314. A Primary Six school girl with scoliosis braces

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A very intelligent girl who loves to work inside the pet shop. Slim. Pretty. Confident in replying to questions asked.

Two front teeth were a bit further back. "You ought to get braces to align the front teeth," I advised her.

She shook her head. "I have enough braces."

What did she mean? She said she had scolisis and wore braces.

During the school medical checkup she was asked to bend down trying to touch her toes. Scoliosis was confirmed by X-rays or something.

She was surfing YouTube on a wireless notebook in the pet shop. Fun videos of cats jumping onto toddlers, into trash bags and other antics. This is the first time I see a child using You Tube although I have had read about this wonderful success in business magazines.

"Don't you do research on scolisosis" I asked her. "To get to know more about your health."

She shook her head. Health is not a fun subject. And her plastic braces in front and back of her chest seem to be OK.

313. A medical equipment karang guni man?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Is it an opportunity or a waste of time? Being a "karang guni" man for medical equipment unwanted or written off by hospitals? A "karnag guni" man buys or collects all unwanted goods and sell them to others at a profit, hopefully.

You need a big storage space. You need buyers from developing countries overseas. You need money to pay rentals and transport. Is this business viable? Singapore's rentals and cost of living is very high.

The Singapore government departments always think of how to increase revenue through taxation and licensing. Like the Ministry of Manpower's yearly licensing requirments for autoclave safety. So, all autoclaves with no safety valves but working have to be thrown away. Licensing of hawkers, groomers and any trade the bureaucrats can think of. There are so many possible sources of revenues.

So, is the medical equipment karang guni man's business profitable? Hard to say. I don't think so if the person has too many other services to provide. To succeed, one must focus on the activity or has money and time to do it. A one-man-operator with connections but no time to organise the inventory would not succeed because rentals in Singapore are very high.

312. No customers for the whole day

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Very boring," the petshop girl told me after she got a tube of ear medicine. "No customers for the whole day. But large crowds at Orchard Road." It was Monday, May 31, 2006. The first week of the school holidays. Singapore Sale.

Pet retail shops seem to be having difficult times. Underpricing, undercutting and great competition. Grooming expertise would be important for survival but this shop had no groomer.

It is tough business nowadays.

311. The thin Golden Retriever with black ears and brown elbows

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The Golden Retriever came for his annual vaccination. Well groomed. No complaints.

However, the inside of his ear flaps should be normally pink. They were now over 80% black with pigments. A sign of scratching of the ears. No foul smell from the ears. Dark brown wax in the left ear and some pain.

"Did he use his back legs to scratch his ear flaps?" I asked.
"Yes," the owners were surprised to know that this was not normal action.

Most likely, the horizontal ear canal was irritating. Proper ear maintenance would resolve the problem.

Another area seen was the dark reddish brown elbows. They were elbow sores. The dog had been licking it for some months.

For a big breed like the Golden Retriever, the ears and elbows are areas needing maintenance and most owners are unaware of this.

310. Golden Retriever paper-trained in 2 days.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Really paper-trained in 2 days?" I asked the young couple at the 3rd vaccination of the 5-month-old Golden Retriever. He has a circular bare patch on his spinal area, around 2 cm diameter, halfway down his backbone. The peripheral area was studded with red bite marks. Most likely a ringworm lesion. He had medication for the past 2 weeks.


"Yes," the couple affirmed. "When the dog finds that the newspapers are soiled, he will then eliminate on the floor."

"Where does he sleep?"

"In the bedroom with us."

So, this puppy must have had full supervision and was intelligent enough not to soil the "den" (the bedroom).

I hope he can be a leader of the band, although Golden Retrievers are not known to be musical. The couple had been training him to pose for pictures. He was quite good when I took pictures inside the consultation room.

309. The hyperactive coughing Jack Russell had heart problems?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

So much to explore. A 3-month-old pygmy Jack Russell just would not stay still.
He coughed and coughed. The more he coughed, the more painful his throat. So, he could not eat the dry food. Became weak and lethargic.

The owner sent him to a vet for treatment. Pale, no fever. Heart murmurs. X-rayed. Water in the lungs. "Why there is water in the lungs?" the owner asked. He did not understand or got a satisfactory answer from the vet. So he gave the puppy away to his friend. With medication. Antibiotic syrup and tablets to remove the water from the lungs.

The new owner was worried, "The puppy is going to die of heart failure. Coughing non-stop all day." He conslulted his vet (me).

Not much is known about the first owner. There was a vaccination card or maybe there was none.

"Would the puppy die?" the owner asked. He was not so confident about the diagnosis of water in the lungs and the youthfulness of the vet.

"The puppy is now much better after medication," I said. 10 droplets of clear liquid squirted out of his nose. Scattered onto the stainless steel table. His abdomen looked swollen. He probably had a big feed as he must have felt better after the treatment by the first vet.

This case needed excellent management. The puppy had to be strictly confined. This would not be possible in the owner's house. So, I ward him. On day 2, he could eat. He coughed a lot but he was expected to live.

So, was there heart problems? No. But then heart beats can be abnormal when the puppy coughs and coughs.

The youthful vet phoned me. She should be a great vet as she bothered to follow up.

"Most likely a kennel cough," I said. "Many owners love to bring their puppies to the pet shop (to sell) or to the breeder friend. This puppy may have had been exposed to the kennel cough virus."

If this puppy had been sent home, chances are that he would not recover. No time to rest. The family members would not be able to cage him.

The world is so new. So exciting. So, his condition would have worsened. And pneumonia leading to death may develop.

305. Asthmatic children and puppies

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Children love to sleep near the new puppy. And the new puppy loves children. However there is the misconception, even amongst some human doctors that asthmatic children should avoid dogs. "Get rid of your dogs and cats," some general practitioners would advise.

However, in this case (Case 301), the asthmatic children were not allergic to dog's hairs. For the past 2 years, they had no breathing problems, no runny nose, no weeping eyes and no difficulty in breathing.



However, the dog is now 2 years old. He is used to sleeping alone.

307. The crate is his den, the assistant said.

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Before I met the pet shop owner at the Bukit Panjang Shopping Mall (Blog No. 306), I had spoken to his assistant regarding toilet training. An Indian man who has such a good command of Chinese dialects and Mandarin. Keen, energetic and enthusiastic.


The shop recommends the crate with pee pan below. This crate has a door.

What does the assistant recommend?

"The puppy should use the crate as his den," he said. "Put newspapers outside the crate and that will be the toilet location. The crate has a door, so the puppy can get out to pee on the papers."

This was a new concept to me.

"The puppy will not pee or poop inside his eating and sleeping area, right?" the assistant told me.

"Yes," I said. Well, this concept worked for the assistant's dog. There are more than one way to use the crate. It works if you have time to train the puppy.

What he described is probably a modification of the CRATE TRAINING method. I had never thought of using the crate and door and pee tray as a den. This is the surprise of toilet training research as I get different points of view.

306. The puppy's mind is a blank cheque

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"When is your puppy toilet training book published?" the pet shop owner asked me. He operates a beautiful pet shop in Bukit Panjang Shopping Mall.

I shook my head. It is hard to write a book. Easier to blog.

"What do you recommend for toilet training when you sell a puppy?" I asked him.

"The puppy's mind is a blank cheque," he said. "It is the owner who signs the cheque." It was a good analogy.

The puppy was ready to learn. But if the owner did not teach him properly, it would not be a good sociable puppy.

He recommends a crate with the pee tray below whenever he sells a puppy.

"Put the newspapers on the crate," he says. "When the puppy smells his pee on the papers a few times, he will be paper-trained."

"Not so easy in practice, as you say," I told him.

"Same with barking at night," the pet shop operator said. "When the puppy starts barking, the owner will switch on the lights and goes to see him. So he knows that barking will get him attention. The best is to ignore his puppy and he will stop after 2 nights and sleep alone."

I knew he was right. But how many owners would ignore the new puppy? The first 3 months of a new puppy are always like a passionate love affair. Close attention. So, it is again "not so easy in practice." I did not say that to him.

305. One month with owner but still pees on carpets

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The 17-week-old male Shih Tzu X that looked unlike a Shih Tzu came for the 3rd vaccination. A 7-year-old girl looking like a miniature version of her mother watched attentively. Patiently. Not a word from her.

I had time as the next appointment case was late. The puppy was over 4 months old. I presumed he was toilet trained and asked the mum.

"No," she shook her head. "Every morning, he would bark to get out of the playpen. He would rush to the living room's rug to pee!"

I was not surprised. The puppy had controlled his bladder overnight as he did not want to soil his playpen. This playpen had no door. It was 4 pieces of fences kept inwards by an aluminium pee tray.

"What did the puppy seller advise you about toilet training?" I asked.

"He said to put newspapers inside the playpen, spray the toilet training liquid on the papers" the mum said. "Put the cushion and bed on one end."

"Did the puppy pee and poop on the newspapers?" I asked.

"No."

"Did the puppy shred the newspapers?" I enquired.

"Only on the first day after purchase."

This peeing and pooping on the rug and living room areas had been going on for over a month. It was not satisfactory.

What's the solution?

There are 2 solutions.

1. CONFINE THE PUPPY TO THE UTILITY AREA for the next 14 days.
Let the puppy pee and poop on the newspapers. As the playpen has no door, take it away and let the aluminium pee tray be the den. The puppy gets out of the tray to pee and poop on the papers. Feeding as usual in the morning and evening. Neutralise the urine smell on the living areas by using vinegar:water 1:2 but be careful of staining of the marble flooring. Washing machine to remove the smells in the rug.


Watch for signs of peeing and pooping. The mum knew what the signs were. Bring the puppy to the papers.



2. CRATE TRAINING. Confine the puppy to the playpen and bring him to the papers every 3 hourly. Ask the domestic worker to do it as mum works.

"Does the puppy poop soon after breakfast and dinner?"

"Yes," the mum said, "But at unknown times after eating dinner."

So, there is a problem here. What caused it?

"The 7-year-old girl must have had distracted him," I said. Mum nodded her head.

If she could let the puppy poop first before playing, then the puppy would be toilet trained.

Will my suggestions work? I don't know because mum may not have time to give me feedback. The school holidays are coming. She would be away with the girl and the puppy.

"Best not to bring the puppy overseas," I advised. "He would be quarantined for 4 weeks on return to Singapore. I propose crate training, asking the domestic worker to practise it."

It was a good meeting. I hope the puppy can be paper trained as he lives in an apartment. As he grows older, it will be harder to paper-train. In this situation, a toilet training book sharing real case experiences will be good.