toilet training, house training puppies

Community education supported by www.toapayohvets.com

My Photo
Name:
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

Friday, July 28, 2006

*354 The Yorkshire Terrier was paper-trained on soiled papers

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

This Yorkshire puppy had the best upbringing and the best home in Singapore. A crate with a mattress, pillow and bolster and blankets and pee pan. A playpen with a pee pan. A separate eating area away from the sleeping area. All 3 objects are placed distant from each other. The playpen with the pee pan below is to confine the puppy earlier. Now, the pee pan with newspapers is taken out from the playpen.

A professional dog trainer recommended this layout and it seemed to work as the puppy was paper-trained in 8 days. A domestic help in addition to the owner and her 9-year-old daughter to house-break or toilet train the puppy.

I did a house-call as the puppy gagging cough, because the trainer recommended me. I noted that the newspapers on the pee pan were not changed. "Why don't you change
the soilded newspapers?" I asked as I saw urine on the left half and stool stains on the right half.

"The trainer said not to change newspapers," the lady owner said. She had postponed her business appointments to be available when I did the housecall at 11 a.m.

"Are you sure?" I asked. It was not the recommended procedure. "Papers are changed frequently but you may leave the 2nd lower piece behind."





In this situation it is best not to conflict with the professional trainer. I asked her to phone the trainer. The trainer said to change the papers frequently.

This puppy had a drinking bowl, chew bone at a distance from his cage because this was recommended by the trainer. "Sometimes, he would bring back pieces of marconi to his crate to eat," the mother laughed.

"How about at night?" I asked. The puppy's crate will be in the daughter's bedroom. The puppy would run out to the pee pan in the living area to pee. There would be lights switched on.

The paper-training was successful in less than 8 days. With time spent on monitoring and training, results are good with less time spent.

The mother also trained her daughter well. "Sit properly," she said when she saw her daughter reading the "Yorkshire Terrier" book lying down on the sofa. It is really lots of work for a working woman trying to bring up a child properly and teach her to be a good person as well as a graduate. It is much easier to bring up a puppy.

Well, the puppy did have a "kennel cough" for the past 8 days. He recovered after 3 days on medication. He was shivering on day 3 of medication. Was he having reaction or low blood sugar or just frightened of being given medicine? He disliked the medicine. I asked that he not be given medication.

This puppy was very well loved and will be a great friend of the daughter whose favourite book is "Mr Midnight" and whose mother said ought to read more, for years to come.

*353. Noise nuisance - 7-week-old Jack Russell

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"The puppy is very intelligent," the lady with sparse hair on top of her head and most likely to be her sixties said, "When I say 'Koon Koon', the puppy just sleep immediately." 'Koon Koon" means sleep in Hokkien Chinese dialect.

A tall dark brown skinned thin man in his early twenties was with the mother. "You are still doing National Service?" I asked him as he was sun-burnt. Like those dark brown bitter chocolate.




"No," the young man in black spectacle frames said. "I am working in a bank." He slept near the puppy in the living area for the past days but the puppy would whine and bark at 1 am and 4 am. How to solve this problem?

"We live in the older 3- and 4-room HDB apartments," the mother said. "The walls are thin and neighbours will not be happy. This puppy is so alert that he will wake up immediately and sleeps little." The puppy perked up his ears. I knew what she meant about the thin walls and the noise nuisance of barking dogs.

Now, what is the solution?

"Bring the puppy to the bedroom at night," I said. "He missed the contact and warmth of his siblings and mother as he was separated physically after being purchased from the home breeder. He might want body contact?" I speculated.

It is also possible that night shift workers amongst the neighbours might have come home. The alert Jack Russell must have tried to warn the owners?

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

352. The brunette Cocker Spaniel was locked out of the house

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

This female 10-month old Cocker Spaniel was outstanding in coat colour. Reddish brown black. Like a brunette lady with hair parted in the middle and dorpping on both sides covering the ears. Silky hairs. One of a kind. I had taken some pictures but they were not good.

Her European owner came in for consultation on her itchy backside and ears.

"Did you clean her ears?" I asked as I spotted dark brown wax in the ear canals. She did, but the puppy was on the floor. "It is best to put the puppy on a table to clean the ears properly," I advised.

As to the rubbing of the backside, it was the infected anal glands. Large amounts of light yellow brown fluid came out of the glands. A strong foul smell.

"How do you toilet train her?" I asked since we had no outside clients waiting.

"She is not fully trained," the lady said. "In the morning, we let her go to the garden but we must lock the door to prevent her from coming in as she would pee in the corner of the living area."

"Most likely, the urine smell attracted her as your floor cleaner did not wipe out all urine smells," I advised using the white vinegar:water 1: 2.

"Would the house smell of vinegar?" she asked. I don't know. "Use 1:4 or start with a small area," I said.

If there was no urine smell, I would expect the puppy not to eliminate in the living area. As each puppy behaves differently, it is hard to be sure. But if this method is successful, it will be less stressful to the owner and the domestic worker.

Monday, July 24, 2006

351. The Jack Russell "regresses" after 1 week?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

For the first week, the Jack Russell puppy in the playpen was using the papers to eliminate.

"But he regresses after one week," the young man said. "Pees and poops away from the newspapers."

Why?

"Most likely you permitted him to roam the whole apartment," I said. The owner nodded his head. So, back to confinement training again.

350. Doberman with long tail

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The Doberman with long tail came from Australia. Tail docking was banned in Australia. So he had a long tail when the pet shop operator imported him.

I remembered him because he had blood in his stools for a few days and lost a lot of weight. But it was not parvoviral infections based on a test. He took some days to recover.

Now, he had grown up and came in for the annual vaccination. A smaller version but well loved.

How was he toilet trained in a house?

The owner put newspapers in the patio area. He poops 2 times per day and pees 6 times. He was not allowed to go to the grass to eliminate.

349. Two pee pans. Older Schnauzer was not training the younger one

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The young lady who was involved in BMW car distribution bought a young puppy.

"Did the 3-month-old go to the same pee pan and toilet as the 2-year-old?" I asked.

"Not at first, but after spanking and confining in the bathroom, the younger one used the newspaper in the pee pan."

There was another pee pan in the living area. Younger ones needed supervision as learning from the older dog may not be easy for every puppy. Some puppies dislike the soiled newspapers of the older dog.

348. Bulldog puppy on 20th floor to eliminate downstairs

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A small compact Bulldog 5 months old. The Caucasian owner with white sideburns and beard looked to be in his sixties.

"So, how do you toilet-train him?" I asked.

"He peed and pooped everywhere at first," the slim and tall owner with a teenaged daughter said. "Now, the verandah is his toilet.

"The verandah is much bigger than your consultation room," he extended his hands wide. "I prefer him to go to the toilet downstairs but I was advised not to take him out till he completed his 3rd vaccination."

I knew his verandah or balcony was spacious as I was an expatriate housing agent at www.asiahomes.com some years ago and had been to this condo. This particular condo in downtown Orchard Road area had squarish verandahs or balconies of around 30 sq m., bigger than some living areas of HDB apartments.

"The main problem is how to prevent the puppy from peeing into the lift before you get to the ground floor." I only know of one Caucasian owner who was successful. She lives in a 19th floor condo in East Coast. She distracted the chocolate Labrador Retriever puppy while inside the lift."

"One possibility is to bring his breakfast feed in the feed bowl downstairs," I suggested. "Puppies usually poop after eating."

"But he might not be able to control his bladder," the owner said.

In such cases, withholding of water after 8 p.m may be useful in toilet training.