Crating/Feeding

Question
I have an 8 week old English Bulldog male puppy.  I have three questions:  First, I am feeding the puppy three times a day, a cup of food each time.  Is that too much food to give him?  I have been cutting off his water around 7 p.m. so that he does not go to the bathroom in his crate at night.  Unfortunately, he wakes up around 4:30 a.m. every day and urinates in his crate.  Is there something that I can do to prevent this?  I feel bad taking his water from him any earlier than what I am.  My last question is...he likes to bite fingers and toes more than he likes to bite toys.  How do I get him to stop doing this in a positive way?  I try to put a toy in his mouth when he starts biting my hands or feet and say "no" - is there a better way to do this?  Thank you.

Answer
Hi Bobby,

Feeding your pup 3 times a day is the correct thing to do.  It is hard for me to say how much to feed at each interval without knowing what kind of food you are using and how much your dog weighs.  It doesn't sound to be too much but the bag of puppy food you are using should have guidelines and it is best to use that.  Just take the total amount that it says to feed your dog and divide it by three.   You can adjust it up or down depending how much exercise your pup gets as well as if you think he is gaining too much weight.  

I've never heard of cutting off a pups water supply.  They always need it available for little sips.  When you take the water away completely, it can cause them to overdrink when they get the water and have more accidents.   I would always keep fresh water available for your dog.   They sell little cups that attach to the crate so he can have sips during the night.

In order to stop his urinating in the crate, I would suggest that you set your alarm for about 3 am and give him a quick potty break for about two weeks.  Then stretch it a little further and he'll gradually be able to hold it all night.   At just 8 weeks, they shouldn't be expected to hold it all night.  

As far as biting your fingers -- try spraying some bitter apple on your fingers and toes.  He most definitely won't like the taste and that should solve the problem.  Continue to do what you are doing as far as giving him his own toy.  

It sounds like you have weeks/months of fun ahead of you and will encounter all sorts of puppy problems.

Take a few minutes and read over the tips on the following website:   www.paw-rescue.org    Look for the section on Robin's Tips.   If you read this, you'll be prepared for things when they happen.

Good luck and enjoy the little guy.