Momo and Gyoza Puppy Schedule, ~11 weeks
These two wonderful foster puppies are available via City Dog Rescue. Momo’s page is here. And, Gyoza’s page is here.
Here is the current schedule I’m using for Gyoza and Momo. I am using puppy pads with them, so this schedule will look a little different once they transition off of those.
6:15am WAKE (well, I wake up, the puppies are awake and waiting for me!), straight out to potty, both puppies pee and poop and get treats if I remembered to grab them! I give them both a some love at this time and play with them a bit so they can stretch their legs!
6:40am CRATE & BREAKFAST, I put both puppies in their crates at this time with a small chew bone and a sprinkle of kibble first, so they are crated and waiting while I make their breakfast. Puppies are each getting a heaping 1/2 cup of dry with 1/4 cup or so of wet food. I use this to make one KONG each, a couple small treats in the bottom of the KONG, some dry kibble, and topped with the wet food (I will make these KONGs more difficult soon, these are easy for them now!)
While the puppies are eating, I CLEAN UP their play pen, spaying down the floor, changing out the potty pads, removing any dirty toys, and refreshing their water.
After that, I take a few minutes to make my coffee.
7am RELEASE THE PUPPIES, so, around 7am I let them back outside for a quick potty, treats if they go, and then they come back into their nice clean play pen.
8:30am POTTY BREAK, we do another potty around 8:30am, treats if they go. The puppies are usually both sharks at this time and extra bitey, so I make sure I’m wearing long pants and shoes! When we come back in, I might give them a bully stick or different type of activity toy because they always have a lot of energy right around 8:30/9am.
9-11am NAP, the puppies are usually pretty tired and fall asleep around this time. This is usually when I can get some good work done!
11:30am CRATE & LUNCH, a repeat of the morning meal, except I don’t clean the floor again, I just change out the pads, but everything else is the same
12/12:30pm RELEASE THE PUPPIES, outside for a potty break with treats and playtime, they usually poop at this time, I usually try to stay outside with them for at least 30 minutes or so
1-3:30pm NAP, the puppies are usually tired again and fall asleep, this is my second work period
3:30pm POTTY BREAK, another potty break with treats, often the kids will come out and it will be a bit longer, but I at least let them out to pee and poop if they need to
4-5:30pm PLAYTIME, they are usually more active in this period, they might nap or they might just play with each other
5:30pm CRATE & DINNER, a repeat of lunch
6pm RELEASE THE PUPPIES, I only crate for a short time at dinner because they always seem to have a ton of energy around this time. 9am and 6pm seem to be their really high energy times! So, after dinner, I let them outside (30+ minutes) and try to get them to get some energy out, though their preferred exercise at this time is play attacking each other or any humans nearby (just puppy stuff, but they do have sharp teeth!). We keep working on redirecting to toys instead of biting each other or people. They’re pretty bitey, but they’re not the worst biting puppies I’ve seen. The biting seems to be mainly confined to these two periods of higher energy and is totally normal for their age.
I will change this period to a walk once they are fully vaccinated.
7pm-10pm CRATED & FINISH DINNER, they usually both have a bit of food left in their crates, so after their wild playtime outside, I put them both back in their crates and they finish their dinner. This is when we are doing our family evening routine, and the puppies are usually winding down though they often protest at the beginning of this period (I think they are just overtired because after a few minutes of protest, they usually both fall right asleep!)
10pm-10:30pm LAST POTTY, sometime in this range they get one last potty break. I’m usually tired now, so it’s a quick one! I basically stand outside long enough for them to both pee and poop if they need to, then we come inside.
10:30pm CRATE FOR THE NIGHT, my goal is to have them both in their crates at 10:30pm. That gives them an almost 8-hour night, which seems to be very doable for them!
It’s a busy day! The potty pads are a bit of a crutch for me right now, since there are two of them. The potty pads help me in those longer stretches, so that I can get some work done.
I will transition them into pottying only outside once they are fully vaccinated and I can give them enough exercise that more crating would be feasible. For now, this works though!
They currently only have access to their play pen, their crates, and the outdoor area I’ve set up for them. This is very intentional, as it keeps it really simple for them where they can potty (pads or outside), where they can play (pen or outside), and where they sleep (crates).