*395. Follow-up. The chihuahua is not fully house-broken?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

FOLLOW UP ON SEP 2006

INTERVIEW:
Chihuahua, F, 16 months old.
Came for annual vaccination.
Busy undergraduate

Week 1 after purchase:
Playpen + newspapers when not supervised.
Bedroom at night.
See signs - circling, sniffing - put on newspapers in the kitchen and toilet.
Not successful in paper training.

1 year later:
Not successfully paper trained.
Pee on few favourite spots and newspapers. Pees in back yard patio sometimes.
One favourite spot is the floor mat in front of the bedroom door.

Poops 2-3x/day. Anywhere on the floor of kitchen and backyard.
1 am before sleeping.
30 min after breakfast and after dinner.

ADVICES
1. Confine to playpen after eating, for 1 hours. The dog poops on the newspapers.
2. Maybe get a pee pan so that the puppy poops on the newspapers on the pee pan.
3. Floor mat - neutralise with vinegar:water 1:3.
Bedroom floor, door and all floors neutralise the smell of dog urine.
Use cloth, not mop as mop may contain urine smell. Unless mop has been thoroughly washed.
Put a pee pan + newspapers on the same location as the floor mat?


REPORT

"Is she paper-trained?" I asked the slim and attractive engineering undergraduate as I vaccinated her 16-month old tricolour chihuahua.

"My dog pees and poops anywhere," her shiny shoulder-length hair swayed sideways as she shook her head. "She has a few favourite elimination spots. One of them is the floor mat outside my bedroom door.



"I removed the mat and put newspapers in its place. She usually pees on the newspapers there. Sometimes on the backyard floor."

"Where does she poop and how often?" I asked.

"3 times a day she will poop anywhere on the kitchen floor. Around 30 - 60 minutes after breakfast and dinner and at 1 a.m."

Many owners have not been able to paper-train the small breeds. Now, the dog is fully grown. Is there any solution?

"Know the elimination times. Confine her in the playpen till she poops. Neutralise the urine smell with vinegar:water 1:2 all the floors of the house, esp. the favourite spot in front of the bedroom door. Use a piece of cloth and thoroughly neutralise the urine smells on the floor and the bedroom door.

"Buy a pee pan from the pet shop. Put the second sheet of the soiled newspapers on the pee pan. Put the pee pan in front of the bedroom door to get the dog used to the pee pan.

"Only allow the dog out when she has pooped on the pee pan. Praise and give treats when she has performed.

I REVIEWED MY CASES. THE FOLLOWING SUCCESS FROM ANOTHER OWNER USING PEE PAN INSIDE THE PLAYPEN LAYOUT PICTURE WOULD BE SUITABLE FOR THIS CHIHUAHUA.






Easier said than done. This girl would need to spend a few days to confine and train the dog. But a hectic academic and social undergraduate life might give her time. Many owners of small breeds all over the world can put up with the mess as the smell is not as strong as those from the big breeds. Their noses would not have been so sensitive. But friends would detect the smells. As for the chihuahua, the whole house smells of urine. Dogs have very strong sense of smell. So, she just eliminate anywhere.


FIRST REPORT ON SEP 2005
Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The young lady has the Chihuahua for only one week. In the playpen, she puts a cushion on one side and newspapers on the remaining side. The water bowl will be nearer the sleeping area near the cushion. Lots of chew toys. The chihuahua shreds the newspapers. But she will never soil the sleeping area even when the cushion has been removed for washing. She eats all food in less than 1 minute. Fed twice per day.

"Should she be beaten if she does not behave, as recommended by my friends?"



"Beating makes the puppy frightened of you," I said. "You need to spend time to toilet-train her." I hope she has time as she seems to be a very busy young lady.