hello all,

i'm new to the boards here...my name is diana, and my family and i just got a Chocolate Lab puppy about a week ago, and i have a couple of questions for anyone who might be able to help me. Lexie is 7 weeks old (on this past thursday), and we got her right at 6 weeks old (on the previous wednesday). i ordered ed's puppy training 8wks to 8mths video and watched it two entire times before we even picked her up. i was so concerned about doing everything right...wanted to make sure i didn't screw her up, you know? anyway, decided to crate train her, like ed suggests. below you will find her approximate schedule:

8:00 Outside*
8:15 Breakfast
8:30 Outside
8:45 Play, then Outside
9:00 Crate
10:45 Outside*
11:00 Crate
12:30 Outside*
12:40 Lunch
12:55 Outside
1:00 Crate
3:00 Outside*
3:15 Play, then Outside
3:45 Crate
5:00 Outside*
5:15 Dinner
5:30 Outside
5:45 Play, then Outside
6:00 Crate
8:15 Outside*
8:30 Play, then Outside
8:45 Crate
11:30 Outside*
11:45 Crate

don't know if the schedule's right or not...i just gathered info from different people and guessed from there. anyway, we were also getting up with her in the night once (at about 3:30-4:00am) for the first 3 nights, but we haven't since because she was waking up dry...so, i thought she maybe might not need it. well, my problem is that she is a poop machine...i feed her Canidae All Stages Life Formula, and she eats more than even the back of the bag suggests for her size (suggests 1 1/2 - 2 cups per day for puppies between 10-25 lbs. & she weighs 12 lbs.)...she eats about 1 1/2 cups at lunch alone. anyway, she poops an awful lot, and even though we get her to poop before we put her in her crate for the night, she has just pooped in her crate the past 2 nights. i'm trying hard to follow everything i've read and studied here and on the videos...i'm not sure what to do. is she eating too much? is this a good quality food? the poop in the crate this morning was a tad bit mucousy, too. i just don't know what to do. i just wanted so bad to do this thing right and have a good dog...i feel like i'm ALREADY blowing it! what do you do when they poop in their crate? i definitely need help and advice. anybody?

thanks so very much in advance,
diana pride

p.s. i got lexie from a lady in town here who has a female AKC Chocolate Lab that "accidentally" mated with her neighbor's male Chocolate Lab and had 4 puppies! this lady had bred a golden retriever before and had a litter of 12 puppies to take care of and handle, so she had done the puppy thing once before, but this time was unplanned. but anyway, lexie didn't come from a pet shop or a bad breeder, etc.

pooping in the crate is going to happen if they are in the crate from 11:45-8 am. You will have to take him out in the night as well (sleepwalking could work too, i know Ive done it before ;P) as far as mucous, that is usually a sign of intestinal iritation or something to that effect, there are experts who can talk about that on this board. but keep in minf that these factors
stress of new enviroment
new diet
weaning
can all contribute to this, what was the consistency? soft, runny?
dont freak out; I think you arent as far off track as you might think!

thanks, mary...how often should she go out in the night between those 11:45 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. times?

diana

Yea...another Lab owner! Welcome

I had my then-pup outside probably twice in the middle of the night...roughly every three hours, or so. Water was picked up around 5-6 pm and the evening feeding was at that time as well.

I will add that during these middle-of-the-night outings it was minimal stimulation/interaction other than a "Good outside!". No play time at 3am.

thanks much, sarah...about how old are they when you stop taking them out in the middle of the night?

diana

{{Trying to remember... }}

We got him at 6 weeks at end of August and maybe it was October when we stopped doing the middle of the night outings?? That time was a blur of fatigue so I'm really not sure. Not too long but it seemed like forever at the time

I still go out with my boy once a night. He is 15 weeks but a HUGE drinker. I would rather go out than restrict the water.
Anyway you have no where close to "blowing it". If he is like mine the pooped droped to a schedule of 3-4 hrs after eating. I feed an all natural diet but I think if you keep track you will discover he is pretty regular with the amount of times and when.

I love the name.

Best of luck.

I also got the video 8 weeks to 8 months. LOVED IT!!!

Hi, Diana,

If you take her out every three hours, night too, and have a notebook handy to jot down poop or no poop and the time, then you will quickly have a poop schedule and can adjust the out times to it.

You may also see a pattern that allows you to move all three meals to earlier times, possibly making the bedtime poop and one 2 or 3 a.m. poop all you need.

Also, the morning and lunch meals can be larger than the last meal, to see if that adjusts the midnight pooping.

Feeding too much will show on her body. You want to let that be your guide, rather than package directions.

7 weeks ..... I know from all the puppy threads here that this WILL GET BETTER!

thanks so much, everyone, for your great ideas! things are going quite a bit better!