[Bella's Momma]

How long do you do this for, and how do you do it? We've been putting her in her puppy pen but as she gets older she sleeps a little less, and especially after dinner she really wants to go out and play. I feel like we're torturing her keeping her in there for nearly an hour. SOmetimes if one or both kids is out at this time we would let her out to just pet her and keep her company, but their presence is enough to get her all wild!

 

[Bella's Momma]

LOL, sorry I wasn't clear, I meant for the dog to eat to avoid bloat.

She eats three times a day, I should have also pointed that out. So if I were to keep her calm 2 hours before she ate and one after, well that's nearly all day and I feel badly keeping her penned up (She has a crate instead of a puppy pen and mostly just sleeps on her cushy bed in the pen, but out of the crate, her water and toys are there, etc.). As it is if I keep her calm one hour before and one after that's not much time out. We have started giving her free reign of our dining/kitchen area (where her pen temporarily is) so she does have something a little more interesting to do these days (sniff arond, get into mild mischief in there LOL). She can be calm in there if the kids are somewhere else (they are 4 & 8).

I do tire her out (she cannot go out for walks yet, but we do plenty of backyard ball-tossing and running) so she will usually sleeps well the hour or so until mealtime, but then she eats and is raring to go!

I'm struggling to figure out a good schedule for her and us now, before the kids go back to school and we're out of the house more.

Thanks!
Melanie

 

[Bella's Momma]

Thank you for the link!

We also pre-soak her kibble and her meal is 1/2 grain-free kibble and 1/2 raw tripe. So I guess we're doing pretty good there, too. And her bowl is not elevated. So once she can walk on a leash in the neighborhood it's good to know that gives us another option. Right now if she barks to go out after a meal we do put her on the leash to take her out to the yard to do her business, but lately she just stares at me or lies down outside (great, if I've got nothing else to do but sit in the shade with her; but not practical daily). So I think she is barking to go out b/c she's already been resting for so long pre-meal; she needs a change of scenary. If I were to just let her in the yard on her own, though, without a leash I could she her running arond after puppy-interests. That is what worries me.