202. Floor mopped but Maltese still pees on floor

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Pees everywhere although floor has been mopped.
Quite a common complaint.
Maltese, Female, 9 weeks ago.

Wire crate with door and pee pan.
Cushion bed on right upper corner about 1/3 of floor area.
Water bottle, feedbowl on left lower corner.
Puppy will sleep on cushion bed, not dirty it.



When let out to living area, ignored newspapers put at one side of living area.
Pees all over the floor. Floor mopped, but still pees. Why?


1. Mop may be spreading puppy urine smell. Attracting puppy to pee on floor.
2. Newspapers at one end of living area may have housetraining liquid, but puppy may not be attracted to it, to pee on newspapers.

3. When home alone, the puppy pees on wire flooring, not newspapers. So what are the solutions?


SOLUTIONS

1. Restrict puppy to a small area. Block or add 3 panels of fences outside the crate to extend the area, but not permit puppy the whole living room.

2. Put newspapers at the end of extended area. Neutralise ammonia smell of wire flooring thoroughly.

3. The puppy will come out to pee on newspapers and not inside the crate as that is her den.

3.1 The pee tray below the wire crate elevates the floor. Too high for the 800-gram mini-Maltese to jump out, the owner said. If the crate fencing is turned upside door, the door is located wrongly. Puppy cannot come out of the playpen. Therefore, supply a ramp for puppy to walk out.

3.2 Pee tray + newspapers may prevent puppy urine from soiling the floor.

3.3 Buy the wire floor + pee tray platform for puppy to use as a toilet.

3.4 Puppy training pads were suggested by the owner. OK if the puppy is attracted to use them as toilet. More costly than newspapers. Still need to confine the puppy to a small area.

Which solution the owner takes? Will need to follow up, if possible.

201. Follow up. An alpha female Husky bites gentle owners.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Young couple. Tanned man and fair lady.
Siberian Husky, F, 3.5 months, sheds a lot, but normal.

I remember the puppy as she had darkened hairs due to the licking of her vulva some 3 weeks ago. Now, there was no more pus discharge. The licking of the vulva stopped 7 days after drug treatment. So, the infection had gone. Now, she was brought in for her 3rd vaccination.

1. Bites male owner when stroked on chin, at home only. Also bites lady.
What to do?

1.1 "She may be an alpha female, asserting authority both of you," I guessed. The male owner was treating the Husky like a friend and got the most bites on his hands. The lady showed a few bite marks on her hand too.

"She likes to be the centre of attraction," the young man said. Maybe, she is an alpha female and testing the leadership of the owners.



1.2 May dislike chin stroking. Checked and had no pain due to skin disease problem.
1.3 May be communicating by mouthing owners as dogs do not talk.

What to do? Grip muzzle with hand and say "No biting."
Do not play with her by stroking chin.
Distract her with food treats.
Time out (put in enclosed area whenever she bites.

The puppy tried to bite me when I touch her neck, but was rather timid when out of the house.

Suggestions may not be practical.

2. TOILET TRAINING. Puppy was bought from a pet shop in a shopping mall. Pet shop was NOT allowed to sell accessories. The couple went to another pet shop called "Hot Dogs"? A pee tray and housebreaking aid was recommended. Puppy was confined to a small area (playpen) with pee tray inside. Fed twice a day. Water bottle.

The pee tray was bought. Natural urine + newspapers on pee tray used.
The puppy was housebroken on this pee tray. The papers were changed about 5 times per day. The puppy did not mind soiled papers.
Very clean paws. Wiped paws whenever she stepped on urine.
No skin diseases. 2 pimples on belly area.

200. Tough Love for 6-month-old Miniature Schnauzer

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore



"Spank them hard on the butt area with a rolled newspaper only once for misbehaviour," the career lady and mother. Around forty years old, brown-tanned face and broad shoulders. A big woman. She advised this method when I asked about toilet-training of this older puppy. A 6-month-old female Miniature Schnauzer. The older the puppy, the harder to train, she emphasized. All her 3 dogs were well behaved. No shredding of papers, no running all over the apartment if told not to do so. No hand biting. Could stay still inside the carrier bag for 2 hours when she talked to her ex-boss.

Another negative reinforcement training was to grip the muzzle and spank her hand if the puppy misbehaves like wanting to shred newspapers. This puppy was caught shredding and after punishment, never shreds papers again. Most owners complain about this paper shredding and do not know what to do. Same treatment for hand biting, chewing objects and barking. Say "No pee pee" if she did her toilet-training in the wrong location. Say "Pee pee here" for the correct location.

A stern look was all that was necessary after that. The dogs just run away.
However, a smile and/or food treats make them come to her.

Tough love. But the dogs were all well behaved in the apartment. No barking.

The 6-month-old Miniature Schnauzer messed up the place at week 1. By week 2, she was toilet-trained in the master bathroom.

Shower area. Easy to flush off. Do not use floor detergent to neutralise urine smell . Toilet paper to pick up stools.

Newspaper outside the master bathroom. To convert her to paper-training later.

Food in master bathroom. A lot of chew toys and time after work to train.

Occasional contact with 2 older dogs - 2 years and 9 months old - both paper-trained in the kitchen. These 2 dogs will not run out of the kitchen if not allowed. No need for baby gates. Sounds marvellous.

New puppy confined to master bathroom when owner is at work. Come out to master bedroom when owner is at home. In 2 weeks, toilet trained at shower area. This is good for older dog.

This owner is very knowledgeable and will be a good dog trainer. When she changed the litter of 20 hamsters, the 3 dogs would not dare even to go near the hamsters. Other dogs might have gone to bite them.




How do you

199. 2nd draft outline - Toilet-training your puppy in Singapore. Dr Sing

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

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 & Mr Huang Wee.

First published in Singapore/China 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/China

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, squatting.
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 + treat/praise method.
Residential training. Owner/Trainer training. Puppy kindergarten classes. Obedience training. Careful observation to identify the puppy's behaviour problem.
Qualified animal behaviour specialists/trainer in Singapore?

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.
Household disinfectants mask or enhance odour.
Obsessive compulsive behaviour needing your attention all the time.Exercises tire out dog. Special chew toys or long-lasting food treat at bedtime.
Calmatives such as D.A.P (dog appeasing pheromone). DAP Diffuser anti-stress to dogs for messing crate overnight, pheromones, drug medication for behaviour modification by the vet. Seeking the assistance of a animal behaviourist. www.apbc.org.uk (The Association of Pet behaviour Counsellors).
Other approaches. Talk to your vet or veterinary behaviourist about other approaches including anti-anxiety medication.

Radio on.
Sudden noise, air gun, water gun.

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

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. Adult dogs fouling the apartment and bigger breed dogs especially.
INDOOR & OUTDOOR. Exercise. Newspapers to pick up or let dog pass poop onto it (Responsible Pet Ownership).

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.
Morning mess makes owner angry.
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.
Flatulence & diarrhoea.
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, stool eating. Noise phobias. 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. 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 AS REGARDS PUPPIES. 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. Vaccinations.

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. 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. REFERENCES
http://www.urbanhound.com/



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.

198. Get toilet training info from the previous owner

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

It was hard to toilet train this Shih Tzu. Female, 2 months. She was adopted. She was put in a playpen at the corner of the kitchen. Water bowl on topleft, Bedding cloth on top right. Newspapers on bottom half of the playpen.

Now, 3rd day with the owner. The puppy cried a lot at night. She pooped a lot.

It is best to get info from the previous owner, the routine for this puppy. If not, start all over again the toilet training procedures. Crying a lot for human company is a common complaint. Not all puppies do that. For those crying, there are two methods. One is to ignore the crying, putting on the radio or light. The other is to let the puppy sleep inside the playpen in the bedroom or the owner stays next to the playpen at night.

197. Follow up Case 137. The Jack Russell is no longer in "prison"

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Follow up on Case 137. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2005/
1/134-jack-russell-always-try-to-escape.html

After saying that the wire crate was like a prison for his puppy, I advised the national service young man to extend the restricted zone for the puppy by using barricades like fences.

He bought 3 panels of fences to enclose the wire crate. The 4th side of the crate was against a wall of the dining area. In this way, the Jack Russell had more space to exercise.

In the bigger space, the newspapers were located outside the wire crate on the left half side. The puppy peed on the newspapers. Sometimes poop on the tiled floor on the lower right of the floor paln, in front of his crate. He used the crate as his bed and kept it clean.

However, when let out of the restricted zone, the 4-month-old puppy, now coming in for vaccination booster, would look for corners and peed there. A piece of soiled newspapers in the living area corner would sometimes be used as toilet but not all the time.



It was not possible to observe him all the time for signs of wanting to pee and then put him onto the papers. So, he would go to those nooks and corners to pee.

What is the solution?

1. Obstacles to block up the corners. Not practical.
2. Neutralise with vinegar:water 1:3. This was done.

I needed to follow up again. He promised to send me some pictures of the housing for this active Jack Russell.

196. The Labrador Retriever avoided eye contact with the big-eyed owner

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A big-sized man with big eyeballs and a slim lady friend. He said that the 4-month-old Labrador Retriever purposely peed on the floor in the living area but not on the newspapers. Scolding but he still did it.

The puppy was fed 3x/day and pooped 1-2 x after meals. The timing was irregular. Why?

The reason could be that the owners played with him after meals. So, he was distracted and had no fixed time to pass stools. Usually most dogs passed stools within half an hour after eating.

"He also does not make eye contact with me," the big man boomed.

"I think you frighten him," I said as he had big eye balls and the puppy was intimidated by his looks. This was pure speculation.

"You talked to the puppy in a loud voice," I said again. "He is a quiet timid type and was frightened of you." The man could not believe me. His attractive fair lady friend laughed out loud. I wonder what business this man was in. In sales and marketing where eye contact is important?

195. Six-month-old Miniature Schnauzer waited to go downstairs.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Parents with a pre-teen boy and a elder girl. A 6-month-old male miniature schnauzer given by a friend. This dog was well-behaved at the veterinarian. No growling unlike case 194. Sleeps on a rug in the kitchen. Water bowl and fed 2x/day. Playpen with door.

The first week at home was messy. On week 2, the owner had the following successful schedule.

1. Wake up. Before breakfast. Bring the dog downstairs. He had been able to control his bladder and bowels overnight. Passed urine and stools on the same spot of grass. Put a piece of newspapers for him to poop. Remove the papers. If brought down a second time, will do the same.

2. Back to the apartment for breakfast. Owner goes to work.

3. Accidents around 2 - 3 p.m, the dog would pee inside the apartment as he was not brought downstairs, the boy observed. Always at one spot in the living room. Newspapers sometimes not used. However, if he was seen circling, turning, squatting, he would be brought to the newspapers or downstairs. In this way, he was toilet trained.

4. After dinner. Bring the dog downstairs. Pee and poop after a while.

5. This schedule was satisfactory to the owners.

6. Sometimes the dog had accidents at home because he was not brought downstairs. Owners advised to use vinegar:water 1:3 to remove urine smells and to train the dog onto newspapers in the living area. The kitchen is his sleeping area.

This case showed that the dog wants to keep the whole apartment clean. He peed 4-5X per day and poops 2X/day downstairs.

194. Nine-month-old Miniature Pinscher, female, growls at the vet

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

2 young adult ladies brought the 9-month-old Miniature Pinscher to check for left hind lameness examination. The female had just stopped bleeding from her first heat. No lameness was seen but from their description of "hopping on left hind leg", this dog suffered from a subluxation of the knee cap.

I put her on examination table, bend and extend her left knee. There was a loud clicking sound as the knee bone slipped into the patellar grove. The dog was a bit lame. After that, she growled to warn me she would bite.

This dog was adopted. She was kept in the kitchen when owner worked. She used the newspapers the kitchen to pee and poop sometimes. At other times she sniffed and smelt the floor tiles in the living room, bedrooms and dining area and then peed on the floor. Sometimes she pooped too. Poops 2-3 x a day. Ate a lot since the mum fed her chicken soup, carrots and others causing loose stools.

The dog would not go to the newspapers in the kitchen when she needs to pee. why?

"I beat her backside when she pooped in the other rooms," the lady said. I shouted at her and sometimes she barked back. She smelt the floor and peed there.

"Did you beat her after she had pooped?" I asked. Beating is not a recommended method of toilet training but it is a common method. Not real harsh painful beating.

"Yes," the lady said.

"The dog would not know why she was beating as she could not associate misbehaviour which had happened sometime ago with your beating."

The main reason would be that the urine smell on the floor tiles in other parts of the apartment was too attractive. She was free to roam the whole apartment and therefore paper training had not been very successful.

Use vinegar and water 1:3 to neutralise the urine smells of dog on floor tiles. Put newspapers in the other rooms. Many owners expected the dog to just go to the newspapers kept in the kitchen as they do not like to put newspapers in every room.

The dog was fed several times a day by the mother. Nothing could be done as mother knows best. However, this affected toilet training success.

See Case 195. 6-month-old Miniature schnauzer toilet trained with a fixed schedule. Accidents happened during lunch-time as the dog was not brought downstairs.

193. Negative reinforcement & AVA Roadshow 2005

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

This AVA 2nd roadshow is more interesting than the first one at Bishan Park in 2004. More voluntary and commercial organisations are involved.

The downtown location is excellent as most youths spend their free time there, in my opinion and so the roadshow teaches the younger generation to be responsible pet owners.

The participating Singapore animal welfare and interest groups are: Action for Singapore Dogs, Animal Lover League, Cat Welfare Society, SOS Animal, House Rabbits Society of Singapore, Noah Ark CARES, Singapore Kennel Club, Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. All of them, except for Noah Ark CARES were present at the 2004 roadshow in Bishan Park.

There were educational talks, obedience training demonstrations, lots of educational boards, some games from Animal Planet to win water bottles, a children's book publishing company called Little House and Club Pets Magazine - the longest surviving pet magazine (15 months now) in Singapore. Lots of things to learn if you are interested in pets.

Some information about this picture.




I was not intending to take this picture as I always associate opening pictures of celebrities quite boring and unnatural. I was far back. Photographers were blocking me.

I snapped 2 pictures. The lag on my digital camera prevented me from taking the pictures of the celebrities placing of dog tags on the cat and dog to open the road show. I thought this was a novel idea, compared to cutting ribbons. Unfortunately, I did not capture this.

The bad news for pet owners is that dog licences for unsterilised male dogs will be increased to around $70.00, same as for unsterilised female dogs. Negative reinforcement training of pet owners?