Scheduled, But Not Rationed

Puppies being house trained need to be on a feeding schedule, to help you anticipate their elimination schedule (as it is up to you to get them to the "potty area" BEFORE they have to go!) We recommend Fleet Farm’s Sprout Ultra for Active Dogs Sam's Club Exceed Chicken & Rice, Canidae - All Life Stages, Nutro Chicken & Oatmeal, Eagle Chicken & Rice, Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy (good for Boxers too), Natural Choice & Nature's Recipe give good results.

For dogs with allergy problems we recommend either

Nature’s Recipe Lamb & Rice, see: http://naturesrecipe.com/

Sam's Club Exceed Chicken & Rice, see: http://www.samsclub.com

Fleet Farm’s Sprout Ultra for Active Dogs: http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/sprout-ultra-26-protein-active-dog-food-35-lb-/0000000093801

Feed puppy food moistened with hot water at least 3 times a day, as much as can be eaten in 20-30 minutes. Give more if they finish the bowl, as the amount increases for a growing pup. Puppies should be scheduled, but not "rationed" - in other words, they can have as much as they can eat, 3-4 times a day. At first, you may want to schedule water also to 3 times a day for the first week, as you begin house training.

You can leave dry kibble down 24/7, once your puppy is getting house trained. Or, if you prefer, you may go to 2 times a day feeding once the pup is 5 months old. We do not recommend once a day feeding for deep chested breeds, like Boxers, as they are prone to "bloat" or "torsion" (the overly full stomach flips over, causing loss of circulation to the stomach, a life-threatening condition).

Tips For 1st Week

Puppies distracted and experiencing "sensory overload" in their new surroundings often forget to eat & drink. If your puppy has "lost its appetite", try cream, cooked hamburger or canned dog food & mix it in with the moistened puppy food to give it smell & flavor.

Puppies that are not drinking enough can be enticed by adding beef or chicken broth, or cream (not milk, as it gives them diarrhea) to their drinking water, about 1/4 cream to 3/4 water.

Tips for Runny Stools: Give one full meal of cooked hamburger mixed with flax meal. Beef firms up stools as other meats do not. Flax is high fiber. The next meal give half hamburger & half moistened kibble, then go on to 1/4 hamburger, 3/4 moistened kibble the next couple of meals, then 1/8 hamburger for a few meals , then just regular kibble again. Have your vet check a stool sample brought in a plastic baggie. If they find giardia, coccidia or campylobacter (3 most common intestinal "bugs" that cause diarrhea), they can give you meds to clear up the problem. Cooked hamburger and flax meal will help the process.

Chewing furniture, shoes, etc:

See these links:

http://www.ehow.com/way_6581669_homemade-bitter-apple-spray.html

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bitter-Apple-Spray-8-oz-Dogs/3635337