173. Aluminium Crate will not rust.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Custom-made crates for bigger breeds are available from some pet shops in Singapore.

It is difficult for me to get pictures of puppies in Aluminium crates. So, I was fortunate that the owner emailed to me one picture to let first-time dog owners of bigger breeds know about the housing types available for their pets.

This Siberian Husky apes the older dog in going to the toilet. So, he has a "mentor" and is toilet-trained fast. The crate was useful for the older dog earlier.


A very good picture taken by the teenaged girl. Good lighting and good composition. She could be a dog photographer. Thanks to a girl who cares to send me this picture.

172. Stainless steel crate for an older Sheltie.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore



A non-rust stainless steel crate. Cost is around Singapore Dollars $500. Width around 4 feet. It is much harder to find buyers for older puppies. This 7-month-old Shetland is toilet-trained. If the buyer replicates the situation in the breeder or seller's premises, there should be no problem toilet-training this Sheltie.

Most Singaporeans want younger puppies. I hope somebody will like this gentle Sheltie.

171. The pet shop girls laughed out loud while the Border Collie escaped

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Watch out for the traffic warden," I asked the pet shop girl. It was extremely difficult to park in this expatriate-favoured shopping area in Holland Village and so, I had parked in the cul-de-sac road near the pet shop.

The sun was just bright for my research pictures of a dog house. The pet shop girl provided the dog house.

"But you have to pay if the puppy pees on the cushion," the girl said as I unwrapped the plastic bag covering the new red cushion. I wanted to show the bedding for the puppy. I must say that this shop girl is very good in looking after the interest of her company. I prayed that the puppy would not let go. Otherwise, like glassware in retail shops with a sign "once broken, considered sold." In this case, "once peed upon, considered sold."

Which puppy to be my model? I chose the Border Collie. Black and white should come out beautifully.

The pet shop girl put the puppy into the dog house. Within 1 second, he bounced out before she could say "Border.." You could see her hands were too late to prevent the canine escape.

"Try again," I said. "It was like taking movies. So many re-takes. The Border Collie bounced out again and again.

What to do? I was lost as to how to ask the puppy to sit inside for a picture.

The second pet shop girl came out to help. She took out chew toys and treats. Put them inside the dog house. Out bounced the puppy within one second.

"Why not block the entrance with the cushion?" I suggested, keeping a lookout for the traffic warden. The sun was still shining and there were no black clouds to block its light. But black clouds were drifting by to obstruct its sunlight. I had to act fast. Best pictures of dogs are best taken in bright evening sunlight.

The traffic warden was forgotten as the 2nd pet shop girl blocked the entrance after putting the Border Collie puppy in. She placed the cushion obliquely. There was a very small gap on the left lower corner of the entrance.

Out bounced the Border Collie. She just burst out laughing.

The dark grey clouds drifted towards the sun's path. I had not much time left to laugh. It was funny. 4 adults including my assistant James and nobody could ask the Border Collie to model quietly.

"Cover the whole entrance," I suggested. Once the girl took off the cushion for me to take picture, the lag time of this digital camera meant that the puppy had scooted off.

So, no picture was taken. What you see here was the first picture before the puppy got wise. Even then, he was making his exit.

"Why not use the Sheltie," the second pet shop girl suggested. Full of ideas. She would be a good team leader. The Sheltie was a good model. But he does not have that "X" factor to make the picture exciting.

It is difficult to do research with a digital camera. An SLR digital camera will be better as there is no lag time between focusing and shutter closing. But not so much fun as with these two pet shop girls.

170. The one-year-old Yorkshire Terrier is a role model.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"A cleanliness freak," the lady owner surprised me with her description of her 18-week-old Yorkshire Terrier who came for the 3rd vaccination*. "He wakes me up to change the soiled newspapers, around 2 times after midnight."

Puppies want clean toilet areas too. Some will bark at night to get the soiled papers changed if they are confined to a playpen. Others have to pee on the tiled floors and get spanking.

"How's his toilet-training?" I asked.

"50% paper-trained," she replied. This 1.4 kg Yorksire was fed only dry food and drank a lot of water. No home-cooked or canned food. Water was available 24 hours per day. Food was given 3 times a day, 9am, 1pm and 6pm. The food was left on the bowl but the Yorkshire Terrier would not eat all day long. He was sharing the food with the adult Yorkshire, both of whom ate from each other's bowls. They were at the office most of the time.

"But what happened on the first week?" I was interested.
The Yorkshire used the newspapers on the pee tray, imitating the 1-year-old Yorkshire being looked after by the owner.

"What happened when the adult Yorkshire left? Not so good news. The pee tray with newspapers was shifted from the bedroom to the bathroom. He was 50% paper-trained.

As for running away to hide after misbehaving, this puppy was smart. He would hide under a double bed so that the mistress could not catch him or under shelvings. Sprinted much faster than two-legged people.

As I write, I wonder whether he peed on floor tiles because the papers in the pee tray was soiled or whether the floor tiles were attracting him with previous ammonia smell of urine. I did not have time to discuss further with this lady who definitely loved this good-looking Yorkshire.



With the adult Yorkshire using the papers on the pee tray, this young puppy will be able to paper-trained. Presently he is 50% trained. Neutralising the floor tiles with anti-ammonia floor wash may be important too. Close supervision and training will help in paper-training him, if the owner has time. If not,the adult Yorkshire will be the teacher.

*Imported from Australia. 2 vaccinations given in Singapore although he had 2 vaccinations in Australia.

169. An instruction manual when you sell a puppy?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Over a month, still not toilet-trained," the owner spoke to me. I referred him to my web blog of over 150 cases of Singaporeans toilet-training their puppies. But he was Mandarin speaking. So, not much motivation to plough through 150 cases.



How to resolve his problem? An instruction manual in Chinese will be best. Pet shops in Singapore seldom if ever sell Chinese pet books. How about sourcing in Taiwan?
Will the instructions be relevant?

I asked him to get friends to translate the articles for him.
In his case, he should confine the puppy inside the kitchen when let out. He still has to spend time to train. How to do it? It is easier for me to explain to him in English but since it is like a duck talking to a goose, I did not do it. Perhaps, an instruction manual in Mandarin will be effective.

If I am selling puppies, it will be good to have such instruction manuals. They create excellent good will and make the clients come back to me. The problem is in the writing and research.

168. Peeing without warning - A LUTI puppy?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

SURVEY - Jul 20, 2005

Husky. How do you toilet train him for the first 7 days?

lst 3 days. Playpen + newspapers. At night, playpen brought into bedroom because the puppy whines a lot (noisy).

As owner is self-employed, she stays at home to supervise the puppy.
Owner sleeps late.
Noted that the puppy whines at 4 am and 6-7 am, wanting the soiled newspapers CHANGED.

FEEDING. 3 x/day for lst 7 days.
Now, 4 months old, 2X/day. Shit 3-4X/day (normal for most puppies, I said).

URINATE. 2 - 3 hours unless sleeping (normal for 3 months old). No strict formula but some trainers in puppy books say N+1 (N=puppy's age in months), some say N.

Very satisfied as puppy is paper trained now. Only problem is green blob seen in urine. The other vet had prescribed a powder antibiotic and had given it for 14 days, but green blob of flesh still present in urine.

The secret is to supervise the puppy and bring it to the newspaper everytime it circles or sniffs the floor. And confinement.

One main problem is that SOME PUPPIES pee without warning signs. How do you catch it in the act if it does not give warning signs?

What's the problem? Bladder or other problem? One pimple persist on right side of vulval lip. She might have a lower urinary tract infection (LUTI)

To investigate further 6 days later, after a new type of antibiotic and drugs. No news from the owner.

167. Pees on papers but poops outside papers.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A 4-month-old Jack Russell. Female. Paper-trained. Supervision. When the puppy whines, bring her to the newspapers. "Good girl" said when the puppy uses the newspaper as the toilet area. If she misbehaved, the owner looked at her "fiercely," and the puppy ran away to hide.

1. Toilet area is the kitchen or the bathroom.

2. Problem: The puppy pees on the newspaper but poops outside the newspaper area.

2.1. Solutions?

The puppy is a very clean animal. It does not like to step onto the urine as the owner provides only 1 sheet of newspaper as the toilet area. When it urinates there, the paper is soiled. Therefore, it needs to poop outside the papers.

2.2 Provide a much larger area of newspaper and put in 2 different nearby locations.
2.3 Buy anti-ammonia floor cleaning from the pet shop to remove the urine smell from the tiled floors.

3. Problem: In many Singapore apartments, the toilet is next to the kitchen. But the puppy goes only once to the bathroom to use it as a toilet.

3.1 The bathroom is far away as far as the puppy is concerned. It is a pack animal and prefers to be in the kitchen, near to family members. So, it uses the kitchen area.

3.2 It is motivated to use the kitchen as it gets lavish praises and none for using the toilet.

3.3 Most likely, the urine smell in the kitchen attracts the puppy to use this area as its toilet. Neutralise with vinegar:water 1:2 the strong ammonia smell of puppy urine.

166. The pee tray for bigger breeds

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

TOILET TRAINING THE GOLDEN RETRIEVERS WITH PEE TRAYS.

A bigger breed passes more urine and stools. The whole room or apartment can be very smelly since the tiled floors cannot be effectively mopped. The mops usually are not rinsed properly. Lots of chemicals are used.

To resolve this problem, the use of a pee tray effectively prevents urine from soiling the flooring and therefore no need to mop at least 7 times per day. A puppy less than 4 months old pee "countless" times.

One owner shared his secret.
1. Confine the Golden Retriever puppy in the kitchen.
2. A baby-gate prevents it from getting out.
3. Put newspapers on a pee-tray. Some pet shops sell such plastic trays.
4. Spray house-breaking aid onto the newspapers.
5. Bring the puppy onto the tray. Praise and reward it.

165. What is crate training?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


This crate is usually sold to the new puppy owner who has a higher budget than buying the playpen (4 pieces of fences). This type of housing resembled that in most pet shops. The puppy is used to the "wire flooring."

He passes urine onto the pee-tray (pull-out) tray below and has NO association or contact with the newspapers which may cover the pee-tray. Some pet shops do NOT line the pee-tray with newspapers as they look unprofessional.

The puppy's stools may drop into the pee tray or just removed manually. When the owner goes home, he puts a piece of newspaper onto the floor beside the CRATE and sprays the HOUSE-BREAKING solution onto the newspaper (if the pet shop operator remembers to sell him one). He expects the puppy to goto the newspaper to pass urine and stools.

Well, some puppies do pee on the newspapers when brought home. But the secret of success is SUPERVISION and PRAISES by the owner. Some owners have no time and let the puppy roam the whole apartment. They wonder why the puppy does not use the newspaper as the toilet even after 30 days at home? The owners MUST spend time to toilet-train the puppy.

The first 7 days of supervision is extremely important and so much happier for the owner as the puppy becomes paper-trained. If there is no time and no confinement to a small area (e.g the kitchen), the puppy still messes the whole apartment and everybody is unhappy with the puppy.

CRATE TRAINING. This method of toilet-training is as follows:
1. Confine the puppy in a crate (cage) of sufficient size for him to sleep and stand but not too big that he can pee inside it.
2. Every hour, on the hour, bring the puppy out to the toilet (e.g. playpen with newspapers or confined area with newspapers). Say "Pee here".
3. When the puppy pees or poos, say "Good puppy." Praise. Reward with a treat.
4. As the puppy grows up, increase the time of confinement.
5. As a general guideline, a 2-month and a 3-month-old puppy can be confined for 2 and 3 hours respectively but you have to supervise and gradually increase the time in the crate.
6. Keep the crate near to when family members are seen as the puppy is a social animal.
7. Praises and rewards motivate the puppy to call you (by whining or scratching at the door) when it wants to go to the toilet.
8. Soon, you just open the door of the crate and place the crate inside a confined area (playpen or kitchen for example). The puppy becomes paper-trained.

9. You can put the crate near the bathroom orthe garden if you wish the puppy to use the toilet floor of the bathroom or outdoors.

10. Observe the puppy for signs like sniffing, circling and whining. It may need to go to the toilet. Also, it needs to go to the toilet when it wakes up, after feeding and after playing.
11. Feeding 2 times per day is a common advice from pet shop operators. Take the food away after 20 minutes (rather than feeding all the time the whole day). No water after 8 p.m at night. All these measures are meant to help you to toilet-train the puppy.

11. In summary, you need to devote time to toilet-train your puppy. Beating it, light slap on the face, putting its nose onto the urine and then bringing it to the newspapers to tell it to "pee here" are some methods used by Singaporeans. The puppy tries to hide somewhere to avoid your beating as it does not associate its bad behaviour done some time ago. Therefore, correct its mistakes when it HAPPENS, preferably with love, praises and treats. It wants a pack leader (you and your family members) and not a puppy beater. All family members must use the same commands (with a firm low voice rather than screamng). Be consistent in the toilet-training methods and schedule or obedience training of the puppy.

Unfortunately, older parents and some siblings tend to sabotage your toilet training by giving different commands. That is hard for you but do your best.

164. The 5-month-old Westie likes to poop outside the papers. Why?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

5-month-old male Westie

Sunday. Young couple with 2 daughters 9 and 12 years old. Westie, male bought at 5 months old. 4th vaccination today. 2 vaccinations done in Australia. Had 2 free vouchers from the pet shop.

How's the toilet training in the apartment?

1. First 2 weeks terribly stressful for the owner. Why?
"The puppy was allowed to roam all over the apartment," I said.
"Yes," the owner confirmed. To the puppy, the apartment is like a big football field, so it can't find the toilet.

2. On week 3, confined to the kitchen. A cane is used to beat the floor if the puppy misbehaved. No direct punishment. Observe the ROUTINE TO PEE (times of passing shit and urine and CARRY the puppy to the papers in the kitchen. Successful. Praises and treats. Locked inside the kitchen and bathroom area.

Paper-trained now.

3. Problem. Likes to poop outside the newspaper. Why?
One newspaper sheet spread out on kitchen corner. This is too small an area for the Westie who is now bigger. He does not want to step on its urine and dirty himself.
Suggestion to increase the coverage of the flooring.

The main problem is that the owner has not been able to provide fresh newspapers after every pee. So, the puppy tries not to step onto the soiled newspapers as by instinct, all puppies want to have clean feet.

If only puppies could talk. But from my survey, owners who change soiled papers frequently or who put fresh papers on top seem to have no complaints on off-target peeing or pooping.

Summary.
Cane on floor
Bring pup to newspaper
Know when it wants to pee
Locked inside kitchen.
Bring out under supervision.

163. The upscale Magazine Girl talks to her puppy

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A 30-year-old lady, advertising department, with an upscale magazine.
She was good in her profession and had focused on advertising with its deadlines. Her job sounded glamourous with opportunities to meet the elusive high class residents of Singapore. The pasture is always greener on the other side.

She had dogs before. So, I asked how she paper-trained her new puppy.

"Just talk to your puppy," she said. "Ask him to go to the toilet."
3 days paper trained. Was the 8-week-old Miniature Schnauzer naturally intelligent?

If talking is so easy.

"Did you take leave and spend 3 days with the puppy?" I asked.

"Yes."

Well, that is the reason why the puppy gets paper-trained in 3 days. Very few Singaporeans talk to the puppies. It is not in the Singaporean culture to talk to four-legged animals, I guess.

162. Would the banker boyfriend toilet train her puppy?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A career lady 20+ brought in the 8-week-old imported Miniature for Veterinary Health Examination. 24 hours money back guarantee from the pet shop at a Shopping Centre.

"Thin," I said.
"Poor thing," she said. "Must be caged in all day."
"Can you feed three times a day?" Most pet shop recommends 2 times a day.
"I work," she said. Her boyfriend was a top banker. Well, he could take time off to feed him during lunch time.

The puppy screamed when I massaged the ear canal. The pet shop operator had cleaned his ears with some insecticide ear drops. He screamed when I pressed his hip joints. He was walking normally and not lame. His hearing was not so good on the left ear. "How can such a young puppy be hard of hearing?" she laughed. Probably associated hearing impairment with old men. It was a serious matter though as partial deafness could be a reason to return the puppy to the seller.

"What's the best way to toilet train?" She had a crate with a push-out pee tray sold by the pet shop. Since she was working the whole day, she would have to confine the puppy. The crate had a wire flooring. Urine would pass through and the puppy would not be smelly with urine.

"However, don't expect the puppy to be paper-trained," I said. "He is not urinating on the newspaper which is below the wire flooring on the pee tray. However, some owners told me that their puppies use the newspaper as its toilet area later."

"What to do? What is the best way to toilet train the puppy?"
"Crate training by confinement in a crate just enough for the puppy to sleep and stand. Bring the puppy to the newspapers (with urine smell) every hour on the hour. 3 days of leave. Sleep with the puppy and take him to the newspapers when he sniffs and turns or whines."

"But the puppy is mute," the career lady said.

"He is timid," I said. "Both of you appear to be giants to him and he is in a new environment."

This was a weekend. "I don't think you will want to be confined at home for at least 3 days," I judged from her bubbling personality that she was extroverted.

"Can someone else paper train my puppy?" she asked.

"Yes." I said.

She looked at her boyfriend "$50 for you"

"A private banker's time is worth more than $50 per hour," I said. "Not per day." The boyfriend was agreeable to train the puppy. He did not mind spending time at home with the puppy. Time must be spent in doing something successfully. This applies to building relationships with your boyfriend or girlfriend and in business ventures.

161. Stool eating (Coprophagia) in Singapore

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

MINIATURE SCHNAUZER EATS STOOLS.

"When I wake up, I see a piece of her stool stuck to her beard," Mr Lee put his forefinger against his chin. This was the second time he did this as I was vaccinating his white Schnauzer puppies. "When I am around, she would not pass stools, unlike other dogs. She would wait for a few hours till I was at work."

There are a few cases of old dogs eating their stools even though they are provided with the best premium dog food and are unlikely to suffer from mineral deficiencies which are said to be a cause of stool eating.

Mr Lee asked, "What's the solution? Was it because the Schnauzer had been caged in the whole day at the pet shop?"

I could not comment or advise as the cause of stool eating in dogs is unknown. Some "causes" of coprophagia are said to be boredom, attention-seeking (getting scolded), learning from the dam or other dogs, insufficient nutrients (unlikely in dogs fed premium dog food).

"A friend asked me to put wasahbi, the hot pungent green Japanese paste onto the stools," Mr Lee suggested. "I have had tried all the pet shop products to solve this problem. None worked.

I asked, "An owner swore that adding slices of pineapples into the food resolved his problem."

"How many slices? Isn't acid in the pineapple risky for dogs? Grapes kill dogs, I believe. So will pineapples kill my dog?"

I could not tell him the dosage used as this was anecdotal evidence. So, there was no solution to his problem.

Mr Lee was a publisher. Reading is so tedious nowadays, he said. "Why don't somebody produce a dog training comic so that it is fun and easy to read? Get a dog trainer to write in cartoon form. It is so gross to see real pictures of surgery with blood. All the gore frightened my wife."

He continued, "Every dog book has similar information on dog care and training. There is a book written by a Singaporean. It has the same information as others. Only that it has local legislation. How many Singaporeans need the import and export rules and regulations since they buy directly from the pet shop?"

I would not argue with the widely travelled man to tell him that not all dog books have the same information and that the Singapore Dog Book published locally have some useful dog information.

"What is needed is a good illustrator," I said. "What you wanted is called 'graphic novels or comics'. They are in high demand if there are good illustrations and a strong story. But good illustrators are costly."

Mr Lee said,"You are mistaken. Some illustrators want profit sharing. Some want their name. I know many of them." The difficulty in matching good illustrators with new writers is a reason for the scarcity of producing graphic novel writing books in Singapore. If there is one, a dog training book will be useful.

"It could be in serial form like Part 1 - Puppies for first 3 months and so on" Mr Lee suggested. Lots of ideas. No money to publish. Who wants to take the risk of publishing? Who wants to spend the time to write and illustrate?

It is always good to exchange ideas and sometimes new angles are seen by both parties. I mean, it would be an excellent idea to produce a graphic novel on just "Toilet Training for puppies." We love this idea. Make it appropriate for the whole world, not just Singapore, Mr Lee had said.

But can a graphic novel on toilet training of puppies sell? I think there is a demand but is there one? Mr Lee said, "You can get somebody to sell to the pet shops directly. Book distributors charge 30% of the sales price as commission."

30% is better than zero % for no sales, I kept my thoughts to myself. The problem was to find a good illustrator as a partner.

For example, I said to Mr Lee, referring to his stool-eating dog. There are at least 3 suggestions I read in the internet on how to solve your problem.

Solution No. 1. "Startle the dog. Shoot water with a water pistol at the dog as it opens its mouth to eat the stools. But don't let it see you doing it as it will not eat stools while you are around."

Solution No. 2. "Startle the dog. Drop a can of small stones onto the dog."

Solution No. 3. "Startle the dog. Make a very loud noise e.g. use a hand-held air horn as it starts to sniff its stools."

All these to be done without the dog knowing it is done by the owner.

Mr Lee closed his eyes, "How the hell can I do these things without the dog knowing I am the culprit?"

Excellent question. Who has the answer? Email to drsing_98@yahoo.com your experiences.

I suggested, since Mr Lee is in the electronics business, "Install a video cam pointing at the dog's cage. You watch her from your office. A remote control to active the water pistol when she sniffs her stools. Or a pulley system to drop the small pebbles from a can or to activate the air horn."

Impractical and expensive advices showed on Mr Lee's face. Don't expect him to have the time to do this. Neither should I expect his wife to perform such task. The domestic worker would not be any better.

So, there are solutions but no time to implement them. It would be good not to cage the Schnauzer for long hours. Bring her out to exercise an hour or more a day. Will this method work? Or just another impractical solution? Over 6 months have passed and the dog is still eating faeces. It would be good to follow up closely. But as usual, vets do not have the inclination or time to do it.

So, the Miniature Schnauzer keeps on enjoying its stools. And other animal's stools too. Readers with any ideas to resolve this problem, e-mail drsing_98@yahoo.com. Your help is in great need. Illustrators are wanted too.


Dr Sing KOng Yuen.
www.toapayohvets.com


The Internet has one article as follows:

Nobody is absolutely sure why dogs eat their own feces. Some feel there are ingredients in the feces that have nutritional value. It is unlikely there is a deficiency in a dog’s diet if he is being fed any name brand food.

Some puppies left confined in crates or cages for long periods may eat their own feces due to boredom. Puppies should not be left in a crate all day. If a puppy cannot be taken out of his crate to eliminate during the day, he should be confined to a small room with his cage door open. Place newspapers on the floor so if he has to eliminate he can leave his crate and go on the papers.

If your puppy is eating his own or another animal’s feces, you must catch him in the act and try to startle him as soon as he even sniffs the feces. I prefer to use a hand-held air-horn. You can also use a can with pebbles or a loud noise to startle him. Don’t let him know you are the one making the noise. If he associates you with the noise, he will wait until you are not around to eat the feces. Picking up the feces before he has a chance to reach them is the best prevention.

Why Dogs Eat Faeces?
Today's Breeder. Issue 48. Nestle PUrina PetCare Company.

Nobody knows. May be 3 reasons.
1. Stools are tasty to the dog.
2. Some dietary deficiency. Not in dogs fed premium dog food.
3. Behavioural problem like being bored or wanting to control their environment.

Any harm to the dog? Yes, if it contains intestinal parasites or parvovirus. Some puppies eat faeces of other puppies and cats too.

Best advice: Do not let them eat stools. Pick up the stools immediately.


Stool eating puppies are not a common complaint. I estimate around 1 out of 30 puppies will love to eat stools. I have cases where adult dogs continue eating stools. The owners seem unable to prevent them doing it as the dog eats the stools only when the owner is absent.

160. Six ways to toilet train a Singapore puppy?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


6 Ways to Toilet-Training puppies in Singapore?

Few books write in detail about toilet training. From my research and talks with owners of new puppies at my Surgery, there are at least 6 ways to toilet train a puppy in Singapore.

1. PAPER TRAINING - newspapers, training pads, pieces of carpets/rugs
2. CRATE TRAINING
3. OUTDOOR TOILET TRAINING
4. PLATFORM + PEE TRAY
5. PEE TRAY
6. LEASH to a small area for bigger breeds.

1. 8 WEEKS OLD. Move away from the nest to pass stools. Do not urinate during sleep.
Can control bladder and bowel movement for a few minutes but people must watch the movements to pass stools and urine. (SIGNS: Circling, sniff around the ground in circles). Some can tell owners to remove the stained papers by barking.

2. 16 WEEKS OLD. Can control bladder and bowel movement.
3. 32 WEEKS OLD. 95% of puppies can control bladder and bowel movement unlike human babies (3 or 4 years old).

3. MISTAKES.
3.1 Not anticipating or noticing the SIGNS.
3.2 Letting the puppy "all over the house".
3.3 The instant it has finished eating. Take outside to garden if outdoor training.
3.4 Easily distracted by being taken out to the garden or newspaper. Patience.
3.5 Push the puppy outside and expect it to pee or poo without training and patience.
3.6 Inconsistent training.
3.7 No specific toilet location. Sometimes papers, sometimes outdoors. Beating the puppy. Make it smell its own urine or poo expecting it to understand that it has misbehaved. Roll of newspaper to slap puppy on back or slap the floor. Slap the puppy's face. Still a common method of training amongst Singaporeans who learn this method from older people or friends.

No longer recommended as it makes puppy frightened of owner. Physical punishment said to contribute to fear aggression, submissive urination and other bad behaviour.

3.8 Use of proper floor cleaning detergent to neutralise the dog urine smell. But some owners buy the wrong type which reinforce the urine smell and then wonder why the puppy still misbehaves at the spot.

4. REWARD
4.1 Eliminate on command "Poo here", reward with treats or praises when it performs.
4.2 Clicker method. Whistling method. Electronic collar method have been used.

5. RAINY DAYS,WINTER. Disadvantage of outdoor toilet training. Newspapers best. Confined area e.g. playpen. Recent newspapers, not those kept for long time (rat urine etc). Newspapers at door, then shift to garden.

6. TWO PUPPIES OF SAME AGE. Difficulty. One messes the playpen. The other may try to be clean.

7. PUPPY LEARNING FROM OLDER DOG. Sometimes successful.

8. RECOMMENDATIONS OF LOCAL PET SHOP OPERATORS IN SINGAPORE

8.1 Feed twice per day although many puppy books recommend 3 to 4 times a day.
Feeding twice a day instead of free feeding disciplines puppy and help in reducing stool formation. An 8-12-week-old puppy passes stools 3-4 times a day but pees a lot of times.

8.2 Drinking water not given before puppy sleeps. Helps to control bladder.

8.3 Puppies making noises at night - May want to go to the toilet or ask the owner to change newspapers. Owner sleeping. Unaware. Goes up to beat the puppy for making noises offending neighbours.

9. Successful owners - Less than 7 days. Some puppies associate newspapers well and just move to pee or poo on the newspapers on reaching home. Some don't know and shred papers. Some take more than 2 months. Some never successful because the house is full of urine smells and the older dog just pee or poo on such spots and get beaten.

9.1 Sleeping with the puppy overnight. When it wakes up, bring to the toilet. Owners who do that will find that toilet training within 14 days successful. Take leave. Usually owners don't know about this method.

9.2 Worst case. Use Crate training. Put in small crate for 1 hour for 8-week-old puppy. Take out to playpen with newspaper. Observe. Pees or poos. Back to crate. Next hour, repeat. 2 hours for 12-week old and 3 hours for 16-week-old. Needs time and supervision to be successful.

159. Why was the Miniature Schnauzer puppy spiteful?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


THE SPITEFUL MINIATURE SCHNAUZER

The owner said that his Miniature Schnauzer purposely peed on the floor when the owner was not at home. He was being spiteful.

The following was his method of toilet training.

He uses negative reinforcement (caning) plus positive reinforcement (verbal praises).

During the lst 7 days, the puppy soiled the apartment. He pressed his nose to smell the urine. Then onto newspapers placed on the kitchen and master bedroom floor. The owner put him on the newspaper which had been urine-sprayed. A light caning on backside if he misbehaved.

Successful in 21 days in paper-training.






Yet the puppy still went to the tiled areas when the couple worked. Why was he so spiteful?

He also barked loudly but kept quiet for one hour when the male owner showed him the cane. But he could not be bothered with the female owner. Why? Singaporeans. Solutions in Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore. Dr Kong Sing's book.
http://www.toapayohvets.com

158. Follow up case: The Scottish Terrier went to the papers when the owners visited mother.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The new puppy (Scottish Terrier) went to the same pee area as the over 1-year-old Westie. So there was not much problem.

Recently, the young couple brought the 3-month-old Scottish Terrier to the mother's place. The puppy just went to the newspapers to pee. No urine scent on the papers.

So, the success rate is excellent. HE peed about 7 times a day or more. Poops within 1 hour after the meal fed 2X/day.

Now, there is one big and one small pee tray (with newspapers) in the living area. If the owenrs go out, put on thicker coat of newspapers to soak up the urine as the Scottish Terrier is clean. New newspaper put on top of soiled ones to prevent the Scottish Terrier from soiling the paws and gettting smelly.

The Westie seldom pees at home.

157. Loud scolding and threatening with a banana squeak chew toy frightens the mini-Maltese

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore




Negative reinforcement using a banana chew toy to "beat" the mini-Maltese when he poops outside the newspapers is one way of toilet training. "The only problem is that the Maltese runs away to hide when scolded and shown the banana!" the owner laughed.

Other than that the Maltese was paper-trained in 30 days. However, at night, he pees on the living area floor. Most likely explanation is that the owner did not neutralise effectively the ammonia smell of puppy urine.

This mini-Maltese was independent. Slept alone in the living area. On a bed. The owner loved him a lot. At the surgery, he was not too keen on chewing the banana toy when presented although at home, he played with it.

156. DRAFT Outline 1. Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore. Dr K Y Sing, BVMS, MRCVS

The book is ready for publication in 2006.

ADVERTISERS WANTED:
1. Advertisers who wish to promote a better care and quality of life for dogs are needed to publish this book. Please e-mail to judy@sinpets.com or tel: +65 9668-6568 for more information. Goto: www.sinpets.com.

2. This book will be of great use to Pet Shop Owners who sell puppies. It is a great gift saving them the time to explain all aspects of toilet training the new puppies and problems likely to be encountered. If they want the front cover on the book to be their own pet shop advertisement, separate copies can be printed. In this way, they can give/sell a personalised book to their clients when they sell the puppies. The recepients/buyers will find this book a very much appreciated present and reference for family members.

TOILET-TRAINING YOUR FIRST PUPPY IN SINGAPORE. Dr K Y Sing, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS. A "Be Kind To Pets" community education . Main sponsor is asiahomes.com



Dedicated to: Daniel, Jason and Judy Sing

First published in Singapore in 2006 by sinpets.com, an associate of Asia USA Realty (Singapore) asiahomes.com Pte Ltd, Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8, 01-1477, Singapore 319074. judy@asiahomes.com, www.asiahomes.com, +65 9668-6468

Copyright sinpets.com 2006

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilised in an form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Readers are advised to consult their veterinarian as information provided here is for the general knowledge of pet owners and may not be appropriate for their individual pet situation.

ISBN X XXX XXXXX X

Printed and bound in Singapore
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION. A toilet-trained puppy lives longer because he is less likely to be given up to the animal shelter. If he needs to be adopted, the new owner will not find him a noise or dirt nuisance. In Singapore, puppies are bought from the home breeder, professional dog breeder and the pet shops usually from 8 weeks old. Toilet training begins on the first day after purchase. Should you ignore the whining and barking on the first 3 nights? This book educates the first-time puppy owner on how to toilet-train the puppy in Singapore.

2. PUPPY DEVELOPMENT
Newborn to 12 months old. Temperament. Social, emotional and intellectual development. Lifestyle of owner. Knowledge of owner. Temperament, energy level and needs to match the home and lifestyle of new owners.
Recognising the signs - sniffing, turning, circling, whining, barking.
Negative reinforcement training. Beat the puppy, force him puppy to smell the stools and urine and show him the appropriate toilet area. This creates fear and distrust. Sometimes eye injuries.
Positive reinforcement training. Praise, food treats and the clicker method.
Puppy kindergarten classes. Obedience training. Careful observation to identify the puppy's problem.

3. TOILET TRAINING EQUIPMENT
Housebreaking aids from the pet shop.
Newspapers with puppy's urine.
Puppy Training Pads & Pad Holder.
Litter box with wood shavings.
Playpen,
Pee tray (pan).
Platform Tray.
Crate(cage). What is crate training?
Urine neutralisers, carpet neutralisers.
Repellents.
Obstacles.

4. TOILET TRAINING METHODS
Playpen, Crate, Leash, Small room, Pee tray, Pee platform.
Full-time training.
Clicker + food treats.
Praise +/- Food treats.
Positive reinforcement methods. Humane methods.
Negative reinforcement methods. Physical punishments. Head, muzzle, electric collar to restrain the puppy.

5. TOILET LOCATION
INDOOR. Balcony, kitchen (see people),living area, common bathroom.
whole apartment.
Playpen - big for dam and pups. Newspaper train pups by 3 weeks old.
Bedroom messed up. Parquet floor scratched by nails.
Playpen with no gates.
Playpen elevated, wire flooring, pee tray below.
Playpen for large breeds.
Ground floor apartment. Big breeds need kennel.
OUTDOOR. Grass. Big dogs especially.
INDOOR & OUTDOOR. Exercise. Clean up poop.

6. ACCIDENTS
Not paying attention to the signs: Sniffing, circling, turning, squatting.
Too excited, distracted, too young, inconsistency of family members, puppy not so smart. Seek expert help.
Too large an area to roam - Urine odours. Natural instinct to keep clean.
Whining and continuous barking.
New smells, new dogs, stress, baby. New homes.

7. PROBLEMS
Shredding newspapers. Ripping training pads. Barking on first night.
Chewing basket bed or cloth - intestinal obstruction.
Relapses - boarding, new arrivals, tiled floor, carpet.
Toilet too far away at night. Master bathroom?
Whining to go to the toilet at night and to change soiled papers after midnight.
Tiled area preferred.
Infected bladder or private parts
Kennel cough. Parvovirus. Skin diseases. Consult your vet early.
Vomiting and diarrhoea. Blood in stools. Blood in stools and vomiting.
Loose stools and farting
Submissive/Excitement urinaton.Urine marking. Mounting people or objects.
Eating stools, drinking urine.
Feeding after 8 p.m. Irregular feeding times esp. weekends.
Stomach worms. Ticks, fleas and lice.
Toilet-training problem, anti-social behaviour, separation anxiety, destructive tendencies, lack of human interaction skills (smells, noises and routines). Regular routine - Dogs to be exercised on and off the lead and socialised with other dogs 4X per day. No time to train - Take 7 days' leave. Sleep with the puppy.
Behavioural problems. Puppy biting, nipping and chewing. Jumping on people. Barking, Digging. Fear-aggression, dominance, digestive,urinary problems, flatulence.

8. A SCHEDULE
Plan. Consistent commands by all family members. Perseverance.
Restricted zone for new puppy.
Feeding Schedule. 2 times per day. Fixed hours. No supper. Water taken away.
Exercise Schedule. After waking up, eating, playing.
Water bottle or water bowl? Splashing on body. Withhold water after 7 p.m.
Positive reinforcement. Clicker + food treat. Praise +/- food treat.
Smelly area for toilet.

Sick puppies. Hypoglycaemia chihuahuas, mini-Maltese, Yorkshire Terriers & Pomeranians.
Home-alone puppy confined 3 - 8 hours. Bigger space to keep clean.
Takes 7 days'leave. Buy puppy over the week-end. Sleep near the puppy. Wiped his backside.

9. SINGAPORE'S PUPPY LAWS. Singapore is a "fine" city. Want to buy a "fine" T-shirt? Vaccination regulations. Consult your vet. Deworming. External parasites.
Puppies in pet shops. Grooming centres. Anti-littering. Bring newspapers, dog poops on papers, throws in bin. Barking. Biting. Noise nuisances. Yellowing of grass patches - urine.

10. RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP. Projects to benefit the community. AVA's public education and seminars in Singapore. Environment - stools. Low-cost neutering, microchipping, vaccination, roadshows, school talks provide practical help and creating awarewness about responsible pet ownership, community visiting e.g children's wards.

11. FREQUENTLY ASKED PUPPY QUESTIONS. http://www.toapayohvets.com/sinpets/040809FAQ.htm. Vaccination reaction, bathing, confinement. Bathing. Socialising.

12. PICTURES OF PUPPY BEHAVIOUR AND TOILET TRAINING EQUIPMENT IN SINGAPORE.

13. ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Dr K Y Sing, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS (Dr Sing Kong Yuen) is a veterinary surgeon in Toa Payoh Vets, a small animal practice in Singapore. A Colombo Plan scholar, he graduated from Glagow University, Scotland, U.K in 1974. He served his National Service full-time for 2 years at the Singapore Armed Forces Provost Unit's Dog Unit after graduation. He worked with the pig and chicken extension services and racehorses after graduation. In 1982, he founded Toa Payoh Vets, www.toapayohvets.com.

In 1997, Dr Sing started to educate first-time small animal owners using the internet at www.asiahomes.com's "Be Kind To Pets" community education project. Education continued using vaccination cards. During consultation, many puppy owners (adults and children) have little knowledge on how to use the housing bought from the pet shop. There was a need for an instruction manual. How did Singapore pet owners toilet train their puppies? Over 150 new puppy owners were interviewed during consultation in 2004 and 2005. The reports are at:
http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/. The book condensed the important findings in the research to make it easy for children and time-pressed adults to read.

14. 10 CASE STUDIES FROM INTERVIEWS
Cases are selected from over 150 new puppy owners interviewed by Dr Sing. Details at: http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/

Stories include:
14.1 The aged stay-at-home mum was stressed by the Schnauzer's mess.
14.2 "How to talk to the puppy not to step on his poop overnight?" the stressed mum asked the vet.
14.3 Would the labrador retriever puppy be able to hold his urine from the 19th floor to the grass every morning?
14.4 Wood shavings injured the eye of the Shih Tzu puppy.
14.5 "Either the puppy goes or I go," the wife gave an ultimatum.
14.6 "The crate is a prison for the puppy," the soldier said to his father.
14.7 No puppy should drink from a water bottle?
14.8 "The cross-bred puppy is not permitted to live in this HDB flat," the canine enforcement officer and the HDB warned.
14.9 The platform tray was best for the townhouse Golden Retriever.
14.10 Two puppies out-peeing and out-pooing each other.

15. MY PUPPY PICTURES SCRAPBOOK. Health & Microchip records. Tips on puppy digital photography for children.

16. INDEX

17. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

18. LIST OF SMALL ANIMAL PRACTICES IN SINGAPORE.

19. REFERENCES

20. FEEDBACK FROM READERS. E-mail your success stories and tips on toilet-training of your dog to judy@toapayohvets.com. Your stories will be published on the website. to help puppies and first-time owners all over the world.





Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Some information about the book is as follows:


TOILET-TRAINING YOUR PUPPY IN SINGAPORE
Be Kind To Pets community education

Dr Kong Yuen Sing, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
www.toapayohvets.com

To: Daniel, Jason and Judy Sing

First published in Singapore in 2005 by sinpets.com, an associate of Asia USA Realty (Singapore) asiahomes.com Pte Ltd, Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8, 01-1477, Singapore 319074. judy@asiahomes.com, www.asiahomes.com, +65 9668-6468

Copyright sinpets.com 2005

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilised in an form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN X XXX XXXXX X

Printed and bound in Singapore

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. PUPPY DEVELOPMENT
3 months old, 3 hours.
Recognising the signs - sniffing, circling, whining
Negative reinforcement. Beating the puppy. Force the puppy to smell the stools and urine. Creating fear and distrust. Pain and trauma.
Positive reinforcement - praise, treats, clicker

3. TOILET TRAINING EQUIPMENT
Housebreaking aids
Newspaper with urine
Commercial pads with attractant smell, litter box, pee tray with newspaper
Playpen + pee tray
Crate(cage). Various types.
Urine neutralisers.
Carpet neutralisers.

4. TOILET TRAINING METHODS
Newspapers, training pads, litter tray
Crate, Playpen, Confined area, Room
Leash
Combination

5. TOILET LOCATION
INDOOR
Apartment too small - Balcony, kitchen (see people), living area,
whole apartment.
Bedroom messed up.
Playpen with no gates.
Playpen elevated, wire flooring, pee tray below.
Playpen for large breeds
Ground floor apartment
Outdoor
Indoor
Indoor & Outdoor

6. ACCIDENTS
Too excited, distracted, too young, inconsistency, not so smart.
Too large an area to roam - whining and continuous barking.
New smells, new dogs, stress, baby.
New homes.

7. PROBLEMS
Shredding newspapers, training pads
Chewing bed or cloth - intestinal obstruction
Relapses - boarding, new arrivals, tiled floor, carpet.
Toilet too far away at night
Whining to go to the toilet at night and to change soiled papers.
No time to train - Take 7 days' leave. Sleep with the puppy.
With-hold water after 8 p.m
Tiled area preferred - vinegar, anti-ammonnia cleaner, repellent, commercial
products
Infected bladder or private parts
Kennel cough, vomiting, diarrhoea
Medication, milk
Blood in stools
Loose stools and farting
Vomiting blood and blood in stools
Submissive urinaton
Eating stools, drinking urine.
Consistency of family members
Feed 2 times per day.
Irregular feeding times esp. weekends


8. A SCHEDULE
Plan, Consistent words, Confine, Paper + urine aids/newspaper, Recommended food
from Seller. No milk. 2 times per day. Fixed feeding time. Water bottle or water bowl? Splashing water on body. Home alone puppy bored. Goes to work and train in the evenings. Takes 7 days' leave. Buy puppy over the week-end.

9. 10 SINGAPORE CASE STUDIES. 10 cases are selected from over 150 new puppy owners interviewed by Dr Sing. Examples are:
9.1 The aged stay-at-home mum was stressed by the Schnauzer's mess.
9.2 "How to talk to the puppy" not to step on his poop every night?
9.3 Will the labrador retriever puppy be able to hold his urine from the 19th floor to the grass every morning?
9.4 Wood shavings stuck to the eye of the Shih Tzu puppy.
9.5 "Either the puppy goes or I go," the wife gave an ultimatum.
9.6 "The crate is a prison for the puppy," the soldier said to his father.
9.7 No puppy should drink from a water bottle?
9.8 "The puppy in the HDB flat must go," the canine enforcement officer said.
9.9 The platform was best for the townhouse Golden Retriever.
9.10 Stories about the Aluminium pee tray.


10. PICTURES OF PUPPY BEHAVIOUR AND TOILET TRAINING EQUIPMENT IN SINGAPORE.

11. INDEX

12. REFERENCES

13. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

155. Success in toilet training the apartment puppy - time needed and restricted zone necessary

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


1. You need to spend time to supervise and bring the puppy to the toilet. The puppy must be confined to a small area.

2. TOILET TRAINING in the dog is also known as house-training or house-breaking.

2.1 EVERY HOUR, ON THE HOUR. If your puppy is around 8 weeks old, you need to take the puppy to the toilet every hour, on the hour.

2.2 When the puppy is about to squat, say "Pee now". When it obliges, give it a treat and praise. Let it play for 15 minutes under supervision. Put it back into the crate.

3. If you don't have a crate to confine the puppy, the substitutes are
play pen (puppy pen), leash it to your waist, tether it to a table near you.

4. In addition, take it to the toilet whenever it wakes up from a nap, finishes playing, eats or look restless (sniffing the floor, circling).

5. As the puppy gets older, extend the one hour to more than one hour. As a general guideline, a 2-month old puppy can hold its bladder for 2 hours and a 3-month-old puppy can hold its bladder for 3 hours. But this is a guideline.

NIGHT TIME.

6. Put the puppy in a crate if you have one. It is an invaluable aid to toilet-training (house training). Put the crate in your bedroom. She whines when she wants to go to the toilet. You need to get up to bring her to the toilet. If not, you weaken the "clean den" instinct in which all puppies do not soil their sleeping area which is the crate.

7. After taking it out, put it right back in the crate. No cuddling or it will wake you up for cuddling.

8. By 12 weeks, most pups sleep through the night. Continue to crate it at night till it is at least one year old.

9. When there is an accident, don't punish the puppy by rubbing its nose into the urine or beating it. Say "Go toilet" and bring it to the toilet spot. Then clean the tiles thoroughly with an anti-ammonia cleaner.

SOME REASONS FOR FAILURE


1. OWNERS NEED TO WORK. NOBODY AT HOME.

Ideally, confine the puppy in a puppy pen large enough to accommodate a crate. Make sure that the puppy pen will not collapse on the puppy while you are not at home. Put a thick pad of newspapers on the floor. Leave your puppy and its crate (with the door open) inside the pen. Most puppies will learn to pass urine and stools at one area of the newspaper and will not soil her crate. However, many puppies will shred the newspapers. Provide chew toys with food inside.
When you go home, just change the newspapers without making a fuss or punish the puppy.

2. PAPER TRAINING
In Singapore, most first-time owners buy 4 pieces of fences to hook together to form a play pen (puppy pen). It is too small to accomodate a crate. The apartment may also be too small for a bigger play pen. Put newspapers to cover 100% of the floor. Note the area which the puppy soils. Usually it is a particular spot. Every day, reduce the paper covering the floor by 10%. The puppy will be paper-trained when it uses the soils newspapers only.

3. URINE SPRAY AID FROM THE PET SHOP. Some owners think this housebreaking aid is ineffective. Some are happy with it.

4. PUPPY TRAINING PADS from the pet shop.
Puppy gate to confine the puppy in the a restricted area, room or the balcony area.
Wire or obstacle to prevent the puppy leaving a confined area.

5. PAPER SHREDDING. This is the most common complaint. Just ignore the puppy while you clear the mess on returning home from work.

6. TRACES OF URINE SMELL ON TILED FLOORS OR WALLS. Use a commercial anti-ammonial floor cleaner. Purchase from a pet shop. Or use vinegar (1 part of vinegar to 3 parts of water). If the puppy still goes to that particular spot, you may not have cleaned thoroughly. For resistant cases, spray an insect repellant on the area or use perfume to discourage the puppy.

7. MEDICAL PROBLEMS. Urinary tract infection may not be possible for the puppy to hold its urine. Diarrhoea upsets the routine of toilet training. Consult your veterinarian.

8. CHANGE OF TOILET LOCATION. If the older puppy is used to the carpet, it will hold its bladder if you want it to go to the grass downstairs. Bring pieces of carpet with you and gradually reduce the pieces so that the puppy will eliminate on the grass.

9. TOILET LOCATION TOO FAR. PUPPY DISTRACTED. Far away from the toilet area. The pup cannot hold too long if the toilet is far away and you want it to go to the grass downstairs.

10. LITTER BOX TRAINING? Commercially available pelleted litter are apparently available for dogs. Rarely seen in Singapore's pet shops, unlike cat litter.

When proper paper trained, let the puppy have a bigger area to move. Lift up the playpen so that it can access the newspaper when it needs to go to the toilet. If you can't supervise for signs of restlessness, accidents will happen. Just clean up the soiled area with an anti-ammonial floor cleaner.

154. Platform training the puppy in 3 weeks

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Case study - 3 weeks success.
Platform+crate+fencing toilet training

June 19, 2005 was father's day and a Sunday. "Batman Begins", a digital movie shown at Cineleisure in downtown Orchard Road began at 5.30 p.m. The last appointment came in at 4 p.m and there was time to continue my research on toilet training the puppies in Singapore. Talking to puppy owners requires much time and all of them are happy to share their training secrets. The problem is the documentation and distribution of the secrets for first-time puppy owners. Below is the method adopted.

I asked the young couple with 2 Miniature Schnauzers how they toilet-trained two puppies in their apartments. One was a 4-month-old white Schnauzer. The other was an older black and silver. I was surprised at their method used. This is an ideal method.

1. House the 2 puppies inside a big crate. The crate is enclosed in a fenced up area using 6 pieces of fences.
2. Put beds in the crate. The 2 puppies are separated by a partition.
3. The puppies don't dirty their crates. They jump out to the confined area to eat and drink and pass urine and stools.
3. Put a platform (wire flooring above a pee tray) at one corner of the fenced area.
4. The older puppy is used to passing urine on the platform. The urine flows down to the pee tray below. Newspapers are placed on top of the pee tray. Stools are removed from the flooring.
5. "Wee wee," commands are given for the younger puppy followed by treats if it complies.
6. The younger puppy took around 3 weeks to successfully use the platform. It adopts the example set by the older puppy.

This method needs a larger space and most apartment owners will not have the space. The above-mentioned owners have a spare store room (utility room) and are happy with the results.

The 6 pieces of fences are open by forming a hexagonal layout with an opening so that the puppies can access the platform.

The method can be applied for one puppy as well. It costs more and needs more space.

153. Tiled floor "thoroughly cleaned" still attracted the 6-month-old

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


3. Keeps peeing on the tiled floor - 6 months old

June 19, 2005. The owner complains that the Maltese would go back to the tiled floors to pee even though newspapers are provided. The floor is thoroughly cleaned but the puppy persists. It stopped doing only when the owner is around and was afraid of punishment.

It is not obvious to the owner. "The tiled floor is marked with strong urine smell," I explained. The dog instinctively wants to pee in the same area.

SOLUTION. Buy a urine remover from the pet shop. Or an anti-ammonia floor cleaner. Use vinegar 1 part to 3 parts water as floor cleaner. Neutralise the urine smell.

If the puppy still persists, then use an insect repellant spray or perfume. Confine the puppy again and start the paper-training process. As the puppy grows older, it is harder to toilet train it as the hormones have come to make it more aggressive and domineering. Also, the male puppy starts urine spraying the walls and marking territory. So, this case may require a knowledge of older puppy behaviour rather than neutralising the urine smell.

Once a male dog starts urine marking, it is hard for the owner to stop him. Unless there is firm command to stop it or to neuter him early.

152. The senior citizens said that the Maltese pees all over the apartment when unleashed.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Case study. An elderly couple with a 3-month-old female Maltese.
Satisfied with the use of leash for toilet training. Said house-breaking aid from previous onwer is no use.

Complaint: The Maltese still pees all over the apartment when let free.

lst 3 days - locked inside bathroom next to the kitchen (HDB flat).
Puppy makes a lot of noises and manages to get out by nosing out the sliding door of the bathroom. Explanation: The puppy is a social animal and wants human company.

4th - 14 days. Leash of varying length but definitely more than 4 feet long. Therefore, the puppy is NOT confined to a small area (around 6 sq ft) as the area is 16 sq ft with a 4-foot-long lease. Puppy has too large an area. Therefore, not paper trained.

30 days later. Paper trained. Will circle and sniff. Does its business on the newspapers. Nurse Annie was not able to get newspapers on time. Owner placed newspaper and the puppy passes motion onto Shitted in waiting room.

Disadvantage of leash. Too long, gets entangled.

Why it pees all over the apartment when let loose?

1. No newspaper in other locations. Too far or forgetful.
2. Tiled area full of urine smell. Dog's nose is sensitive and will continuing its business of floors.

Suggestion:
Use a urine smell remover or vinegar to neutralise ammonia smell of urine, the first method. Use repellant if not successful.

Picture of mini-maltese on leash (later) at the clinic.

151. Puppy Training Pads

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


PUPPY TRAINING PADS
Reference: http://www.simplesolution.com/products_us/training.htm

Paper and plastic side with adhesive tape is to be place on top of the floor.
Special attractant smell for puppies to pee on it.
Protects floor.

Shredding and chewing the puppy training pads and higher costs are the main complaints.
Some pads have adhesive to tape them on the floor.
Confine puppy to small area.

PUPPY PAD HOLDER clips puppy training pad.
Some bigger breed puppies may like it. Puppy training pads can be used separately or together with a U-shaped holder (container).

The puppy goes into the holder to pee and poop.

150. 5 pictures of normal puppy behaviour

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

For the first-time puppy owner, the puppy behaves so much differently from people.



Some sleep a lot. Some like the Jack Russell seem to be sprinting up and down the house all the time. Lots of explosive energy.



All chew and nip at the owner's hands and feet.



Some eat stools. Most do not. Some are clean and barks to ask you to removed the soiled newspapers with urine but you scold them for being noise nuisances especially after midnight.



Some steps all over their stools inside the playpen.

149. The Golden Retriever climbs out to freedom

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

In my opinion, the following wire crate may not be appropriate for bigger breeds like the Golden Retriever. Some of them will know how to climb out to freedom!

148. Shredding papers & soiling Maltese wanted attention?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"How to communicate with him?" the exasperated fourty-something lady asked me. "Every morning, the playpen is full of shredded newspapers and the Maltese would be soiled with his stools and urine."



"It is common for the puppy to step on his stools for the first week," I said, based on my research on toilet training with over 100 puppy owners.

"But the Maltese is with me for 3 weeks," the lady said. "Overnight, the newspapers would be ripped and he would be messy. I had to bathe him."

"Maybe a wire crate would be better," I said. "But it is hard to paper-train him."

The lady said the Maltese had been paper-trained. She repeated, "The Maltese would go to pee and poop on the newspapers when he is out of the playpen."

Well, this was good news.

"The solution may lie in confining this Maltese in a room at night.. He had no space inside his playpen. Or he could be bored. Put newspapers at one end and his food and water at the other end. A bed for him. Do you have a spare room?"

The lady shook her head. But her teenaged daughter said, "Use the kitchen." The mother was not in favour of this idea.

"In addition, give him a regular feeding schedule." I advised. "What are your feeding times?"

"6 a.m, 12 noon and 8 p.m" The feed bowl was removed after 10 minutes. That was good. There was a water bottle and a water bowl to make sure that the puppy had sufficient water.

"The puppy usually poops within an hour after eating. To solve this problem, you may have to give the last feed at 5 p.m and no more water after 8 p.m."

"My daughter is worried that the puppy will be hungry, so she gives him supper at 8 p.m."

"It is best to feed the less than 4-month-old small breeds like the mini-Maltese, chihuahua, pomeranian and yorkshire terriers 3 times a day." I said. "They have low blood sugar levels and some do faint or go into fits. In Singapore, many pet shop operator selling the puppies will recommend 2 times a day."

"Will the puppy be dehydrated if water is taken away after 8 p.m?" the daughter asked.

"No."

So, would the mother permit the use of the kitchen? She frowned at the thought of a soiled kitchen floor overnight. "My daughter is grown up and now I have to clean up a puppy." It is usually the mother who bears the burden of cleaning up and this may be stressful to some mums.

What can be done?

An idea flashed.

"Maybe the puppy is seeking attention from you. You are bound to scold him for messing up and being scolded is better than no reaction from you. You do shout at him every time?"

The mother nodded.

"So, he messed up again overnight and gets the attention from you. Some puppies bark a lot for attention. This Maltese become soiled to get attention. If you do not give any reaction, he would stop."

The mother disbelieved my hypothesis. Well, the kitchen might be a better solution now. It had been 3 stressful weeks for her. But a soiled kitchen would take a much longer time to clean up. So, what would she do?

I do not know.