460. Draft - puppy toilet training emails.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


DRAFT
Common problems encountered by puppy owners.
The case of whining at night is resolved by giving the puppy more space to sleep, far away from the pee and poop area. In this way, the puppy needs not bother the owner to wake up to change her confined playpen area (soiled by pee). Puppies naturally want a clean place to sleep and some do make a lot of noises after midnight to "call" the owner to come and change the soiled papers or wash the pee pan. Some owners do not know that is the reason but scolds the puppy.



Apr 30, 2009
To: "David Sing"

Hi David,

Thank you for your help so far.
I modified your suggestions :)
At night, we shifted the puppy to the kitchen with a bigger area (using the makeshift play pen).
After the second night, she knew where to pee and poo at the pee pan without whining and disturbing our sleep :)
We also tried to feed her earlier like 8 plus at night to minimise her poo in the middle of the night.
Once again, thank you for your help.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: David Sing
To: Owner
Sent: Saturday, 25 April 2009 7:14:19
Subject: Re: paper training. After midnight whine

1. In most cases, if the puppy whines after midnight e.g. 2-4 am, she wants the soiled pee pan to be cleaned. Many owners think the puppy is seeking attention and scolds her.
2. The only solution I can think of is to get up and do it for the first few nights.
3. The other solution I was telling you is to place the puppy in a small room e.g. bathroom and open one side of the playpen. Cover the floor of the bathroom with newspapers. The puppy can then go to the newspapers to pee.

In addition, no more drinking after 8 pm so as to help the puppy in toilet-training past midnight.

4. Pl confirm that you use a pee pan + grill (grate) which is placed inside the playpen. Can you e-mail to me 3 pictures of the housing and pee pan + grill for your puppy?






Reply from Dr Sing Apr 25, 2009

1. In most cases, if the puppy whines after midnight e.g. 2-4 am, she wants the soiled pee pan to be cleaned. Many owners think the puppy is seeking attention and scolds her.
2. The only solution I can think of is to get up and do it for the first few nights.
3. The other solution I was telling you is to place the puppy in a small room e.g. bathroom and open one side of the playpen. Cover the floor of the bathroom with newspapers. The puppy can then go to the newspapers to pee.

In addition, no more drinking after 8 pm so as to help the puppy in toilet-training past midnight.

4. Pl confirm that you use a pee pan + grill (grate) which is placed inside the playpen. Can you e-mail to me 3 pictures of the housing and pee pan + grill for your puppy?




Subject: Re: paper training
To: "David Sing"
Date: Friday, April 24, 2009, 12:19 AM

Hi David,

The puppy is able to go to the pee pan with grill to pee successfully.
No, we keep the puppy in the play pen at night. We let her out to play in the evening time though.
However, the puppy will whine and whine at night for us to clear her grill after she poo.
These few nights she was also very whiny at night.
Even after clearing the poo, she demanded our attention.
Is there a way from preventing the puppy from disrupting our sleep?
We thought we already solved the problem after the initial few nights of whining.
Bella (puppy) started the whining again........

Rgds,
XXX




From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, 22 April 2009 7:22:33
Subject: Re: paper training

1. Yes, it is possible for the puppy to pee on the pee pan if it will do it.
2. If you feel it is dirty, you may need to buy a pee pan with grate and train the puppy to step onto the grate and pee on it.
3. Did you put the puppy in the toiilet. Then you open the playpen at night and let the puppy come out to pee?






From: XXX
Subject: Re: paper training
To: "David Sing"
Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 2:24 AM

Hi David,

Thank you for your suggestion.
The puppy learnt pretty fast.
Now it is pretty ok at night except in the morning, when she demands to be let out.
It's pretty understandable since she is in the play pen for hours at night.
We think it's prety dirty for her to step on the newspapers overnight though.
Can we put a pee tray on top the newspapers area?
Is it possible for the puppy to pee on the pee tray?

Rgds,
XXX





From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, 15 April 2009 8:12:35
Subject: Re: paper training

Your puppy makes a lot of noises after midnight to tell you to change soiled newspapers as he has a very clean personality. You are correct in understanding what he wants. This is quite a common situation encountered by other puppy owners.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Get up and change the papers for the next few nights and thereby paper-training the puppy faster.

2. Don't get up. The puppy will stop after some nights. But you may see the puppy's foot with stools and urine


3. My advices which may of use to you and which may not, depending on the puppy's personality:

Give the puppy a bigger space (not being confined in the playpen) past midnight. For example, a bathroom with newspapers all over the floor for the first 7-14 days and a baby gate.

The playpen with newspapers (and puppy urine smell, place 2nd piece of soiled newspaper) is left open (3 sides standing, one panel taken off). Some puppies are smart enough to go inside the playpen to pee and poop and sleep outside (esp. if there is a towel or bed and if they don't chew them).

3.1 No water after 8 p.m. Get the puppy to pee by command before your bedtime (I presume it will be 11 pm). Say "Pee here". If successful, give praise and food treat. Clear up the soiled papers.

Let me know if this method works. Persevere. Don't expect instant results.







From: XXX
Subject: Re: paper training
To: "David Sing"
Date: Monday, April 13, 2009, 2:08 AM

Hi David,

I am following the advice from the website.

1) Setting up a playpen with newspapers all over it. Trying to keep her there for 2 weeks to paper train her. But we let her out to play when we can monitor all her movements. She will always attempt to pee and poo outside the playpen.
2) The puppy is with us for 2 nights only at the moment. We are trying to feed her three times a day but timing is not fixed yet.
3) Supposed to be 6 weeks old but based on description from book, it should be only 5 weeks old.

Rgds,
XXX


From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Monday, 13 April 2009 7:20:25
Subject: Re: paper training

Thank you for email.
1. Which method of paper training are you using. Pl describe.
2. What is your routine time for feeding and drinking?
3. How old is the puppy?





--- On Sun, 4/12/09, Darren Lee wrote:


From: XXX Dog Owner
Subject: paper training
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009, 5:07 PM



Hi Judy,

I am currently using your method to paper train my puppy. However, the puppy will make lots of noise in the middle of the night for us to clear the soiled papers. However, as we are holding day jobs, can we only clean the soiled papers in the morning? As the puppy tend to whine a few times in the night.

Rgds,
XXX

459. Toilet-training OLDER DOGS - a 2-year-old Maltese

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


DRAFT
Common problems faced by any dog owner WITH an adult non-neutered male and solutions
A real-case study.



Saturday, May 9, 2009 10:32 PM
From:
This sender is DomainKeys verified
"David Sing"
View contact details
To: XXX

Thank you for your email. You are very patient with the grown up dog and takes a lot of time to train him with lots of love and positive reinforcement training.

Yes, your male dog is urine-marking. This is a natural behaviour. He should have been neutered at 6 months of age to prevent this behaviour. Neutering now will help but the success rate is not as high, according to some of my dog owners.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO URINE MARKING PROBLEMS:
1. Confine to crate at all times for 2-4 weeks except when you are able to supervise him at all times (see paragraph 4).
2. Neuter him.
3. Allow him to come out of the crate before breakfast, lunch and dinner. But bring him outdoors to pee and urine mark.
4. Neutralise "urination" areas with white vinegar:water 1:3 with piece of cloth a few times esp. vertical areas with urine marking.
5. Allow him out of the crate when you are at home and able to supervise him closely in case he wants to urine-mark.
6. This routine gives him a chance to urine-mark outdoors e.g. tree trunks and not make your apartment smelly. It is not a good community advice from me. It is best to neuter the dog to reduce the anti-social behaviour of urine-marking although it is not a guarantee. In most cases, with my suggested routine mentioned above, the dog stops urine-marking inside the apartment.

7. So far, I have one case. The owner of a male 1.5-year-old Miniature Schnauzer with a similar challenge as yours. Her teenaged daughter was against neutering and therefore the male dog urine-marked all over the apartment, causing considerable distress to the mum.

The modern Singapore mum does pamper the progeny and therefore the maid has to clean up everytime the male Schnauzer urine-marks. He even did it on the carpet. The dog came in for vaccination and I got to know that the mum was living with this problem for the past 1 year. The teenaged daughter seemed to understand the mum's distress during our discussion. She reluctantly agreed to neutering which she considered as "cruel" and did some research on the internet as regards vasectomy and phoned me. I told her that vasectomy would not resolve this urine-marking problem.

The dog was neutered. I kept the dog in Toa Payoh Vets for 10 days while she got her maid to neutralise the apartment. At Toa Payoh Vets, we took the dog outdoors 3 times a day, after meals. He controlled his bladder till he was outdoors. The owner continued the same routine of outdoor exercise 3x/day and confinement in a crate (or balcony) when not supervised. For the past month, there has been no urine-marking inside the apartment. The mum was so happy. It is very difficult to remove urine smells from carpets and that was what was distressing her so much.

I hope the info helps.



From: XXX
Sent: Friday, May 08, 2009 6:08 PM
To: 'drsing@toapayohvets.com'
Cc: 'judy@toapayohvets.com'
Subject: 459. Toilet-training OLDER DOGS - a 2-year-old Maltese (http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2009/04/459-toilet-training-older-dogs-2-year.html)

Dear Dr. Kong,

If you remember, I wrote to you some time back on April 24 about certain issues with regards to toilet-training my 2 year old newly adopted maltese. You very kindly gave me some advice! Thanx for that ! :)

Meanwhile, there are some developments that I wanted to update you about & ask for further advice.
I have also attached some images to this e-mail so that you can see our current kitchen that we are placing DDD, our maltese in.

In my previous e-mail, I indicated that he seemed to know how to go to pee on the newspaper that I've placed in the kitchen toilet.
At times, there were 3-4 accidents when we let him outside the kitchen area into the living room or dining areas whereby we were not observant enough to catch him in time to bring him to the kitchen toilet area. But surprisingly, there were also 2-3 other times whereby he actually walked into the kitchen toilet from wherever else he was in the house to pee on the paper! So, it seemed like things were improving.

However, in the last 4 days, things suddenly seem to have taken for the worse.
Previously, when we leave him in the kitchen during our working hours 8a.m. - 6.30p.m. & at night when we sleep between 10.30p.m. - 6.30a.m.; he will always pee on the kitchen toilet newspaper. As of Tuesday , 5 May 2009, he started peeing at 4 different spots around the kitchen! Near the wall ledges & even the fridge corner. What's causing this behaviour? Is it because he is not fully toilet-trained or is he doing it on purpose? He is currently not sterilized. Is this causing him to "mark territory" as some people call it?

Given this situation, does it mean that I should go back to your initial instructions of teaching him from scratch?
i.e. confining him in just the small kitchen toilet area.

As of now, during DDD's time alone, we place him in Kitchen areas II & III. When we are home, we will extend the space to Kitchen area I & then from 8p.m. - 10.30p.m., he's allowed to roam the living room & my study room.

My parents & I have actually been using negative reinforcement upon advice from other dog owners.
i.e. whenever he peed in a wrong spot, we'll bring him there, let him smell the area & spank his backside with our hands 2x, saying no at the same time. But immediately after, we'll then guide him to the kitchen toilet newspaper & say "pee here" & "good boy", cuddling him a little there at the same time.


RE: Newly Adopted 2- year old Maltese
Friday, April 24, 2009 11:24 PM
From:
"David Sing"
View contact details
To: Owner XXX

See reply below.

--- On Thu, 4/23/09, XXX wrote:


Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 2:56 AM

Dear Dr. Kong,

Appreciate your e-mail.

Can I get your advice based on my schedule & how things have been for the last week.

Date of Adoption: 11th April 2009
Age: 2 year old Maltese, Male, Not Neutered

I've been keeping DDD in the kitchen with the newspaper on a pee pad nearer the other end just outside the toilet. I'm usually away from home from 8a.m. - 7.30p.m. Afterwhich I'll let him out to roam the house & follow me. At night I'll put him away in the kitchen again from 11.30p.m. - 7.15a.m. Between 7.15 - 8a.m. before I leave house, I'll play & cuddle him a little whilst preparing myself for work. He's been great so far!!! Knows how to pee on the newspaper but because he's left alone during the day without any change in newspapers, there was one time he accidentally stepped on his poo poo. Other times, he mis-aimed & poo poo is either on the floor right next to the pee pad, or there's a small puddle of pee on the floor instead. How do I handle & prevent this situation?

HE WANTS TO AVOID THE SOILED PAPERS WHICH ARE NOT REPLACED DUE TO YOUR ABSENCE FROM HOME (YOU ARE WORKING). TO YOU HE HAS "MIS-AIMED".

SOLUTIONS:
1. A friend comes to your house to replace the soiled papers with new ones at e.g. lunch-time.
2. PLACE NEWSPAPERS IN 3 OR 4 SPOTS IN THE KITCHEN SO THAT HE HAS A NEW TOILET-AREA. SOME OWNERS DO THAT. ARE YOU DOING IT?
3. JUST COVER THE KITCHEN FLOOR WITH NEWSPAPERS EXCEPT HIS SLEEPING AND EATING AREA.

Another enquiry is that ever since he's been staying with me, every night when he's placed in the kitchen, he whines & scratches the kitchen door. I have yet to get a baby gate.

PUPPY MAY BE SUFFERING FROM SEPARATION ANXIETY AS HE CAN SEE YOU. THEREFORE SCRATCHES DOOR TILL IT IS DAMAGED. BEST YOU GET A BABY GATE OR PUT A HIGH FENCING USING PLAYPEN PANELS. THE PUPPY IS A SOCIAL ANIMAL AND SHOULD BE HAPPY JUST TO SEE YOU BEHIND THE BABY GATE.



Things got worse last night when my parents came back. Bailey had to re-adjust to new-comers in the house & he refused to go into the kitchen. Even my usual method of throwing treats to one corner of the kitchen to distract him to go & stay in the kitchen didn't work this time. I had to chase him round the house for a while before being able to carry him into the kitchen.
NO OTHER WAY THAN TO CATCH HIM AND CARRY HIM TO THE KITCHEN. HE JUST DOES NOT WANT TO BE FENCED UP OR LOCKED UP. THAT IS WHY HE REFUSES TO GO TO THE KITCHEN DESPITE FOOD TREATS ETC. HE IS GROWING UP AND BECOMING WISER TO YOUR 'MANIPULATIONS'.

NO, I DOUBT HE WILL BE SCARED SINCE YOU DON'T PHYSICALLY HIT HIM LIKE SOME PUPPY OWNERS. YOU MAY NEED TO BE MORE COMMANDING TO GAIN HIS RESPECT. I GUESS YOU ARE MORE A FRIEND THAN A PACK LEADER TO HIM. SO HE BEHAVES BY NOT LISTENING TO YOUR GENTLE FRIENDLY TONES.




Is this the right way? Is he scared of me unduly? Cos i dont' want that to be the case :( :(

Please advice.
Thanx!!!!!!

Warm Regards,

XXX




-----Original Message-----
From: Kong Yuen Sing [mailto:99pups@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 7:23 PM
To: XXX
Subject: Re: Newly Adopted 2- year old Maltese

Thank you for your email.

As each dog behaves differently, I can only propose the following which may be suitable as your dog is mature and almost paper-trained:

1. Keep dog in toilet for 2-4 weeks but with a baby gate so that he can see you.
2. Place newspapers 100% on floor.
3. Place dog's urine smell on newspapers (use 2nd piece of newspaper with urine).
4. Observe the location where the dog pees and poops (usually away from sleeping area).
5. Reduce the papered area by 50% gradually over 1-2 weeks such that his toilet location is the newspaper.
6. Say "pee here" (on newspapers) and give food treats on success (if you are around). Persevere.
7. Change soiled papers promptly.
8. Open the baby gate but not to give the dog excessive area. Increase the area of freedom by a room and monitor. If dog goes to paper by himself, you give praise and food treats. Persevere.
9. Neutralise "accident" areas of peeing with white vinegar:water 1:3
8. Let me know how long you will take to succeed.


On 4/13/09, Dog Owner XXX wrote:

Dear Dr. Kong Sing,

I came across your blog http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/ through google & was wondering whether I can e-mail you for some advice.

I've just adopted a 2-year old Maltese on Saturday afternoon & he's been with me for 2 nights.
Previous owner caged him up for almost a year with hardly any run-around play time because of certain circumstances. He's kinda paper-trained. But what I would like to do is to get him used to his new environment whereby he does it in the toilet instead, but still on paper.

Is it the right way to train him if I were to confine him in just the toilet area with the paper within? Food & water to place on another side.


Warm Regards,

XXX

458. How to stop the male dog from urine-marking inside the apartment?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

HOW TO STOP YOUR ADULT MALE DOG FROM URINE-MARKING INSIDE THE APARTMENT
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

On March 31, 2009, the 1.5-year-old Miniature Schnauzer was neutered. He stayed 10 days at Toa Payoh Vets so that we could condition and train him to pee and poop outdoors as he had vigorously urine-marked the apartment at home. The mother was at a loss as to what to do. So I proposed re-training him to eliminate outdoors by confinement in the crate while not being exercised 3 times/day.

In the meantime, the mother would neutralise all the urine smells at home. At the end of 10 days, the dog would go home but be crated for 1 month while being exercised outdoors 3 times/day as at Toa Payoh Vets.

Picture is at: http://www.asiahomes.com/singaporerealty/0607hunting_bigdining.htm


The mum came today to get the neuter and the microchip certificates to renew his dog licence at the Post Office.

"How's the dog nowadays?" I asked the mum.

"He is doing well and does not pee indoors anymore as he is outdoors 3x/day," the mum said. "I needed to ask where he vomited yesterday and on the day he came home. On the day he came home, the cause could be due to the car ride, but last week he vomited once again."

"Did your daughter bring him downstairs?" I asked.

"No," the mother said. "She's busy at school. The maid did it."

"Most likely the dog had eaten grass or something in the grass outdoors," I guessed. "Ask the maid."

The mother nodded her head.

"He is a lucky dog," I said. "Usually other dogs go outdoors 2x/day or less."

The mum was happy anyway. I continued, "After one month, let the dog wander around the house in between his outings per day and see what happens. If he does not urine-mark inside the apartment, it will be considered a great success."

457. Puppy cries for clean newspaper after midnight

From: Subject: paper training
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009, 5:07 PM



Hi Judy,

I am currently using your method to paper train my puppy. However, the puppy will make lots of noise in the middle of the night for us to clear the soiled papers. However, as we are holding day jobs, can we only clean the soiled papers in the morning? As the puppy tend to whine a few times in the night.

Rgds,
Name of Owner




From: David Sing
Sent: Monday, 13 April 2009 7:20:25
Subject: Re: paper training

Thank you for email.
1. Which method of paper training are you using. Pl describe.
2. What is your routine time for feeding and drinking?
3. How old is the puppy?




--- On Mon, 4/13/09, Darren Lee wrote:


From: Dog Owner
Subject: Re: paper training
To: "David Sing"
Date: Monday, April 13, 2009, 2:08 AM

Hi David,

I am following the advice from the website.

1) Setting up a playpen with newspapers all over it. Trying to keep her there for 2 weeks to paper train her. But we let her out to play when we can monitor all her movements. She will always attempt to pee and poo outside the playpen.
2) The puppy is with us for 2 nights only at the moment. We are trying to feed her three times a day but timing is not fixed yet.
3) Supposed to be 6 weeks old but based on description from book, it should be only 5 weeks old.

Rgds,
Name of Owner



4/15/2009 reply

Your puppy makes a lot of noises after midnight to tell you to change soiled newspapers as he has a very clean personality. You are correct in understanding what he wants. This is quite a common situation encountered by other puppy owners.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Get up and change the papers for the next few nights and thereby paper-training the puppy faster.

2. Don't get up. The puppy will stop after some nights. But you may see the puppy's foot with stools and urine


3. My advices which may of use to you and which may not, depending on the puppy's personality:

Give the puppy a bigger space (not being confined in the playpen) past midnight. For example, a bathroom with newspapers all over the floor for the first 7-14 days and a baby gate.

The playpen with newspapers (and puppy urine smell, place 2nd piece of soiled newspaper) is left open (3 sides standing, one panel taken off). Some puppies are smart enough to go inside the playpen to pee and poop and sleep outside (esp. if there is a towel or bed and if they don't chew them).

3.1 No water after 8 p.m. Get the puppy to pee by command before your bedtime (I presume it will be 11 pm). Say "Pee here". If successful, give praise and food treat. Clear up the soiled papers.

Let me know if this method works. Persevere. Don't expect instant results.

456. Paper-training inside toilet for 2-year-old Maltese

On 4/13/09, e-mail from dog owner:

Dear Dr. Kong Sing,

I came across your blog http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/ through google & was wondering whether I can e-mail you for some advice.

I've just adopted a 2-year old Maltese on Saturday afternoon & he's been with me for 2 nights.
Previous owner caged him up for almost a year with hardly any run-around play time because of certain circumstances. He's kinda paper-trained. But what I would like to do is to get him used to his new environment whereby he does it in the toilet instead, but still on paper.

Is it the right way to train him if I were to confine him in just the toilet area with the paper within? Food & water to place on another side.


Warm Regards,
Name of Owner


E-mail reply


Newly Adopted 2- year old Maltese
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 11:23 AM

Thank you for your email.

As each dog behaves differently, I can only propose the following which may be suitable as your dog is mature and almost paper-trained:

1. Keep dog in toilet for 2-4 weeks but with a baby gate so that he can see you.
2. Place newspapers 100% on floor.
3. Place dog's urine smell on newspapers (use 2nd piece of newspaper with urine).
4. Observe the location where the dog pees and poops (usually away from sleeping area).
5. Reduce the papered area by 50% gradually over 1-2 weeks such that his toilet location is the newspaper.
6. Say "pee here" (on newspapers) and give food treats on success (if you are around). Persevere.
7. Change soiled papers promptly.
8. Open the baby gate but not to give the dog excessive area. Increase the area of freedom by a room and monitor. If dog goes to paper by himself, you give praise and food treats. Persevere.
9. Neutralise "accident" areas of peeing with white vinegar:water 1:3
8. Let me know how long you will take to succeed.

455. Pet Shop Operator Advices 2 weeks indoor - landed property

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Toilet Training American Cocker in a landed propertyThursday, March 26, 2009 6:57 AM
From: This sender is DomainKeys verified"Kong Yuen Sing" <99pups@gmail.com>Add sender to ContactsTo: david@asiahomes.com, david@toapayohvets.comPet shop seller advised strictly to keep the American Cocker puppy inside the house till 2 weeks after the 3rd vaccination. Husband was not too happy with the puppy eliminating all over the living and dining room.

"Did the pet shop advise buying a crate to confine the puppy?" I asked.
"Yes," the wife said. "But we don't want to cage the puppy. We want the puppy to eliminate in the garden. That was what our previous dogs did."

"The reason is that the pet shop seller does not want the puppy to die from parvoviral infections as the shop gets the blame. In the garden your dog may meet other stray dogs at the gate or other dogs." I explained the rationale.

It was already 2 weeks. The commercial liquid sprayed onto the newspapers to entice the puppy to pee on the papers did not work. The puppy just shred the papers.

"You are anti-dog", the wife remarked.
"No, I am not," the husband replied, shaking his grey-haired head.

"Please understand that some spouses can't stand the smell of dogs, especially pee and poop," I explained. "Some wives of vets I know don't even want to go near a pig farm as it is so smelly to their noses. There are such wives who prohibit keeping of dogs in the apartment."

"Why do they marry vets?" the wife has the stereotypical veterinarian's spouse who must love animals to marry one.

"I guess it is fate," I said. "Just like why you marry your husband who is not so happy with this puppy."

To change the topic quickly so as not to pour oil onto fire, I said, "The puppy can be permitted to go to the garden as the other dog is vaccinated yearly and there are no stray dogs around. In that way, this puppy can learn from the older one and will eliminate naturally in the garden."

This puppy came for the 3rd vaccination as it had a free vaccination voucher from the pet shop. Well, his ear edges are scaly but there were no crusts as in scabies. His neck is reddened due to scratching. I advised an anti-fungal cleaning shampoo for a week and clipping of the long ear hairs. Wait and see for one week. If no more scratching, there would not be a need for a review.

455. Pet Shop Advice to keep puppy indoors when there is a garden

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Pet shop seller advised strictly to keep the American Cocker puppy inside the house till 2 weeks after the 3rd vaccination. Husband was not too happy with the puppy eliminating all over the living and dining room.

"Did the pet shop advise buying a crate to confine the puppy?" I asked.
"Yes," the wife said. "But we don't want to cage the puppy. We want the puppy to eliminate in the garden. That was what our previous dogs did."

"The reason is that the pet shop seller does not want the puppy to die from parvoviral infections as the shop gets the blame. In the garden your dog may meet other stray dogs at the gate or other dogs." I explained the rationale.

It was already 2 weeks. The commercial liquid sprayed onto the newspapers to entice the puppy to pee on the papers did not work. The puppy just shred the papers.

"You are anti-dog", the wife remarked.
"No, I am not," the husband replied, shaking his grey-haired head.

"Please understand that some spouses can't stand the smell of dogs, especially pee and poop," I explained. "Some wives of vets I know don't even want to go near a pig farm as it is so smelly to their noses. There are such wives who prohibit keeping of dogs in the apartment."

"Why do they marry vets?" the wife has the stereotypical veterinarian's spouse who must love animals to marry one.

"I guess it is fate," I said. "Just like why you marry your husband who is not so happy with this puppy."

To change the topic quickly so as not to pour oil onto fire, I said, "The puppy can be permitted to go to the garden as the other dog is vaccinated yearly and there are no stray dogs around. In that way, this puppy can learn from the older one and will eliminate naturally in the garden."

This puppy came for the 3rd vaccination as it had a free vaccination voucher from the pet shop. Well, his ear edges are scaly but there were no crusts as in scabies. His neck is reddened due to scratching. I advised an anti-fungal cleaning shampoo for a week and clipping of the long ear hairs. Wait and see for one week. If no more scratching, there would not be a need for a review.

454. Mar 2009 Draft. New puppy toilet training queries

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

MAR 2009. DRAFT COPY. TO REVISE LATER TO SUMMARISE. E-mail has questions most new puppy owners encounter. Many of the over 500 owners in my survey mention that their puppies take at least 2 months or longer before they know where they are supposed to pee and poop. Others mention 7 days in paper-training success. There is much variation as methods and tools used vary widely


Re: Re: Maltese misses the tray
Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:50 AM
From: XXX

To:
"David Sing"
Thank you Dr Sing. He still misses pees on the edge so not quite on the pee tray. We will be taking him out this week for the first. He has had his 3 jabs already. Pretty soon we will be neutering him what is a good age for that? he is 4 months now.I appreciate all the advice. Dogs can be lots of work but they are a joy to have around.
cheers
XXX



From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 6:19:40 AM
Subject: Maltese misses the tray

Thank you for email.
1. I presume your Maltese did not miss the tray for the last few days. Pl let me know if I am incorrect.
2. However, you changed his routine by bringing him to the groomers. Therefore, he did not do what you want.
3. Persevere in your training. It is not so easy for some dogs.
4. Privacy. Yes, some owners report that their dogs don't like being seen to pee or poop.
5. If the problem is not submission or excitation urination, you are progressing to your goals. You just need to persevere. I don't think that your puppy is suffering from ADD but then I can be mistaken.
6. You may pick up some tips from this case. See:
http://www.toapayohvets.com/sinpets/20090321Toilet_Training_Paper_Two_Dogs_ToaPayohVets.htm

Best wishes






Subject: Re: Re: Maltese misses the tray
To: "David Sing"
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009, 2:46 AM

Thanks Dr Sing, we have tried getting him to pee on the tray by guiding him there. we also tell him that its bad to pee on the side. both of us are rather strong personalities. he seems okay for the last few days with no new changes in our behavior or routine. he did pee on the floor in his toilet after we brought him back from the groomers.
he seems to only do his business after we shut the gate and we are not looking. usually doesn't do it when the gate is open even when we are not looking -- guess he is just too eager to get out.
so what can we do about his ADD?

From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 8:47:53 AM
Subject: RE: Re: Maltese misses the tray

You may be right about distraction or ADD.
Try:
1. Put the puppy onto the pee tray and give command "pee here".
2. When you put him in after playing, give the command "pee here." It may work after some time. Praise and food treat on success. Persevere as first few X may not work.
3. Can it be "submissive urination or excitation urination"? That may explain why he "pees" off target. Is one of you or both quite "forceful" in your personality?







Subject: RE: Re: Maltese misses the tray
To: "David Sing"
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 1:27 AM


Thanks dr sing. You are right the puppy is clean. We clean the tray daily and replace the pee pad. After which we wipe the floor clean with the blue odor removal that is offered at the pet stores. I wonder if the puppy has ADD and he really cant focus or he is too eager to come out. Back to cleanliness though, the puppy resumes peeing correctly after he is in his room for a while. what else can we try. He made the same mistake again last night after we let him out and played with him. Thanks a bunch. XXX

David Sing wrote:
> Hi 1. Thank you for your info and pictures. Pl correct me if I misunderstand. What you are interested is that the Maltese "misses the tray" after being let out to play. I will focus on this aspect in my reply. I suspect you have a very clean puppy. Most likely reason is that the puppy "smells" the tray and finds it to be "not clean". How often do you wash your tray and the surrounding area? Some puppies are so clean that they will try to avoid "soiled" tray later in the day, as apparently, in your case. Try white vinegar:water at 1:3 to wash the tray and toilet floor the next 7 days before putting the puppy in and let me know. If this is successful, other owners will benefit. Best wishes.


From: XXX Subject: Re: Maltese misses the tray To: "David Sing"
Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 11:37 PM

Dr Sing, The puppy generally sleeps thru the morning. when I wake up, I clean up his poo if there is any. he poos quite a bit and it is usually on target in the tray -- usually once after breakfast (around 1030 ~11) and then in the after noon or in the evening. Mostly after dinner. he poos around 4 ~ 5 times a day. he pees alot more and I am not surprised since he drinks a lot of water. he is usually on target about
> 60% of the time when he pees but when we take him out of the toilet (he is caged in as you can see in the pictures) and plays out for about 1 ~ 2 hours he tends to make mistakes when we take him in. the toilet is at the back of the kitchen. meal routine -- breakfast 10.30 ~ 11.00 / dinner 6.30~ 7.00 night time -- he
> is let into the cage at 9pm. he won't be let out until 10.30 the next day for breakfast. play time (out time from the cage) 6~9 pm. rest of the time he is in the toilet. he gets let out for a short time during breakfast. but since I work and my wife works from home. we try not to disturb him during the day and keep to the routine. eventually we want him to have free roam of the house but we need to ensure that he can go on his own. thanks for your help XXX




From: David Sing To: XXX
Hi
1. If your concern is that the Maltese pees "off target" - not directly onto the pee tray (or newspapers in the case of paper-training), this is one of the most common complaints. What type of pee tray are you using? Pl send me 3 pictures of the pee tray and the toilet location so that I can advise further. 2. What is the routine for this puppy every day as regards sleeping area, exercise, eating, drinking times?



Mon, 3/16/09, From: XXX Subject: Maltese misses the tray To: judy@toapayohvets.com Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 11:08 AM

Hi Judy, I have been reading your blog and have gotten some good pointers. We have a 4 month old maltese. he has been confine in the kitchen toilet for the last 5 weeks since we brought him home. initially he was doing well and peeing on the pee tray with the occasional mistake. with that in mind we let him out and trusted that he would go into his toilet on his own when needed. this he did for 3 days. after that he made some mistakes outside when we let him out. now we have resorted to taking him in to the toilet and let him pee. but he doesn't do it in front of
> us. once when we
> are out of sight he would pee just on the edge of the tray and onto the floor. we still confine him in the toilet and let him out after dinner for about
> 2~3hours. pees on the tray most of the time. he makes the mistakes mostly after we have taken him out and bring him back in. we want him to be able to roam the house freely, what can we do? Thanks for you help. cheers XXX

452. Paper-Training Queries from a Shih Tzu puppy owner

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore



From:
Subject: Shih Tzu Training
To: drsing@pacific.net.sg
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009, 1:08 PM

Hello Dr. Sing,

I have recently bought a Shih Tzu 4 months old name "Wang" from a pet farm and I am still trying hard toilet training Wang.
I put Wang inside the playpen with 2 pee trays and his toys.
Wang will pee and poo on his pee tray while in playpen but when I bring him out to play, with playpen open up one side, he still pee in the house.

SUGGESTED SOLUTION: You expect the Shih Tzu to go to the pee tray when he is taken out to play. But he does not do it. This is a very common complaint. The most likely reasons are:

1.Insufficient confinement time inside the playpen. I don't know how long your have the puppy from the pet farm before letting him loose in the house.
I advise 2-4 weeks confinement inside the playpen.

2. Extend the freedom area outside the playpen area by 2-3 x, not letting the puppy out to run around the whole living, dining, bedroom and kitchen area for the first 2-4 weeks. Let him out to play for 5-10 minutes/outing in a small area (e.g. kitchen) instead of running in the whole house/apartment. Give treats and praises if he goes to the pee tray. Give a command e.g "Pee here" when you place the puppy on the pee tray.

3. Watch for signs of elimination. It is easier said than done for some active puppies. When the puppy sniffs the floor or squats or turns around, quickly pick him up and put him onto the pee tray. Treats and praises for successful performance. Now, most owners do not monitor the puppy closely. Or the puppy has so much space to run around madly. Therefore, accidents happen and the owner gets angry. In any case, don't expect the puppy to learn within 1-2 days. Patience and perseverance are required in training any young dog.

Neutralise the urine smell of "accidents" with white vinegar:water 1:3 or with your floor cleaners.

4. FURTHER SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO YOUR QUESTIONS BELOW.
I wanted to train him outdoor but he doesn't want to walk with the leash on.

Some puppies resist the leash at the beginning. Give a motivation for him to be leashed. For example, before eating, give a command "Sit". Then leash him before allowing him to eat. Or give a treat (like going out to play or play) after he accepts the leash.

I can't train him on newspaper because he shred everything up.

A very common complaint amongst puppy owners. Taping the papers onto the pee tray may be one tedious solution. To paper-train the puppy, you need to put papers 100% inside the playpen and start reducing the papered area if your puppy pees in one corner. Even if he shreds the papers, do not make a fuss. Just change the papers quietly. Some owners have no patience and therefore it is not easy to paper-train some active paper-shredders. Some puppies shred papers out of fun and boredom.

Whenever I let him out to play, he will start running everywhere and biting cloths (eg. floor mats). He gets so excited running and biting.
How can I make him listen to commands?


Probably your voice is not "commanding" enough. The puppy just ignores you and does not accept you as an "alpha - pack leader". It is difficult for many ladies as they don't "shout" at puppies. So the puppy takes advantage and chases the owner, nips her ankles (she screams) and play catching.

Suggested solution: Some owners use a rolled up newspaper to hit the floor if the puppy misbehaves and give training commands in firm tones. Others give food treats and praises. Much depends on the personalities of the puppy.


How can I stop him from biting and running?
TIME OUT SOLUTION? Confine him inside the playpen and keep him isolated from the fun when he does not behave.

How can I stop him from shredding newspaper?
See answer above.


Please give some advise on these.
Thanks.