My friend recently got a German/Chow puppy. In order to potty train it and to keep it from using the bathroom all the time, he is limiting her intake of water. He says he's raised them all his life and this is the way to do it, but I totally disagree and feel it's neglect and abuse. I know the importance of water in humans and feel it's similar to other animals also. There are a few diseases and conditions when water needs to be monitored, but if a person does not have those conditions, we need to drink up. Please help me with this. If I'm wrong I will apologize to my friend, but if not, I'm going to press this issue for the sake of Lola!

I forgot to mention that he is also doing this because he says that dogs don't have control of how much they take in and if given the chance, will continue to drink and eat however much you give them. He feeds her once in the morning. I'm not so sure about that either, she's a puppy!

how badly is he limiting her water? ive heard of taking away its water at night a few hours before bed...but beyond that...it should have water...especially if you happen to be in a hot climate. i had a dog before and i would never dream of traiing him by depriving him like that ;-;..especially since it can be trained without restircing its water

..i post slow...eep..do they really know what theyre doing? im sure if you talked to a vet theyd tell you whats the correct way to feed and water them.

once a day feedings..seem..waay too little..once in the morning and once in the evening seem much more reasonable =/

http://www.mayanser.com/gsd/info/questions_8.htm

im not sure how much use that will be..talks about german shepards and feeding scheduals, etc.

I honestly don't know how much is he limiting her, but I will find out.

Dogs should ALWAYS have access to fresh drinking water ... it is very unusual for a dog to drink too much, they tend only to drink as much or as little as they require. I'm sure if your friend asked a vet he would say that restricting a dogs drinking water is wrong.

On the food issue ... many adult dogs are fed just once a day and that's perfectly ok, but if it's just a puppy they may require two or three smaller feeds each day which are gradually cut down to one or two feeds as they get older. Our breed of dog (Weimaraner) is succeptable to a condition known as 'bloat' so it was recommended that she be fed two smaller portions each day (am/pm) rather than one large feed. But generally a lot of people do only feed their dog once a day ... and water should always be available!

Hope this helps.

Yay! One thing on this forum I know something about LOL!!!

I have been training (police/personal protection/security/sport) and raising dogs for many years. I have had many, many pups and see myself as pretty well versed ont he subject.

Obviously there are many extremes of 'limiting water'. We COULD be talking neglect, or we could not.

I will limit water intake on pups also during potty training. Limit is maybe the wrong word... put it this way, I don't let the dog 'free feed' with either food or water. They are given water (and food) at specific times of the day, thus enabling me to know when it is most likely to come out of the other end, hence making the chance of accidents few and far between. I also do not allow water after 7pm at night, except for a few licks, this ensures dry nights.

I have had way too many dogs/pups over the years to count. At the moment I have 11 and despite regular vet checks (needed as these are all working dogs) we have never had one (that I can remember) that was sick in any way. (except an old, retired guy who now has low thyroid)

For food I feed pups from weaned to about 12wks 3x a day, then 12wks to around 6mths, 2x a day, then once a day thereafter.

You're right to be concerned -- but mostly because of the word he used when telling you this: find out what he means by "limiting" water. It's true that 95% of all dogs should be offered water free choice, but that does NOT apply to puppies who are being housetrained (or dogs pre- and post-op). Up until about 3 -4 months of age, a puppy literally cannot "hold it." They simply don't have the proper nerve function to do so. Also, when they are that young, think how very short their entire digestive tract is -- the time it take for the water to make it from their mouth, through their system, and out the other end is extremely short. Therefore, puppies (while being housetrained) should NOT be given water free choice, and should be taken outside for a pee within 30 minutes of drinking. They should also be taken outside the moment they wake up from a nap, immediately after playing, and immediately after eating anything (as the "pressure" of the new food will cause the already digested material to move on out of their tiny systems fairly quickly).

Find out what he means by "limiting" water. He should be limiting her ACCESS to water; but at the same time, he should be allowing her to drink what she wants to when it's the appropriate time. A dog will not "drink too much." They drink what they need; no more and no less.

He should be feeding her 3 times a day -- you're 100% right on this one. Especially because she's a large breed and can become susceptible to bloat if she eats all her food at one sitting.

Thank you all so much! I definitely have much better insight now. I am going to print this off and show it to him. I couldn't sleep last night feeling that this was animal crulety, but now I feel more at ease. I thought I was going to have to sneak that puppy some H2O on the down low!