287. Follow up to case 286.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

E-MAIL FROM PUPPY OWNER TUES APRIL 11, 2006

---<...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Dr. Sing,
>
> Thank you for your advise and shall try out your
> suggestion.
>
> I would be getting a separate pee-tray for her only
> and hope that will help.
> :-)
>
> Can the puppy take treats already? Is it safe? What
> kind of treats are ok
> for them?
>
> You were saying about the fix-time routine, but i am
> working so how? Guess
> is harder for me?
>
> Ok, will try shortening the command and hope she
> will understand better.
>
> I have been eliminating the odour of her pee with
> vinegar 100% and it does
> stop her from going back to the same spot to pee.
> GUess i will mix the
> vinegar with water tonight when i get home.
>
> Thanks alot for all the advise again and will keep
> you posted of her results
> soon. :-)
>
> Cheers


E-MAIL FROM DR SING TUES APRIL 11, 2006, 6 am

Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 15:32:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: "David Sing" View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
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Subject: Re: help needed to paper train new puppy with an adult schnauzer
To: "...@gmail.com>

Nice to get feedback from you and many others during
my research as you are hands-on with your puppy and
know the situation better than me.

1. A separate pee tray is a very good idea.

2. Good to know that vinegar works. This is the same
feedback from other puppy owners.

3. Fixed schedule for the puppy. Probably for working
people, they can fix times for breakfast and dinner (e.g 7 am, 6 pm)
so that the puppy will pass stools after eating.
At 2 months old, the puppy passes stools 3-4 times a
day if fed 2 times a day. Obviously, the feed is removed after eating within 10 minutes. However,
chihuahuas, mini-Malteses, Pom and Yorkshire Terriers
and picky eaters should be FED more than 2 times per
day.

4. Most treats are safe for puppies. A very small
piece for successful performance.

5. Short verbal cues are important. I mean, this is
only a 2-month-old. Probably trying to get to know
you. Most likely "mouthing" you all the time. This is
a puppy's communication mode to the owner. But most
new puppy owners think the puppy is "biting" them.
>

286. Why the new puppy does not eliminate in same toilet area as the adult dog?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore


E-MAIL TO DR SING. Sunday, April 9, 2006.

--- <...l@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Dr. Sing,
>
> I have gone through the blog but didn't have any
> reference for me on
> how to paper train a new puppy with an adult dog at
> home and woudl
> like to ask for your help.
>
> I have a 2 y/o female schnauzer and she is
> well-paper trained to do
> all her business in the balcony designated area (on
> the newspaper and
> a pee-tray). Recently we bought a new puppy (2
> months old) and the new
> addition just can't seems to be able to do her
> business at the same
> area. I have heard from people that ususally the
> younger ones will
> follow the older dog to pee and pooh at the
> designated area, but nnot
> for this new gal. Is there a trick to this?
>
> I have tried to bring her to that area in the
> balcony every hour or 2
> to let her pee and pooh with the command of "go wee
> wee and pooh pooh"
> & also, "hurry up" (as read on books), sometimes she
> do her things
> there but some she don't and just lie there in the
> confined area
> (guess she is not in the mood yet?). So when
> confined for a while and
> nothing happened, i decided to let her out but guess
> what? She pee
> almost after that outside of that area in teh living
> room!!! I am so
> angry with her and punished her with scolding and
> light hitting on her
> bum and also, bring her to the right area, pointed
> and asked her to
> sniff for recognition. Things are still not looking
> up so far. Did i
> do it correctly?
>
> My older Schanuzer is fine with her in the house and
> she still does
> her business in her designated area, no problem with
> her. Only the
> little one. how?
>
> I have also, enclosed her in a play-pen at night to
> sleep and she do
> not do her business in it. Instead she will whin &
> wake me up at about
> 7am and i will bring her to the balcony area again.
> Sometimes she did
> it but sometimes no. I praised her with high pitched
> sound everytime
> she do it correctly.
>
> Any comments on how i can problem solve this
> situation?
>
> The balcony area is lay with newspaper all round and
> also, a metal
> pee-tray(lined with newspaper).
>
> Thanks for your time reading this and i look forward
> to hearing from you soon.
>
> Cheers
> (Name)



Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 12:45:45 -0700 (PDT)
From: "David Sing" View Contact Details Add Mobile Alert
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Subject: Re: help needed to paper train new puppy with an adult schnauzer
To: <...@gmail.com>

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING. Monday, April 10, 2006, 3.45 a.m

Reasons for apparent lack of success are:

1. TOO EARLY.
I presume you have had this puppy for around 7 days.
Some puppies get paper-trained within 3 days in the
new house. Some need more time. This is based on her
previous toilet training experience. If the breeder
had trained her on paper, she will be paper-trained
within 3 days after purchase. If she had been crated,
as in all Singapore pet shops selling puppies, she
would not recognise the papers as the toilet area
within 7-14 days. But she would if given training and
time. Some take as long as 30 days because of the lack
of full-time training.

2. MENTAL DEVELOPMENT.
An 8-week-old puppy may need more time to understand
you compared to a 12-week-old puppy. She is less
mature.

3. FULL-TIME TRAINING.
I presume you work. So the puppy did not have
full-time paper training. Full-time means 24-hour
paper training.

4. NO FIXED SCHEDULE TO GO TO THE TOILET AREA
The new puppy needs a fixed schedule to go to the
toilet area. If it is 2-hourly, it should be 2-hourly
at the same time. It cannot be either 1- or 2-hourly
as she does not know whether you want to play with it
or you want her to go to the toilet area.

5. LENGTHY VERBAL CUES
You use the verbal cues of "go wee
wee and pooh pooh" & also, 'hurry up' (as read on
books)". Maybe be better to use a short command e.g.
"pee pee" when you see the signs of sniffing, circling
or squatting. Or when you take the puppy to the toilet
area every 2 hours.

6. PLAYPEN AS DEN.
The puppy considers its playpen as its den. So, it
does not want to dirty the den. That is why she will
whine &
wake you up at about 7am. This is good news as many
puppy owners complain of the puppy stepping on its
stools and urine inside the playpen.

Most likely, on some days, you had distracted her when
you brought her to the toilet area. So, she did not
eliminate sometimes.

7. ELIMINATE IN THE LIVING ROOM.
The puppy smelt her own urine in the living room area
as you did not neutralise the soiled floor. So, she
eliminated there. Use vinegar:water at 1 parts of
vinegar to 2 parts of water, spray onto the soiled
floor and wipe clean the soiled area with tissue
paper.
If you mop, make sure that the mop had been thoroughly
rinsed and not be contaminated with the urine.

8. PUPPY DOES NOT LIKE SOILED AREAS. Did you put in
fresh newspapers in the balcony every time the adult
dog eliminates? It is very likely that your puppy
dislikes going to the "soiled" newspapers of the adult
dog. To her, the toilet area is filthy. To the adult
dog, the toilet area is all right. I presume you did
not replace the newspapers every time. Even if you put
in fresh papers, the papers may not have the puppy's
urine smell to attract the puppy to eliminate.

SUMMARY

Each puppy encounters a different toilet training
problem with its new owner. So, it is hard for me to
give you a guaranteed to be successful advice via
e-mail. Below are points that I think may help the
poor puppy from being spanked and shouted at by you.

1. You are using a modified "crate training" method
in the toilet training of your puppy. The playpen is
the crate. It is now the puppy's den. There is some
success in paper training as the puppy wakes you up to
go to the toilet. For some owners, it is 3 a.m. For
you, 7 a.m seems a reasonable time to wake up unless
you are a night owl.

2. Bring the puppy at fixed hourly or two-hourly
intervals to the toilet area.

3. Give your puppy her own toilet area with her own
urine smell. Get a soiled newspaper with her urine and
place it in her area. Neutralising the area with
vinegar:water first.

4. Use short verbal commands like "pee pee" or "pee
here".
Treats are great motivations for successful toilet
training. Give treats on success. Praise lavishly.
Later on, less treats and more praises.

5. Neutralise areas e.g. in the living room with
puppy's urine smell.

6. There are many anecdotes of the new puppy
following the adult dog in going to the same toilet
area within 3 days. You just don't hear the other side
of the story (your situation) which is more common
according to my survey.

7. It is possible that your puppy does not recognise
or acknowledge the urine smell of the adult dog.

8. Most likely, I suspect that she just does not like
to eliminate in the "soiled" area in the balcony. She does not know
how to communicate to you. So she waited. You waited
and shouted at her to eliminate. When you bring her to
the living area, she just had to eliminate as it is a
clean area or an area with her own urine smell.

If only puppies could talk and owners have a fixed
schedule for the new puppy.

Let me know if you are successful in the next 2 weeks.

285. Pooped between newspapers and sleeping area

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Black English Cocker Spaniel, male, 4 months old, 3rd vaccination, 7 days with owners.
Early 50s father and daughter early 20s. Crate with door and pee pan below. Newspapers put on floor of crate but shredded. Newspapers on left side.

It was the last case on Saturday, Apr 9, 06.

Complaints:
1. Likes to shred newspapers. Common complaint. Hard to resolve.
2. Poops between shreded newspapers and sleeping area. Busy at work. Not enough change of soiled newspapers.
3. Puts puppy in bathroom for 15-30 minutes after meals.
He will hold his urine and stools till he is put back into the crate. No fixed schedule. No smell inside the bathroom. Owners used newspapers and a commercial pungent spray. No effect on puppy's toilet training.
Best to use smell of puppy's urine. But this needs a fixed schedule of doing the same daily. Consistency is important.

4. When owners go near puppy's crate, puppy excited. Jumps and steps on stools.
"Why not let me come out from the door?" I asked. Owner said that the door is locked as part of toilet training to confine the puppy. How to resolve this stepping on stools problem? Probably, 7 days are too early for the puppy to be clean.

5. Puppy does not pee or poop on sleeping area. That is normal "keeping the den clean" behaviour of all puppies given a space to rest.

Correct urine smell is important. 24-hour training is important but not possible. Puppy shreds newspapers. Hard to resolve this problem.