374. The Shih Tzu walks onto poop to drink and eat

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

WB = water bottle
FB = feed bowl

I advised against the 3rd vaccination as this Shih Tzu was very thin, at 1 kg. Now she was 1.7 kg but still thin.

"He has good appetite after you gave him the deworming medicine. But he does not eat all at one time.

"You could have distracted him," I said. The couple was working. So, distraction at feeding time would be normal. The puppy was stronger and heavier. But the spinal bones could still be felt protruding from the back.

How much to feed?" the couple in their late thirties asked me.

"There is no formula," I said. "Feel the spinal bones. If you just can't feel the sharp edges, then he is about the right weight."

"The puppy is very clean," the lady said. "Sometimes, after midnight, he would bark to get her newspapers changed."

It is good that the puppy sleeps alone in her playpen.

I asked about the layout of the puppy's den. Surprisingly, the towel bed was placed distant from the feed bowl and water bottle. The elimination area was between the bed and the feeding bowl which is left all day with food. This is important as the Shih Tzu did not finish his feed within 15 minutes (due to distraction).



"There is a dirty area for the puppy to get to his food," I said. "The puppy would prefer a clean eating and drinking area." A new layout was given in the lower figure of the photograph.

For this owner, the puppy is the child. So, they did not complain much when I said that the sponsor of the vaccination card (for free vaccination) had started to dishonour any card being presented. The sponsor would not reimburse me for vaccination now. They wanted the best for their puppy and paid for the vaccination without fuss.