toilet training, house training puppies

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Location: Singapore

A veterinary surgeon at www.toapayohvets.com and founder of a licensed housing agency for expatriate rentals and sales at www.asiahomes.com

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

284. Maltese Cross "dying" after grey diarrhoea & vomiting.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

April 4, 2006
Heavy thunderstorms 3 p.m.

The Filipino domestic worker, with a Korean family for the past 5 years was concerned that the puppy would be dying soon. This male 3-month-old Maltese Cross had diarrhoea yesterday, vomited today and just fainted. Unable to move.

She phoned me.
"Give him some honey," I said. She did not understand.
"Put a teaspoon of sweet sugar solution in his mouth before you come," I elaborated.

When she reached the surgery by taxi, the puppy was standing and had normal temperature. As if nothing was wrong. She showed me a bottle of multivitamin syrup she had been prescribed 5 days earlier. The puppy had antibiotics for kennel cough too.

"After taking half a teaspoonful of this medicine, the puppy vomited," she said.

"Is the puppy diarrhoea grey in colour?" I asked her.

She nodded her head.

"Was the puppy eating newspapers?" I asked.

"Some pieces of newspapers disappeared every day," she replied.

I palpated the puppy's stomach with my left hand as the puppy stood on the consultation table. He had a full stomach. Probably full of newspapers.

The puppy was warded for one day. The puppy was a present for a 10-year-old boy.
"Can the boy look after the puppy?" I asked her. "Feeding and bathing?"

She said no.

So she had the responsibility to care for the puppy.

"But the boy would say 'Aunty, did you feed the puppy?' when he was at a friend's house or he would inform me about the time to feed him."

What a clever boy. I do not know if all 10-year-old boys are so concerned about the feeding times of their puppies. This sole child was caring.

As for the puppy, he was normal and eating at night. Should be home the next day. No more eating of newspapers. But this is easier said than done as he was being paper-trained in the apartment.

Paper shredding is a common complaint during toilet training of puppies in Singapore. Paper eating causing serious illness in puppies is not so common. I had one dramatic case of a Maltese with non-stop fits. Shaking head, trembling body. Only clues were vomting of grey pulpy stuff. What could be the cause? It was newspaper eating. It recovered after treatment and grew up normally.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

283. Location of toilet important

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

1. Puppy's preferences:

A puppy-friendly toilet area.
Consider the litter (newspapers, pads, litter, soil, carpet), type of crate, locoation of the crate, number of crates, maintenance of the crate and papers and idiosyncratic preferences of individual puppies.

2. Characteristics Of A Puppy-Friendly Toilet Area.

Toilet Area

2.1 Most puppies prefer an area that feels soft. Carpets, grass.
2.2 Depth of toilet area. Newspapers usually not deep enough to soak up urine. So, puppy pees or poops outside the papers' edges.
2.3 Use scented papers or training pads. Some puppies dislike the commercial toilet training sprays. Too pungent. Some are all right. Use puppy's own urine (soak newspapers onto urine).

3. Type of Crate/Playpen/Room

3.1 Use a crate that can accommodate the cat well. "Crate training" - small crates.
Large brees need bigger crates or playpens. Puppies, elderly or ill animals may need one with lower sides for easier access. Or put up a ramp.

3.2 3-sided wall. Puppies like this as it can monitor its surroundings while in a vulnerable position.

3.3 Preferably one crate per puppy.

3.4 A covered crate may be too small to allow larger breed or growing up puppy to move around comfortably. Or offensive odour.

3.5 Survey of 300 new puppy owners show that puppies prefer unsoiled newspapers or clean areas to pee.

4. Location

4.1 Locate the crate so that it is easily accessible and provides both privacy.
Puppies usually like corners or 3-sided walls/barriers to prevent being attacked by children or other pet dogs. Do not locate the crate so that the puppy's view is blocked, allowing a person or animal to "ambush" it.

4.2 Avoid locating the crate near appliances whose noise may startle the cat (washer, dryer.) But this may not be possible.

4.3 Do not place multiple crates/pee pans right next to one another. This may make all crates/pee pans inaccessible to other puppies if one puppy is using one of the crates.

4.4 Try to position the crate there is more than one exit route from it. This prevents a cat from being trapped in the box by another pet.

5. Cleanliness

5.1 Faeces and urine should be removed frequently, as many as 4-8 times during toilet training.

5.2 The litter (newspapers, pads) should be changed often. Frequency will depend on the number of crates, the type of litter and the number of puppies.

5.3 There should be no dried urine or stool on the crate. No odor present from the box. If there is, the crate needs washing. Use a mild, unscented cleaning product.

5.4 Newspapers/pads may make maintenance easier. Clamp the papers or stick the pads to the floor with a clip. Prevents paper shredding and to trapping puppy's paws inside the folds.

5.5 If you will not be able to keep up a consistent cleaning schedule, consider a crate with a pee pan below. Urine and pooop will be collected in the pee pan. Check for diarrhea or blood in the urine or feces, which are signs of internal disease.


6. Encourage the Puppy To Use the Toilet

6.1 Restrict roaming of the whole apartment for the first 2 weeks.
6.2 Use smells that will motivate the puppy t to approach and investigate the toilet area.
6.3 Watch for signs of impending elimination. Sniffing, turning, squatting, whining.

6.4 Discourage elimination on other unapproved area.

6.4.1 Besides restriction of movement, puppy-proof the house. Carpets and rugs are favourite spots (soft to the feet).
6.4.2 Obstruction of area using objects furniture, clutter up the area.
6.4.3 Noise-making aluminium foil or some object (electric shock) in front of the curtain drapes or near the TV. Puppies avoid such area.Double-sided sticky tape to tape on plastic foils.
6.4.4 If the objects can’t be removed or made less attractive, put the puppy in restricted area when you are not around or leashed.

7. Conclusions

When there are elimination problems, first check whether the puppy needs a a veterinary medical check up. Diseases or illnes can influence the behaviour.

The majority of puppy elimination problems involve toilet location and type of papers, being given access to big areas, not neutralising the puppy urine. Poop smell may not be eliminated by floor cleaners.

Meeting the puppy’s behavioral needs for elimination requires more than just setting out a toilet crate. Puppy owners benefit from specific instructions on what puppies prefer. Preventing elimination problems is much easier than changing undesirable habits once they have developed. E.g. stool eating. Use crates.