389. The old Cocker Spaniel on the op table bites the new vet

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The 13-year-old Cocker Spaniel growled on the examination table. His lady owner wanted his wart on his left lower lip and left cheek removed. 3 years ago, he had a big skin tumour behind his neck removed.

"Now the Cocker is very old and has put on weight," I advised the owner that the dog may just die on the operating table. The owner accepted the risk and made the appointment for surgery.

But there will be no tranquiliser, as is routine, to minimise the risk of heart failure from anaesthesia.

"Be careful, he bites," I advised the new vet as the senior citizen was put onto the operating table. "No tranquilisation for this old dog. It is safer just to use the anaesthetic gas directly, by mask."



The dog did not resist when placed on the table. The gas mask covered her muzzle and nose. She struggled after a few minutes and shifted her nose out of the mask. The new vet puts the mask on. The dog bit the mask. She tried again.

"Ow," the new vet moved her right hand away. Blood oozed out from the right index finger. A puncture wound from a bite. She tried to mask the dog. The dog bit the edges of the mask.

"You are excused from the anaesthesia," I took over the anaesthesia. "Go and wash your finger with lots of water and then bandage it."

Dog bites are an occupational hazard of dog vets. I guess that every dog vet will be bitten once by a dog. The vet must be very nimble and firm when anaesthesing a dog. Tranquilised dogs do bite too.

The senior citizen was wagging his tail when the owners came to take him home 3 hours later. The 2 skin warts were removed. This was a surgery with casualties for the vet who got a puncture wound on her finger. The gas mask which suffered punctured holes too. The owner apologised to the new vet for the bites.

388. One crate + pee pan design for Singapore puppies

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore



In this design, the small breeds like Yorkshire Terrier or chihuahua will need a ramp at the door level to come out of the crate.

387. Exercise pen or playpen picture

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

386. An aged dwarf hamster stopped breathing on the op table

The dwarf hamster stopped breathing as the last of 3 stitches closed up her 3-cm long skin wound. She had gas anaesthesia in a transparent container packed with cotton wool. As soon as she closed her eyelids, she was taken out and the 10-cent coin size of skin lump was cut off. But now, she seemed to have died as Nurse Ann wiped off the blood from her wound with a piece of tissue paper.

"No water," I advised Nurse Ann who normally would flush off the blood from the skin with plenty of water. "The hamster would just die from shock and the coldness. So, just slowly wipe off the blood with the tissue paper."

As Nurse Ann wiped the blood in the air-conditioned operation room, I noticed that the hamster stopped breathing.

She was 3 years old and could be considered an old woman by human standards. The father had brought the thin pet in for euthanasia. His teenaged son loved the hamster but the lump had grown bigger and had ulcerated since 4 weeks ago. The owners were informed that the hamster could just die on the operating table as she was high anaesthetic risk. The father consented to the surgery.

Now, the hamster has stopped struggling against the pain and the cleaning. Was this aged hamster dead?

"Take it out of the operation room," I said. "Out of the air conditioned operating room. Outside the Surgery. The best place for her would be the car bonnet."

It was an extremely hot afternoon. "I switch on the engine," the father of the teenaged boy opened his right front door as Nurse Ann placed the hamster on his warm car bonnet. He had parked his car less than 30 minutes ago to request for euthanasia.



Nurse Ann patiently soaked the the blood from the hamster's right side. The hamster was still life-less. After 60 seconds, there was a slight movement of the hind legs. The hamster got up and slided down the bonnet. The teenaged boy extended his hands to block her from falling off the car. It was a good sign.



There was hope of renewing the friendship between a teenager and a hamster. A friend for over 3 years was not letting him down by passing away. She put her front paws, rubbed her eyes and then combed her head. As if she wanted to be presentable for all of us. She was conscious. The anaesthetic gas and shock had disappeared from her body. How long would he be living? We had to wait and see.

The teenaged boy put the hamster into her plastic container. "Feed her with liquid food frequently over the weekend," I said. "If the hamster could survive the next 3 days, she should be back to normal."

Today was one of those extremely hot and humid Saturdays. Singaporeans cursed and swore at this inconvenience, but for the hamster the heat saved her life. Much better than an electrical warming pad. The father of the teenaged boy brought her in for euthanasia. But he had an option of Surgery. He gambled and won. The hamster left the Surgery with a chance of renewing the friendship with the boy who loved her very much.

385. 2004 interview - A separation-anxiety puppy called Cotton

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Personal Experiences - Dog Training   The Separation-Anxiety Dog Joanne Chong, Singapore dog owner I used to have the impression that dogs could be left alone when I go to work. When Cotton (Poodle X Shih-Tzu) barked excessively and destroyed the furniture when he was alone, I deduced that he needed obedience training as I did not know there was a dog behavioural problem known as separation anxiety.  Coming home was a chore.  His toilet (newspapers with his waste) would be torn and well distributed all over the house.  He would stink as he dirtied himself. It was not those happy-dog-welcoming-owner moments that most owners told us or seen in doggy advertisements. When we disciplined his "wild and retaliating" behaviour using isolation, caging and even caning, I always felt sad and sorry for him.  A strong sense of disappointment, that my husband and I were not good owners would always dampen our spirits in the evening when we reached home after a hard day's work.  There were also thoughts of giving him up. From a large source of information in magazines, books and the internet, I learnt that Cotton's unsociable behaviour were symptoms of Separation Anxiety.   If the signs you are experiencing are similar to what I have explained above, here are some suggestions: 1.        Physical punishment may worsen the problem. Your pet may be yearning for your attention the whole day.  Although the punishment may have inflicted pain, it may not associate it as a consequence to destroying the furnishings.  In fact, it may not mind it as it receives attention when you beat or shout at it immediately upon your return. 2.        Leave the lights and radio on while you are away.  Also, let him play with lots of toys, including chew toys. 3.        Pay a kid in your neighbourhood $20 weekly (or more if he feeds and change the newspapers) for taking your pet out for a walk in the middle of the day.  This breaks the isolation to a few parts of the day and  reduce the trauma of separation. 4.        Castration or spay.  It's socially responsible too. Castration/spaying depletes sex hormones that will in turn reduce the aggressive or territorial behaviour.  Other effects may manifest straight after the surgery, namely, reduced odour of urine in the male dog and unsociable behaviour like mounting onto legs of visitors. 5.        Nothing should discount the need for obedience training especially in hyper-active dogs.   Your pets want to give their best to you, as much as you do.  The fact that we speak different languages can be a deterrent to a potentially strong connectivity. Seek professional help from dog trainers or others.  Remember, you are never alone. Further information.  1.  How was Cotton toilet/house-trained? House breaking with a cage (four pieces of fencing joined at sides, without top and bottom) on newspapers.  He was confined to the cage for 2 weeks.  In that time, he could roam around the house only under close supervision.   Whenever, he defecated or urinated on "non-designated" spots, I picked up the waste with a piece of toilet paper, place it on the newspapers together with him to watch this transfer.  I then pushed his head to the newspapers next to the soiled toilet paper and say "Here!" in a loud and punitive voice tone.  For repeated offences, I used rolled up newspapers to hit him on his bottom.  I know this procedure is not highly recommended but it may be applicable to some hyperactive dogs. 2.  How does Cotton cope when I go to work? Is he confined to one bedroom? I took him with me wherever I went 3 weeks after I bought him. Subsequently, I would leave him at home with my mother-in-law.  No, he is not confined to one bedroom but allowed to roam around the apartment.  Cotton felt secure inside his carrier cage, the day after neutering.  He was panting so much that his rectal temperature rose above 39.8 degrees when he arrived at the veterinary surgery. He was suffering from separation anxiety rather than from a high fever from infections.  The rapid and continuous panting resulted in a reddish tongue due to a high body temperature. He was operated and did not suffer any side effects.  Date of writing: Sep 1, 2004.  This educational article is extracted from the book, "How Your Puppy Can Live Longer". It is sponsored by asiahomes.com, "affordable homes for expatriates".  Pictures are © toapayohvets.com.  Last updated: . Readers who wish to share their experiences in how to handle a separation-anxiety dog, please email your information to judy@sinpets.com.