perfectly well throughout the day when we're at work?

Is he at home alone (without human company) for this long during the day?  Are the dogs walked before breakfast?

Some dogs will adjust their eating to fit their activity levels - if he isn't exercised before breakfast it could just be a sign he isn't hungry.  Also, if the food is given just before you all leave the house, it forms part of your leaving rituals and he may be seeking to delay you going out.  I understand poodles are bright little dogs so he may be simply courting a little extra attention with the hand feeding aspect too.  It's a very long time for a youngster to be on his own and whilst many dogs are used to sleeping through the night, they'd rarely sleep that long during the day as well.  Maybe your dog just lives his day and night in reverse :)

It does depend on your exercise schedule but a smaller dog would probably benefit from having their daily allowance across two meals.  Biscuit in the morning then protein at night might not suit him very well.  It could actually be the reason you have the issues at night.  A plain meal of dry biscuit in the morning is unlikely to give him the energy he needs hence why he sleeps through the day.  Giving all his protein at night will give him a burst of energy in the evening.  When you are all home over Christmas, try adjusting his diet and see if it helps. :)

Finally, make sure you go out with him every night and stay out till he has emptied his bladder.  If needs be, set your alarm to take him out very early in the morning too to ensure he doesn't need to pee indoors.  You can always go back to bed for an hour afterward.

We dont crate him anymore as he likes the company of being with my other dog,

As you mention you have another dog, just wondered how you know who is peeing on the rug - seems to me he thinks that is his toilet area so I would remove it asap.

lol we've had our other dog for 8 or so years. He's perfectly toilet trained - never had an issue with him. and we know its this one. we only need to look at him to know he's done something wrong - he'gives quite a good 'guilty' look.

>and we know its this one. we only need to look at him to know he's done something wrong - he'gives quite a good 'guilty' look.

Meaningless, I'm afraid! We had a labrador bitch who'd give that look, even when we knew for a fact that she wasn't the guilty party because she'd been out of the house with us!

Try a little experiment. Shut the dogs in the kitchen or in the garden, then go into the living room and tear up paper and leave it all over the floor. Then bring the dogs in and ask in a stern voice "Who did that?" and watch their body language and expressions ...

My eldest dog looked a little 'guilty' the other day when the pup did a little wee on the kitchen floor, the pup looked as pleased as punch to see me and had no guilt for her accident! LOL

trust me i do that anyway - you can clearly see who did it lol!

i thought i would update everyone.

Decided over the weekend to take away the rug that my boy has been weeing on, and its now day 3 and so far, so good no pee pee or poo poo anywhere. With any luck he will be good and won't be peeing anywhere.

Now...we dont want to get rid of this rug so at some point eventually we will put the rug back on the floor. Can anyone recommend a good way to clean my rug getting EVERY trace of urine out of it?