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!

258. The mother carries the "Zorro" Jack Russell 3 hourly to the bathroom

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Mothers are usually tired of having to clean up after a high energy female, 4-month-old Jack Russell looking like Zorro. Wearing a mask. Two eye patches. Tricolour. Apparently his 2 siblings have only 1 eye patch. What a unique looking Jack Russell if you like Zorro and the Lone Ranger stories.

So, this mum thought of the idea of carrying the puppy to the bathroom 3 hourly. That was an excellent idea. It gives the puppy a fixed elimination schedule and is part of the crate training method. Toilet training the puppy in the bathroom is easier as the floor can just be flushed with water after picking up the poop.

"Are there still accidents?" I asked. The poor mother must remember to do the job in addition to cooking and house work for this big family of 3 grown up sons and a daughter, I imagined.

"When somebody is bathing in the guest bathroom" a gentleman laughed."So, the puppy must pee outside the bathroom door and sometimes do that on that location.



"He has accidents in the bedrooms nowadays?" I asked.

"Our rooms are locked," the teenagers said. "The puppy will pee in my brother's bedroom. So he closes the door."

"No need to lock the doors," I said. "If you know how."

ADVICES.

Neutralise the bedroom floors and area outside the guest bathroom with vinegar:water 1:2 or 1:3. The children have to do their own cleaning. Then test the puppy. I am sure this will be successful if the mother is persistent in her 3-hourly carriage.

257. "You get what you put in" the Schnauzer owner said

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

He drove a dream car seldom seen in Singapore. Beige leather seats are common, but this BMW has a much longer back seat than what I have had seen. "It has a 'L' behind its numeral brand, meaning it is 15 cm longer in its back door length.

He lives in a maisonette built by a developer who is noted for only upscale condos. So, he must be a very busy successful man. I did not expect him and his friend to have time to toilet train the two male four-month-old Miniature Schnauzers. Well fed and solid bodies. I met them at the 3rd vaccination on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Yet they have a regular feeding and exercise schedule for the two puppies 7 days a week.

Housing - a guest bathroom. The floor was initially covered 100% with newspapers, reducing to one paper length on top of a pee pan now. The newspapers is near the W.C now. The mat for the puppies to sleep is near the bathroom door which is barricaded. The feed bowls and the water bowl are in the shower stall. Feeding was dry food, pork and chicken.

The puppies were taken outdoors at 6am (before breakfast), 7 pm(before dinner) and 10 pm for the past month. The puppies were in the guest bathroom during office hours and from 10 pm to 6 am. They had "accidents" when brought to the lower level of the maisonette or when the newspapers were changed before the puppies were brought downstairs in the morning.


"90% of the time," the puppies go to the pee pan. The owner had spread the newspapers to either side of the pee pan, to increase the width to 2-feet-wide. The percentage is not 100% because the puppies pee or poop outside the papers.

A 90% success in paper training on the pee pan was good 3 months after purchase.

"How many times do they poop?" I asked.
"4-5 times a day".
"Should be 2 times a day," I said. "Especially since the puppies go outdoors 3 times a day."



"Do you feed continuous or take away the feed bowl after 15 minutes?" I asked.

The food was left onto two feed bowls in the shower stall area so that the puppies could eat whenever they like. They share a bowl of water.

"That explain why the puppies poop so many times," I said. "They usually poop after eating. But they eat so many times."

The man with the dream car gave me a lesson in life, "You get what you put in."

What he meant was that the more you feed, the more the puppies shit. This was one of the times I understood his saying. I said, "A person becomes successful when he or she puts a lot of hard work and effort in the venture." Just like him and his friend, but I did not tell them. Successful people inspire anyone. Successful people who have time for toilet training their puppies with positive reinforcement and no beating or frightening inspire all readers, I hope.


ADVICES

1. On weekends and over the next week, slowly reduce feeding to twice a day for 30 minutes. Remove the feed bowl. Observe the elimination schedule.

2. Neutralise floor of lower level and all "accidents" area with vinegar:water 1:3.

3. Buy a new pee pan for the lower level of the maisonette as the puppies had no toilet area. The owner said, "I notice that the puppies peed on the pee pan in the lower floor level at first. But after that they pee anywhere." It could be the newspapers rather than the pan. When the papers are soiled, they pee elsewhere. After that the strong smell of urine attracts them to the floors, I told them.

"Pee pans are cheap," the owner said. "$2.00 at the pet shop. I will buy one more."

4. Neutralise the floors. The mop may spread the urine on the floors. May have to use cloth to neutralise puppy's urine. Thoroughly wash the mop and the bucket holding the mop. Let the domestic worker know.

5. No feeding after 8 pm. Will not poop overnight. Withhold water after 8 pm. On restricted 2 times a day feeding, the puppies should poop 2-3 times a day now.

256. Follow-up on Case 255. Traumatic injury to bladder/private parts

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

wrote:

Hi Doc,

Attached is the layout of the playpan.
She is back to her toliet habits after the medication.
The old pee pan was not changed.
However, occasionally, she will pee in her crate which did not happen prior to her infection.
Still curious what causes her infection. Pls advise.

Regards,
Geraldine


E-MAIL REPLY - TRAUMATIC INJURY OF BLADDER AND/OR PRIVATE PARTS OF A PUPPY

Hi Kenneth

This is an extremely interesting case study for me although it must be distressful for you. It is a rare case of a toilet-trained puppy suddenly losing control of her bladder, like a senile person or very old female dog.

Thanks for the picture of the pee pan and her housing. Much appreciated for my puppy toilet-training research book .



In your case, I think it is a traumatic injury. Painful bladder or vulva. So, the puppy passed a bit of urine, felt the pain. Stopped passing urine because it was painful. But then, had to pass some. Pain. Stopped. A burning sensation of passing urine. Bacteria came into the lower urinary system.

Infection can be from lack of hygiene, licking by puppy, traumatic injury from fall hitting the private parts and/or lower abdomen. Let me know how many days she takes to recover. Usually within 7 days after treatment with antibiotics.

You said in your e-mail: "occasionally, she will pee in her crate..."
A pain killer injection was given when you consulted me. So the puppy was able to pass urine without pain the next day. But the pain killer effects did not last more than a day or two. So you noticed some "accidents in her crate".

The diagnosis based on your post-treatment observations and sudden onset would be traumatic injury to the bladder and/or lower urinary tract system (including the vulva and urethra). Sounds too technical?

OK. This is the non-technical explanation.

The puppy injured her private parts and bladder during a fall or more falls from climbing up the playpen and falling onto something sharp, hitting her bladder or lower parts of the belly.

FEMALE PUPPY PASSING BLOOD.

At about the same time, I had another interesting case. I had a call from a friend in Taiwan regarding a 4-month-old female puppy passing blood for 2 days. In this case, it is possible that the puppy had injured her bladder while jumping up and down. The puppy jumped "a lot," my Taiwan friend said. It was not possible to do telephone diagnosis.

If this puppy was really 4 months old, it would likely be traumatic injury to the bladder. If older, at 5- 6 months old, it could be her first "menstruation." Some people are given puppies that are older than they are declared to be, so in this case, there is a possibility that the female puppy was having her first period!

If only puppies could talk, life would be much happier for the owner! Your reply and pictures are much appreciated as I seldom get them from owners. Singaporeans are just too time-pressed. It is a rat's race for many dog owners?