259. The 16-month old Shih Tzu with the upturned nose is "temperamental"

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

3rd day of Chinese New Year 2006 was a public holiday as the first day was a Sunday. So, the 3rd day was a holiday. Quite a few appointments today. I was impressed by this very clean and handsome looking 16-month-old male, Gold and White Shih Tzu with an upturned nose. Several Shih Tzus have discoloured paws and faces. It is not easy to maintain them. So it was a pleasure to see a clean one.

"He looks more like a Lhasa Apso," I told the owners. I doubt they know what I am talking about. "The nose is shorter and angled upwards," I speculated what a Lhasa Apso should look like.

"Probably crossed with a Lhasa Apso," the lady owner said. "His face is not flat like a Shih Tzu."



"How did you toilet train him?" I asked as this is part of my survey of 300 cases.

"He is paper trained," the owner said. "But he is temperamental. Once or twice a week, he would pee in prohibited areas like the balcony and outside the master bathroom.

"Did you 'beat' him?" I asked.

"We scold and spank him. Always pee on the same locations. We shut the balcony doors, remove the carpet in the living area and watch out for him trying to 'urine mark his territory outside the master bathroom."

"Did he urine mark on other areas of the apartment?" I asked. "Dogs usually urine mark in more than the areas you mention."

"No, always pee on the same locations. We remove the carpet and he did not pee on that location."

"Your male dog is not urine marking," I said. "Those same areas have strong urine smell and he could not resist peeing."

The owners thought he was territorial marking with his urine or being temperamental. I said the poor dog got misunderstood.

He was definitely 100% successfully paper-trained. "He eliminates on the newspapers when we visit friends," the lady owner said.

ADVICES

1. The Shih Tzu was attracted to the pee on the same places even though he was paper-trained successfully. Why? These areas have strong urine odour. Neutralise with vinegar:water 1:3. NOT to forget the grout between the tiles too. No need to close the balcony door.

2. Carpet had been dry cleaned and kept. Neutralise the floor area where the carpet would be placed. Put back the carpet and observe the dog's elimination behaviour. If the carpet had been thoroughly cleaned, there should be no problem. "The dog likes the smell of carpet," the lady owner said. "So, he peed on it."

"Actually most puppies love something soft to stand and pee on. The carpet was like grass and so it was used." I said.

"He looks guilty when we find out he has accidents," the lady owner said. "He knows he misbehaved and ran away to hide."

"He feels fear of being beaten," I said. This "guilty" look of doing wrong by puppies has been reported by various puppy owners all over the world. The puppy will try to run away from you, out of fear of being beaten, rather than out of guilt.

The owners will provide feedback to me. However, this was a not a case of a temperamental Shih Tzu. He was a very good dog and well loved. Otherwise, the owners would not bring him for his booster annual vaccination on the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year. If only dogs can talk, there will be so much less miscommunication!