toilet training, house training puppies

486. 5-month-old poodle soils herself. Why?

2010-06-21T05:52:00.001+08:00

Thank you for your e-mail. My replies are in CAPITAL LETTERS.

--- On Sun, 6/20/10, ...gmail.com> wrote:

Subject: Toilet training of Toy Poodle
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Sunday, June 20, 2010, 10:03 AM

Dear Dr Sing,

Have been reading your web-site and found your advice we helpful and would be very grateful if we could have some advice from you.

My sister and myself are the owners of a 5 months old female toy poodle, the puppy has been with us for 2 months now. We had experience of 2 other dogs before, both male chihuahua and we find this toy poodle to be the most naughty and difficult to train. We went through a very difficult first month but thereafter, everything seems to became better when seems to be doing ok with the pee pan, therefore, we put her in the kitchen, a small area barricate with gate. Unfortunately we finds that once she is out of the play pan, she would pee and poo everywhere, we would reached home every night to find her soak in a pool of urine and with poos everywhere obviously being stepped on. We are really very frustrated and already at the verge of giving up. Appreciate if you could give us some guidanceon to these problem that we are facing:

1) We have tried putting her back in the play pan (for maybe about 15 minutes) everytime she pee and poo on the floor, but she don't seems to understand that it meant to be a punishment for her. There are times when spent about 2 - 3 minutes washing her pee pan and when i walk out of the bathroom only to find the kitchen floor flooded with her urine (she did that inside her play pan). Some other times when we reach home found her sitting in her pee pan, the cover (netted plastic cover) separated from the bottom pan and she was sitting on her own poos and the kitchen wet with her urines

Questions :
- she don't seems to have a sense of cleanliness, why is that so ? i thought puppies especially female like to be clean

THERE ARE MANY REASONS FOR A 5-MONTH-OLD POODLE TO BEHAVE BADLY, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:
1. SEPARATION ANXIETY - Eliminates anywhere and destroy/damage home furniture when the dog is home alone.
2. ATTENTION-SEEKING - Keeps wanting the owner's attention at all times.
3. URINE AND POO-MARKING - To mark territory.

MOST LIKELY, YOUR POODLE IS THE TYPE THAT KNOWS SHE WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION (SCOLDING) IF SHE IS NOT CLEANS. AT 5-MONTHS OF AGE, SHE IS HARDER TO TRAIN COMPARED TO A 3-MONTH-OLD AS SHE IS AN "ADOLESCENT".

- how do i let her know that peeing and pooing on the floor is wrong ? after 2 months with us, we just couldn't put the message across to her and that is very frustrating

CONFINE HER AGAIN AND DON'T PAY HER ANY ATTENTION WHEN YOU CLEAN THE PLAYPEN OR THE DOG. GET HER SPAYED. SPAYING MAY OR MAY NOT HELP AND IS NOT A GUARANTEE.

- does puppies know when the owner is angry ? she don't seems to know
SHE KNOWS SHE CAN GET ATTENTION WHEN YOU ARE ANGRY. THAT IS PROBABLY WHAT SHE WANTS.

- how many times can we bath the puppy in a week ? we have been bathing her every weekend but only find her wet with her own urine on Monday, because of that, we
cannot carry / hug her until she is bath again on weekend.

BATHE ONCE A WEEK USUALLY BUT MORE IN YOUR CASE.

- We have been using pee pan for 2 months now, is it still alright to use newspaper to replace the pee pan ? we have tried putting newspaper before, but she would shred it and dirty the whole place with shredded newspaper and her pees and poos,

CONTINUE WITH THE PEE PAN + GRATE METHOD. PL SEND 2 PICTURES. OF TOP AND SIDE VIEW. I CAN'T ADVISE AS I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS YOUR ACTUAL HOUSING FLOOR PLAN.

2) Have read from your web-site that water should not be given after 8 pm. or after dinner, therefore, we have started to do just that, however, i find that every morning when we wake up she would start to cry, bark and howl , not something new but she seems to be more reckless after we took away water at night. When we feed her and give her water at the same time, instead of going for the food, she would start drinking for 2 -3 minutes before eating.

IT MAY BE POSSIBLE THAT YOUR FEMALE DOG HAS A UTI (URINARY TRACT INFECTION). CHECK WITH YOUR VET.

Questions
- I find that she have been drinking alot, is that somehing unusual ?
- we are feeding her with the ANF dog food for puppy, could it be the food that is causing her to be extremely thirsty?

DRINKING A LOT - GET A VET EXAMINATION AND URINE TEST. HOW MANY ML IS THE POODLE DRINKING? YOU NEED TO KNOW AS YOU MAY BE INCORRECT. ALSO DRY FOOD DO CAUSE PUPPIES TO DRINK MORE.

3) She would struggle when we blow her after bathing, is there any tricks that we could calm her down ? i pratically have to fight her and press her down before i could blow her, really very tiring. Is it alright if the dog is only half dried ?

YOUR DOG MAY BE AFRAID OF THE SOUND OR HEAT OF THE BLOWER. USE TOWEL DRYING AND A LOW HEAT AND SPEED SETTING AFTER TOWELLING.

Sorry for the long story, would appreciate your advice when you are available.

Thanks and best regards
Name of Owner (lady)

IN CONCLUSION,

1. BRING YOUR POODLE OUTDOORS IN THE MORNING AND EVENING AT THE SAME TIME. LET HER "URINE MARK OR POOP" OUTDOORS AND CLEAR UP THE POO.

2. CONFINE AGAIN. BUT NO SCOLDING OR SPANKING WHEN SHE MISBEHAVES. START OBEDIENCE TRAINING. READ BOOKS ON THIS SUBJECT. ATTENTION-SEEKING IS COMMON IN SOME SMALL BREEDS LIKE POODLES AND BICHON FRISE.

3. PRAISE AND REWARD WITH FOOD TREATS IF SHE OBEYS YOUR COMMANDS.

4. VET EXAMINATION FOR URINE AND URINARY SYSTEM.

5. SPAY HER SOON.

6. NEUTRALISE FLOOR WITH WHITE VINEGAR:WATER AT 1:3 AND CLEAN PEE PAN PROMPTLY. I PRESUME YOU DON'T CLEAN HER ELIMINATION AREA FOR MANY HOURS.

7. E-MAIL ME TWO PICTURES OF TOP VIEW AND SIDE VIEW OF POODLE IN PLAYPEN, INCLUDING PEE PAN AND GRATE.

485. House-breaking a rebellious young dog

2010-04-19T06:29:00.000+08:00

The brown and white Cocker Spaniel, adopted 3 months ago, would bark when left alone in the balcony. Neighbours might complain. So she was let into the house in the first week. She was then 4 months old. Now, she would pee anywhere in the living and dining room and seldom on the newspapers in the balcony.

"What can I do?" the busy journalist who was referred to me to certify the height and weight of the Cocker Spaniel for licensing purposes, asked me. "My maid or I take the dog outdoors 6 times per day to let her pee outdoors. Yet she continues to urinate inside the apartment."

"This seems to be a case of urine marking rather than being a case of not house-broken?"
"She is a female dog," the lady reminded me.
"Some dominant female dogs do urine mark," I said.

"Where does she sleep at night?" I asked.
"In my bedroom."
"Does she pee inside the bedroom?" I expected a positive answer.
"No, no," she replied.
"Since your bedroom door is closed, she might need to pee and would then do it on the bedroom floor."
"No," the lady laughed. "I left the bedroom ajar so that she could go to the balcony to pee."

Is there any permanent solution to this problem? Each case is different as each dog has his or her own personality.

"In my opinion," I said. "You are not firm enough with your dog and so she takes advantage of you. In the first week, you permitted her to go indoors when she ought to be confined in the balcony all the time unless supervised, to be paper-trained. She tested you by barking and you just let her in. Now, she is 7 months old and her mind is not easy to train. She is equivalent to an adolescent - rebellious as she is no longer a 3-month-old puppy with a blank slate in the mind and therefore easily trained."

"What should I do?" she asked.

"Spaying her may or may not help to prevent urine marking. Start being assertive," I said to her. "For example, grip your dog's muzzle when she barks, give a light tap and say 'no barking' in a very loud and firm voice."

"She is such a lovable dog," the career lady said.
"Yet she is a wolf in sheep's clothing and has had manipulated you. She has little respect for you. So she urine-marks."

"In the dog's hierarchy," I explained, "There is a leader in a pack of dogs. This leader can be a male or female. The leader bites the subordinate dog if the subordinate goes out of line. The mother gives the pup a nip if the pups misbehaves. In your apartment, you did not display that leadership quality. So, the dog does as she pleases and urine-mark the floor to show you that she is the leader."

"I am firm towards her," the lady asserted.
"Not firm enough as this is your personality," I had observed her to be a non-confrontational personality type and asked her companion whether my observations were correct. The companion, a lady friend who was with her nodded her head.

So, what do we do to solve her problem?

1. Barking. Use the muzzle tap and voice command to stop her barking. Muzzle the dog when she barks, but for a short time of 5 minutes.
2. No water to drink after dinner at 8 pm.
3. Confine her to the balcony where there is newspapers for her to pee.
4. Positive reinforcement training. Give a food treat when the dog pees on the papers in the balcony or stop barking on command. "My dog is not interested in food treats," the lady said. "Well, the ones you give her may not press her buttons, but try and find one she is crazy about. Or reward her with play."
5. Negative reinforcement training. Many newer puppy books are talking about positive reinforcement training. But in this grown up dog, a light tap on the muzzle to stop barking or a tap on the back together with firm voice commands may be the answer at this age of rebellion. Before it is too late. Will the lady do it? It is hard to say.
6. Leash her to the dining table so that she can't urine-mark anywhere she likes. The lady had not thought of that.
7. Give her a routine daily as regards feeding, drinking and exercise. Go outdoors three x per day to pee. Not 6 X.
8. Neutralise the urine-marked spots with a piece of rag plus white vinegar at 1 part to 3 parts water. Now, the whole apartment is full of urine smells but the dog can smell it.
9. Neuter the dog. But she looked so pretty and breeding would not be possible.

There are so many suggestions I made. Since she did not take notes, as I imagined a journalist would do so, I presumed her mind would remember all. It takes a lot of time to talk to her about her dog behaviour problem. Weighing and measuring the height of her dog took less than 5 minutes. Well, I was free on this first Sunday I started work after a break in Perth, Australia. She seemed quite happy and later told my referral that she was very happy with my service.

Puppies at 4 months of age can be paper-trained effectively if the lady owner is the strong and firm type. After talking to this journalist, a couple came in with a 4-month-old brown Cocker Spaniel for the 3rd vaccination. The wife looks "fierce" and appears the dominant party of the couple from my interaction with her. So I asked, "Is the puppy paper-trained?" "No problem," she said. "The puppy goes to the newspapers every time."

Success in house-breaking depends so much on the personality of the trainer who is usually a lady. Most lady owners are the nuturing kind type and so that is where failures in paper training in an apartment arise.

484. 5.5-month-old Silkie plays with poo

2010-03-24T06:22:00.003+08:00

On Tue, 3/23/10, ...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Subject: How to prevent poop playing?
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 2:33 PM

Hi Dr sing, read some of your toilet training guide in the website and it is really interesting. Hope you can give me some advices if possible.

Pet: Jenny, Silky terrier, 5.5 months
Playpen + pee tray with metal grating to cover the newspaper + a bed (In the Housing and Development Board living room)
Playpen size: 3’ by 4’, Pee tray cover 50% of the playpen
Feed twice a day at 7am and 6 pm, usually finish food fast (<5 min), water is provided at playpen.
Allow to come out to play at 7pm-10pm. Other timing is in playpen.
Problem No.1:
Jennie has being with us for the past 2.5 months. She is left in the playpen during the daytime when we went to work. She will know where to pee and poo at the pee tray when kept in the playpen. After 1st meal at 7am, she will poo and it will be cleared and change of newspaper. Only till 6pm then we can provide her the 2nd meal as we are working. For the past 1.5 months, when we reached home around 6pm, all the poos at the pee tray will be scattered around at the playpen and we suspect she tried to eat and play with it. Usually during the weekend, if we saw the poo, it will be removed as soon as possible to prevent her from trying to lick and sniff it. 2 toys and a chewing bone will be in the playpen when we leave her inside. Sometime she will whine as do not like to stay in the playpen. Is it because she was kept in the playpen too long or too bored? Is it due to hunger? Please advice.

Problem No.2:
When we are at home, the playpen fence will be opened and allow her to roam in the living room and in the kitchen (other rooms are not allowed to enter). Every 1-1.5 hrs, toilet train her to the pee tray by guiding her to the playpen and close the fence. She is smart and knows where to pee and treats will then be given. Sometimes, if left unattended, for e.g. I went to the study room for awhile like 30sec, she will pee at the living room walkway. Pee spot will be clean with commercial cleaner. If we happen to witness it while she pees, we will scold her and give a spank. But she will try to run away and hide. So far peeing seen to be the only problem when we allow her to left unattended, otherwise, she will go back pee tray to poo even if left unattended.

Thank you,
Regards
Name of owner

REPLY FROM DR SING
I am Dr Sing from Toa Payoh Vets. Thank you for a detailed report on your "puppy". As no two puppies behave alike in an apartment, I can only provide you the following practical guidelines which may or may not be useful. These are:

1. PLAYING WITH THE POO

1.1 CHANGE FROM PLAYPEN AREA TO ROOM WHEN YOU WORK. The puppy is nearly an adult soon. She needs more space when you are at work so that she can move and exercise. The playpen area is too small. At this stage, you may need to give her a bigger space. One example is fencing the kitchen door or next-to-the-kitchen bathroom door with the playpen fences. The pee tray will still be inside this bigger space. A bigger space may distract your puppy from playing with her stools.

1.2 BOREDOM. Buy one of those toys with food packed inside. Some puppies spend time trying to get at the food. Buy chew ropes. There is one writer who suggests hanging a play toy from a rope so that the puppy will try and get at it and exercise while at home alone. This is probably impractical for you in the apartment.

2. PEEING WHEN UNSUPERVISED FOR A FEW SECONDS. This action appears to me to be urine-marking. Female dogs do mark territory too. Have you tried white vinegar:water at 1 part to 3 parts in a piece of rag to neutralise the urine smell? Let me know if you try it.

Urine marking occurs naturally in female dogs that are more dominant. Urine-marking is well known in male dogs but relatively uncommon in female dogs.

If your female dog starts urine-marking, neutralising the urine smell will not work. The owner has to spend time catching her before she urine marks and that is difficult for you. Does she urine-mark outdoors?

What is the solution? Will spaying her work? I don't know. My advice is to bring her outdoors when you come back from work and before you go to work. I guess you can't wake up early. Try this. She may then urine-mark on the grass outdoors and forget about the corridor which should be neutralised properly.

I hope the above helps. Best wishes.
Do let me know if I have not answered any questions and let me know your progress.

Update at: www.toapayohvets.com - toilet training articles

Grate training advice

2010-03-07T06:59:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

March 5, 2010 e-mail to Dr Sing

Hi Doc,

My puppy is 2 month plus old... I confined him in a playpen... there is a pee tray inside... and I put newspaper all around the playpen... but I noticed he will pee at the pee tray but would poo at another area... no matter how I tried ( I try to carry him to the pee tray just before he poo ) he still poo at the area... How can I solved this problem?

Another question is if I and my family were to leave the house, is it ok to leave the puppy at the playpen (with his whining and barking ).. sorry but this is the 1st time I'm having a puppy...

Thanks for answering my questions...

March 6, 2010 e-mail reply from Dr Sing

Thank you for the floor-plan. As no two puppies can be toilet-trained according to a successful formula, I can only give you some guidelines to encourage your puppy to pee and poop on the grate. These guidelines may or may not be effective for you. These are:

1. The playpen has a smaller area for the first 2-4 weeks after the puppy goes home than what you present now.
2. 50% of the playpen's floor area is occupied by the grate + pee pan (which the puppy now pees on). This may be the back half of the playpen as viewed from your approach to the playpen.
3. 50% of the front half of the playpen - Food and water on the left side, sleeping area on the right side. The bottom right side is now the puppy's pee area. You need to thoroughly disinfect and neutralise the puppy's smell on this spot. Use white vinegar:water at 1:3 dilution.
Wipe off the urine smell.
4. Grate should be washed often if you are around. Stools should be removed promptly. If the puppy poops after meals, that would be best. There should be no free feeding available throughout the day. The puppy must be trained to eat all within 15 minutes.
5. This process may take 2-4 weeks depending on your training consistency, spending time to train and puppy's intelligence, amongst other factors.
6. As to leaving the puppy inside the playpen while you work, this is necessary if you want to get him house-trained early. If a friend can check him during lunchtime, it will be good.
7. Let me know if you have any questions.

How to train a puppy to pee on the plastic grate?

2010-02-13T07:42:00.005+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Feb 13, 2010

Dear Dr Sing

I find your work on puppies' toilet training very interesting and informative, really enjoyed reading many of the pet owners' testimonials!

I am trying to train my puppy to pee on pee tray since I brought him home on 04Feb.
I have stayed home since 04Feb & have kept puppy confined to his playpen. Please see attached photo.

Puppy's daily schedule:
7am & 7pm: Feeding Time (he finishes all his kibble within 5 mins & I will remove bowl)
* Water in bottle available from 7am to 8pm only.

5pm - 5.30pm: Play Time (I let puppy out to play only in the balcony, floor area approx. 10 feet by 5 feet)
* I am trying to teach him not to nip my toes/jump on me, by walking out of the balcony whenever he does that.

Puppy poops twice per day on most days (at times, he poops only once in the morning):
1st time shortly after breakfast (around 7.30am)
2nd time not regular (it can be during playtime, shortly after dinner, or no poop at all)
Puppy pees every 2 to 3 hours.

Most of the time, puppy poops on pee tray & pees on paper. Initially, I have the playpen covered 100% with paper.
Now I have reduced paper coverage by 50%. I place the pee tray over paper to prevent him from shredding them.
He likes to sleep on the uncovered tile area.

The problem with puppy peeing on paper is he will step all over his urine. I want to keep his paws clean so I prefer for him to learn to pee onto pee tray if possible.

I encountered three scenarios:
1) I see puppy sniffing/circling the ground, I place him onto pee tray & say "pee here".
Result: He DOESN'T pee, jumps off pee tray & pee-ed on paper.

2) Puppy too fast, I catch him mid-stream, placed him onto pee tray & say "pee here".
Result: He HOLDS his pee half-way, jumps off pee tray & continued pee-ing on paper.

3) Puppy too fast, I catch him after he has pee-ed (especially on occasions where pee volume is small).
I still place him onto pee tray & say "pee here". (hoping it will still help him to reinforce the training)

To encourage puppy to pee onto pee tray, I spray commercial ammonia solution onto pee tray & have tried placing tissue soaked with his own urine under pee tray's mesh. I also tried removing all paper (except pee tray) but he pee-ed onto the floor, so I had to place the paper back.

For accidental poo/pee on tiled floor, I will clean floor with commercial cleaner that eliminates poo/pee odor. I will also clean the floor under the paper where puppy has pee-ed on before replacing with fresh papers. My point is, I try to remove any pee/poo odor within the playpen area EXCEPT those on the pee tray. But have been unsuccessful so far.

Is there anything I have omitted or not doing correctly? I am aware that I need to confine my puppy for 2 to 4 weeks before I may see results. However, I would like to ensure I am doing the right thing to start off with. Based on your extensive experience, are Shih Tzus more difficult to toilet train, especially on pee tray? Would greatly appreciate your advise!

Before signing off, I would like to wish you & your loved ones, a Happy & Bountiful Year of the Tiger with Good Health & Great Wealth!

Thank You & Best Regards
Name of owner

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING

Thank you for your e-mail and New Year Wishes.
It is good that you provided a photography of the puppy housing. Shih Tzu puppies are no more difficult to toilet train than other breeds.

In your case, the puppy has had been paper-trained to pee on the papers and to poop on the "plastic grate (pee tray)". But you want him to pee and poop on the grate. As each puppy is different, my following suggestions may or may not work in your puppy.

1. "Cleanliness freak" is a common observation of many puppy owners. Your puppy wants to avoid the pee tray for the following reasons.

1.1 The tray is soiled and you do not wash it after he has pooped. You may have removed the poop using tissue papers, am I correct? But the puppy can smell the poop. So he does not want to step onto the pee tray to pee as he will dirty himself.

1.2 The pee tray is too small in area relative to the Shih Tzu, as I can see from the picture. Once he poops on it, he has no clean space to pee on it. I presume he poops on a corner as the positioning of the tray is such that he has only the rightmost corner to poop.

1.3 The playpen has a lot of space for the puppy to pee. So why should he use the pee tray? He soils his paws because you do not change the soiled papers immediately and there is insufficient space for him to pee on other newspapers as you have reduced the covered area. Puppies at this age pee a lot and owners need to change the papers many times if they don't want soiled paws. Soiled paws inside a crate or playpen is a common complaint of puppy owners as the papers cannot be changed promptly in practice. Therefore, the grate is much preferred by many puppy owners. The plastic grate is an attractive set compared to the usual metallic wire grates (picture, below) which also sold in many pet shops.

Proposal:
One possible solution is to buy a grate (pee tray) that covers 50% of the playpen, leaving 50% for sleeping and eating area. There are such grates (plastic or wired) available in Singapore's pet shops. In this situation, the puppy has to use the pee tray since he has no alternative. Obviously, you must ensure that the pee tray is kept cleaned at least 3x per day.

I hope this suggestion works. Best wishes for the new year.

Updated info at www.toapayohvets.com

481. Book contents

2010-01-03T08:23:00.003+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

1. Purpose
What's in it for the reader?

2. How to do it successfully?
2.1 Situations, Tools, Equipment, Floor feeling, History of puppies, Age of dogs etc. interconnected. Positive and negative reinforecement travel. Rewards - food, play, fun.

Consistency, Perseverance, Patience, Knowledge of dog behaviour, human behaviour, child behaviour.

3. Action Stories
Problems, conflicts and solutions.

480. Toilet-training an adopted old dog

2010-01-02T02:29:00.011+08:00

E-MAIL FROM DOG OWNER
Oct 29, 2009
Dear Dr. Sing;
I adopted a 9-year-old Border Collie/Aussie mix from a family five weeks ago. She is a wonderful dog and easy to make her behave. However, she seems to only want to poo on lawn or cut grass. I have a large yard with a lot of brush in the back, and all gravel in the front. She doesn't seem to poo in the yard, but holds it until we go for walks at the park, which isn't every day. She pees anywhere just fine.

Can you give me some ideas on how to get her to do her business on other surfaces besides grass?

Sincerely,

Julia in Nevada
E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING
Oct 30, 2009

Dear Julia

Thank you for e-mail. Your dog is conditioned used to poop on grass and therefore soft feel and smell of the grass are important factors for his elimination process. Now you need to replicate a similar environment.

Please let me know if the following procedure works:

1. In your backyard, clear some area of brush (bushes?) to create a level patch for pooping. I presume you prefer your dog to eliminate in the backyard.
2 Create a level ground area 3X or more the standing area occupied by your dog as a pooping ground.
3. Scatter some grass and soil (with poop smell) onto this flat ground area. You get such samples from his previous poop area in the park.
4. Bring your dog to this area. You need to know when your dog normally poops. Is it after meals, as for most dogs? Is it twice a day?
5. Say "poop here" or some firm commands.
6. Rewards (food treat and praises) on success.
7. You need to persevere and be patient. It may take 2 weeks on daily training. Training is never easy.
8. Pl let me know if this method is successful and e-mail me his picture for my record.
E-MAIL FROM DOG OWNER
Nov 13, 2009

Hello Dr. Sing,

I have had some success with your suggestion on how to get my new dog to poop on different surfaces. I have brought home her poop from the park whenever I could find it, and put it in my yard where I wanted her to go.

When I put it down, I call her over and say 'good girl, good poop' and so on. The first time, she acted ashamed so I have petted her and reassured her that it was okay. After that, she just looks at it and quickly turns away, but I saw her pooping in the back yard yesterday for the first time, so we have some success.

I want her to go in the front yard too, on the gravel, because sometimes the back is too muddy, but so far she hasn't done anything there. The poop I put out there is dry now so I may have to put fresher stuff there.

But she has recently developed bad breath and her poop is very smelly. Could this be from holding it? The poop I've seen is formed properly, a good color and texture, not hard like constipation. When I got her 8 weeks ago, she had been eating commercial food but I have converted her over to the fresh food that I also feed my other dog (raw meat and bones, potatoes, rice, cereal grains, and fermented vegetables that I make myself). She seems to be doing well on it. There was a 4-day period when we didn't go to the park that was about the same time her breath went bad. (Her teeth have been checked and are fine.)

Apart from the poop and bad breath issues, she is settling in well, has become more confident around me and my other dog, is accepting the rules, and so forth. She is a very nice dog in every way.

Thanks for your help.

Julia
E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING
Nov 14, 2009

Dear Julia

It is a pleasure to get your feedback as I seldom get feedback from the time-pressed puppy owners of Singapore. There does not seem to be sufficient time here in busy Singapore. In reply:

1. Bad breath in newly adopted older dogs. In your case, possible causes are:
1.1 Gum ulcers and infections due to stress. You may dispute this "stress" issue as what is so stressful about a dog with no worldly problems as in people? Eat and sleep. How can that be stressful? Some dogs do get stressed by changes of environment and ownership and develop mouth ulcers.

Open the mouth and check. Has your vet examined the dog's mouth and submandibular glands?

1.2 High meat diet does cause bad-smelling stools. I have complaints from some puppy owners of commercial dog food causing bad-smelling stools. Such brands have higher percentage of meat. As for bad breath, it is possible too that your dog's stomach gas is passed out from the mouth or there is a stomach infection (gastritis due to stress possibly).
A course of antibiotics from your vet may resolve the problem.

1.3 Stool eating. If your dog enjoys eating his stools, the smell of breath will be that of his stools. You need to monitor this. He may eat stools in your absence.

2. Pooping in the frontyard gravel. The same principles of smell, oral command and praises you applied to training her to poop in the backyard apply. Initially, you may need to lay some grass patches on the gravel to simulate the "softness" of ground which the dog has had been used to. Choose a corner of the frontyard to be the elimination area. Otherwise the dog does it everywhere and you will be angry.

3. Is it possible for you to post a picture of the dog for case study recording purposes? Best wishes.
E-MAIL FROM DOG OWNER
Dec 30, 2009

Hi Dr. Sing,

I finally have a picture of Trifle, the dog I had to train to go potty in my dirt backyard. It's not a good photo, and doesn't show her great personality and charm but the Santa Claus wasn't very nice so she was reacting to that. I believe she is a hunting dog from the way she behaves toward birds and wild critters although she looks somewhat like a herder.

Trifle has turned out to be a fabulous dog. I have had her for three months and it's as if she has lived here for years. She is around 9 years old but she learns even better than a puppy. She is super smart and can figure things out without being told. She has adapted to me and my routines very well, and as well to my other dog. I did what you suggested, and she goes potty in the backyard just fine. She was timid and clingy for a while but I can see her becoming more and more confident. This is amazing to me, since she was with the previous family for 8 years.

I wanted to thank you again for your help but also wanted to say that even though you only helped me with that one thing, it opened me up to trying to find better solutions for other issues too. There weren't any big problems but it just made things go smoother. For example, she is a compulsive licker. The previous owners tried various things to stop it (including acupuncture!) but all I had to do was lightly tap her on the nose every single time she licked me, and say "No lick". In less than three months, she stopped it about 95%. I never had to get upset or frustrated about it, just had to be consistent. (My other dog has a terrible barking problem that I haven't been able to "cure" because I wasn't consistent in the beginning.)

I think I got lucky with Trifle -- I'm not sure every older dog would respond so well to getting a new family. But I am very grateful for her -- she is a wonderful addition to my life.

Thanks again,

Julia
E-MAIL FROM DR SING
Dec 31, 2009

Subject: Re: Trifle

It is New Year's Day today. I was surprised to receive your e-mail and happy to get a picture of Trifle. As regards the barking problem of the other dog, perhaps you can do the following:

I have a Miniature Schnauzer dog owner who holds the dog's muzzle when he barks (actually grip) and say "No barking." She slapped her hand gripping the dog's muzzle lightly as she gave this command. She gave me this tip as she was successful. She was the "gate-keeper" in a corporation and certainly had that strong personality to command respect from the dog. Maybe you can try this as you did for the "No lick" training. Please let me know.
SUMMARY

Old dogs can be taught new tricks. However many owners just don't have the time and patience to re-train an old dog to eliminate in an appropriate area. Much more time is need to re-train old dogs to eliminate in a new area.

1. Replicate the previous elimination ground feel and smell in your new elimination area - the key to success.
2. Give oral commands like "poo here" as you place the dog's poop and urine onto the ground where you want the dog to eliminate.
3. Praises and food treats when the dog performs.
4. Repeat training as the dog may not get it during your first two lessons.

For example, if the dog pees on the newspapers in one part of the house and you want him to pee in another area (garden) outside the house, you need to replicate the environment. Bring the piece of soiled newspaper with the urine smell and put it on the patch of grass to change the dog's mindset. Do steps 2, 3 and 4 as mentioned above. Remove the newspapers gradually.

Of course, there are dogs who don't need such procedures and will do what the owner wants after some oral commands and praises.

479. Barking if crated and not toilet-trained for past 1 month

2009-12-24T04:38:00.003+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Barking was the main complaint surprisingly. As the puppy is small, elimination all over the apartment was a secondary problem. Below is my proposal to resolve the first-time puppy owner's problems.

Owner: Young man doing national service. Brought the puppy for the 2nd vaccination.
Puppy: Shih Tzu bought one month ago via the internet (7 weeks old).
Housing: Crate + pee pan in the young man's bedroom. Puppy training pads are placed onto the pee pan but the puppy shreds them. So the owner gives up toilet-training.
Feeding: 3x/day. Dry food inside the crate. Milk in water bowl placed outside and inside the crate.

Two Common Problems of first-time puppy owners
1. Barking when confined to the crate. Wakes up at 5.30 am and barks loudly. Other times too. Therefore not confined. He does not bark.
2. Pee and poo everywhere in the apartment for the past one month. What to do?

Owner's solutions to Barking
Sudden loud noise:
Adopting the advices from the world wide web, he put coins inside a can. When the puppy barked, he shook the can.
"Does it really work?" I asked. "Yes, for a few times. Then the puppy barks."
"The puppy sees you holding the can and thinks you are playing with him," I said. "You are supposed to hide somewhere and release the can from the top of a door when the puppy barks."

The young man said, "Barking is due to the puppy wanting to come out to pee and poop as he does not dirty his crate. When my mum lets him out at 5.30 am, he quickly pees and poops onto the floor anywhere."

My proposed solutions:
1. Confine the puppy in the bathroom and crate for 2-4 weeks. "Too stuffy," the young man said. I proposed using a baby gate so that the puppy can see outside and it will not be stuffy and he will not bark.
2. Place pee pan with training pads (urine smell) at one distant corner from his crate.
3. Feed and water bowls beside his crate.
4. At 5.30am, mum takes him out of the crate and puts him onto the pee pan. Do this after feeding, waking up or seeing signs of elimination (puppy turning, sniffing). Say "pee here." Food treat on success. Back to the crate or inside the bathroom. Change soiled pads daily.
5. Neutralise floors with white vinegar:water at 1 part to 3 parts put into a spray bottle. Use a rag with this mixture to clean up all floors, including areas in the bathroom where the puppy is not supposed to eliminate.

Feedback: one month's time when the puppy comes for the 3rd vaccination.

478. Urine-marking & Submissive Urination. Male poodle 3 years

2009-12-21T05:50:00.004+08:00

During the last 2 days, I had 3 cases of "a mum and 2 daughters" team consulting me in the Surgery. The daughters were older than 10 years old and would be appreciate seeing the veterinarian and understanding canine behaviour and mum's behaviour.

Things sometimes happen in threes if one looks for a pattern. I notice that bougainvillea flowers grow in clusters of three too. Previously I did not bother to look at the common bougainvillea plants have clusters of 3 flowers as most pictures of this plant don't show them having clusters of 3 flowers.

The first case was that of a fair-looking mum in a designer black dress with designer buttons. She looked like a "tai tai". A "tai tai" refers to a lady who is well groomed and all dressed up and does not worry about money - that is one possible interpretation of the Chinese lady of substance.

She had just purchased a Maltese puppy for her two daughters and asked me why it had light brownish ears and to examine the puppy after purchase.

The second case was a mum who came for a review of the itchy 10-year-old Shih Tzu who had recovered from skin and ear problems after one month of treatment. However the Shih Tzu had 7 breast tumours and she would refer the problem to the older daughter now working as she was tired of having to care for the dog since the daughters were busy with their schoolwork.

"Its not correct," the teenaged daughter retorted. "I do bathe the dog during weekends."

I said, "If you don't ask and teach the children to take care of the puppy's grooming regularly, they just don't do it. So, it is the parent's responsibility and fault. The work falls on the mum." Probably the mum was too busy, resulting in the old dog getting itchy ears and skin and costing some money to see the veterinarian. The mum was not angry with my lack of bedside manners and I ought to clam up by not giving such comments.

So much for the 2 cases. My 3rd case which may be of interest to owners of male dogs and is recorded below while details are still fresh in my mind.

Research Case: 18835
Miniature Poodle, Male, Born: May 2006. Now 3 years old.
Mum and 2 daughters, 14 and 11 years old.

On Jan 11, 2008, I removed the normal right testicle and the left undescended left testicle. I had advised removal of the undescended testicle in case it became cancerous in later years. Now, I was seeing the dog for his annual vaccination. There was some good news from the mum whose 2 daughters accompanied her to the vet.

The success story was that the male dog has no urine-marking behaviour after neutering. Urine-marking stopped 2 months after neutering. How did the mother do it? I needed her feedback to help other owners.

Apparently, the mum had adopted my advice to neutralise the urine smell of the floor and wall using white vinegar with water at 1 part of vinegar to 3 parts of water where the dog used to urine-mark at home.

"How did you apply the solution?" I asked.

"I sprayed the mixture from a spray bottle wherever he urinated," she was really pleased that this problem was resolved. Not all dogs stop urine marking after neutering at more than one years of age. However those dogs who urine-marked outside the home after neutering would not pose so much house-cleaning problems for the caregivers.

Problem of "Submissive Urination".
"But my dog is still peeing all over the floor," mum complained. "I have to mop the floor every day!" If you take this statement on its face value, neutering had not stopped urine-marking. However, the mum had said that the urine-marking behaviour was eliminated. So why would the dog still pee on the floor? This is where a knowledge of canine behaviour is useful for the vet.

"This is a case of submissive or excitation urination," I knew what problem she had encountered. "Do you greet the dog with a loud voice?"

"The dog pees when in the morning on waking when the family says "HELLO" and when the family members say "HELLO" on going home from work or school. The wife works too.

"I thought the dog was being friendly." mum replied while the daughters laughed.

"No," I said. "He was being submissive and is like a person - wetting his pants!"

So the poor mum had to mop the urine off the floor every day. In the morning and on coming home.

"Did he pee when your friends come to visit?" I asked.
"No," the family members confirmed.

"Did your friends greet him with a loud HELLO?" I asked.
"No," mum said. "I thought his peeing was him being friendly."
Advices to family members: No "HELLO" or verbal greeting of the dog by family members on going home or in the early morning. Ignore the dog for the next few months. Let the dog gain confidence over time so that he will not pee to be "friendly" to owners as there is a lot of urine mopping up to do by the mum.

I will follow up on this advice in later months. This is a case of submissive or excitation urination and is a very difficult problem to resolve. It will take time to do it but if the owner persevere in adopting my advices, there may be some hope of relief for the mum.

This case also reflects a fact of life. Solving the problems, that is performance and results count in real life whether it is veterinary or getting promotions from the boss. Since I had resolved the urine-marking problem for this team, the family does not mind coming to see me though they do have some veterinary practices nearer to their home in north-east Singapore and the client-veterinary relationship was great.

Success in toilet training 2 Spitz - one case

2009-12-19T03:33:00.005+08:00

DRAFT. TO FINALISE REPORT LATER.
TOILET-TRAINING 2 SPITZ PUPPIES

E-MAIL FROM OWNER
July 19, 2009
Hi judy,

I hope this is not too much trouble for u. I recently bot 2 japanese spitz puppies. They are with me for 3 weeks now. The first 2 weeks, i admit i make some mistakes in the house breaking training.

Now i have confined the 2 puppies separately in 2 play pen. When the puppies are inside the play pen, they usually most of the time would pee n poo on the pee tray. When i open up the play pen to let them play ard, they would pee on other places. One pee very far, so i thought he prob couldnt find his way back. The other one pee abt 20 cm away from the pee tray. Why is it that when the play pen is opened up, they forgot where they shld pee just like how well behave they are when they are confined in the play pen.

Can u give me some advice as to what i shld do? I am so close to pulling out all my hair.

Thanks n regards

Name of Owner
E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING

From: Kong Yuen Sing <99pups@gmail.com>
To: ...@yahoo.com.sg>
Sent: Sunday, 19 July 2009 2:55:33
Subject: Re: Pls help me, i need advice on housebreaking my puppies.

I am Dr Sing. Thank you for your e-mail.

1. In reply, I presume you have two puppies coming out of the 2 playpens at the same time.

2. The two are then given a much bigger area to play. They forget about their pee tray.

3. Ideally, you should permit one puppy to come out to an extended area which is around 2X the area of the playpen (e.g kitchen area). Open the playpen gate and monitor the puppy. If he goes to the pee tray, praise and give food treat. If he shows signs of wanting to pee, carry him quickly to the pee tray. Be observant.

4. The other puppy should be confined and not be seen by the other puppy while you train this one.

5. Repeat paragraph 3 with the other puppy.

6. In cases where there is only one puppy, it takes 2-4 weeks of confinement inside the playpen 90% of the time before they know that they must go to the pee tray to eliminate when they are let out of the playpen into a bigger area (not the whole apartment, just the kitchen or bathroom as an example). It is not just 1 week as that was what I presumed you did.

7. Therefore, go back to the basics as mentioned in paragraph 3.

E-MAIL REPLY FROM OWNER
Date: Sun, Jul 19, 2009 at 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: Pls help me, i need advice on housebreaking my puppies.
To: Kong Yuen Sing <99pups@gmail.com>

Dear mr sing,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I really really appreciate it. I will listen to your advice and do as u said. I will definitely write back once the house breaking training is successful for the 2 puppies.

A big thank you.

Name of Owner
FOLLOW-UP E-MAIL FROM DR SING

From: Kong Yuen Sing <99pups@gmail.com>
To: ...@yahoo.com.sg
Sent: Friday, 20 November 2009 8:17:02
Subject: 2 puppies - toilet training in July 2009

Dear Ms ...

I am Dr Sing from Toa Payoh Vets. We corresponded in July 2009 regarding your 2 new puppies and their toilet training. I hope all are OK now in November. Do you mind letting me know how you got the 2 puppies toilet trained?
E-MAIL REPLY FROM THE SPITZ OWNER
On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 7:02 AM, ...@yahoo.com.sg> wrote:

Hi dr sing,

Sorry for the late reply. Yes they are toilet trained now.

Well out of desperation, we hired a trainer to come to our place n teach us how to toilet train the 2 puppies.

Basically he came to see how we set up the playpen. The big mistake we made was putting the pee tray on the outer side in the playpen. The pee tray should always be behind where they will usually walk, jump and sleep.

At first they are in the living room. We told the trainer that in future we like them to pee/poo in the kitchen area. So we moved the playpen to the kitchen. Due to the setting of my kitchen, We know that the puppies will walk along 3 sides of the playpen while the other side is the wall so they won't be there often. So we placed the pee tray leaving space for them to lie down and walk along the 3 sides. So in a way, the pee tray is behind where they move ard.

They stay in there for abt a week or 2 and of course occasionally we let them out to play. While out playing the female went back to the pee tray to do her business. So we started to let her out most of the day time and only put her inside the playpen in the nite. After a few days later, the male started doing the same. So we let the 2 out in the day and put them inside the playpen in the nite. At the same time we expand the playpen size n give them more space.

1 or 2 weeks later, we remove the playpen and let them out day and nite. They are already toilet trained. Once in a while they make mistake by pooing outside. They hardly pee wrongly though.

Now that they are 8.5 months old now. They don't make mistake anymore.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Name of Owner

E-MAIL FROM DR SING
Many thanks for your feedback. It will be very useful for owners with 2 puppies and for me to advise other owners with 2 puppies. There is a lot of questions asked by puppies about toilet training in my practice.

Is it possible for you to give me an estimate of the length and width of the playpen and the pee tray at that time? The standard 4 panels of fencing for a playpen is 3 feet x 2.5 feet. Was yours much bigger since you need to put 2 Spitz puppies in one playpen. Is it 6 feet x 2.5 feet? An estimate will do since it is so long ago.

Is it possible for you to email a drawing/sketch of the floor plan of the pee tray being against one side of the wall so that the pups could walk along 3 sides by drawing and then taking a pic with your handphone if you don't use camera? Do you have a picture of the floor plan of the time you toilet train them and email to me the picture? It will be much clearer as I may be interpreting incorrectly.

Thank you once again for your detailed reply. I wish you a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CONCLUSION
It is a big challenge to get 1 puppy to eliminate in the pee tray (pan). With 2 puppies, it can be very frustrating.

It seems that the location of the pee tray is important.
Locating in the front part of the play pen means that the puppies have to step over them to get out and this makes them soil their paws. Being clean by instinct, they will avoid the pee tray and so it was difficult to pee-tray train them initially.

A house-visit by a dog trainer was important as the housing plan and management was reviewed during the house visit and this resulted in success. I presume that the 2 puppies were pee-pan trained together and that the pee-pan is washed frequently. Is it a grate+pee pan? A follow up is necessary.

Mat training Mini-Maltese 80% successful in 2 weeks

2009-12-16T02:57:00.002+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Dec 15, 2009
Vets may be asked about toilet training of puppies and this would take a lot of time. A knowledge of the behaviour of puppies and methods used will be useful for the first-time puppy owner. Below is one example of questions asked in relation to toilet training.

Case:
Maltese, Male, 8 weeks, 1.5 kg, 38.4 deg C
Bought the puppy 2 weeks ago.
2nd vaccination
First time puppy owner.
Chinese mum with 2 daughters (14 years and 10 years). Younger daughter would go out of the consultation room as she could not bear to see injections.
Ear Powder X 1 puppy. Ear drops x 1 bottle from the Seller.
Puppy pees outside mat some 20% of the time. So, success rate is 80%.

Method of toilet training.
1. Living area walled off by furniture to give a big spacious space as the mum thinks it is cruel to confine the puppy to a small area.
2. The space is estimated to be 3X bigger than 29"X23" or 72 cm x 58cm (width of Straits Times newspapers opened).
3. Plastic mat with holes placed on top of newspapers (29" x23") with newspapers extending out of the plastic mat. She sprayed training liquid onto newspapers initially. Food and water bowls and towel bed opposite the mat, further away.
4. Puppy will use the mat 80% but has a habit of peeing outside the mat onto the portion of exposed newspapers. Why?
5. Mum said that the puppy is very intelligent as he "runs away when he is discovered not to eliminate onto the mat. He knows he has done something wrong."
6. "The mat is washed once a day in the morning after his breakfast," the mum replied to my query on the frequency of washing. "The dirtier the newspapers, the better for the puppy as he can smell it."
7. Puppy poo is wiped off with tissues. Poops 2x/day.

My advices:
1. Running away. "The puppy is frightened of being beaten when he sees 3 angry faces. So he runs away, " I said. "He cannot relate to some toilet training mistakes done some time ago."
2. Not peeing onto the mat but onto the newspapers at times. "There should be 2-3x washing of the mat per day if you want 100% success in toilet training," I said. "The puppy is clean by instinct. He just does not want to step onto the soiled mat later in the day. So he urinates on the exposed newspapers."
3. Confined area. Too spacious. The toilet area with the mat is also very spacious. So the puppy sometimes pees on the newspapers and the surrounding floor and play on the mat.

Conclusion:
1. White vinegar:water at 1:3 onto cloth. Neutralise all urine smell for those floor areas where the puppy is not supposed to pee.
2. The mat area to be reduced by 50%. Confine to an area 36" x 24" for this week to get the puppy to use the mat 100%. Wash the mat 2x/day.
3. Confine the puppy to a smaller area of 3'x2.5' for one week using furniture to wall off a portion of the living area and apply the advices in paragraphs 1 and 2 above . There should be a 100% use of the holed mat for peeing. That should be the way if the mum does not think it is cruel to do so.
4. This holed mat is equivalent to the metallic or plastic floor grate with pee pan equipment. Only that the newspapers placed below the mat are not in a pee pan.
The disadvantage of this method is that the floor is not protected from the urine stains unlike the use of a pee pan in the grate + pee pan method. I did advise purchase of the latter but it may be too late.

Questions Asked by the busy mum:
In addition to the above questions asked, the mum asked the following:
1. Will they get toxoplasmosis from the puppy?
Answer. No. The puppy bred by the breeder does not get fed infected meat, swill or offal's in Singapore as commercial dog food is fed.

2. Why is the Mini-Maltese ears not white but a bit brownish?
Answer. Some Maltese puppies do not have 100% white coat and have fawn coloured ears.

Two slim daughters look much like their mum and would inherit her good looks and clear porcelain skin. They would blossom into heart breakers. The younger daughter, in primary school, braces in her teeth, was afraid of injections and could not bear to see her puppy vaccinated. "She still has 2 injections next year," the elder sister said. As to what they were, I do not know nor did she tell me.
Normally, the puppy does not cry when Mr Saw holds it and I vaccinate under the neck. In this case, the puppy shrieked when injected, upsetting the younger girl who was outside in the waiting area.

475. Puppy to pee Outside article

2009-11-27T05:22:00.001+08:00

Article is from http://plentyofpuppies.com

How to Train a Puppy to Pee Outside

This article is designed to give you just the facts, no fluff. This is dog training simplified

Start Small - Don't give the puppy free reign of the whole house. Dogs do not like to pee where they live, if he has access to two rooms he will play in one and pee in the other one.

Watch your puppy - Puppies generally give signs when they have to go to the washroom. If the puppy starts sniffing around, whimpering, is sitting for a while and then suddenly gets up, or leaves the area where they like to play - The puppy may have to go. Take the dog outside or to their litter box.

Timing - Timing is important. Take your puppy outside first thing in the morning and after long naps. Puppies will generally have to pee shortly after drinking and eating, take the puppy outside a few minutes after meals.

Discipline and Praise - When your puppy pees outside, praise it, give it treats let it know it did a good job. When it goes pee inside let it know your not happy. Make sure the puppy know's why it's in trouble, take it to the puddle of pee and let him know in a stern voice that he did something bad.

Consistency - Be consistent! If you are not consistent with your training it will take a lot longer to get the message through to your puppy. Also it is a good idea to take the dog to the same spot to pee each time. This way they know what they have to do when they are there.

Using a Leash - It is not a bad idea to use a leash when you take the puppy outside. This way he wont just go outside and get distracted and forget to pee. When you take the puppy outside to pee, keep it on the leash until it goes pee.

During this process your puppy will surely make mistakes, so it is a good idea to know How to Clean Dog Pee From Carpets

This article How to Train a Puppy to Pee Outside was published on Plenty of Puppies in our Puppy Training section. If you intend to re-distribute it please keep this portion in the article Thanks :D

474. Paper-training 6-month-old Westie

2009-11-27T04:40:00.005+08:00

DRAFT

--- On Wed, 11/25/09, ...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Subject: Picture of my pet cage- requested by Dr Sing
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 6:38 PM

Dear Dr Sing,
Attached please find the pictures of the cage where I put my pet dog, Westie
Pic 1 shows cage with 2 handles on the top. Top lid can be flipped open. Bottom Tray is like a drawer. My pet was sitting on the steel grating, which can be removed. Front door of the cage can be opened.
Pic 5 shows the opening for the bottom tray to slide out.
Pic 11 shows the steel grating can be removed. Pet is now sitting on newspaper put on the tray
Pic 12 shows the steel grating with side hooks, put atop the tray

--- On Thu, 26/11/09, David Sing wrote:

Subject: Re: Picture of my pet cage- requested by Dr Sing
To: ...@yahoo.com>
Date: Thursday, 26 November, 2009, 5:40 AM

Thank you for your pictures. I will be emailing you some pic of your 6-month-old Westie soon.

Please let me know how long it takes to grate-train her successfully (i.e. 100% pee and poop on the grate), starting from yesterday, Nov 25, 2009 and how you do it.

Best wishes.

E-MAIL REPLY NOV 26, 2009

Dr Sing,
I think mine would take a long time to toilet train. Yesterday she was quite dull. I think it was because of the vaccination. I would try to put her outside of the cage tonite, in the balcony and then put the grating atop the tray just to try it. Will let you know the good news next time. She had refused to take the Antibiotics liquid as well as the Multi-vit. Refuses to open her mouth, so I have to mixed the multi-vit together with water in her drinking bowl.
Maybe u can ask other people also to try the same method of toilet training which you had recommended for my dog, so that in case the other dog owners might have an earlier success.
Presently she would bark whenever she pee or pass motion, which means she wanted people to change the soiled newspapers in the tray
See you again next week.

Regards
XXX

SUMMARY
The adult Westie is communicating with the owner to change soiled newspapers below the grate and on top of the pee pan. In this situation, the owner should just have 2 pee pans with newspapers. One inside the crate. Place this pee pan with newspapers in the balcony when the Westie is confined there. Change soilded newspapers promptly. The Westie should be paper-trained within 14 days, in my opinion. Home situation differs for each puppy. In this case, my proposal of grate + pee pan training may not be ideal as the Westie barks for fresh newspapers when inside the crate (I presume, with the floor grate taken out). Will ask the owner when he comes next week.

473. The 2nd puppy is more intelligent

2009-11-23T06:32:00.004+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Caucasian lady 20-30 years old
Miniature Poodle 5 months (X) bought first.
Miniature Poodle 3 months (Y) bought 1 month after the first.
Apartment living
Playpen with bed + newspapers.

This case illustrates the common thinking of puppy owners all over the world as regards toilet training.

Thinking No. 1
"X is not as intelligent as Y as X still pees and poop all over the apartment. Y just goes to the newspapers," the slim and tall fair European lady commented when I asked how she managed to train two puppies. This was part of my research in toilet training of puppies in Singapore.

Based on performance, Y appears more intelligent. He knows what the owner wanted.
It is like having 2 children. One will be smarter than the other. However, the circumstances of upbringing will be different as you can see here.

I asked, "How long have you confined the second pup (Y) to the playpen to train her to use the newspapers?"

"4 weeks," she said.

"I guess you only confined the first pup (X) for less than 2 weeks," I said.

"Yes," the young lady replied. "Around 2 weeks."

"There is insufficient time for X to be paper-trained," I concluded that the puppy was given much freedom to roam around the apartment. This is a common practice of new puppy owners. X was the first puppy and he was given more freedom.

"The whole apartment will be full of urine smells," I said.

"I mop the floor with detergent," the lady said.

"The mop will be full of urine smells," I explained. "A canine nose is very sensitive to urine smells. He will pee anywhere as the whole apartment is full of smells.

"The 2nd pup is presently paper-trained. But later, he would emulate the first pup and eliminate everywhere."

"What should I do?" the lady asked.

"Confine the first pup. Neutralise the puppy's urine smell on the apartment floor with white vinegar at a part of vinegar to 3 parts of water. Use a rag or cloth to wipe the floor with this mixture, not the mop."

Will this advice work?

Thinking No. 2

"The first puppy knows he had done something wrong," the young lady said during the course of our conversation. "He feels guilty and quickly runs away when he has peed outside the newspapers!"

I commented about this urination accidents, "The puppy runs away because he sees that you are very angry. You may spank him, as many Singapore's puppy owner do."

"I don't do it," the young lady said. She was not entirely convinced about my explanation that the puppy ran away out of fear, rather than out of guilt.

"We think that puppies experience guilt for misbehaviour," I said. "Some puppy book authors explain that the puppies are worried about being beaten up and therefore runs away to hide on seeing an angry face of the owner."

This hypothesis was not really acceptable to the lady as she did not physically injure the puppy. So, I was at a loss as to what explanation to give as regards the running away of the "guilty" puppy.

"As the first puppy is now 5 months old, it is important that you confine him in the playpen to paper-train him again. When he is mature at 6 months of age, he will be rebellious and very difficult to paper-train," I advised. "This is like children who have grown up. It is very difficult to impart to them good values when they are in the rebellious growth period." It is like a bud. Surroundings affecting its blossom into a beautiful flower depends on its environment as much as on its genetics.

472. Toilet Training 2 puppies at one time

2009-11-21T08:05:00.002+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

E-MAIL TO DR SING, JUL 19, 2009
On Sun, Jul 19, 2009 at 12:23 PM, <...@yahoo.com.sg> wrote:

Hi judy,

I hope this is not too much trouble for u. I recently bot 2 japanese spitz puppies. They are with me for 3 weeks now. The first 2 weeks, i admit i make some mistakes in the house breaking training.

Now i have confined the 2 puppies separately in 2 play pen. When the puppies are inside the play pen, they usually most of the time would pee n poo on the pee tray. When i open up the play pen to let them play hard, they would pee on other places. One pee very far, so i thought he prob couldnt find his way back. The other one pee abt 20 cm away from the pee tray. Why is it that when the play pen is opened up, they forgot where they shld pee just like how well behave they are when they are confined in the play pen.

Can u give me some advice as to what i shld do? I am so close to pulling out all my hair.

Thanks n regards
XXX
E-MAIL FROM DR SING, JUL 19, 2009

I am Dr Sing. Thank you for your e-mail.

1. In reply, I presume you have two puppies coming out of the 2 playpens at the same time.

2. The two are then given a much bigger area to play. They forget about their pee tray.

3. Ideally, you should permit one puppy to come out to an extended area which is around 2X the area of the playpen (e.g kitchen area). Open the playpen gate and monitor the puppy. If he goes to the pee tray, praise and give food treat. If he shows signs of wanting to pee, carry him quickly to the pee tray. Be observant.

4. The other puppy should be confined and not be seen by the other puppy while you train this one.
5. Repeat paragraph 3 with the other puppy.

6. In cases where there is only one puppy, it takes 2-4 weeks of confinement inside the playpen 90% of the time before they know that they must go to the pee tray to eliminate when they are let out of the playpen into a bigger area (not the whole apartment, just the kitchen or bathroom as an example). It is not just 1 week as that was what I presumed you did.

7. Therefore, go back to the basics as mentioned in paragraph 3.

Dear mr sing,

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I really really appreciate it. I will listen to your advice and do as u said. I will definitely write back once the house breaking training is successful for the 2 puppies.

A big thank you.
XXX

On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 3:50 PM, XXX wrote:
Hi dr sing,

I need more advice. One of the puppy behave really well when she is in her play pen. She poo n pee almost 95% on the pee tray. I followed your advice n give her a bigger area in the kitchen. I have a really big kitchen so i still hv to use the play pen to make the area only 2x the area of the playpen she is staying in. But she still doesnt know how to go to the pee tray to pee. But when i bring her back to her own play pen, she almost immediately pee n poo on the pee tray!
Why is that? What hv i done wrong? N what more shld i hv done?

The other puppy is hopeless. I didnt even wanna try the 2x play pen kitchen strategy on him. I think i need to confine him for another 1 or 2 weeks b4 i try the 2x play pen kitchen strategy. What do u think?

Sorry to bother u agn.

Pls advise me on this.

Regards

XXX
E-MAIL FROM DR SING, JUL 22, 2009

Hello
1. Start from the beginning again.
2. Confine the puppies for 2 weeks inside the playpen.
3. When you increase the area to 2X the area of the playpen initially, your puppy is "distracted" by your attention and forgets to go to the pee tray.

471. New puppy barks after midnight

2009-11-21T07:48:00.002+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Toa Payoh Vets Clinical Research
Making veterinary surgery alive
to a veterinary student studying in Australia
using real case studies and pictures

Why does the new puppy bark after midnight?
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS

First written: Oct 28, 2009
Updated: Nov 21, 2009 (3rd vaccination)

Case study:
Couple: Working husband and home-maker wife in her late 20s.
Miniature Dachshund, Male, 2 months, bought from the pet shop 3 days ago. I was consulted on blood appearing in the evening stools 3 evenings but not in the day stools. The puppy was fed 2 times a day as advised by the pet shop.

This case has two common complaints amongst new puppy owners, viz.:

1. Blood in stools. For the past 3 evenings, the puppy poops loose stools with blood seen but was otherwise healthy and active.

2. Barking at around 2 am - 3 am and then at 6 am.
"He is seeking attention," the young lady owner said. "We just ignored him and he would stop barking. Then at 6 am, he would bark. He wants to come out of his playpen to play.

Reality & Solutions
1. Blood in the stool. Usually due to stress (change of environment and feeding).

2. Feeding 2x a day is common recommendation by pet shop puppy sellers in Singapore. Less eating, less pooping as the puppy eats all food usually and then poops 2x/day, after eating, instead of many times. This puppy poops 2x/day.

3. "Seeking attention past midnight". Few puppy books mention about this behaviour. Actually, the puppy barks to ask the owner to change the soiled newspapers. In this case, the puppy was now restricted to a one-page width of the newspapers. He pees around every 2 hourly. He does not want to step on soiled papers but being confined in the playpen, he could only communicate with people by barking: "Please change soiled newspapers."

Solutions: Understanding canine behaviour --- All normal puppies want a clean area to eliminate and to sleep.

I propose that the owner spread 75% of the playpen flooring with newspapers at night, thus giving the puppy more clean papers and therefore no barking at 2am to 3am. 25% of the floor space is his bed towel space. The 2-month-old puppy has a weak bladder and pees every 2 hourly approximately. Will this work in practice? She will let me know when the puppy comes for his 3rd vaccination.

P.S
A pee pan with newspapers on top will be better as urine will not soil the marble floor of the living room. The puppy was not crated inside the kitchen as he barks for attention. So, the owner puts him in the living room. Ideally, the kitchen's ceramic tiled floor will be better for cleaning. Most Singapore condo kitchens barely have space for the cook and her assistant, so the puppy is housed in the living cum dining area.

UPDATE AT THE 3RD VACCINATION.
The puppy has grown up a lot and has no more blood in the stools. The young lady owner told me she had bought a grate + pee pan set which is the correct idea as the puppy was brought up on a grate + pee pan surface at the Singapore pet shop.

"Sometimes the puppy eliminates on the newspapers and sometimes in the grate + pee pan placed in the balcony", the tall and slim lady explained to me. I could see that the puppy was confused.

"Place the grate + pee pan inside the play pen (confined area). This will create less confusion during the toilet training the puppy."

Of course, this puppy will not be paper-trained, but be grate + pee pan trained in this situation.

Puppy toilet training by various new puppy owners as a research topic is a fascinating subject. I approach it like a mystery thriller if you are a reader of this genre. There is a mystery which puzzles the owner. However, the vet can't visit the scene of the crime, for practical purposes. So, he has to figure out and solve the mystery.

Toilet training solutions is an excellent means of of opening a communication channel with your new client. The vet needs to have some knowledge of puppy toilet training methods and most important, time. It takes up much time to talk about evacuation in a puppy as first-time owners are usually puzzled by the strange behaviour of the young one. Pee and poop anywhere and at any time. It is enough to pull one's hair out especially if there are two puppies. If a vet has 80 clients a day, it is extremely difficult to talk about bowel and bladder movements. His or her mind is just too tired and mechanical.

Updates are at www.toapayohvets.com

470. Car sickness in a puppy in Singapore

2009-11-19T05:03:00.001+08:00

Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009

I don't know whether the present crop of vets are trained in answering questions on puppy toilet training as every puppy home management and situation is not the same. I illustrate the following case of "a couple with child" as an example.

Puppy: Japanese Spitz, Male, 4 months
Seller: Commercial Breeder, Singapore-based. Purchased 3 days ago.
Buyer: Couple in their 40s. One 10-year-old child. Expatriate.
Equipment sold : Crate + grated floor + pee pan. Bed. "The puppy prefers the grated floor," the wife commented.

Consult: Vaccination voucher. 3rd vaccination.

Problems:
1. Car motion sickness. Puppy was fed. Vomited inside carrier bag in a taxi to Surgery.

What is the solution? Short trips and food treat as a possible solution.

1. No feeding before vehicle travel.
2. Short car rides e.g. 5 minutes. Give food treat at the end of travel.
Expat has no car as car ownership is very expensive in Singapore, so it is not a surprise that the expatriates have no car but live in a prime area.
3. Buses and subway travel - dogs are not permitted. I suggest putting puppy in a big lady's bag. Go up the bus. Alight after one bus-stop. Food treat after alighting. This may focus the puppy's mind on the treat. Repeat for 2 bus-stops and so on.
4. Tranquilisers. Available from the vet.

2. "Toilet training. How to do it?," the Asian wife wearing a hat with flowers asked me.

Here are my advices:

1. Do you want to paper-train the puppy or to use the floor grate method? Usually puppies from commercial breeders in Singapore are used to the floor grate method. The couple said that the puppy shreds newspapers instead of eliminating on them. "The puppy does not know what the newspapers are meant to eliminate," the husband concluded correctly.

1. History: The puppy had been crated and the breeder had sold the couple a crate with a floor grate + a pee pan below. However, no instructions or book on how to use it effectively.

2. Confine to the crate for 2 weeks most of the time. Feed the puppy outside the crate. Ensure he finishes his food within 10 minutes. If not, take away the bowl and put him back into the crate. He will poop within 15 minutes after eating as in most puppies not distracted. Water bottle hung on the crate or a water bowl.

3. Distraction means a child or adult petting him while he eats. The couple and child were guilty. So, the puppy poops at unknown times in the apartment. He was free to roam. So he pees and poops everywhere.

4. Location of crate. In the living area where he can see everybody, except the area where the couple has meals. The kitchen (recommended by me) is too small. This location is not conducive for toilet training as there are too many distractions. I suggested the bathroom for the puppy during meal times (breakfast and dinner). A bathroom with a baby gate will be ideal in this case during meal times to shut out distractions and for the puppy to poop.

5. "How about taking the puppy downstairs twice a day?" the husband was told by the breeder not to take the puppy outdoor till the 3rd vaccination. Yet this dog must socialise and be used to public noises and traffic at this age.

"This puppy can go outdoors provided he does not go to the areas where dogs have been, in case of parvoviral infections from other dog's stools. Parvoviruses do kill puppies. Take the puppy out after he has pooped. Normally, the puppy poops 2-4X at this age." The wife said 3X including overnight.

6. "This puppy pees too many times," the wife asked if there was a way to reduce the times. Pee will flow through the grated floor into the pee pan.

"At 4 months of age, the puppy pees around every 3 hours (N-1 formula where N=months). So, he will pee 8 times in 24 hours. This formula is a guideline. Control of the bladder muscle will take another 2-4 months."

Take away the water at 8 pm. I forgot to tell the lady as there were so many questions. It is best to get all advices written down. This will take a book to properly record everything.

7. Clean area (sleeping) and dirty area (elimination). The elimination area inside a crate will be distant from the clean area.
No normal puppy will eliminate on sleeping area or soiled elimination area. I advised prompt cleaning of the elimination area though the stools and urine usually fall through the grate. In this way, the puppy is encouraged to use the floor grate for elimination.

By week 2, let the puppy out into an extended area which may be 2-4X the floor area of the crate. The puppy should be jumping into the elimination area inside the crate to pee and poop. Eating, drinking and possible sleeping area will be outside the crate.

By week 3, the puppy is free to roam one or two rooms. All bedrooms are out of bounds.
By week 4, the puppy has been either floor grate trained or will be eliminating in one particular spot in the bathroom. Each puppy is different and so it is hard for me to predict.

Dr Sing's comments:
In conclusion, toilet training has to start immediately with a routine of feeding, drinking, exercise and food treats for successful performance. No distractions from children and adults during the first week or two. The wife said she will let me know the outcome.

469. Confusing the Golden Retriever puppy

2009-11-19T02:40:00.007+08:00

ONE OF 4 CASE STUDIES IS RECORDED HERE TO EDUCATE FIRST-TIME SINGAPORE PUPPY OWNERS ON THE USE OF THE FLOOR GRATE + PEE PAN IN TOILET TRAINING OF THE PUPPY

CASE STUDY 1: CONFUSING THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER PUPPY

From: <...@yahoo.com.sg>
Subject: Golden Retriever Training
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Friday, December 19, 2008, 8:28 AM

Dear Dr Sing:

I sincerely hope you can provide me with your expert advise.

I got a Golden retriever puppy on last Sunday, 13 Dec 2008. It is of 3 months age. I placed it in a cage ( 4 sided chrome wire with a top and a wire grating below with a pee tray ). I placed it in my planter area in the kitchen. There is a toilet just 2 metres away. There, I placed newspaper on a separate pee-tray and placed the "urine-smell" chemical on it. My wife and I took turns and wake up twice during the night to bring it there to pee and poo. Meal times are at 7am and 7-8pm. Water bottle is removed at 11pm. After each meal, we bring the puppy there.

I am glad that within 2 days, by Tuesday, 16 Dec 2008, the puppy knows where to go to do its business.

PUPPY IS USED TO THIS ROUTINE FOR 2 DAYS. IT KNOWS THE TOILET LOCATION AND KNOWS WHAT TO DO. IT HAD POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT FROM YOU. THEN YOU START ANOTHER ROUTINE. YOU SHOULD HAVE GIVEN IT 2 WEEKS TO BE FULLY TRAINED BEFORE SWITCHING TO ANOTHER ROUTINE.

Then we bought a baby gate and sealed off a section of the kitchen ( The sealed area is for the puppy. The cage and toilet is there too. ) The questions are:
1) The puppy now does not want to go back to the cage to sleep. We need to "force" it back in. We still wake up to bring it to the toilet. Why does the puppy "hates" its cage now?

PUPPIES PREFER FREEDOM TO RUN AROUND. IT ASSOCIATES THE CAGE WITH BEING LOCKED UP AND NEGATIVE FEELINGS.

2) We intend to let the puppy free roam the sealed section and the cage unlocked. So it can walk around and go to the toilet by itself.

PUPPY WILL TAKE TIME TO GO TO THE PROPER TOILET LOCATION.

Now the puppy goes and tear the newspaper in the toilet and eats them. Is it safe? How can we make the puppy go to the toilet with the newspaper and not tear and eat them?

PAPER SHREDDING IS THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINT from puppy owners. There is nothing much you can do. Some owners do tape the newspapers to the floor, edges of pee pan etc. Not safe if the puppy eats lots of newspapers.

3) We noticed the puppy tends to step on its urine or poo if its not cleared immediately) and walks all over its area thus dirtying the area.

STEPPING ON STOOLS IS ANOTHER COMMON COMPLAINT from puppy owners. Possible cause could be insufficient space or that the puppy is not particularly clean due to previous confinement in the cages in the pet shop or breeder's place.

Thus, I removed the wire floor of the cage and placed it on top of the newspaper and pee-tray in the toilet and secured it with cable-tie (At least it will not step on its own urine. But if it steps on the poo, no choice). This is done as I do not want the puppy to tear and eat the newspaper.

ANOTHER NEW ROUTINE USING THE GRATE (WIRE FLOOR) SERVES TO CONFUSE THE PUPPY.

But worse off, it now refuse or "is scared" to go to the toilet to do its business.

PUPPY PROBABLY GETS SCOLDING/SPANKING FROM YOU when it does not step on the Grate to pee and poo. Grate may be too small, too dirty and does not feel right to the puppy.

I tried the same routine again, command it to go, coax it and praise it when its there but the puppy just refuse to do its business on top of the wire floor with both soiled and new newspaper below it with the pee-tray.

GRATE + PEE PAN METHOD you are using. First, you need to confine the puppy such that it has no space but to go to the grate to eliminate. A clean place to sleep and eat. I presume your puppy has a lot of space and so does not need to go to the grate to eliminate.

THE FLOOR OF THE KITCHEN AND NEARBY AREAS IS FULL OF SMELLS OF URINE AND POO. Did you manage to neutralise the smells? White vinegar: water 1:3 with a piece of cloth (not mop which is full of urine smells) to wipe whole floor. Mop needs to be free of urine smell if you want to use mop.

I experimented by removing the wire floor and it goes back to pee but now choose to poo on the kitchen tiles. Why does the puppy refuses just by adding the wire floor. Must I toilet-train it again?

THE GRATE (WIRE FLOOR) is NOT accepted by this puppy. I suspect it is too small, not frequently cleaned when soiled and the puppy does not know how to use it.

Too much space to roam around for the first 7 days and no ROUTINE for the first 7-14 days. You keep changing toilet location, toilet and sleeping areas and the puppy is just confused.

What are your recommendations? Your help is greatly appreciated. I look forward to yr earliest reply.

YES, YOU NEED TO START ALLOVER AGAIN. Confine for 14 days. Neutralise smells and a fixed routine. Not all puppies are comfortable with the grate and pee pan method. If you want to use the grate and pee pan method, put puppy in one area e.g. bathroom. Put urine smell into the pee pan. Other floor area has no urine or poo smell (not always possible). Floor area to sleep is restricted to a small area. Baby gate can be put outside bathroom door. After 14 days or less, let the puppy out to the kitchen (baby gate outside the kitchen door). Then more and more free areas as the puppy goes back to the bathroom grate. Obviously, you need to keep the soiled grate clean.

Unfortunately, the cleanliness of the puppy to sleep and eat in a clean area depends on its upbringing by the Seller. If it has been forced to sleep in dirt, it will step on poop. Generally, you will note that the puppy will prefer a clean sleeping and eating area and a toilet location further. However, if you give it a lot of space, it will eliminate anywhere except its eating and sleeping area.

Hope above suggestions help.

P.S

Case Study 1 is recorded here as a draft owing to lack of time. This case and the other 3 case studies of the floor grate + pee pan method are updated and are at:
http://www.bekindtopets.com/dogs/20081234Golden_Retriever_Toilet_Training_ToaPayohVets.htm

468. Milk production is not an indicator of imminent birth of puppies

2009-11-18T07:39:00.004+08:00

Most little girls don't talk much to the vet. What is there to talk about? But this little slim girl with porcelain fair complexion of a Caucasian and black eyes in an attractive oval-shaped fair was only 4 years old. She would chatter to me forever as I vaccinated her puppy.

"I can't stop her talking," Mum said. "You are fortunate to have such a daughter as 99% of the children are not so advanced in their social behaviour!" I congratulated the apparently stress-out and hectic Singapore Chinese parents.

"How many teeth do you have?" I asked the little girl. She thought but could not answer as she had correctly told me she was four years old. "She can count up to 20 in English but not to that number in Mandarin," the mother intervened.

"How many teeth do you have?" I teased the little girl again to see how she would respond. "Many teeth," she put her right hand on her forehead as if she was thinking hard as to how to reply to this stranger. That was excellent answer. I mean, adults will also not know the answer and you can't expect her to count her teeth deep inside the mouth.

"Our children grow up so fast," I said to the lucky parents of a child who has mentally developed well beyond her age. A child prodigy whose talents the parents had not discovered. "When children are 20 years old, they don't talk much to the parents. As parents, we hope we have had brought them up well even if they don't talk to us much."

One aspect of training which I think is important is teaching the child to be frugal and save up for a rainy day. Honest money is hard earned but how many of the children in Singapore knows this.

Take Singapore undergraduates in Perth for example. How many of them will sacrifice their spare time to earn some money being a waiter or give tuition? To work their way through university? To be able to relate well to prospective clients who want tuition for their children.

Do Caucasian parents in Australia bother to get tutors for their children in the first place? I was under the impression that they don't want to stress their children. "Be Happy, Don't Worry," is an Australian saying that seemed to have ingrained into my mind. After all, unemployed gets welfare and could surf all day at Bondi Beach and Australia is endowed with minerals.

So, it was a surprise to me to know that a Singaporean undergraduate was giving tuition to a Caucasian family during my visit to Perth's Murdoch University in October 2009. I got to meet this family as the father of the boy being tutored wanted a vet to check on his pregnant Golden Retriever. He came over to where I stayed with the tuition teacher to invite me to see his dog. It was the same dog I had photographed at the park yesterday!

This white Golden Retriever had spotted me at the same time as I zoomed my lens to take a picture of dogs socialising in the park in Australia. This was a good picture as the evening sun was present and the timing was just right as the Miniature Schnauzer came over to befriend the two Golden Retrievers while the two lady owners had a brief chat.

The female dog was obviously pregnant as she had a big swollen belly. I checked the dog as she laid down on the floor. I pressed the dog's nipple to check whether milk had been produced. This was her 2nd pregnancy. Copious production of white milk oozed out from her nipples. "With so much milk, birth should be in the next 2 days," I thought. I checked for vaginal discharge but there was none.

"When was the mating seen?" I asked. Its date was marked with a "X" on the calendar on the wall of this beautiful house with a swimming pool and big floor tiles. Most Australians would carpet the floors but this gentleman used large cream-coloured floor tiles of 3 feet x 3 feet. "Floor tiles are practical and easy to clean when one has big dogs," the man said to me when I expressed surprise that carpet was not used for the living and dining area.

"Based on the date of observed mating in your calendar, the dog is 56 days pregnant," I said. "Pups should be due soon," I based on milk production as a sign of imminent birth. But I was mistaken. The pups were not born till another 7-10 days later.

"Can the male do it?" I asked. The male Golden Retriever was only 1 year old. He was slim and trim and was waiting nearby, being wary of a stranger examining his mate. Large breeds are said to mature slower than small breeds and to be fully grown at 1.5 years of age. Some dog book authors even state that large breeds are not sexually mature till they are 1.5 years old!

"Yes, he can do it!" the Australian man smiled while his wife poured me a cup of tea. "We saw him doing it."

It is part of the pleasure of travel to know a bit of the locals and their culture but it is not possible in tourist travel packages.

While the tuition teacher worked, I had a good chat with the Australian man who had a beautiful photograph of Kimberley mines.

"I had visited Singapore some 10 years back," I remembered the man saying that it was his honeymoon. "My tour guide pointed to the University and told us it has the highest suicide rate." I was surprised to hear this.

I did not ask what he thought of this 23-year-old Singaporean undergraduate who earned some money presumed to defray his living expenses as I knew he had no need to work at all. I had The Australian man said of him as I said my farewell, "XXX is a good boy." That parting comment was brief but testified much about this young adult tuition teacher's upbringing and maturity. His mum was a lucky parent. She would have been proud of him if I had told her about this compliment.

467. Toilet training cases highlighted by Daphne

2009-11-17T07:25:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore
Views from a young adult and intern, Daphne

Puppy Toilet Training Summary

1. Confinement - Confine your pup to a small area (with a puppy training pad and just enough space for it to eat and sleep – only allowed to come out to play for 10mins 3 times a day) for at least two weeks to ensure that it knows it has to poo and pee on the pad. Note down the timing that your pup usually poos and pees

To save cost:
• For the first week, use the disposable puppy training
• For the second and third week, place a piece of newspaper on top of the disposable pad
• Subsequently, you can just use newspaper once your pup knows that the newspaper is the place for it to poo and pee

2. Observation – By confining a pup to a small area, it may develop its favorite spot for pooing and peeing. Place newspaper at that spot for it to familiarize that newspaper is the place for it too poo and pee.

3. Routine – Once your pup is allowed to roam around the house, bring it to the designated area around the timing that it usually poos and pees or as and when sniffing or squatting is observed. Strict routine must be observed so as not to confuse the pup. Another alternative is to bring your pup out every evening for a walk so that it can poo and pee outside the house.

Point to note: Puppies usually poo within an hour after eating. Ensure that your pup eats within 15 minutes by removing the bowl after 15 minutes of feeding – even if your pup hasn’t eaten. This may sound cruel but it will teach it to eat within 15 minutes or she will not have any food to eat as well as give you an indication of when she might poo which makes toilet training easier.

4. Discipline - Firmly tell your pup 'NO' when it poos or pees at the wrong place. Bring it to the correct place (placed with a puppy training pad/newspaper) so that your pup will know where to go next time.

5. Disinfect – Disinfect the place immediately if your pup poos or pees at the wrong place. Use Vinegar:Water in 1:3 ratio to neutralize the smell.

6. Patience - Toilet training does not happen over night, it requires a lot of time and effort especially with the stress it has trying to adapt to the new environment.

7. Appraisal - Give it a treat when it does its business at the correct place

8. Interaction - Spend time playing with your pup so that it will slowly understand what you are trying to say. The more time you spend with your pup, the faster it will be toilet trained.

9. Have fun!

Case Studies
1. http://toilettrainingpuppy2.blogspot.com/2007/07/1-success-story-how-to-paper-train-4.html
2. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2005_09_18_archive.html
case 81
3. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2005_08_28_archive.html
case 31
4. http://www.bekindtopets.com/dogs/20081234Golden_Retriever_Toilet_Training_ToaPayohVets.htm
5. http://toilettrainingpuppy2.blogspot.com/2008/05/toilet-training-adopt-basic-principles.html
6. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2005_09_18_archive.html
case 83
7. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html
case 234
8. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2006_08_06_archive.html
case 364
9. http://maids-puppies.blogspot.com/2007/03/59-golden-retriever-puppy-pees-inside.html
10. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2005/09/39-single-lady-and-her-shih-tzu.html

Interesting Case Studies
1. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_archive.html
case 228
2. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2006_03_26_archive.html
case 281
3. http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2007_06_24_archive.html
case 454

466. Retraining an adopted 9-year-old dog

2009-11-13T04:42:00.002+08:00

On Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 9:41 AM, <...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Dear Dr. Sing;

I adopted a 9-year-old BorderCollie/Aussie mix from a family five weeks ago. She is a wonderful dog and easy to make her behave. However, she seems to only want to poo on lawn or cut grass. I have a large yard with a lot of brush in the back, and all gravel in the front. She doesn't seem to poo in the yard, but holds it until we go for walks at the park, which isn't every day. She pees anywhere just fine.

Can you give me some ideas on how to get her to do her business on other surfaces besides grass?

Sincerely,

Owner in Nevada

--- On Wed, 10/28/09, Kong Yuen Sing <99pups@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Kong Yuen Sing <99pups@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: re-train 9-year-old rescue dog

Dear ...

Thank you for e-mail. Your dog is conditioned (used) to poop on grass and therefore soft feel and smell of the grass are important factors for his elimination process. Now you need to replicate similar environment.

Please let me know if the following procedure works:

1. In your backyard, clear some area of brush (bushes?) to create a level patch for pooping. I presume you prefer your dog to use the backyard.
2 Create a level ground area 3X or more as a pooping ground.
3. Scatter some grass and soil (with poop smell) onto this flat ground area. You get such samples from his previous poop area in the park.
4. Bring your dog to this area. You need to know when your dog normally poops. Is it after meals, as for most dogs? Is it twice a day?
5. Say "poop here" or some firm commands.
6. Rewards (food treat and praises) on success.
7. You need to persevere and be patient. It may take 2 weeks on daily training. Training is never easy.
8. Pl let me know if this method is successful and e-mail me his picture for my record.

On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 2:42 AM, <...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hello Dr. Sing,

I have had some success with your suggestion on how to get my new dog to poop on different surfaces. I have brought home her poop from the park whenever I could find it, and put it in my yard where I wanted her to go.

When I put it down, I call her over and say 'good girl, good poop' and so on. The first time, she acted ashamed so I have petted her and reassured her that it was okay. After that, she just looks at it and quickly turns away, but I saw her pooping in the back yard yesterday for the first time, so we have some success.

I want her to go in the front yard too, on the gravel, because sometimes the back is too muddy, but so far she hasn't done anything there. The poop I put out there is dry now so I may have to put fresher stuff there.

But she has recently developed bad breath and her poop is very smelly. Could this be from holding it? The poop I've seen is formed properly, a good color and texture, not hard like constipation. When I got her 8 weeks ago, she had been eating commercial food but I have converted her over to the fresh food that I also feed my other dog (raw meat and bones, potatoes, rice, cereal grains, and fermented vegetables that I make myself). She seems to be doing well on it. There was a 4-day period when we didn't go to the park that was about the same time her breath went bad. (Her teeth have been checked and are fine.)

Apart from the poop and bad breath issues, she is settling in well, has become more confident around me and my other dog, is accepting the rules, and so forth. She is a very nice dog in every way.

Thanks for your help.

Owner in Nevada

November 13, 2009
To: ...@yahoo.com>

It is a pleasure to get your feedback as I seldom get feedback from the time-pressed puppy owners of Singapore. There does not seem to be sufficient time here in busy Singapore. In reply:

1. Bad breath in newly adopted older dogs. In your case, possible causes are:
1.1 Gum ulcers and infections due to stress. You may dispute this "stress" issue as what is so stressful about a dog with no worldly problems as in people? Eat and sleep. How can that be stressful? Some dogs do get stressed by changes of environment and ownership and develop mouth ulcers.

Open the mouth and check. Has your vet examined the dog's mouth and submandibular glands?

1.2 High meat diet does cause bad-smelling stools. I have complaints from some puppy owners of commercial dog food causing bad-smelling stools. Such brands have higher percentage of meat. As for bad breath, it is possible too that your dog's stomach gas is passed out from the mouth or there is a stomach infection (gastritis due to stress possibly).
A course of antibiotics from your vet may resolve the problem.

1.3 Stool eating. If your dog enjoys eating his stools, the smell of breath will be that of his stools. You need to monitor this. He may eat stools in your absence.

2. Pooping in the frontyard gravel. The same principles of smell, oral command and praises you applied to training her to poop in the backyard apply. Initially, you may need to lay some grass patches on the gravel to simulate the "softness" of ground which the dog has had been used to. Choose a corner of the frontyard to be the elimination area. Otherwise the dog does it everywhere and you will be angry.

3. Is it possible for you to post a picture of the dog for case study recording purposes? Best wishes.

465. Midnight-barking of new puppy

2009-10-29T05:02:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
1. Two-month-old puppy and working husband
Oct 28, 2009

Case study:
Miniature Dachshund, Male, 2 months, bought from the pet shop 3 days ago. I was consulted on blood appearing in the evening stools 3 evenings but not in the day stools. The puppy was fed 2 times a day as advised by the pet shop.

This case has two common complaints amongst new puppy owners, viz.:

1. Blood in stools. For the past 3 evenings, the puppy poops loose stools with blood seen but was otherwise healthy and active.

2. Barking at around 2 am - 3 am and then at 6 am.
"He is seeking attention," the young lady owner said. "We just ignored him and he would stop barking. Then at 6 am, he would bark. He wants to come out of his playpen to play.

Reality & Solutions
1. Blood in the stool. Usually due to stress (change of environment and feeding).

2. Feeding 2x a day is common recommendation by pet shop puppy sellers in Singapore. Less eating, less pooping as the puppy eats all food usually and then poops 2x/day, after eating, instead of many times. This puppy poops 2x/day.

3. "Seeking attention past midnight". Few puppy books mention about this behaviour. Actually, the puppy barks to ask the owner to change the soiled newspapers. In this case, the puppy was now restricted to a one-page width of the newspapers. He pees around every 2 hourly. He does not want to step on soiled papers but being confined in the playpen, he could only communicate with people by barking: "Please change soiled newspapers."

Solutions: I propose that the owner spread 75% of the playpen flooring with newspapers at night, thus giving the puppy more clean papers and therefore no barking at 2am to 3am. 25% of the floor space is his bed towel space. The 2-month-old puppy has a weak bladder at this age and pees every 2 hourly approximately. Will this work in practice? She will let me know when the puppy comes for his 3rd vaccination in Nov 5, 2009.

464. Adult dog paper training

2009-10-26T05:35:00.005+08:00

Toilet Training an adult dog in Singapore

--- On Sun, 10/25/09, ...@hotmail.com> wrote:

From: ...@hotmail.com>
Subject: Paper Training 9 month-old whippet
To: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009, 1:14 PM

Dear Dr Sing,

i have a 9 month-old whippet puppy that stubbornly refuses to relieve and poo on newspaper, so it appears.

She has been previously trained to relieve and poo on 2 sheets of newspaper while she was staying at another caregiver's home. The newspapers were placed in the kitchen area. Due to some reasons, the family is unable to care for her anymore. So, she is currently at my home. I have a 7 year-old dog myself.

When she came over to my place, we laid out the newspaper in the kitchen area and showed her where it was placed. She looked, then ran away. In the very next instance, she peed elsewhere in the flat. we picked her up, chided her and showed her the right place to go, but to no avail. however, she has only peed and pooed at the right place the most 4 times over these past 3 weeks. on one occasion, she copied my dog

She was praised each time she relieved herself at the right place and chided when she did it at any other spot in the flat. She tends to relieve herself wherever she walks, when she feels the urge or when she is excited. She sniffs around a little, then walk away to another spot to pee or poo. I have walked her to the newspaper and pointed it out to her many times over. But she would walk away and relieve herself somewhere else moments later. only when i confine her that she would poo or pee, never both.

Can you advise me how I could retrain her to go on paper? I am at my wits' end, because I have tried every method that worked on my previous dogs but failed on her.

By the way, we bought her from the petshop when she was close to 7 months old.

With regards,
Name of owner

Re: Paper Training 9 month-old whippet
Sunday, October 25, 2009 9:33 PM
From:
This sender is DomainKeys verified
"David Sing"
View contact details
To: <...@hotmail.com>

Adult dogs are harder to paper train. In your case, I suspect that the other dog is a factor affecting her paper training as the urine scent from the other dog (despite you putting newspapers on the floor) had, based on your description, caused her to "urine mark" or seek new areas to pee and poop. No normal dogs like to eliminate on another dog's soiled area (although you have covered with newspapers).

I need to know more about her management.

How long is she with you since you took over from the care giver?
How many times you feed her?
Is water freely available?
What is her exercise routine? Does she go out?
How many times and when does she pee and when does she poo?
Is she doing urine-marking?
Does she pee when excited?
Is she on heat?
Is she having urinary tract infection or other infections?

In the meantime, try this:
1. Tether the whippet in an area with newspapers covering 100% of the area.
2. Use white vinegar at 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water to wipe the floor of the leashed area neutralise the urine smells of the other dog and this dog.
3. Keep the other dog away from her for the next 2-4 weeks (I don't know how you can do it).
4. Change soiled newspapers promptly.
5. Give firm commands: "Pee here" when you see possible signs of elimination if possible. Use your positive training of food treats rewards and praises on successful performance.
6. You need to tether for at least 2-4 weeks. Persevere and be consistent in your training. 7. A fixed feeding and exercise time table for the next 2-4 weeks.

Let me know if this helps.

--- On Mon, 10/26/09,

Subject: RE: Paper Training 9 month-old whippet
To: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, October 26, 2009, 9:37 AM

thank you for your prompt reply. really appreciate it.

my other dog pees and poo in the kitchen toilet while i am training her to go in the master bedroom toilet after the kitchen floor failed. the interesting point was once she copied the other dog and peed in the kitchen toilet straight after he did his. then she repeated it there once other. she was praised when we saw her go in the toilet. then she forgot.

Questions:

How long is she with you since you took over from the care giver?
- i have her for about 3 weeks now.

How many times you feed her?
- i feed her once in the morning

Is water freely available?
- yes

What is her exercise routine? Does she go out?
- once about 2 days or so. she does not pee much when she's out.

How many times and when does she pee and when does she poo?
- Peeing : 1x after waking, 1x halfway or after eating, 1x in the evening when i get home, sometimes out of the blue
- Pooing: 1x after waking, mostly again after eating

Is she doing urine-marking?
- no, she doesn't

Does she pee when excited?
- yes, most of the time. she only pees and poos when i get home, even though there are other people in the house throughout the day.
- poos when excited too. when she goes out, she will poo once she gets out of the house or car.

Is she on heat?
- no

Is she having urinary tract infection or other infections?
- not that i am aware of

As for your advice, do i keep her tethered the whole day? should feeding be done in the area as well?

REPLY Oct 27, 2009

Thank you for more information on the management of the Whippet.
1. It seems that your Whippet has this excitation or submissive urination behaviour. This is a difficult problem to resolve. Try not to greet her when you go home from work and let her gain self-confidence. This will take time.

2. As most dogs go to urine-scented area to eliminate, it is possible that your residence is full of urine smells. Therefore, your new Whippet pees here and there, puzzling you. You need to neutralise all areas promptly. This is one reason why pet owners who use pee pans so as not to soil the floor. The puppy then uses the pee pan to eliminate.

3. Tethering is a form of confinement and must be done 24 hours for the next 2-4 weeks. Feeding and water bowls are within that area. Newspapers cover the whole area and get reduced to the area where the dog eliminates. This takes time.

E-MAIL OCT 27, 2009
From: ...@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: Paper Training 9 month-old whippet
To: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 9:47 AM
Prior to my other dog, we had my brother's Sheltie. But both dogs only eliminate in the bathroom. We also mop the floor with vinegar once every week.

Now, when I get home from work, I try my best to ignore her and pet my other dog, though not excessively. This is when she gets jealous and will also pee or poo wherever. Another point is she follows me wherever I go in the house. She is very attention-seeking in this aspect. Should I ignore her when she craves for my attention?

As I am rather busy this period, I plan to start the tethering only later next month. In the meantime, I have taken to putting her in the bathroom first thing in the morning, immediately after feeding, when i get home, after she drinks or eat. i hope it would do for now.

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING, Oct 28, 2009
Tethering or confinement to a room, both with newspapers on the floor give the same outcome for paper training. Therefore it is OK. For attention-seeking dogs, my opinion is that you should not provoke jealousy by paying special attention to one dog. Sounds like "sibling rivalry" to me. You may need to be "assertive" and "authoritative" in your treatment of both dogs. I hope you know what I mean. Firm voice commands and actions. Easier said than done. It is hard to change one's personality but dogs look to you as the leader of the pack.

Updates are at www.toapayohvets.com

Le me know if you need more info

463. Mum learns to love the dog

2009-10-04T08:02:00.002+08:00

Sunday, Oct 4, 2009

Last day of the moon cake festival today. No more moon cakes on sale tomorrow. My wife's junior college classmate and her husband invited us for dinner. 5 couples and one lady separated from her husband sat comfortably in the round table chatting noisily about family and life.

32 years had passed. All the children are now young adults and are educated in the U.S or Australia. One of them is a spendthrift but money is not a scarce commodity in his family. 3 couples live in bungalows in prime districts 9, 10 and 11. Such bungalows now cost at least S$10-20 million.

Dog, Spitz, 2 years, neutered has been permitted to go upstairs and started pooping on the carpet. After dry cleaning, the dog continued to eliminate. What to do?

Mum had never wanted dogs. But the grown up children persuaded her to just visit a pet shop in Pasir Ris. The $2,500 Spitz puppy was so cute. The children wanted him. So, mum had to be flexible.

Too many advices from friends. Spray something onto the carpet. Remove the carpet.

My advice would be to supervise the dog closely and catch him before his elimination. Teach him not to do it. Give food treat rewards. "My son could do it," she complained about the husband who would be busy using computers. The dog would then eliminate on the carpet. Mum had to get the maid to get the carpet cleaned. The dog would do it again!

Just don't allow the dog upstairs for some time (Time-Out Methd) if he eliminates. In the end, I doubted she would find peace of mind.

462. Adult dog re-training to indoor elimination

2009-09-28T03:37:00.002+08:00

DRAFT

Suggestions may or may not work in your case.
1. You need many days to confine him in the bathroom for the whole day and night. Feeding and drinking inside this confined area or big crate but sleeping and eating areas are far from the elimination area. .
2. Put newspapers with his urine smell present in the newspapers at one corner. Or newspapers with the pieces of grass and soil in which he had peed.
3. Praise him when you see him eliminating on the papers. Give food treats.
4. It will take patience and perseverance on your part. It may take 14 days.
5. Pl let me know your success.

--- On Sun, 9/27/09, ...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Subject: RE: Toilet Training a 3 year-old Shih Tzu
To: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Cc: david@asiahomes.com
Date: Sunday, September 27, 2009, 12:14 PM

1 & 2. his water were freely available and he drinks about 200-300ml,and max. to 500ml per day.
3. We're staying in an apartment, like i said we used to trained him to pee & poo outside (meaning outside of our unit but still in that compound). Sometimes when we brought him out to somewhere with grass, he will sniff & eliminate more than usual.

Btw, i cant see any suggestion fm yr previous email nor other separated email as mentioned below. Pls resend if there's some error occurs.
Thanks.

Date: Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:49:55 -0700
From: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Toilet Training a 3 year-old Shih Tzu

1. How many ml of water he drinks? Can you measure?
2. Is water freely available?
Here are my suggestions which may or may not work in your situation:
3. Does he eliminate on a certain outdoor area with grass?

--- On Sat, 9/26/09, ...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Subject: RE: Toilet Training a 3 year-old Shih Tzu
To: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2009, 4:01 PM

Thanks Dr. Sing fr yr reply.

Yes, he's totally used to pee & poo outdoors. We've tried several ways to change his habit but eventually he refused to it.
We initially used to bring him out to poo & pee during morning before we go out to work and every evening after his meal (we only feed him once per day 6-8pm)
Please let me know if u wish to know any further of his habits.

Thanks heaps.

Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:11:10 -0700
From: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Toilet Training a 3 year-old Shih Tzu

Your adult dog is used to peeing and pooping outdoors. You need to change his habit to eliminate indoors gradually. Please let me know his routine of feeding, drinking and exercise and also:
1. When he goes outdoors to eliminate?

--- On Fri, 9/25/09, ...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Subject: Toilet Training a 3 year-old Shih Tzu
To: drsing@toapayohvets.com, judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Friday, September 25, 2009, 5:45 AM

Hi Dr. sing,

Ive came across your website to know about Toa Payoh Vets but unfortunately i was staying in Malaysia.
There's few questions that i would like to ask about my pet - a 3 year-old male Shih Tzu.

Initially my dog was trained to pee n poo outside of our apartment but due to some reasons we decided to re-train him to eliminate in the toilet. We'd tried to cover newspaper 100% inside the toilet, place another 2nd piece of paper (with urinate) and also some products like house breaking spray to be used. But my dog refused to pee or poo after meal (we only feed once per day). We tried to cover with baby gate as well so that he wasn't afraid of being alone inside the toilet. And it's more than 48 hours he dont pee or poo.

Btw, my dog has a very good temper. He does not bark even if we kept him inside the toilet for more than 6 hours. So my questions are, how long we should take him out again to pee and poo if he insist not to do his business inside the toilet? And how long the duration takes to train a 3 year-old dog? Is there any other options or tips of training him to pee inside the toilet?

Thanks alot in advance and looking fwd to hear fm you soon.

461. Two-hourly toilet training - pup

2009-09-18T07:20:00.004+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

--- On Thu, 9/17/09, ...@gmail.com> wrote:

Subject: Toilet Training our New Pup
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009, 3:30 AM

Dear Dr Sing

I read with great interest your website and your wealth of knowledge around toilet training pups - thanks so much for sharing.

We are getting a PWD Pup next week from Australia. He is 12 weeks old and one of our first priorities is to toilet train him, as we live in a condo. We are personally not in favor of the pee tray and wanted to know if there is any problem with taking the pup down to pee every 2 hours or so? We realise this will be hard on us initially, but feel that it might be worthwhile to invest in this time upfront, so that he learns to eliminate outside the house, over time. I would love to have your opinion on this.

Secondly, can you advise on where we can purchase the wire pup pens that you have shown on your web site? I feel it's a better option that gating as we can move the pen wherever we want.

Look forward to hearing from you and thanks again!

Name of owner

E-MAIL REPLY

Thank you for email. In reply, taking out the pup 2 hourly is in theory, a good idea. But can you really wake up past midnight to do it for 7 nights or more? This is when most owners can't wake up. If you can, it may work. No water after 8 pm is a tip. Sleep next to the pup (pup in playpen) for the 7 nights and bring the pup to the toilet when you observe signs of elimination. In this way, you will note when the pup needs to eliminate. It may not be exactly 2 hourly. Using the guide of N-1 where N-months in age of the pup, a 3-month old
is, in theory, going to need to pee 2 hourly. This is just a guide and not a scientific formula.

Playpens can be bought at most pet shops selling pups in Singapore. Tel 62543326 and leave your tel with Mr Saw so that we can phone you regarding the name of pet shop we vaccinate the pups if you want to buy a particular type of playpen.

P.S What is a "PWP" pup

--- On Thu, 9/17/09, ...@gmail.com> wrote:

Subject: Re: Toilet Training our New Pup
To: "David Sing"
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009, 11:34 PM

Thank you Mr Sing for your reply. We were not sure of the confusion we might cause the pup with paper training and taking him every two hours!

A PWD is a Portuguese Water Dog.

Thanks again for your help - much appreciated.

E-MAIL REPLY

Once you have a routine of feeding, exercise and going out for elimination every 2-3 hours,, the normal average pup of 3-4 months of age learns very fast (7-14 days). Of course you need to provide positive reinforcement training, using oral command, food treats and lots of praises on success. And knowing the signs of elimination.

460. Draft - puppy toilet training emails.

2009-04-25T07:32:00.003+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

DRAFT
Common problems encountered by puppy owners.
The case of whining at night is resolved by giving the puppy more space to sleep, far away from the pee and poop area. In this way, the puppy needs not bother the owner to wake up to change her confined playpen area (soiled by pee). Puppies naturally want a clean place to sleep and some do make a lot of noises after midnight to "call" the owner to come and change the soiled papers or wash the pee pan. Some owners do not know that is the reason but scolds the puppy.

Apr 30, 2009
To: "David Sing"

Hi David,

Thank you for your help so far.
I modified your suggestions :)
At night, we shifted the puppy to the kitchen with a bigger area (using the makeshift play pen).
After the second night, she knew where to pee and poo at the pee pan without whining and disturbing our sleep :)
We also tried to feed her earlier like 8 plus at night to minimise her poo in the middle of the night.
Once again, thank you for your help.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: David Sing
To: Owner
Sent: Saturday, 25 April 2009 7:14:19
Subject: Re: paper training. After midnight whine

1. In most cases, if the puppy whines after midnight e.g. 2-4 am, she wants the soiled pee pan to be cleaned. Many owners think the puppy is seeking attention and scolds her.
2. The only solution I can think of is to get up and do it for the first few nights.
3. The other solution I was telling you is to place the puppy in a small room e.g. bathroom and open one side of the playpen. Cover the floor of the bathroom with newspapers. The puppy can then go to the newspapers to pee.

In addition, no more drinking after 8 pm so as to help the puppy in toilet-training past midnight.

4. Pl confirm that you use a pee pan + grill (grate) which is placed inside the playpen. Can you e-mail to me 3 pictures of the housing and pee pan + grill for your puppy?

Reply from Dr Sing Apr 25, 2009

1. In most cases, if the puppy whines after midnight e.g. 2-4 am, she wants the soiled pee pan to be cleaned. Many owners think the puppy is seeking attention and scolds her.
2. The only solution I can think of is to get up and do it for the first few nights.
3. The other solution I was telling you is to place the puppy in a small room e.g. bathroom and open one side of the playpen. Cover the floor of the bathroom with newspapers. The puppy can then go to the newspapers to pee.

In addition, no more drinking after 8 pm so as to help the puppy in toilet-training past midnight.

4. Pl confirm that you use a pee pan + grill (grate) which is placed inside the playpen. Can you e-mail to me 3 pictures of the housing and pee pan + grill for your puppy?

Subject: Re: paper training
To: "David Sing"
Date: Friday, April 24, 2009, 12:19 AM

Hi David,

The puppy is able to go to the pee pan with grill to pee successfully.
No, we keep the puppy in the play pen at night. We let her out to play in the evening time though.
However, the puppy will whine and whine at night for us to clear her grill after she poo.
These few nights she was also very whiny at night.
Even after clearing the poo, she demanded our attention.
Is there a way from preventing the puppy from disrupting our sleep?
We thought we already solved the problem after the initial few nights of whining.
Bella (puppy) started the whining again........

Rgds,
XXX

From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, 22 April 2009 7:22:33
Subject: Re: paper training

1. Yes, it is possible for the puppy to pee on the pee pan if it will do it.
2. If you feel it is dirty, you may need to buy a pee pan with grate and train the puppy to step onto the grate and pee on it.
3. Did you put the puppy in the toiilet. Then you open the playpen at night and let the puppy come out to pee?

From: XXX
Subject: Re: paper training
To: "David Sing"
Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 2:24 AM

Hi David,

Thank you for your suggestion.
The puppy learnt pretty fast.
Now it is pretty ok at night except in the morning, when she demands to be let out.
It's pretty understandable since she is in the play pen for hours at night.
We think it's prety dirty for her to step on the newspapers overnight though.
Can we put a pee tray on top the newspapers area?
Is it possible for the puppy to pee on the pee tray?

Rgds,
XXX

From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Wednesday, 15 April 2009 8:12:35
Subject: Re: paper training

Your puppy makes a lot of noises after midnight to tell you to change soiled newspapers as he has a very clean personality. You are correct in understanding what he wants. This is quite a common situation encountered by other puppy owners.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Get up and change the papers for the next few nights and thereby paper-training the puppy faster.

2. Don't get up. The puppy will stop after some nights. But you may see the puppy's foot with stools and urine

3. My advices which may of use to you and which may not, depending on the puppy's personality:

Give the puppy a bigger space (not being confined in the playpen) past midnight. For example, a bathroom with newspapers all over the floor for the first 7-14 days and a baby gate.

The playpen with newspapers (and puppy urine smell, place 2nd piece of soiled newspaper) is left open (3 sides standing, one panel taken off). Some puppies are smart enough to go inside the playpen to pee and poop and sleep outside (esp. if there is a towel or bed and if they don't chew them).

3.1 No water after 8 p.m. Get the puppy to pee by command before your bedtime (I presume it will be 11 pm). Say "Pee here". If successful, give praise and food treat. Clear up the soiled papers.

Let me know if this method works. Persevere. Don't expect instant results.

From: XXX
Subject: Re: paper training
To: "David Sing"
Date: Monday, April 13, 2009, 2:08 AM

Hi David,

I am following the advice from the website.

1) Setting up a playpen with newspapers all over it. Trying to keep her there for 2 weeks to paper train her. But we let her out to play when we can monitor all her movements. She will always attempt to pee and poo outside the playpen.
2) The puppy is with us for 2 nights only at the moment. We are trying to feed her three times a day but timing is not fixed yet.
3) Supposed to be 6 weeks old but based on description from book, it should be only 5 weeks old.

Rgds,
XXX

From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Monday, 13 April 2009 7:20:25
Subject: Re: paper training

Thank you for email.
1. Which method of paper training are you using. Pl describe.
2. What is your routine time for feeding and drinking?
3. How old is the puppy?

--- On Sun, 4/12/09, Darren Lee wrote:

From: XXX Dog Owner
Subject: paper training
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009, 5:07 PM

Hi Judy,

I am currently using your method to paper train my puppy. However, the puppy will make lots of noise in the middle of the night for us to clear the soiled papers. However, as we are holding day jobs, can we only clean the soiled papers in the morning? As the puppy tend to whine a few times in the night.

Rgds,
XXX

459. Toilet-training OLDER DOGS - a 2-year-old Maltese

2009-04-25T07:26:00.004+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

DRAFT
Common problems faced by any dog owner WITH an adult non-neutered male and solutions
A real-case study.

Saturday, May 9, 2009 10:32 PM
From:
This sender is DomainKeys verified
"David Sing"
View contact details
To: XXX

Thank you for your email. You are very patient with the grown up dog and takes a lot of time to train him with lots of love and positive reinforcement training.

Yes, your male dog is urine-marking. This is a natural behaviour. He should have been neutered at 6 months of age to prevent this behaviour. Neutering now will help but the success rate is not as high, according to some of my dog owners.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO URINE MARKING PROBLEMS:
1. Confine to crate at all times for 2-4 weeks except when you are able to supervise him at all times (see paragraph 4).
2. Neuter him.
3. Allow him to come out of the crate before breakfast, lunch and dinner. But bring him outdoors to pee and urine mark.
4. Neutralise "urination" areas with white vinegar:water 1:3 with piece of cloth a few times esp. vertical areas with urine marking.
5. Allow him out of the crate when you are at home and able to supervise him closely in case he wants to urine-mark.
6. This routine gives him a chance to urine-mark outdoors e.g. tree trunks and not make your apartment smelly. It is not a good community advice from me. It is best to neuter the dog to reduce the anti-social behaviour of urine-marking although it is not a guarantee. In most cases, with my suggested routine mentioned above, the dog stops urine-marking inside the apartment.

7. So far, I have one case. The owner of a male 1.5-year-old Miniature Schnauzer with a similar challenge as yours. Her teenaged daughter was against neutering and therefore the male dog urine-marked all over the apartment, causing considerable distress to the mum.

The modern Singapore mum does pamper the progeny and therefore the maid has to clean up everytime the male Schnauzer urine-marks. He even did it on the carpet. The dog came in for vaccination and I got to know that the mum was living with this problem for the past 1 year. The teenaged daughter seemed to understand the mum's distress during our discussion. She reluctantly agreed to neutering which she considered as "cruel" and did some research on the internet as regards vasectomy and phoned me. I told her that vasectomy would not resolve this urine-marking problem.

The dog was neutered. I kept the dog in Toa Payoh Vets for 10 days while she got her maid to neutralise the apartment. At Toa Payoh Vets, we took the dog outdoors 3 times a day, after meals. He controlled his bladder till he was outdoors. The owner continued the same routine of outdoor exercise 3x/day and confinement in a crate (or balcony) when not supervised. For the past month, there has been no urine-marking inside the apartment. The mum was so happy. It is very difficult to remove urine smells from carpets and that was what was distressing her so much.

I hope the info helps.

From: XXX
Sent: Friday, May 08, 2009 6:08 PM
To: 'drsing@toapayohvets.com'
Cc: 'judy@toapayohvets.com'
Subject: 459. Toilet-training OLDER DOGS - a 2-year-old Maltese (http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2009/04/459-toilet-training-older-dogs-2-year.html)

Dear Dr. Kong,

If you remember, I wrote to you some time back on April 24 about certain issues with regards to toilet-training my 2 year old newly adopted maltese. You very kindly gave me some advice! Thanx for that ! :)

Meanwhile, there are some developments that I wanted to update you about & ask for further advice.
I have also attached some images to this e-mail so that you can see our current kitchen that we are placing DDD, our maltese in.

In my previous e-mail, I indicated that he seemed to know how to go to pee on the newspaper that I've placed in the kitchen toilet.
At times, there were 3-4 accidents when we let him outside the kitchen area into the living room or dining areas whereby we were not observant enough to catch him in time to bring him to the kitchen toilet area. But surprisingly, there were also 2-3 other times whereby he actually walked into the kitchen toilet from wherever else he was in the house to pee on the paper! So, it seemed like things were improving.

However, in the last 4 days, things suddenly seem to have taken for the worse.
Previously, when we leave him in the kitchen during our working hours 8a.m. - 6.30p.m. & at night when we sleep between 10.30p.m. - 6.30a.m.; he will always pee on the kitchen toilet newspaper. As of Tuesday , 5 May 2009, he started peeing at 4 different spots around the kitchen! Near the wall ledges & even the fridge corner. What's causing this behaviour? Is it because he is not fully toilet-trained or is he doing it on purpose? He is currently not sterilized. Is this causing him to "mark territory" as some people call it?

Given this situation, does it mean that I should go back to your initial instructions of teaching him from scratch?
i.e. confining him in just the small kitchen toilet area.

As of now, during DDD's time alone, we place him in Kitchen areas II & III. When we are home, we will extend the space to Kitchen area I & then from 8p.m. - 10.30p.m., he's allowed to roam the living room & my study room.

My parents & I have actually been using negative reinforcement upon advice from other dog owners.
i.e. whenever he peed in a wrong spot, we'll bring him there, let him smell the area & spank his backside with our hands 2x, saying no at the same time. But immediately after, we'll then guide him to the kitchen toilet newspaper & say "pee here" & "good boy", cuddling him a little there at the same time.

RE: Newly Adopted 2- year old Maltese
Friday, April 24, 2009 11:24 PM
From:
"David Sing"
View contact details
To: Owner XXX

See reply below.

--- On Thu, 4/23/09, XXX wrote:

Date: Thursday, April 23, 2009, 2:56 AM

Dear Dr. Kong,

Appreciate your e-mail.

Can I get your advice based on my schedule & how things have been for the last week.

Date of Adoption: 11th April 2009
Age: 2 year old Maltese, Male, Not Neutered

I've been keeping DDD in the kitchen with the newspaper on a pee pad nearer the other end just outside the toilet. I'm usually away from home from 8a.m. - 7.30p.m. Afterwhich I'll let him out to roam the house & follow me. At night I'll put him away in the kitchen again from 11.30p.m. - 7.15a.m. Between 7.15 - 8a.m. before I leave house, I'll play & cuddle him a little whilst preparing myself for work. He's been great so far!!! Knows how to pee on the newspaper but because he's left alone during the day without any change in newspapers, there was one time he accidentally stepped on his poo poo. Other times, he mis-aimed & poo poo is either on the floor right next to the pee pad, or there's a small puddle of pee on the floor instead. How do I handle & prevent this situation?

HE WANTS TO AVOID THE SOILED PAPERS WHICH ARE NOT REPLACED DUE TO YOUR ABSENCE FROM HOME (YOU ARE WORKING). TO YOU HE HAS "MIS-AIMED".

SOLUTIONS:
1. A friend comes to your house to replace the soiled papers with new ones at e.g. lunch-time.
2. PLACE NEWSPAPERS IN 3 OR 4 SPOTS IN THE KITCHEN SO THAT HE HAS A NEW TOILET-AREA. SOME OWNERS DO THAT. ARE YOU DOING IT?
3. JUST COVER THE KITCHEN FLOOR WITH NEWSPAPERS EXCEPT HIS SLEEPING AND EATING AREA.

Another enquiry is that ever since he's been staying with me, every night when he's placed in the kitchen, he whines & scratches the kitchen door. I have yet to get a baby gate.

PUPPY MAY BE SUFFERING FROM SEPARATION ANXIETY AS HE CAN SEE YOU. THEREFORE SCRATCHES DOOR TILL IT IS DAMAGED. BEST YOU GET A BABY GATE OR PUT A HIGH FENCING USING PLAYPEN PANELS. THE PUPPY IS A SOCIAL ANIMAL AND SHOULD BE HAPPY JUST TO SEE YOU BEHIND THE BABY GATE.

Things got worse last night when my parents came back. Bailey had to re-adjust to new-comers in the house & he refused to go into the kitchen. Even my usual method of throwing treats to one corner of the kitchen to distract him to go & stay in the kitchen didn't work this time. I had to chase him round the house for a while before being able to carry him into the kitchen.
NO OTHER WAY THAN TO CATCH HIM AND CARRY HIM TO THE KITCHEN. HE JUST DOES NOT WANT TO BE FENCED UP OR LOCKED UP. THAT IS WHY HE REFUSES TO GO TO THE KITCHEN DESPITE FOOD TREATS ETC. HE IS GROWING UP AND BECOMING WISER TO YOUR 'MANIPULATIONS'.

NO, I DOUBT HE WILL BE SCARED SINCE YOU DON'T PHYSICALLY HIT HIM LIKE SOME PUPPY OWNERS. YOU MAY NEED TO BE MORE COMMANDING TO GAIN HIS RESPECT. I GUESS YOU ARE MORE A FRIEND THAN A PACK LEADER TO HIM. SO HE BEHAVES BY NOT LISTENING TO YOUR GENTLE FRIENDLY TONES.

Is this the right way? Is he scared of me unduly? Cos i dont' want that to be the case :( :(

Please advice.
Thanx!!!!!!

Warm Regards,

XXX

-----Original Message-----
From: Kong Yuen Sing [mailto:99pups@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 7:23 PM
To: XXX
Subject: Re: Newly Adopted 2- year old Maltese

Thank you for your email.

As each dog behaves differently, I can only propose the following which may be suitable as your dog is mature and almost paper-trained:

1. Keep dog in toilet for 2-4 weeks but with a baby gate so that he can see you.
2. Place newspapers 100% on floor.
3. Place dog's urine smell on newspapers (use 2nd piece of newspaper with urine).
4. Observe the location where the dog pees and poops (usually away from sleeping area).
5. Reduce the papered area by 50% gradually over 1-2 weeks such that his toilet location is the newspaper.
6. Say "pee here" (on newspapers) and give food treats on success (if you are around). Persevere.
7. Change soiled papers promptly.
8. Open the baby gate but not to give the dog excessive area. Increase the area of freedom by a room and monitor. If dog goes to paper by himself, you give praise and food treats. Persevere.
9. Neutralise "accident" areas of peeing with white vinegar:water 1:3
8. Let me know how long you will take to succeed.

On 4/13/09, Dog Owner XXX wrote:

Dear Dr. Kong Sing,

I came across your blog http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/ through google & was wondering whether I can e-mail you for some advice.

I've just adopted a 2-year old Maltese on Saturday afternoon & he's been with me for 2 nights.
Previous owner caged him up for almost a year with hardly any run-around play time because of certain circumstances. He's kinda paper-trained. But what I would like to do is to get him used to his new environment whereby he does it in the toilet instead, but still on paper.

Is it the right way to train him if I were to confine him in just the toilet area with the paper within? Food & water to place on another side.

Warm Regards,

XXX

458. How to stop the male dog from urine-marking inside the apartment?

2009-04-21T13:45:00.005+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

HOW TO STOP YOUR ADULT MALE DOG FROM URINE-MARKING INSIDE THE APARTMENT
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

On March 31, 2009, the 1.5-year-old Miniature Schnauzer was neutered. He stayed 10 days at Toa Payoh Vets so that we could condition and train him to pee and poop outdoors as he had vigorously urine-marked the apartment at home. The mother was at a loss as to what to do. So I proposed re-training him to eliminate outdoors by confinement in the crate while not being exercised 3 times/day.

In the meantime, the mother would neutralise all the urine smells at home. At the end of 10 days, the dog would go home but be crated for 1 month while being exercised outdoors 3 times/day as at Toa Payoh Vets.

Picture is at: http://www.asiahomes.com/singaporerealty/0607hunting_bigdining.htm

The mum came today to get the neuter and the microchip certificates to renew his dog licence at the Post Office.

"How's the dog nowadays?" I asked the mum.

"He is doing well and does not pee indoors anymore as he is outdoors 3x/day," the mum said. "I needed to ask where he vomited yesterday and on the day he came home. On the day he came home, the cause could be due to the car ride, but last week he vomited once again."

"Did your daughter bring him downstairs?" I asked.

"No," the mother said. "She's busy at school. The maid did it."

"Most likely the dog had eaten grass or something in the grass outdoors," I guessed. "Ask the maid."

The mother nodded her head.

"He is a lucky dog," I said. "Usually other dogs go outdoors 2x/day or less."

The mum was happy anyway. I continued, "After one month, let the dog wander around the house in between his outings per day and see what happens. If he does not urine-mark inside the apartment, it will be considered a great success."

457. Puppy cries for clean newspaper after midnight

2009-04-15T08:14:00.003+08:00

From: Subject: paper training
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009, 5:07 PM

Hi Judy,

I am currently using your method to paper train my puppy. However, the puppy will make lots of noise in the middle of the night for us to clear the soiled papers. However, as we are holding day jobs, can we only clean the soiled papers in the morning? As the puppy tend to whine a few times in the night.

Rgds,
Name of Owner

From: David Sing
Sent: Monday, 13 April 2009 7:20:25
Subject: Re: paper training

Thank you for email.
1. Which method of paper training are you using. Pl describe.
2. What is your routine time for feeding and drinking?
3. How old is the puppy?

--- On Mon, 4/13/09, Darren Lee wrote:

From: Dog Owner
Subject: Re: paper training
To: "David Sing"
Date: Monday, April 13, 2009, 2:08 AM

Hi David,

I am following the advice from the website.

1) Setting up a playpen with newspapers all over it. Trying to keep her there for 2 weeks to paper train her. But we let her out to play when we can monitor all her movements. She will always attempt to pee and poo outside the playpen.
2) The puppy is with us for 2 nights only at the moment. We are trying to feed her three times a day but timing is not fixed yet.
3) Supposed to be 6 weeks old but based on description from book, it should be only 5 weeks old.

Rgds,
Name of Owner

4/15/2009 reply

Your puppy makes a lot of noises after midnight to tell you to change soiled newspapers as he has a very clean personality. You are correct in understanding what he wants. This is quite a common situation encountered by other puppy owners.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Get up and change the papers for the next few nights and thereby paper-training the puppy faster.

2. Don't get up. The puppy will stop after some nights. But you may see the puppy's foot with stools and urine

3. My advices which may of use to you and which may not, depending on the puppy's personality:

Give the puppy a bigger space (not being confined in the playpen) past midnight. For example, a bathroom with newspapers all over the floor for the first 7-14 days and a baby gate.

The playpen with newspapers (and puppy urine smell, place 2nd piece of soiled newspaper) is left open (3 sides standing, one panel taken off). Some puppies are smart enough to go inside the playpen to pee and poop and sleep outside (esp. if there is a towel or bed and if they don't chew them).

3.1 No water after 8 p.m. Get the puppy to pee by command before your bedtime (I presume it will be 11 pm). Say "Pee here". If successful, give praise and food treat. Clear up the soiled papers.

Let me know if this method works. Persevere. Don't expect instant results.

456. Paper-training inside toilet for 2-year-old Maltese

2009-04-15T07:57:00.002+08:00

On 4/13/09, e-mail from dog owner:

Dear Dr. Kong Sing,

I came across your blog http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/ through google & was wondering whether I can e-mail you for some advice.

I've just adopted a 2-year old Maltese on Saturday afternoon & he's been with me for 2 nights.
Previous owner caged him up for almost a year with hardly any run-around play time because of certain circumstances. He's kinda paper-trained. But what I would like to do is to get him used to his new environment whereby he does it in the toilet instead, but still on paper.

Is it the right way to train him if I were to confine him in just the toilet area with the paper within? Food & water to place on another side.

Warm Regards,
Name of Owner

E-mail reply

Newly Adopted 2- year old Maltese
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 11:23 AM

Thank you for your email.

As each dog behaves differently, I can only propose the following which may be suitable as your dog is mature and almost paper-trained:

1. Keep dog in toilet for 2-4 weeks but with a baby gate so that he can see you.
2. Place newspapers 100% on floor.
3. Place dog's urine smell on newspapers (use 2nd piece of newspaper with urine).
4. Observe the location where the dog pees and poops (usually away from sleeping area).
5. Reduce the papered area by 50% gradually over 1-2 weeks such that his toilet location is the newspaper.
6. Say "pee here" (on newspapers) and give food treats on success (if you are around). Persevere.
7. Change soiled papers promptly.
8. Open the baby gate but not to give the dog excessive area. Increase the area of freedom by a room and monitor. If dog goes to paper by himself, you give praise and food treats. Persevere.
9. Neutralise "accident" areas of peeing with white vinegar:water 1:3
8. Let me know how long you will take to succeed.

455. Pet Shop Operator Advices 2 weeks indoor - landed property

2009-04-01T06:57:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Toilet Training American Cocker in a landed propertyThursday, March 26, 2009 6:57 AM
From: This sender is DomainKeys verified"Kong Yuen Sing" <99pups@gmail.com>Add sender to ContactsTo: david@asiahomes.com, david@toapayohvets.comPet shop seller advised strictly to keep the American Cocker puppy inside the house till 2 weeks after the 3rd vaccination. Husband was not too happy with the puppy eliminating all over the living and dining room.

"Did the pet shop advise buying a crate to confine the puppy?" I asked.
"Yes," the wife said. "But we don't want to cage the puppy. We want the puppy to eliminate in the garden. That was what our previous dogs did."

"The reason is that the pet shop seller does not want the puppy to die from parvoviral infections as the shop gets the blame. In the garden your dog may meet other stray dogs at the gate or other dogs." I explained the rationale.

It was already 2 weeks. The commercial liquid sprayed onto the newspapers to entice the puppy to pee on the papers did not work. The puppy just shred the papers.

"You are anti-dog", the wife remarked.
"No, I am not," the husband replied, shaking his grey-haired head.

"Please understand that some spouses can't stand the smell of dogs, especially pee and poop," I explained. "Some wives of vets I know don't even want to go near a pig farm as it is so smelly to their noses. There are such wives who prohibit keeping of dogs in the apartment."

"Why do they marry vets?" the wife has the stereotypical veterinarian's spouse who must love animals to marry one.

"I guess it is fate," I said. "Just like why you marry your husband who is not so happy with this puppy."

To change the topic quickly so as not to pour oil onto fire, I said, "The puppy can be permitted to go to the garden as the other dog is vaccinated yearly and there are no stray dogs around. In that way, this puppy can learn from the older one and will eliminate naturally in the garden."

This puppy came for the 3rd vaccination as it had a free vaccination voucher from the pet shop. Well, his ear edges are scaly but there were no crusts as in scabies. His neck is reddened due to scratching. I advised an anti-fungal cleaning shampoo for a week and clipping of the long ear hairs. Wait and see for one week. If no more scratching, there would not be a need for a review.

455. Pet Shop Advice to keep puppy indoors when there is a garden

2009-03-27T06:42:00.003+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Pet shop seller advised strictly to keep the American Cocker puppy inside the house till 2 weeks after the 3rd vaccination. Husband was not too happy with the puppy eliminating all over the living and dining room.

"Did the pet shop advise buying a crate to confine the puppy?" I asked.
"Yes," the wife said. "But we don't want to cage the puppy. We want the puppy to eliminate in the garden. That was what our previous dogs did."

"The reason is that the pet shop seller does not want the puppy to die from parvoviral infections as the shop gets the blame. In the garden your dog may meet other stray dogs at the gate or other dogs." I explained the rationale.

It was already 2 weeks. The commercial liquid sprayed onto the newspapers to entice the puppy to pee on the papers did not work. The puppy just shred the papers.

"You are anti-dog", the wife remarked.
"No, I am not," the husband replied, shaking his grey-haired head.

"Please understand that some spouses can't stand the smell of dogs, especially pee and poop," I explained. "Some wives of vets I know don't even want to go near a pig farm as it is so smelly to their noses. There are such wives who prohibit keeping of dogs in the apartment."

"Why do they marry vets?" the wife has the stereotypical veterinarian's spouse who must love animals to marry one.

"I guess it is fate," I said. "Just like why you marry your husband who is not so happy with this puppy."

To change the topic quickly so as not to pour oil onto fire, I said, "The puppy can be permitted to go to the garden as the other dog is vaccinated yearly and there are no stray dogs around. In that way, this puppy can learn from the older one and will eliminate naturally in the garden."

This puppy came for the 3rd vaccination as it had a free vaccination voucher from the pet shop. Well, his ear edges are scaly but there were no crusts as in scabies. His neck is reddened due to scratching. I advised an anti-fungal cleaning shampoo for a week and clipping of the long ear hairs. Wait and see for one week. If no more scratching, there would not be a need for a review.

454. Mar 2009 Draft. New puppy toilet training queries

2009-03-24T07:23:00.002+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

MAR 2009. DRAFT COPY. TO REVISE LATER TO SUMMARISE. E-mail has questions most new puppy owners encounter. Many of the over 500 owners in my survey mention that their puppies take at least 2 months or longer before they know where they are supposed to pee and poop. Others mention 7 days in paper-training success. There is much variation as methods and tools used vary widely

Re: Re: Maltese misses the tray
Sunday, March 22, 2009 2:50 AM
From: XXX

To:
"David Sing"
Thank you Dr Sing. He still misses pees on the edge so not quite on the pee tray. We will be taking him out this week for the first. He has had his 3 jabs already. Pretty soon we will be neutering him what is a good age for that? he is 4 months now.I appreciate all the advice. Dogs can be lots of work but they are a joy to have around.
cheers
XXX

From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2009 6:19:40 AM
Subject: Maltese misses the tray

Thank you for email.
1. I presume your Maltese did not miss the tray for the last few days. Pl let me know if I am incorrect.
2. However, you changed his routine by bringing him to the groomers. Therefore, he did not do what you want.
3. Persevere in your training. It is not so easy for some dogs.
4. Privacy. Yes, some owners report that their dogs don't like being seen to pee or poop.
5. If the problem is not submission or excitation urination, you are progressing to your goals. You just need to persevere. I don't think that your puppy is suffering from ADD but then I can be mistaken.
6. You may pick up some tips from this case. See:
http://www.toapayohvets.com/sinpets/20090321Toilet_Training_Paper_Two_Dogs_ToaPayohVets.htm

Best wishes

Subject: Re: Re: Maltese misses the tray
To: "David Sing"
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009, 2:46 AM

Thanks Dr Sing, we have tried getting him to pee on the tray by guiding him there. we also tell him that its bad to pee on the side. both of us are rather strong personalities. he seems okay for the last few days with no new changes in our behavior or routine. he did pee on the floor in his toilet after we brought him back from the groomers.
he seems to only do his business after we shut the gate and we are not looking. usually doesn't do it when the gate is open even when we are not looking -- guess he is just too eager to get out.
so what can we do about his ADD?

From: David Sing
To: XXX
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 8:47:53 AM
Subject: RE: Re: Maltese misses the tray

You may be right about distraction or ADD.
Try:
1. Put the puppy onto the pee tray and give command "pee here".
2. When you put him in after playing, give the command "pee here." It may work after some time. Praise and food treat on success. Persevere as first few X may not work.
3. Can it be "submissive urination or excitation urination"? That may explain why he "pees" off target. Is one of you or both quite "forceful" in your personality?

Subject: RE: Re: Maltese misses the tray
To: "David Sing"
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 1:27 AM

Thanks dr sing. You are right the puppy is clean. We clean the tray daily and replace the pee pad. After which we wipe the floor clean with the blue odor removal that is offered at the pet stores. I wonder if the puppy has ADD and he really cant focus or he is too eager to come out. Back to cleanliness though, the puppy resumes peeing correctly after he is in his room for a while. what else can we try. He made the same mistake again last night after we let him out and played with him. Thanks a bunch. XXX

David Sing wrote:
> Hi 1. Thank you for your info and pictures. Pl correct me if I misunderstand. What you are interested is that the Maltese "misses the tray" after being let out to play. I will focus on this aspect in my reply. I suspect you have a very clean puppy. Most likely reason is that the puppy "smells" the tray and finds it to be "not clean". How often do you wash your tray and the surrounding area? Some puppies are so clean that they will try to avoid "soiled" tray later in the day, as apparently, in your case. Try white vinegar:water at 1:3 to wash the tray and toilet floor the next 7 days before putting the puppy in and let me know. If this is successful, other owners will benefit. Best wishes.

From: XXX Subject: Re: Maltese misses the tray To: "David Sing"
Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 11:37 PM

Dr Sing, The puppy generally sleeps thru the morning. when I wake up, I clean up his poo if there is any. he poos quite a bit and it is usually on target in the tray -- usually once after breakfast (around 1030 ~11) and then in the after noon or in the evening. Mostly after dinner. he poos around 4 ~ 5 times a day. he pees alot more and I am not surprised since he drinks a lot of water. he is usually on target about
> 60% of the time when he pees but when we take him out of the toilet (he is caged in as you can see in the pictures) and plays out for about 1 ~ 2 hours he tends to make mistakes when we take him in. the toilet is at the back of the kitchen. meal routine -- breakfast 10.30 ~ 11.00 / dinner 6.30~ 7.00 night time -- he
> is let into the cage at 9pm. he won't be let out until 10.30 the next day for breakfast. play time (out time from the cage) 6~9 pm. rest of the time he is in the toilet. he gets let out for a short time during breakfast. but since I work and my wife works from home. we try not to disturb him during the day and keep to the routine. eventually we want him to have free roam of the house but we need to ensure that he can go on his own. thanks for your help XXX

From: David Sing To: XXX
Hi
1. If your concern is that the Maltese pees "off target" - not directly onto the pee tray (or newspapers in the case of paper-training), this is one of the most common complaints. What type of pee tray are you using? Pl send me 3 pictures of the pee tray and the toilet location so that I can advise further. 2. What is the routine for this puppy every day as regards sleeping area, exercise, eating, drinking times?

Mon, 3/16/09, From: XXX Subject: Maltese misses the tray To: judy@toapayohvets.com Date: Monday, March 16, 2009, 11:08 AM

Hi Judy, I have been reading your blog and have gotten some good pointers. We have a 4 month old maltese. he has been confine in the kitchen toilet for the last 5 weeks since we brought him home. initially he was doing well and peeing on the pee tray with the occasional mistake. with that in mind we let him out and trusted that he would go into his toilet on his own when needed. this he did for 3 days. after that he made some mistakes outside when we let him out. now we have resorted to taking him in to the toilet and let him pee. but he doesn't do it in front of
> us. once when we
> are out of sight he would pee just on the edge of the tray and onto the floor. we still confine him in the toilet and let him out after dinner for about
> 2~3hours. pees on the tray most of the time. he makes the mistakes mostly after we have taken him out and bring him back in. we want him to be able to roam the house freely, what can we do? Thanks for you help. cheers XXX

452. Paper-Training Queries from a Shih Tzu puppy owner

2009-03-16T05:02:00.005+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

From:
Subject: Shih Tzu Training
To: drsing@pacific.net.sg
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009, 1:08 PM

Hello Dr. Sing,

I have recently bought a Shih Tzu 4 months old name "Wang" from a pet farm and I am still trying hard toilet training Wang.
I put Wang inside the playpen with 2 pee trays and his toys.
Wang will pee and poo on his pee tray while in playpen but when I bring him out to play, with playpen open up one side, he still pee in the house.

SUGGESTED SOLUTION: You expect the Shih Tzu to go to the pee tray when he is taken out to play. But he does not do it. This is a very common complaint. The most likely reasons are:

1.Insufficient confinement time inside the playpen. I don't know how long your have the puppy from the pet farm before letting him loose in the house.
I advise 2-4 weeks confinement inside the playpen.

2. Extend the freedom area outside the playpen area by 2-3 x, not letting the puppy out to run around the whole living, dining, bedroom and kitchen area for the first 2-4 weeks. Let him out to play for 5-10 minutes/outing in a small area (e.g. kitchen) instead of running in the whole house/apartment. Give treats and praises if he goes to the pee tray. Give a command e.g "Pee here" when you place the puppy on the pee tray.

3. Watch for signs of elimination. It is easier said than done for some active puppies. When the puppy sniffs the floor or squats or turns around, quickly pick him up and put him onto the pee tray. Treats and praises for successful performance. Now, most owners do not monitor the puppy closely. Or the puppy has so much space to run around madly. Therefore, accidents happen and the owner gets angry. In any case, don't expect the puppy to learn within 1-2 days. Patience and perseverance are required in training any young dog.

Neutralise the urine smell of "accidents" with white vinegar:water 1:3 or with your floor cleaners.

4. FURTHER SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO YOUR QUESTIONS BELOW.
I wanted to train him outdoor but he doesn't want to walk with the leash on.

Some puppies resist the leash at the beginning. Give a motivation for him to be leashed. For example, before eating, give a command "Sit". Then leash him before allowing him to eat. Or give a treat (like going out to play or play) after he accepts the leash.

I can't train him on newspaper because he shred everything up.

A very common complaint amongst puppy owners. Taping the papers onto the pee tray may be one tedious solution. To paper-train the puppy, you need to put papers 100% inside the playpen and start reducing the papered area if your puppy pees in one corner. Even if he shreds the papers, do not make a fuss. Just change the papers quietly. Some owners have no patience and therefore it is not easy to paper-train some active paper-shredders. Some puppies shred papers out of fun and boredom.

Whenever I let him out to play, he will start running everywhere and biting cloths (eg. floor mats). He gets so excited running and biting.
How can I make him listen to commands?

Probably your voice is not "commanding" enough. The puppy just ignores you and does not accept you as an "alpha - pack leader". It is difficult for many ladies as they don't "shout" at puppies. So the puppy takes advantage and chases the owner, nips her ankles (she screams) and play catching.

Suggested solution: Some owners use a rolled up newspaper to hit the floor if the puppy misbehaves and give training commands in firm tones. Others give food treats and praises. Much depends on the personalities of the puppy.

How can I stop him from biting and running?
TIME OUT SOLUTION? Confine him inside the playpen and keep him isolated from the fun when he does not behave.

How can I stop him from shredding newspaper?
See answer above.

Please give some advise on these.
Thanks.

462. HIGH floor level crate + pee pan OK for Silkie Terrier

2009-01-27T16:38:00.003+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

[http://www.toapayohvets.com]
"Don't tell him," the pet shop girl said. "Otherwise he will record your experiences." I was vaccinating the puppies on this Wednesday and in between the lull period, spoke to one of the dog owners.

Thin lady studying in the polytechnic.
Silkie Terrier 3-4 monthss.

"Can he jump into the high crate when he was a 3-month old puppy?"

"Yes."

"How do you paper-train?" I asked.

"Put newspapers on top of the floor grate. Tell him to pee there. Soon the dog knew how to do.

"Any spanking?" I asked.

"Yes," the young lady said that it took many times to monitor and train the puppy to go to the paper which is placed on top of the floor grate. In many cases, the floor grate is not covered by newspapers as the puppy is supposed to pee through the grate and not dirty his paws. But this will not lead to paper-training.

She showed me a mobile phone clip of the crate with newspapers and the puppy escaping out of the open top of the crate by climbing over. Some owners put two ropes or poles across the top to prevent such escapes.

Paper-training will be considered a success if the lady puts the papers outside the crate and the puppy eliminates on it later. Presently, the Silkie climbs up into the crate to do it.

HIGH Floor Crate + Pee Pan. This particular crate has at least 6 inches of height from floor grate to pee pan level. It is meant for longer-legged dogs as small ones like the Yorkshire or Pom can't hop into it. It is one of the configurations sold at certain pet shops in Singapore. A ramp is sometimes used by owners who had bought this crate to enable the short-legged Chihuahua to climb into it. However the puppy may refuse to climb into it.

461. Crate & pee pan toilet training v. paper training

2009-01-10T10:41:00.004+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A FEEDBACK FROM A NEW PUPPY OWNER
RECEIVED IN JAN 10, 2009

Flag this message
Your Blog: Crate + Pee Pan bought by the puppy owner. Not possible to paper-train this way...
Friday, January 9, 2009 3:15 PM
From:
"<....@hotmail.com>
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To:
judy@toapayohvets.com

Dear Judy,

I just wanted to say "THANK YOU":-D

I came across your blog via google.com, I was so confused about training. I just purchased a puppy last Saturday as well as a crate with pee/poop tray. Then I had a dog trainer to come the following Tuesday.

It was a disaster! I had been advised by the pet farm that the puppy must be confided to his crate most of the times, but the trainer said to choose an area, put down newspapers, and leave the crate door open. In the end, the puppy only shredded the paper and relieved himself near my washing machine or dryer!

I decided to place the puppy back into his crate and take him out only 3x a day for 5-10 min plays, like the pet farm advised.

I just couldn't take the soiled, back balcony floor anymore. However, he is just happy to be back inside the apartment, with the rest of us instead of the back balcony.

Thanks again.

Sincerely yours,
L

COMMENTS BY DR SING

1. Confinement in a small space (e.g. crate + pee pan) for the first 14 days is necessary to train the puppy.

2. The dog trainer advised a bigger space using newspapers and leaving the crate door open. This is not good advice as the puppy is not so easily "paper-trained" by this way.

The new puppy is does not know that he is supposed to pee on the newspapers. Probably there is no urine smell on the newspapers. The puppy shreds the newspapers (common complaint in paper training). He eliminates near the washer and dryer and probably dislikes going back to the crate as he associates it with imprisonment.

3. Seller (pet farm) has trained the puppy to pee and poop inside the crate and pee pan. The puppy associates the feel of the crate with elimination. Therefore, the Buyer is wise to adopt the recommendations of the Seller. Take the puppy out 3X/day for 5-10 minutes to play and confine him. This sounds cruel but is important in the first 7-14 days.

4. Playing with the puppy prevents him sleeping too much during the daytime and helps in making the puppy used to people and the surroundings.

5. After 7-28 days and a set routine, the puppy may be taken out in a bigger space (increase area of freedom by 100%) and closely supervised. If he goes back to the crate to pee and poop, then, he has been "crate" trained.

Increase the area to roam over the next 4 weeks and in the end, this puppy will use the crate as its toilet and sleeps outside the crate.

6. As to paper-training the puppy, it will be another method. Definitely the crate and pee pan housing is not meant for paper-training.

P.S Some owners put papers on top of the floor grate, thereby paper-training the puppy. In such cases, a playpen will be most appropriate.

460. Paper-training a Chow Chow puppy

2008-09-18T06:52:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

TOILET TRAINING SOLUTIONS: Chow Chow, Female, 2.5 months, apartment

Complaint:
50% success as the Chow Chow pees on newspapers in the pee pan when confined in the kitchen. She sleeps there. However, she will not poo in the pee pan or in the kitchen for some time after eating. When released to the living room or a spare bedroom, she poops. Why can't she poop on the newspapers on the pee pan and in the kitchen? Mum had to follow the puppy with newspapers in an attempt to get her to poop on newspapers. If newspapers are put over the poop areas in the living room or spare bedroom, the puppy pees onto the papers only.

Discussion:
1. Insufficient toilet area. Pee pan was too small for the fast growing Chow Chow. Its width is twice the body width of the Chow Chow (observed from above).

2. The soiled newspapers were not promptly changed. So she did not poop onto the soiled papers and now is used to pooping on tiled floors.

3. The dry kitchen is small and the sleeping area and den for the growing Chow Chow appears to be small. So the Chow Chow does not want to poop on the floor since she sleeps there. She controls her bowel till being released by the owners out of the kitchen to the living room. The owners wait for over an hour and let her out. So she goes to the living area or spare bedroom to poop. Now she is conditioned and used to pooping on the floor tiles. Therefore, it is difficult to re-train her to poop onto newspapers. Carrying newspapers to catch her poop while she is passing stools will not train her to be paper-trained as she does not associate this act with what the mother wants.

4. Signs of elimination. Owners not around sometimes, so they did not carry the Chow Chow to the newspapers in the pee pan to poop. When the mum is around, she holds the newspapers to catch the poop. This is an incorrect way of paper-training.

Solutions:
For the next 2 - 4 weeks, confine the Chow Chow inside the spare bathroom with the fence barrier at the door entrance. Do not shut the door. Pee pan with newspapers at one corner. Chow Chow will have no choice but to poop on the tiled floor at one corner and sleep at the other end.

Try covering floor 100% with newspapers if you wish to try paper-training the Chow Chow to poop on papers. Reduce the papered area to the location where the Chow Chow poops. After 2-4 weeks, allow the puppy freedom when she is 100% paper-trained.

JAN 20, 2009
Chow Chow came onto heat. Refused to use the pee pan now, according to an e-mail from the owner.

459. Crate + Pee Pan bought by the puppy owner. Not possible to paper-train this way.

2008-09-15T05:40:00.001+08:00

Case study:
The first-time puppy owner is sold a Crate + Pee Pan but actually wants to paper-train the puppy. So, can he do it or not? The answer is No.

UPDATED INFO AT:
http://www.toapayohvets.com/sinpets/
20080921Toilet_Training_Puppies_Singapore_ToaPayohVets.htm

E-mail to Dr Sing
Fri, 9/12/08, <...@singnet.com.sg> wrote:

Subject: Toilet train a dog
To: judy@toapayohvets.com

Dear Judy,

I bought a Cavalier King Charles for 10 days. I wish to toilet train my dog using newspaper. I wish to get a book in regards to toilet training my dog using newspaper.

I bought a cage that came with a plastic pan under it, I lay newspaper under it, on the pan. The dog eats, sleeps, drinks and eliminates inside the cage - it was recommended by the pet seller. However, quite a few books that I read did not recommend this.

These books indicate that we should not mix the dog's den, sleeping place with their pooping and urinating place. I wish to get the book and also need your advice.

E-mail reply from Dr Sing
Sep 14, 2008

As the book on toilet training for Singapore puppy owners by Dr Sing is out of print, the following is the reply:

1. To paper train your puppy, you need to confine him for the first 2-4 weeks.

2. History of his toilet habits. You ought to find out what the breeder has been doing to paper-train him. Has he been staying in the crate + pee pan? Or in a play pen?

If yes, is he successfully peeing and pooping in one area and sleeping in another? Did you observe him? If not, you will not know.

If he has just arrived at the puppy seller's place, he may not be doing what I describe. Some puppies just can't do it. But most will be able to pee and poop as far away from their crate as possible.

3. Assuming you have not observed his previous toilet habits, then you have to start new. There are 2 layouts commonly used by Singapore's puppy owners:

3.1 Playpen.

A Playpen is basically 4 panels of fencing to confine the puppy. Newspapers cover 100% of the flooring for the first week. You will see that the puppy will eliminate in one corner, usually the back half. Gradually reduce the paper cover till the puppy just eliminate onto the newspapers.

Around 2 weeks later, take away the play pen. Allow the puppy inside a confined area e.g. the kitchen for the next week or two. The kitchen entrance is shut by a baby-gate or panel of fences so that the puppy cannot run free to all over the apartment.

The puppy should run back to the papers to eliminate. After week 2-4, let the puppy out to the living room and observe that he goes to the papers to eliminate. If not, confine him back to the kitchen area and start again.
Confine him in a playpen with 4 panels of fences. That is my recommended advice for first-time puppy owners in Singapore.

Cover the floor with newspapers 100%. Put the water bottle at the left front. Feed bowl to be given to the puppy during feed times 2-3X per day. Let the puppy eat within 10 minutes and remove the feed bowl. Or feed the puppy in a confined area outside his playpen.

His sleeping area is the left half of the playpen. His toilet area will likely be the right half, in most cases.

Paper-shredding. Some puppies shred newspapers and step all over the stools on the first few days. You need to be patient and change the papers as frequently as you can, without shouting or beating the puppy. If nobody is at home, it cannot be done till after work. Some owners tape the edges of the papers.

3.2 Crate and Pee Pan. The following pictures show the crate and pee pan sets usually sold by various pet shops and breeders for first-time puppy owners in Singapore.

Not possible to shred newspapers and therefore dirty himself unlike the situation of being housed in a Playpen. In addition, the floor tiles of the apartment does not get stained by puppy's pee and poo as the Pee Pan catches the waste. The water bowl should be in the front left half in this Crate + Pee Pan set. Otherwise the puppy eliminates in the front half area and steps on the stools while greeting the owner.

Puppy stools may drop into the Pee Pan preventing some puppies from eating stools and their paws from soiled by stepping on stools. In this picture, the puppy will eliminate on the left half of the Crate and keep his drinking and eating and sleeping area clean.

Puppy's paws are much cleaner using the Crate + Pee Pan set as the puppy pees a lot of times and the urine flows down into the Pee Pan. Stools are removed by the owner immediately and the soiled floor area is cleaned up fast.
The same layout and general advices given for the Play pen applies to the Crate and Pee pan.

In this case, the puppy lies on the wire flooring (floor grate). He is likely to pee and poop far away from his sleeping and eating area. Now, some puppies are very active, e.g. Jack Russells.

Positioning of the water and feed bowls.
If you put his feed bowl or water bowl (assuming you don't use water bottle or feed him outside the crate) in the back half of the crate, you will expect the puppy to pee and poop on the front half. Therefore, the puppy steps on his stools when he runs to greet you.

The newspapers on the pee pan is meant to absorb the urine and therefore is of not much use in paper training the puppy using this method.

Various outcomes of toilet training from reports by Singapore puppy owners.

However, some puppies, after 2-4 weeks of inside the Crate and Pee pan, can just walk onto the newspapers (urine smell of puppy) now placed on the pee pan and just eliminate him there. The Crate is then kept away.

Other puppies happily run inside the Crate to eliminate. The owner just remove the stools and clean up the floor grate. Otherwise the puppy refuses to get inside to eliminate.

Yet there are puppies that sleep inside the Crate and will never eliminate there. There is such a variety of cleanliness personalities that it is hard to say how your Cavalier King Charles will react to the Crate + Pee Pan set.

The advantages of the Crate + Pee Pan is that the puppy's paws are dry and cleaner than using the Playpen type of housing. Many owners still have to wash the paws of the puppies at least once a day but they don't need to see dirtied paws smelling of stools. Some stools may drop into the Pee Pan through the floor grate but this is rare.

4. Remember: It takes 2-4 weeks of confinement to be successful. It is not possible to provide you the various scenarios as this takes a lot of time.

5. I have recorded real case studies of toilet training by Singapore owners in in: www.bekindtopets.com. Goto: Dr Sing's Toilet-Training Cases for first-time puppy owners.

About 600 cases of toilet training are in my blog and you may have to read through to find out which scenario is appropriate for your case. Many owners read through and discover for themselves what they have had missed doing by reading what others have or have not done during toilet-training. The blogs are:
Toilet-training your first Singapore puppy (introduction by Dr Sing)

First Toilet-training Research blog

Second Toilet-training Research Blog

Third Toilet-training Research blog

The Crate & Pee Pan set sold to you by the Puppy Seller is one of the two housing layouts frequently recommended by the Singapore pet shop and Puppy Sellers. Unless your crate (cage) is extremely small, it does work to train your Cavalier King Charles very well on the floor grate which is the wire flooring. Below the wire flooring is the pee pan. On the pee pan, the Puppy Seller recommended that you put the newspaper.
But what you want is to paper-train your puppy. Therefore, the set you purchased is not appropriate for paper-training as the puppy has no direct contact with newspapers.

The playpen, confinement to a small room, area fenced up or tethering your puppy to a small area are 4 of the methods you need to do paper-training. The Crate + Pee Pan set is not suitable.

More details are in the blogs mentioned above.

In addition, success depends on time spent, patience, perseverance and the use of food treats and praises as motivational factors. I have owners who tell me that their new puppies just go to the newspapers or grate + pee pan to eliminate on the first day. "Such intelligent puppies," the owners said.

Some owners shake their heads and after 2 months post-purchase, the puppy is still not toilet-trained. In such cases, the owners are usually both working couples with no time to confine or train the puppy during the most important first 2-4 weeks after purchase.

I hope this feedback helps. Let me know your progress and e-mail me judy@toapayohvets.com if you have more queries.

E-mail to Dr Sing
On Sun, 9/14/08, <...@singnet.com.sg> wrote:

Dear Dr Sing

Thank You! Very much. I appreciate the information given to you by me.

Thanks
Regards

Name of owner

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

UPDATED INFO AT:
http://www.toapayohvets.com/sinpets/
20080921Toilet_Training_Puppies_Singapore_ToaPayohVets.htm

458. Still not toilet-trained by 1 month - Too much freedom

2007-07-18T13:09:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Is there somebody at home?" I asked the young man who came for the 2nd vaccination. He said that his black Maltese X puppy purchased one month ago still peed and pooped everywhere in his apartment while his previous dog a S$2,500 Shiba Inu puppy was paper trained in 2 days.

"No, I live alone," he said. "I let the puppy and an older dog run free in the apartment."

The Shiba Inu puppy had one problem. He chewed the marble table.

"I had to sell him," the young man said. "I advertise on e-fair.com.sg". A couple bought him for $500. The dog was rare and was around one year old."

457. Success in paper-training 4 pups by 10 weeks of age.

2007-07-18T13:04:00.002+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

ARTICLE POSTED ON BEKINDTOPETS.COM

Sunday July 15, 2007

As I had time, I record the experience of success in paper-training all 4 Shih Tzu pups. "They follow their mother to use the newspapers as toilet," the wife said.

A young couple in their 30s. One newborn baby. First-time home-breeder.
2 Shih Tzu, Male & Female around 2-3 years old.
10-week old Shih Tzus, 2M,2F, came for 2nd vaccination.
3 sold at $500/pup to screened customers as they are the wife's "babies".

Adults	Pups, 2M, 2F
2-3 years old	10 weeks old
7 p.m when owner home	Papers, unknown

"The Male Dog is a superclean dog!" the wife said. "At 2-3 am, he will bark to wake us up to cover up the soiled newspapers if he has had peed. The puppies are quite fussy about cleanliness as they grow up".

HOUSING - Kitchen only. Puppies are never allowed out of the kitchen or get into the bathroom near the kitchen. Wet bathroom floors dirty the puppy's feet too. So, kitchen is the only location.

1. During first 4 weeks. Puppies annd mum confined to the dam's playpen which consists of 2 panels of fences x 1 panel of fence. The sire's playpen is adjacent and has 1 x 1 panel of fence and towel.

2. Newspapers are to the left of the playpen in both cases. In the dam, the papers are spread out in 3 layers. The width of the papers will be 1.5 the paper width. That is, 1 paper's left half overlaps the other paper's right half. When soiled, simply cover up by folding the paper over the soiled area. Change when necessary.

2.1 2 toilet locations for puppies. Newspapers placed to the left of the dam's playpen and near the kitchen door which is barricaded by panel of playpen fences.

3. Wife has been full-time at home for last 10 weeks and able to train the puppies.
Initially puppies dirty the playpen but at 4 weeks, goto newspapers like mum. In first 2 weeks, mum cleaned them.

4. Feeding - mum 4-5X. Puppies 2X. Puppies weaned at 4th week onto milk powder, oats and dry puppy feed. Feeding bowl is taken away. It is kept near the right hand side (bed area).

5. Water bottle from front of playpen. No problem with water bowl too.

6. Elimination. Adult dogs wait till evening when husband come home. To eliminate on papers. If papers soiled, puppies rush to the 2nd toilet (newspapers near kitchen door). Eliminate overnight sometimes. Papers changed in the morning. Male will bark at 2-3 am to wake up owner to cover soiled papers.

6.1 Urine spraying by male dog. The owners "angled" the newspapers. One half is clipped to cover the side of the playpen fence (which separates the dam from the male pen. Cloth pegs tie up this partition so that the male dog can lift his leg and spray urine without dirtying the female bed (which is to the immediate left of the male playpen). This was a neat idea.

Adult dogs will eliminate only in the newspapers in the kitchen.

Yesterday, a buyer came. Puppy ran to newspaper under living area table to pee. This proves that it is successfully paper trained as puppies seek newspapers all the time.

Buyers will have NO problem. However, in my experience, when they bring the puppy home, buyers have their own housing floor plan, let puppy roam whole apartment as they deem it cruel to crate the puppy. Paper training and feed routine may not be explained to the buyer. So toilet training problems start for new owners in many cases.

Owner will e-mail me pictures. Need to follow up.

"The sire is a superclean dog," the wife who had just given birth to a baby said. "He would not dirty his paws by going into the playpen of the dam and puppies."
The puppies also are clean (by nature and instinct). In the morning, they rush to toilet location (B) as the papers have had been soiled in the playpen. Mum and Dad usually eliminate in the afternoon when they know that the papers would be changed immediately. Just cover one end over the soiled papers --- that would do.

Knowledge by reading on toilet training is also very important. This young couple had done lots of reading. Books such as "Puppy Parenting" were borrowed from the National Library and its branches. Is there such a book?

e-mail me!

456. The Golden Retriever has a "guilty conscience"

2007-07-18T12:54:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Golden Retriever, male, Gold.
Born April 4, 2007. Date of report: June 23, 2007
Lives in apartment.

lst week - Playpen + Newspapers. But he shreds NP overnight.
Buy grating with pee pan.
Put grating inside playpen.
Put soiled NP onto pee pan.
Crate him in the living area.

Used to grating. Remove from playpen.
Problem is the need to remove poop and clean grille 2x/day.

Accidents:
See puppy pooping on wrong place. Pick up poop. Put on top of grating.
"He knows he has done something wrong," the owner said. "He runs to hide. Imack him on the butt".

Grating is useful as some pups have had been conditioned to pooping on grates as they have been housed in pet shop crates.

The puppy is running away from being beaten up, rather than knowing that he did something wrong. To pet owners all over the world, the thinking is that the puppy has a "guilty conscience".

455. 1) She pees blood anywhere after coming back from the boarding kennel. 2) The USSR.

2007-07-02T17:14:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Monday Jul 2, 2007

Post-boarding infection in the bladder or a stone in the bladder or both?
A couple in their early thirties brought their one-year-old female Miniature Schnauzer that had passed blood in the urine by riding a scooter to the veterinary surgery on this sunny afternoon.

"The Schnauzer just squatted and took a long time to urinate," the wife said. "She had been boarded 2 weeks ago with her daughter and came home with this problem."

This case reminded me of Lynda's spayed Miniature Schnauzer who had a recurrent problem of passing blood in the urine during the fundraising for NANAS at a school in Jun 2007. Lynda's female dog was older, spayed and more plump. I did an examination at the school but could not feel any stone in the bladder.

This dog had a normal temperature of 38.1C and passed reddish urine in a large amount on the surgery floor. I could feel a hard lump of around 2 cm in diameter in her bladder.

"You feed dry dog food and your dog seldom drink water?" I asked the couple.

"Dry food is cleaner as her whiskers get dirtied by canned food," the wife said. "We have 3 dogs, so we don't know how much water this female drank. However, she did not have trouble passing urine before boarding."

"Could her daughter in the same kennel injure her during boarding?" I asked.

"No, she is bigger and usually jumps on her daughter" the wife said.

Two weeks of blood in the urine. Dysuria --- difficulty in passing urine. A mass in the bladder.

"I am quite sure she has a bladder stone. You will need an X-ray to confirm." I said. "In the meantime, antibiotics for 18 days and if the blood in the urine comes back, you will have to spend money for surgery."

As the couple did not say much about X-raying, I did not persist. The dog was put inside a red carrier bag. The wife clipped the dog's collar to the inside of the bag and held the dog close to her as she pillon rode.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The USSR

This was one rare moment I could find out how primary school students are motivated to read under the Singapore education system in 2007. Was there any new ideas under the teach less, learn more project?

"How do primary school teachers motivate the child to read?" I asked the couple who teaches English, Science and Physical Education in different neighbourhood primary school. I wanted to know if there is any new ideas applicable to toilet training the puppy besides the stars and sweets for motivating primary 1-4 students to perform well.

"There is the USSR system," the husband with tatooed forearms said. "Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading" during the assembly time at 7 a.m. The child brings out a book to read for around 30 minutes."

"Is this a new concept to promote reading?" I asked. I never had this USSR in the 1960s as a primary school student.

"No," the husband said. "I had this during my time." I guessed it was during the 1970s.

"How effective is the USSR? Do you mean there is a wide variety of books for the primary school student to read every morning?" I doubted neighbourhood schools have such a large number of books.

"Some children read their text books silently," the husband said, "Reading is not a priority for the lower income group in neighbourhood schools."

This is such a sad situation for poorer children. Reading improves vocabulary for the children. A strong vocabulary leads to a better performance of mathematics problem-solving situations in primary six or later. There is no national concerted effort to promote effective and fun reading for the young ones.

454. Coprophagia. -- Eating poop and pooping frequently --- 5-month-old female Miniature Schnauzer

2007-06-29T06:16:00.001+08:00

Draft copy Jun 30, 2007 7 a.m

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Coprophagia. The puppy or dog eats poop (faeces).
Causes: In 500 puppy owners interviewed for the Puppy Toilet Training Project, coprophagia affects around 5% of the cases. Usually the healthy puppy eats its own poop till adulthood. In Singapore, puppies seldom have chance to eat the cat's poop as most owners have only one species.

Causes
1. In most cases and my review of the literature, the causes are not known.

2. Attention-seeking. Puppy eats poop, gets attention by scolding by the owner. The owner is busy working and when he goes home, the puppy has had eaten his poop. Or his overnight poop has been eaten. He still gets attention. Puppy eats poop when sick or bored, gets scolding. So he eats poop.

Don't scold the puppy. Just pick up the poop regularly after the puppy has eaten. Will this work? I don't know as I don't think owners will not scold the puppy for eating poop.

3. Puppy is sick. Examples of medical conditions include exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, pancreatitis, intestinal infections, malabsorptive syndromes and over-feeding (especially high fat content diets. Other medical signs will be present if the puppy is sick.

4. Faeces taste good. So eat more. Puppies in Singapore are fed twice a day. Majority of them thrive. But some puppies may want to eat more --- so eat their stools as 3rd time.

Treatment

1. Meat tenderizer: Add the enzymes to tenderise the meat. Success not guaranteed.

2. A powder supplement added to a dog's food. Dog faeces passed out will taste bad. E.O.P (Eat Own Poop) powder is available at some Singapore pet shops. Success not guaranteed.

3. An anti-eating-poop pill is given to a dog with its food to make the feces distasteful. Not available at pet shops or vet clinics.

4. Bad taste on feces:
Yesterday evening, I attended the opening of the beautiful vet clinic at Vivo City. A cool evening with lion dances and time to catch up with old friends. I visited the beautiful pet shop looking at the crates at 9 p.m. A pet shop salesman came to see me.

He told me about how his groomer friend found the use of chilli padi sometimes successful. Wasabi, chilli sauce, tobasco sauce, pepper sprinkled on stools are also sometimes successful. So is eating the E.O.P powder.

"Will the puppy get diarrhoea if he eats chilli padi?" I asked him. Chilli powder is inserted in the centre of the stools and left for the puppy to eat.
"You need to take the risk," he said.

Is this method effective? I think most owners do NOT execute the procedure of adding something distasteful to the faeces every time. So, most owners find the method not effective.

5. Pick up the stools. This is the most effective method of control but not practical for time-pressed owners who work. Use the gastro-colic effect --- the puppy poops within 10 minutes of eating.

Now, not all puppies do that as many have had been distracted by the owner during feeding time to play. Some are given free feeding for the whole day.

6. Scolding/Punishment: Many owners think scolding or spanking will work. In some cases, it does but the puppy enjoy the attention, rather than no attention.

7. Ignoring the stool eating. No scolding. May work.

8. Positive reinforcement. Call the puppy to come for a food treat or play when he starts eating poop. Unfortunately, the owner may be too busy doing other housework. But this method may be better than scolding/punishment or ignoring the bad behaviour.

9. Pick up the stools during exercise or walks may be the solution to break the cycle rather than scolding/punishment.

10. A dog muzzle used whenever the owner is not free to pick up the stools. May be effective but the owner may feel that it is cruel to muzzle the puppy. If the puppy can take it, this may be the best method.

11. Chemicals: Pineapple is commonly recommended. Other chemicals. Success not guaranteed. Owners seldom persist in giving for over 2 weeks.

12. Puppy will stop eating poop when he is an adult. Not always true.ages.

13. Positive Reinforcement: This is the process of reinforcing another behavior making the puppy feel good instead of the coprophagia. Commands such as "Leave it", "come", "sit", can all be used. The puppy is distracted while the owner picks up the feces. A food treat is recommended.

14. Negative Reinforcement: Sudden noises when the puppy eats poop. A can with pebbles or coins suddenly thrown ont the floor or dropped from the top of the door. A water pistol to shoot at the puppy when he opens his mouth to eat the poop. These have been suggested at various dog magazine/book writers.

15. Combination of above treatments. Modify eating poop behaviour and other treatments may be needed.

Health Implications
1. Worms.
Puppy do have roundworms seen being passed out. Give the puppy deworming tablets every 2 weeks to get rid of worms, esp. for puppies eating poop. If the puppy eats cat poopy, you need to deworm too. During exercise, leash the puppy. Make sure he does not eat poop of other animals.

2. Viruses from stools of other dogs. Hepatitis and canine parvovirus are two important diseases. Vaccinated puppies for 3 vaccinations are usually protected. Singapore vets may advise no contact with other dogs till 2 weeks after the 3rd vaccination. The vet regulators permit sale of puppies by pet shops only 2 weeks after their 2nd vaccination. If not, a fine is imposed.

Conclusion
In my opinion, owners seldom have time to stop the owner eating poop for practical or lack of time reasons.

1. No time to give positive reinforcement training to stop poop eating.
2. Not leaving the puppy alone during feeding time and let him poop first before releasing him out to play.
3. Not giving faeces covered with chemicals like chilli sauce 100% of the time.
So, the success rate is said to be poor when the procedure is not properly executed.

CASE STUDY
On Jun 29, 2007, the lady owner of the 5-month-old female miniature schnauzer said that the puppy eats stools for the past 2 months and poops 5-6 times per day when released from the playpen to the living room. "Seasame seed like worms had been passed out after deworming." She works from home. How to solve her problem?

Routine:
1. 9.30 am. Eat inside the playpen. At the lower right corner of the playpen there is a grate with pee pan.
2. 10 am. Puppy poops on the grate.
3. 10.30 am. Puppy taken out of the playpen and put in the living area.
4. Puppy goes to balcony to poop on the floor. Seldom goes back to the grate.
5. Puppy may poop 3 times in themorning. Afternoon, no poop. Sleeps.
6. 6 pm. Go out for walk.
7. 7 pm. Feed at garden. Usually poop during walk.
8. 9 pm. Back to playpen.

Poops from 3 - 5 X per day.

1. Now given a fish-based dry food at 30% to old puppy food. Diarrhoea. Saw vet today.

2. What to do with poop eating? E.O.P powder ( a pinch) given daily for the past 2 weeks. Supposed to make the puppy stop eating poop. But unsuccessful. However, the puppy does not poop as many times as before.

3. What are my advices?

1. Continue with E.O.P powder instead of other chemicals. Putting chilli padi powder definitely is not recommended for this puppy.
2. Back to old formula till puppy has no diarrhoea. Then add 10% of new feed to 90% of old feed for a week and increase gradually to new feed.
3. Do not scold the puppy for poop eating at the balcony.
4. When see poop eating, call the puppy "Come" and give food treat and praises. But the owner has to do this every time and be available. She has her work to do.
5. Squirt water at the puppy in the balcony before she eats poop? I had ever suggested such a method to a father with a 10-year-old boy. The boy was very interested but not the father!

Feedback from various owners will be useful.

453. Time Out - Mouthing and nipping at ankles of female owners

2007-06-26T18:55:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Recently, 3 owners complained in sequence --- corgi, silkie terrier and jack russell puppies persist in biting their ankles and fingers. Usually they are male puppies.

The puppy avoid the male (husband or father) who scolds or maybe spank its backside.

It is possible that the puppy is play biting to learn about its hiearchy in the pack. Its natureal instinct is to chase after running prey. In this case the ladies and girls run away and excite the puppies. The puppy is learning to hunt.

Growl back, hold its muzzle with a firm hand and say "no biting". But girls and mum seldom are firm with the naughty puppy. So, the painful bites go on.

I advise "time out" for the female owners. Whenever the puppy bites, put him back inside the playpen. Reward him if he does not bite.

Some tug of war rope toys also encourage aggressiveness in male puppies. Teething in puppies encourage chewing but not biting.

Encouraging mouthing may lead to real painful bites when the bigger breeds like German Shepherds grow up.

452. Peeing off target during paper training

2007-06-26T18:50:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A common complaint from the puppy owners during my survey of the past 3 years is that the puppy does not pee directly onto the newspapers laid on the floor.

Reasons may be:
1. Papers are soiled. Some "cleanliness freaks" as one lady owner told me about her Silkie don't want to dirty their paws. As the soiled papers are not changed immediately, the puppy pees outside the paper edges.

2. The puppy steps onto the papers with its front paws. Well, he is on the papers but his back legs are outside.

3. The puppy urine smell or spray should be at the further end of the paper. But some owners spray the smell in the centre of the paper. When the puppy's nose smell the paper, his back half of the body may be outside the paper. So he is peeing "off target."

Puppies are not marksmen I guess.

451. Crate with pee pan

2007-06-26T18:43:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A crate with a pee pan is a common recommendation by pet shop operators when Singaporeans buy a puppy. Just put the puppy inside the crate and newspapers onto the pee pan.

More active puppies step all over their stools and this makes the owner very unhappy. Clearing the stools immediately after eating, feeding for 5 minutes (not whole day), do not distract the puppy during eating time till he has pooped. Keep it confined for around 2 weeks. Take it out and watch for signs of elimination. Put it back inside the crate.

Some owners report success. Some puppies keep barking to get the stools cleared or banging at the cage to be let out to rush to the bathroom to pee and poop. Much depends on the puppy's cleanliness.

Many owners do not realise that the 2-4 a.m after midnight barking of puppies indicate that the puppy wants the stools removed or want to get out to pee and poop. Such puppies are ignored or get a scolding or spanking.

450. Going to the grate at all times for food treat

2007-06-26T18:36:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

One owner told me that her poodle will just step on the grate to wait for her food treats.

"Most likely, you did not observe her peeing and just give her food treats for stepping onto the grate," I said. "So your puppy does it deliberately to get reward."

The career lady owner laughed: "I did that." Some puppies are real smart and highly motivated by food treats. As they grow older, they prefer other rewards like praises and chance to go out. Much depends on the personality.

449. Grate or grating is one way to toilet train.

2007-06-26T18:29:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Almost all pet shop owners and Singapore do not know what a grate is. Some called it a pee pan with top wire flooring.

It has been used successfully in toilet training big dogs like the Golden Retriever and the Sheltie that have had been reared on crates with wire flooring.

1. From reports by the owners, you will need to put the grate inside the playpen.
2. You need to clear the stools immediately or the dog will pee on the outside of the grate as it does not want to soil its paws.
3. Some puppies will bark to tell the owner to clear the stools. If ignored, the puppy just pee outside the grate. You need to clean up.
4. Urine will flow down onto the pee pan and this seems to be ok for the puppies.
5. Giving food treat and praises do help to train the puppy faster.
6. Spraying urine onto the pee tray or use a soiled newspapers may help.

The reason for success is that the puppy feels the wire flooring with its paws. It has been used to this flooring when reared in the breeder's farm and in the pet shop.

448. Clicker training for puppy toilet training

2007-06-26T18:16:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A clicker makes a clicking sound when you press it with your finger.
The use of a clicker to toilet train a puppy is seldom used in Singapore. One method is as follows:

Equipment:
A pee tray with or without newspapers on it.

1. Put the pee tray between you and the puppy.
2. Call the puppy to come to you. As the puppy's front feet step onto the tray, click immediately, give a food treat and praise saying "Good pup."
3. Repeat this whenever the puppy steps onto the tray.
4. The puppy associates the food treat with stepping on the tray. He will deliberately step onto the tray to get the food treat.
5. Now, call the puppy to come to you.
6. As the puppy's back legs are on the tray, click immediately,give food treat and praise saying "Good pup." His front paws can be outside the tray.
7. Repeat this procedure.
8. If the puppy pees inside the tray, wait till he finishes. Then click immediately, give food treat and praise saying "Pee here". Do not click while he is still peeing as this will stop him peeing.
9. Training lessons should not be more than 5 minutes or >10 times per day.
10. Confine the puppy in the playpen if there is no training. After waking up, after meals and when there are signs of elimination, put the puppy onto the pee tray.

Very seldom do owners have time to do clicker training. If you have full time training, the puppy may be paper-trained in 7 days.

447. Spare bedroom for the puppy

2007-06-15T11:16:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The owner of the Corgi was kind enough to e-mail me a picture of the puppy's bedroom. There is a baby-gate.

"He does not pee on the newspapers," the owner said.

Most likely reasons are the newspapers are soiled and the puppy prefer not to dirty his own paws. Change newspapers frequently but this is not possible if the owner is working.

I suggested halving the room area, neutralise the urine smell with white vinegar and water.

A better idea will be to use the grating method as the puppy had been in the pet shop.

446. Follow up by e-mail on Rocky 7-month Golden Retriever

2007-06-06T05:45:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The following report from the owner of Rocky confirmed that the "older" puppy (e.g. 7 months old) can be paper-trained if the owner knows how to do it. The puppy is into adolescence and is known to be "rebellious" and has a mind of his own at 7 months of age.

However, with time spent on training him, knowledge that he wants a fresh and clean toilet area, praise and treats, the following case was successfully paper-trained in around 2 weeks.

Basically, the puppy just wants a CLEAN toilet area to pee and poop.

Otherwise, he will avoid the soiled newspapers and poop elsewhere. In the first year of my research, owners complain that the puppy will usually "miss" its target (newspapers) and pee "outside" the newspapers.

The reason is that the papers have been soiled and the puppy is loathe to step onto them unless they are quickly replaced. Some puppies will "bark" to let the owner know that the papers must be changed after elimination, according to owners who tell me.

Some puppies do not provide feedback or the owners are not at home the whole day. Possibly, the owner is inside the crate and has stepped on soiled newspapers (in the petshop -- not sold early or the owner's crate). So, the puppy is used to soiled newspapers after some time.

I have no time to edit, but will do it in the new book.
The e-mail is as follows:

Monday, July 31, 2006

DRAFT - Why the puppy does not poop on newspapers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DOG OWNER --- JULY 10, 2006.

> Dog owner wrote:
>
> Dear Dr Sing,
> We went to your clinic last Friday (7 Jul) with our
> 7-mth old Golden Retriever, Rocky for his 3rd vaccination and sought
> your advice on how to toilet-train him.
> After some thoughts on your suggestions, we decided
> to start off with neutralising his urine and poo smells in the house
> with white vinegar and water.
> On that same evening, we neutralised the entire living room and part of
> the kitchen area, leaving the unneutralised part of the kitchen as his
> intended toilet area (the spot that he frequents most). Then covered
> that area with fresh newspapers and some soiled ones. That weekend, we tried confining him to that specific kitchen area after his meals and monitored him, also tried bringing him
Out for walks and kept asking him to pee/poo, but were not successful.

> He did not pee/poo (on the toilet area)
> as we wanted him to. We gave up, but continued neutralising the floors
> every night as he still eliminates randomly at those 2 areas.
> On Tuesday (11 Jul) evening, > that the methods weren't working, we saw him pee-ing right in the
> centre of the newspapers. We quickly praised him and offered him a
> treat. This time, he took the treat happily and ran off chewing it.
> Initially we thought he had learnt to eliminate there, but later at
> night, we found his poo on the kitchen floor. The following days, as we
> continued with neutralising, we saw some improvement. We observed
> he has stopped eliminating in the living room, and does it only in
> the kitchen area, however, he only pees on newspapers, still poo
> everywhere in the kitchen.
> Last night we've decided not to neutralise the floors. This morning, to
> our surprise, we saw both his pee and poo on the papers. We're very
> happy to see that, and we'll continue to monitor him closely until he's
> really stable and makes no mistakes. Will update you again on his progress.
> Really appreciate your help and professional advice.
>
> Thanks,
Dog Owner.

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING --- JULY 16, 2006.

> Sunday July 16, 2006. E-mail reply from Dr Sing
NLB Toa Payoh Library 10.30am.
>
> My computer is infested with viruses. It shut down and re-started
> several times earlier. After that it shut down completely. So, I am
> using the NLB library to reply to you. It is hard to
> find real computer experts in Singapore who can resolve this problem
> without having to re-format the whole hard disk.
>
> I am very grateful for your contribution to my research and a book on
> Singapore puppy toilet training.
>
> In reply:
>
> 1. My research and reading of other reports. It appears that white
> vinegar is effective only to neutralise the ammonia smell of puppy
> urine. Acid plus alkaline = water (NO MORE URINE SMELL), to put it simply.
> So, the puppy can't find the elimination area with his nose (to detect urine smell).
>
> I presume you used the same mop or had not rinsed off the urine smell
> thoroughly, so the puppy could detect the "accident" areas for the first
> few days. Corners or edges of doors may still have traces of urine. The
> sense of smell is very acute in the canine. However, after a few days of
> your hard work, you probably wiped out all urine
> smell. So, the puppy goes to the newspapers. I presume you did not use
> the soiled newspapers (2nd layer) but the floor is OK too.
>
> 2. White vinegar is said to have no effect on the poop as it does not smell of ammonia.
>
> 3. So your success later may be due to your monitoring and praises. Your
> puppy probably now expecting treat. Some will sit and wait for it after
> peeing. A few owners tell me that some even pee less but more often to
> get treats. I hope your puppy does not think this way.
>
> 4. Poop after feeding times. If you can have a regular schedule of feeding and exercise, without distraction of playing
> immediately after eating, you may be successful. Signs of elimination
> like sniffing, squatting and circling - bring puppy to newspapers.
> Praise and reward.
>
> 5. Will be most grateful if you let me know your progress in the pooping
> training aspect. It is from such case studies that I am able to advise
> as each situation and each puppy behaves differently.
>

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DOG OWNERR --- JULY 2006.
>
July 30, 2006 e-mail to Dr Sing>

> Dr Sing,
>
> We're still working on Rocky's poop training. Did not really have enough time to monitor him for the past 2 weeks due to our work schedules.
> We will continue with your suggestion in Point 4 below.
>
> Thankfully Rocky does not seem to expect treats after peeing. He just
> walks away. He has no problem with peeing on newspapers, i don't
> understand why he could not poo on the papers as well. So far only once or twice he pooped on papers, the
> rest of the times are done on the kitchen floor.
>
> We still do use vinegar to mop the kitchen floor on
> alternate nights. You mentioned in Point 2 that white vinegar has no
> effect on poop. Do you mean that white vinegar can only nuetralise
> urine smell, but not poop smell?
> Is there anything we can do to remove the poop smell?
>
> Hope your computer is fine now.
>
> Thanks,

E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING --- JULY 2006.

Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 e-mail reply.
04:32:18 +0800 (CST)
From: "Dr Sing KY" Add to Address BookAdd to Address Book
Subject: RE: Rocky's Toilet Training - Pooping on floor.

Thanks for feedback.

1. Most likely reason Rocky does not want to poop on the newspapers more often may be due to at least 2 reasons:

1.1 The papers had not been changed. Most dogs do not like to step on soiled newspapers as they are clean creatures. So, he chose the floor.

1.2 The papered area is too small. I remember he is a Golden Retriever. Correct me if I am mistaken. You may need to have double or triple the areas covered by the
newspapers or buy a big pee pan (to put newspapers on).

2. In many cases, vinegar:water mixture does not eliminate the smell of poop because the poop is not ammonical.

3. In your case, you said you had not much time. I
presume you had no time to change the newspapers more
often and no time to bring him downstairs. There is no
fixed schedule for exercise after eating. If that is
true, then he has no opportunity to poop 15-30 minutes
after eating (as most dogs do) on newspapers under
your training and supervision. You probably had gone
to work or are too tired to bring him downstairs. I do
not know the real situation.

4. If you want your puppy to poop on newspapers, you
need to SPEND TIME to train him to do so. WATCH for
signs of wanting to poop and bringing him to the CLEAN
newspapers for the first 2 weeks. Praise, pat and
reward with treats on success.

Otherwise, it is very difficult for him to know what
you want.

5. Let me know once your pooping training is
successful.

0 Comments:

445. "The Cavalier King Charles is dumb," Anna said.

2007-04-24T06:43:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"The Cavalier King Charles (CKC) is dumb," my veterinary assistant said to me when I asked whether this 5-month-old female puppy had been toilet trained in her house. "She just pees on the carpeted floor if I permit her inside the bedroom. The 1-year-old Shih Tzu would eliminate on the newspapers!"

"What's the daily routine for the CKC?" I doubted that the CKC is a dumb puppy.

"She has an exercise outdoors at night. She would pee outdoors."

I did not have time to check further. In this case, the CKC is used to "soft areas" to eliminate. The carpet is soft and she is conditioned to the feel of this type of toilet location. So she pees on the carpet.

Lately, she barked a lot when left alone downstairs to sleep. In order not to upset the neighbours, the Shih Tzu had to accompany her instead of staying with my assistant. Now, what is the solution?

My best suggestion is that the CKC wears a pad at night. Or start confining her to the bathroom in a playpen and start paper training. I need to follow up.

444. Backyard as toilet location for the puppy

2007-04-23T07:33:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

This report is written for a family and the FDW (foreign domestic worker) to work together as a team to train the puppy consistently and patiently.

PRESENT SITUATION
The 10-week-old Miniature Schnauzer had been with the owners (working couple, 3 schooling pre-teen children and 1 FDW) for the past 2 weeks. His playpen (without door) is in the backyard, near the washing machine and away from the rain and sun.
He sleeps alone. He is fed twice a day and poops near the drain grating in the backyard. However, he pees everywhere in the backyard including inside his playpen. How can he be trained to pee near the drain grating where he poops?

SUGGESTIONS
Each puppy has his own personality, so there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

1. Confined area. It is not practical to locate the puppy near the grating in an area of around 10 sq ft, as he will be exposed to rain and sun. So, the next best method is to barricade an area to include the grating as shown in the drawing below.

2. Access to the toilet location at any time. In this open playpen layout, the puppy can go to the toilet location anytime, including night-time. He goes to his basket to sleep. In the present situation, the puppy is locked inside the playpen and cannot go to the toilet location when he needed to go as there is no door in the playpen. A 10-week-old puppy pees around 2 hours as a guideline, using the N-1 formula where N= the age of the puppy in months. By 6 months of age, the puppy should be able to control his bladder and pees around twice a day.

3. Commercial urine spray is applied to one corner near the grating. Before that, the FDW should neutralise the whole floor area of the backyard and other rooms with white vinegar:water at 1:3 dilution so that the urine smell of the puppy is no more. The mop must be thoroughly rinsed so that it does not spread the urine.

Spraying perfume or other masking smell is one method but it may not be effective. The use of Dettol disinfectant instead of vinegar by some owners is claimed to be effective but I am not sure. However, all owners report that the vinegar:water combination is extremely effective, especially for those areas behind doors and corners. The puppy just stop going to pee in these areas after the use of vinegar:water.

4. No water intake after 8 p.m. This helps the puppy to control his bladder.

5. A fixed time-table and no children distraction, for eating, exercise and sleeping. If the puppy is fed irregularly, gets distracted by the children at various times, it is difficult for him to be toilet trained at the grating. He just forgets. Play only after the puppy has peed after meals. Breakfast and dinner must be fixed at certain times so that the puppy knows its routine. Children, friends and neighbours love to play with the new puppy such that he has no time to go to the toilet location to pee when he needs to. Try and not get him distracted.

6. Watch for signs of elimination. When exercising or playing with the puppy in the living area, the children must watch for signs of elimination. Sniffing the floor, looking for a place to pee, squatting, circling. Quickly pick up the puppy and bring him to the grating. Say "Pee pee". Some puppies just pees fast, so "accidents" do happen. Usually it is because the owner is too far away or not alert enough!

7. Praise and food treats. If successful, praise the puppy lavishly "Good boy". Food treats may be motivating in many puppies. The smarter ones may just pee a bit and wait for food treat. Then pee again and wait. I hope your boy is not one of them.

8. Accidents. No shouting or scolding. Just mop up the urine quietly.

9. Grating-trained.
This puppy was purchased from the pet shop. He is used to the feel of the "grating" under his paws when he pees. This is because the flooring of the crate inside the pet shop is also the "grating" floor plan.

If your FDW sprayed the commercial urine spray onto the grating, he will pee there as well as poop there. The only condition is that there should be no urine smells anywhere in the backyard. Otherwise, he would consider the whole area as the toilet location.

FOLLOW UP BY E-MAIL TO OWNER

----- Original Message -----
From: mr sing
Date: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 6:37 am
Subject: Toilet Training Miniature Schnauzer - Some suggestions from Dr Sing
To: ....

> Hi
> I could not reply yesterday as I had to take time to write this
> report on
> how you can toilet train your puppy to use the grating.
>
> See:
> http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2007/04/backyard-as-
> toilet-location-for-puppy.html
>
> Pl let me know how when you are successful or if you have other
> queries.
> Best wishes to all at home and thanks for the picture of puppy.
>

Hi Dr Sing

Thank you for your advice... we are still in the process of training him. My maid has been faithfully using vinegar solution to wash the area daily. So far, the dog seems to be able to pass stools by the side of the drain.

He is however, still trying to make sense of where to pee ... & the problem is that sometimes he cannot control his bladder so he will just pee anywhere in the backyard. Our difficulty is training him to pee in the designated area! Guess he needs more time! Hope we are not too late in toilet training him!

Regards

.....

FROM ABOVE E-MAIL REPLY FROM THE OWNER"
"He is however, still trying to make sense of where to pee..."

The vinegar has had neutralised all puppy urine smell. So, it is best to spray the puppy's urine near the grating where the owner wants the puppy to pee. The puppy is trying to locate its toilet location through the urine smell, but could not find it.

Since it is not practical to use puppy urine, maybe the commercial puppy toilet training aid or a piece of newspaper with the puppy urine will do.

As for pooping, the puppy uses tactile sense (sense of touch --- feel of the grating is like the grated floor of the crate he was housed in when he was at the pet shop). So he poops near or on the grating. As the grating does NOT have urine smell, unlike the grated floor of the crate, the puppy was at a loss where to pee.

As he could not communicate, he peed everywhere in the backyard. The maid neutralised the urine smell and he could again pees anywhere in the backyard.

Each puppy toilet situation is different but the basic idea is to use URINE SMELL near the grating near to where he poops.

This is a case where smell and touch play a big part in the toilet training of this puppy.

443. Are 8- and 9-year-old Singapore's children more cunning?

2007-04-18T07:11:00.000+08:00

I had fond memories as a primary two school relief teacher in 1969 for 6 months before I went to Glasgow University. 40 students --- 8-year-old boys and girls. I was 19 years old then.

Spelling tests were one subject. I did not give sweets or stars to motivate the students. I was an untrained teacher.

Lately I met a primary school teacher with over 30 years of primary education teaching.

"How are the primary two children nowadays?" I asked. "They were a fun lot during my teaching period."

"The children are more cunning than during your time," she said as she balance 3 bags of books each on her narrow shoulder. 6 big bags of books to be marked. I was worried she would get knee pain or shoulder collapse if she continued doing this.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

STORY NO. 1. VOMITING DURING SPELLING TEST
All the classmates would shout "Ms Lee, the ... is vomiting," when the Spelling test was on. Froth came out of her mouth. So the child would be excused from the test. This happened only during the Spelling test.

Solution: Detain her after school with her parental permission. The child started to learn so as to avoid detention. What a clever idea? This child was cunning?

"She challenged her parents to write," the teacher told me. "Her parents were illiterate. She would say, 'spell this word' to her parents. A nine-year-old biting the hand that feeds her? Life is unfair for parents nowadays. They tend to be lenient but the child tends to be more informed and educated and talk back.

STORY NO. 2.
"I had completed my homework but I forgot to bring the book to school," the 8-year-old primary two child told the trainee teacher who was under supervision by my teacher friend, Ms Lee.

The trainee teacher believed the child and informed Ms Lee.

Ms Lee gave the child a new book and said, "Do your homework now!" The child nonchalantly took out her own book and did the homework.

The trainee teacher could not believe it, "An eight-year-old knows how to bluff."

How about puppies? Do they trick the owner by not eating till the owner buys various brands of dog food and treats? A puppy that bites the hand that feeds him? Yes. There are some cases.

1. The puppy refuses to eat till the owner buys new brands or new food. Then they do the same thing. The owner gets worried. So, he buys other food and so on.

2. The male species bite when disciplined. As he grows older, his bite becomes more painful. Like the male Jack Russell terrier. He was neutered and given up even after neutering as the wife does not want him to bite the husband again. No second chance.

What are the solutions? Such owners seldom raise their voices. So the puppy, especially male ones grow up to be dominant. The solution to be firm in discipline and voice and be commanding may seem obvious, but not to all first-time puppy owners.

442. Survey of one pet shop: Puppy Diaper

2007-04-17T03:18:00.001+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Most puppy buyers are cheapskates," she said. "So I recommend newspapers as they will not buy the puppy training pads." I had asked one pet shop girl regarding toilet training advices to puppy buyers, using newspapers and other means.

"Due to the increasing cost of living in Singapore," I replied, "Most Singaporeans are trying to reduce expenses. This happens even in the U.S.A as more people shop in low cost Wal Marts."

ADVANTAGES OF THE PUPPY TRAINING PADS

1. Cleaner. The paws of the puppy do not get black compared to the use of newspapers.

2. Absorbent. The pads absorb urine well.

3. Urine smell inside the pad promotes earlier toilet training.

DISADVANTAGES

1. More expensive as newspapers are free. Owners usually change every 2-3 days.

2. Shredding but newspapers are also shredded by some puppies.

441. 11-month-old Cocker Spaniel could not control her bladder

2007-04-02T07:21:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

American Cocker Spaniel, F, Buff, born May 1, 2006
Young working couple

"For the past 3 weeks, the Spaniel dripped urine in the living area for 3 to 4 times. Could it be a urinary tract infection?" the lady owner in her early thirties put the dog on the consultation table. Today was a sunny Sunday morning.

I palpated the bladder. It was as round as but bigger than a golf ball. The rectal temperature was normal. However, the private parts were 20 times swollen although the onset of heat was 1 month ago (see picture).

This vulval swelling was due to continual licking. A yellowish-brown stain was present when I checked the inside of the private area with a piece of tissue paper.

It was the start of a lower urinary tract infection (LUTI)? How to resolve this problem?

HISTORY OF TOILET TRAINING.

This female dog was paper-trained. Her routine was as follows:

7 am breakfast.
Had peed and pooped overnight on newspapers on the common bathroom near the kitchen.

1-2pm. Pees once.
Poop if given food treats when the lady owner was home. Now she is working.

7pm dinner. Pee once. Poop sometimes.

11pm Sleeps inside the common bathroom. Pee and poop overnight.

She had never dribbled urine in the living area for the past months. She was a very clean dog. So, her continual cleaning of her private parts led to LUTI.

PAPER TRAINING METHOD.
100% newspapers in the kitchen, reducing the area covered by newspapers. Then 100% in the common bathroom including the shower stall. After a month, the puppy just went to the papers for her toilet location.

"Which area of the toilet is used?" I asked.

"She positioned herself in the centre of the toilet floor, just behind the door and in front and between the shower stall and W.C. This location was spacious.

STOOL EATING.
"Your advice worked" the lady owner laughed. "We sprinkled hot chilli powder on the stools. She stopped eating after a while. We also gave her more food."

HEARTWORM BLOOD TEST. The owners had some heart worm medicine. They just wanted a heartworm blood test. I placed the dog on the elevated table. Groomer Mark held the fore leg vein out for me the take the blood.

"Pinch the skin near the vein for a minute," I said.

The cephalic vein skin area was pinched for a minute but blood suddenly gushed out. It was worrying for the lady owner. It was not a serious problem as I stopped the bleeding.

The heartworm test was negative for heartworms. It was good news. It was pleasant and nice to have educated owners.

On day 3 after antibiotic treatment, the Cocker Spaniel was able to control her bladder.

WHEN TO SPAY?

Female dogs can be spayed during the heat period. Sometimes, delays lead to loss of a client as other veterinarians provide immediate service.

In the interest of the female dog, my recommendation to all owners is 2 to 4 months (3 months) after the heat period as the blood vessels of the womb and ovaries would have shrunken back to normal. There would be considerably less bleeding during surgery and much safer for the dog. The owners accepted my advice.

However, the next heat comes around 6 months after the previous one. So, a delay past 4 months would lead to the same situation of possible profuse bleeding during spay.

440. How to paper train when the puppy is crated?

2007-03-29T06:23:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"How do we paper-train the puppy inside the wire crate with pee pan?" the young Indian expatriate couple living in a city condo asked. The puppy just shreds the newspapers which were placed on the floor of the wire crate.

Many puppies do shred newspapers or the puppy training pads. The owner of such a puppy lets the puppy out as he whines all the time. When let out, the puppy pees and poops all over the apartment.

What's the solution?

I asked a puppy seller after vaccination at his pet shop yesterday, March 28, 2007. I look forward to visiting this puppy seller in the countryside. It is a family business. A couple and a daughter.

I always try to tell the daughter how much she is loved as her dad. "Even your husband don't call you 'darling', I emphasised the fatherly love for this thirty something woman who speaks her mind about anybody including her parents. Over the years, the puppy seller was willing to share his secrets which could be revealed if I wrote a book.

The following are some of his opinions on toilet-training a new puppy when they have a wire crate with pee pan:

WIRE CRATE WITH PEE PAN (see picture).

1. Confine to the wire crate for a few days.
2. Food and water are inside the crate.
3. Say "good boy or good girl" when the puppy poops or pees inside the wire crate.
4. Plenty of praises. Maybe a food treat?
4. Take the puppy out after elimination.
5. Put him in when he is sniffing, circling or squatting as he wants to pee.
6. After a few days, the puppy will pee and poop inside the crate and eat and sleep on the other side.

REPORTS FROM OWNERS
1. Some puppies go straight to the bathroom floor to pee. So, the wire crate's door is left open 24 hours a day as the wire crate is the sleeping and eating area.

2. "Patience is the key to success", the pet shop owner emphasized. "It takes a lot of time. When there is an accident inside the apartment, it means that the owner has no patience (to do toilet training). Probably he means perseverance and consistency in toilet training.

HOW ABOUT PAPER-TRAINING?
Put the puppy urine or urine smell on the newspaper. Put the puppy onto it. He will be paper trained.

"I have a method to make the male dog pee on newspaper," the puppy seller said.
I did not ask him as I knew it was his trade secret. Maybe another time.

"I will be sending you an invoice (for receiving toilet training information)," the daughter repeated. I was stone deaf. Her big Doberman had gone to sniff a customer (a pale young lady hairdresser with black eyelashes and tinted brown hair) who was buying 2 Maltese puppies. The young lady put up her hands as the Doberman sniffed at her mid rib.

She could not scream nor get out of the corner. But the Doberman was not an aggressive dog. "It is best to get the Doberman away from her," I said to the puppy seller. "Some young people are very frightened of big breeds." She was relieved when the Doberman was led away.

439** Case study for book: Negative reinforcement in a male dog - success story

2006-11-20T06:49:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore
Date of interview: Nov 19, 2006.
Owners: A working couple in the fifties
Dog: 2-year-old Male Jack Russell Terrier.
Residence: HDB apartment.
Toilet: A crate placed inside the common bathroom that has a squat toilet bowl.
Purchased: when he was 3 months old. Crate with pee pan. Accidents in the kitchen.
Method: Negative reinforcement: Caning for 3 months. Freedom to roam inside the kitche. Barricade with baby gate.
Time to be successfully crate-bathroom-trained: 3 months.
Feeding: 2 times per day.

Owner will query the Jack Russell puppy on reaching home from work with "What is this?" as he had peed and pooped on the kitchen floor tiles. The puppy would run away to hide inside the common toilet. Over 3 months and caning, the puppy use the appropriate toilet area.

When the owners are not free to bring him downstairs, (3 times per week, usually weekend), he runs into the crate and pee and poop on right hand side. He pees above the drainage hole cover. Does not step on the pool by turning at an angle to pee and poo. The owners will close the crate door. Hose water on dog's feet to get rid of any urine stain and hose off the stools.

Advantage of crate.
1. No need to pick up stools to dispose in the garbage bin.
2. Keeps paws clean by hosing with water after elimination.
3. Pee Pan is redundant in this situation.

Negative reinforcement in this situation is effective. The male Jack Russell urine marks every lamp post outdoors but will not do so inside the apartment. He just goes to the common bathroom crate when he is not going outdoors. He does not lift his leg to pee in the crate but does so outdoors. He has a routine of going outdoors 3 times per week. "Pees at every lamp post," the owner laughed.

Many owners cannot manage to control urine marking in grown up male dogs but this case is exceptional. He does not urinate mark at the Veterinary Surgery too. I would consider him very well behaved as many male dogs pee at the Surgery.

Comments: Male dogs that are dominant tends to urine mark inside the apartment and inside the veterinary surgery unless they are well trained at a young age not to do so. This case study shows the successful application of ROOM and CRATE method using NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT training. It needs a firm owners to execute this method. As the couple is working, 3 months is needed to achieve success.

438. The Pekinese terrorises all maids of a Hillview Condo

2006-11-18T12:24:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"All the maids in Hillview Condo quickly carried their dogs whenever they see our Pekinese let loose in the condo," the mother said.

"Why?" I asked. A small male Pekinese of less than 5 kg can terrorise all the maids of a leafy condo in Upper Bukit Timah Road. It is as if elephants are afraid of a mouse.

"The Pekinese just rush to all dog, bark at them and pounce onto them," the mother of the grown up daughter told me. "He also pees on my son's bed and everywhere in the apartment."

"But he does not urine mark in my home," the married daughter said. "I told you to cane him whenever he misbehaves, but you just talk and reason with him."

"I just do not beat dogs," the mother replied.

So now, the dog has to be neutered.

"Will he be better behaved?" the mother asked.

"Generally, yes," I said. "However, the urine marking may or may not disappear after neutering as you have waited over 1 year to do it."

"Oh," the daughter said. "He urine marks for the past 3 months only. My mum looks after my dog as I was not free."

I inspected the Pekinese. Rough scales on the armpits and the coat. He had a thick woolly luscious coat but beneath the hairs, rings of bacterial and fungal infections blossom.

The neutering had to be postponed. The dog was clipped bald and treated first. It is important that the dog be checked daily for skin infections under the thick coat. Normally owners will brush the top half of the dog and there will be no skin problems there. But the lower half and bottom part are usually neglected.

"Can the neutering be done today?" the mother asked.

"I will not advise doing it. What if the skin bacterial infections get into the operation area and cause illness? No, I rather not operate."

It is best to be safe than to face unpleasant conseqeunces of illness after surgery, due to expediency to make money or solve a behavioural problem.

437. Steps on poo, overturns water bowl. Golden Retriever in front yard.

2006-11-15T07:12:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Must wash the puppy's legs everyday," the first-time lady owner said. "He steps onto the poo in the playpen everyday when he greets us. He poops two times per day as he is fed twice a day. But it is too late to remove the poop."

The puppy was purchased one week ago and is now pee pan-trained. He does not eliminate anywhere. Puppy diapers below the newspapers were placed on the pee pan. The puppy just went to eliminate there.

The pet shop had recommended the diapers. The owner might have misunderstood. For the first few days, she placed the diapers outside the pee pan, intending for the puppy to use them as a bed. The puppy shreds them. When she replaced the diapers with floor mats, the puppy could not shred them. The diapers were then positioned under the newspapers and onto the pee pan.

"I do not want the puppy to destroy my garden. What should I do?"

"You will have to take the puppy outside twice a day, after feeding in the next 2-4 weeks," I said. "Pick up the poo and put it into the garbage bin. With this routine, the puppy's pee and poo will not kill the grass in your garden.

"If not, you may need a bigger pee pan."

Is there a solution in preventing the puppy from stepping onto his own poo?

I can think of 2 solutions.

1. A toilet training routine. Immediately after eating, take the puppy and the pee pan out of the playpen. Monitor the puppy till he poos. This puppy poops within half an hour after eating (the Gastro-Colic Reflex).

2. The Pee Pan to be relocated to the bottom half of the playpen. The front half will be the floor mats and the water bowl.

I think of solution 2 when I analyse the floor plan now. At that time, I did not advise the owner as I did not think of it. There were other clients waiting for their dogs to be treated.

I hope these solutions will benefit readers.

436. A super puppy salesman - an offer that can't be resisted.

2006-11-14T07:12:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"I don't keep dogs as there is a lot of work involved...cleaning up the poo and pee. My wife is afraid of dogs...Now, she likes this dogl.And my Miniature Schnauzer sleeps beside me, covered with a blanket.

"Do you think she ought to be covered by the blanket? My wife did not think she needs the blanket. The room is air conditioned.

My elder son was with me as we were in the dog owner's car going to view an executive condo in North Singapore. He insisted that we go there to view the property he was selling. I told him it was in the wrong location. Still we went.

In the car, he was a machine-gun that never stopped firing.

"I had been to all pet shops in Singapore," he said. "At the second last, I asked for discount but the Seller would not give me a freebie. He said the selling price of the Miniature Schnauzer (in 2004) was $1,500. He was selling me for $1,200. So, I said I would think about it, meaning I would not return back!

"So how did you manage to buy this Schnauzer?". I had just vaccinated her in my Surgery as he came for the annual vaccination.

"From a super intelligent puppy salesman at the pet shop," he said. "He made an offer I cannot refuse. I believed he was an "A" level graduate but he was really great at sales."

"A great salesman does not need to be a graduate," I said. "In fact, I believe the average graduate may not be that hungry to sell. This puppy salesman must be able to sell to you. What offer he gave to you --- the offer you could not resist?"

Maybe I could learn something. So could my son Daniel who had just completed his National Service and had come to work part time before going to the University. He had been a quiet listener sitting at the back of the car.

Daniel had commented to me that this dog owner always called him "Daniel."
"By addressing you by your name, he is using a recommended sales and marketing technique. You pay attention and remember him, rather than not naming you. He knows his business of real estate selling."

So, what was the offer that could not be resisted?

"It is my greed," the dog owner surprised me with his candid confession. Another aspect of the sales and marketing technique which the puppy salesman had applied successfully.

He continued, "The puppy salesman gave me the puppy at $900. Free crate, free urine spray, few chew toys, free third vaccination."

I thought this was a loss maker.

The dog owner elaborated, "The puppy salesman took out all 8 Miniature Schnauzers from the crates. Put them on the floor so that I could see all at one time. They ran all over the floor but this one came to greet me. That was the one I chose."

Giving the prospective buyer choices without high pressure sales talk was another sales and marketing technique. When there was interest, offer the freebies.

So, did the puppy salesman lose money in this case?

No, as the dog owner recommended four friends to buy puppies from him. In return, he gave this dog owner dinners at the Indonesian restaurant.

"Though I live near 3 pet shops, I always drive to his petshop to buy my dog food." the dog owner told me.

So, with 4 referrals, this puppy salesman sold 5 puppies and had after-sales income from dog food and grooming.

Knowing the needs of the prospective customer was what made him so successful. He did sell all the 8 puppies within 2 weeks when many pet shops found it hard to sell 3 puppies a month in 2004. But you don't need to be a graduate to be a top salesperson.

Black Pom - present from a good son

2006-11-13T07:57:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

44. Dad, a cockroach near my computer?

2006-11-13T06:43:00.000+08:00

6.30 am.

This teenager woke up, started his video games in which teenagers hop onto a box, do a few twists and the music goes boom, boom, boom. At the same time, he opened his few books, took a pen and papers to revise for his A level Physics examinations in a few days.

"Dad, where's your box," he came to my computer room.
"What box?"
"Your box to trap a cockroach."
"Son, you can take any box," I can't imagine when I taught him to trap a cockroach using a box.
"Just use a rolled up newspapers and give it a knock. When it is stunned, just remove it."

The 18-year-old, about to join the National Service full time was clueless.

I went to his bedroom. The cockroach was hidden between the wall and his computer as he shifted the desktop to the left, giving me 25 cm of width. I rolled up the newspapers, swung it down. Missed or did the cockroach survived due to his flattened body?

The cockroach wriggled in 1 cm of grey cottony dusk at this uncleaned corner of his computer table and the wall.

"So disgusting," the son said. "Where did it go?"

In that tiny space, the cockroach had vanished. Could it be under the fancy desktop which was shaped like a spaceship?

"Lift up the desktop," I asked the young about-to-be soldier. I wondered how he could survive more dangerous creatures like enemies with bayonets, during combat?

The cockroach appeared from under the desktop and rushed to the far corner of the wall. I smacked it with the roll of newspapers. Poor aim. It disappeared down the small gap onto the floor. Still strong.

Jason shifted the table out. There it was at the far end. Too difficult to reach it. This was when I discovered the thick over 2 cm thick cottony fluff of dust. He had not moved this table for years.

Nothing could be done as this table was heavy. I called the domestic worker to help clean up.

In the meantime, the cockroach made a mistake and crawled out. The boy got him and flushed him down the toilet.

So much for parental teaching. I guess I had failed to teach him how to handle a cockroach without being disgusted.

433. A vet has shaking hands?

2006-11-10T18:02:00.000+08:00

"His hand is shaking a lot...you better come in," Nurse Ann text message me as the young vet was neutering a cat. He had done many such operations, so I knew he could do it.

I went into the operation room. The young vet was incising the skin. He was not used to being looked at by me, so I had left the op room.

"Just press the bladder as it is very full," I showed the young vet a big bulging lump which was a very full bladder of urine. He squeezed out the urine and did an excellent spay.

I am over 56 years old, but I did learn a new technique from him. I thought I had seen all. Still it was a surprise that I had not thought of this technique which made operating a cat with a much smaller skin incision.

Why was the young vet with me? Well, it was his mother's great love to see that he be mentored to do surgery under me. I knew this young man when he was in Primary School. His mother made much effort to contact me and made an appointment to introduce her son to me.

And I learnt a new technique from him in cat spay. I would be most happy to go through with him various surgical cases as he was a vet very interested in surgery.

As to his shaking hands, I experienced the same symptoms when a human plastic surgeon was watching me doing spay many years ago. When I was a young vet. So, I could empathise with him and left the op room. I explained this to Nurse Ann.

432. Does father know best?

2006-11-10T17:39:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"No," I said. "You don't get involved in this Multiple-Level-Marketing (MLM) business."

"You are so condescending...my friend's father was very supportive...I could sell this product to the rich aunties...I did not expect the 20-year-old son's angry outburst to my abrupt answer to his dreams of being an entrepreneur. He is usually a mild cool sort of young man. Right ear studded ear a few months ago had already given his mum fits. Fortunately he did not get a nose or tongue stud.

He was asked by his friend to attend a presentation for a part-time job from Nov to Feb 2006. His friend was mysterious about the presentation. "Come first," his long-last friend said. After that, my son did not want to talk much about the meeting. He had been forewarned that his father (parent) would object to his being the first to join this new start up. Big office with products endorsed by celebrities. Superbrand. Well known in Hongkong. He would have first-mover advantage as he was the first in the recruitment team.

He was angry when I asked him to explain about this MLM business. "There will be buyers who ask repeat questions," I told him. "If you have no patience to reply to such stupid questions, how could you do sales?

"It is your money ($1,800 to buy some products first) and your time," I don't lose temper with this young idealistic man who had just completed 22 months of national service. He was given 2 months earlier discharge as he had performed well in his physical exercise test or something. Now he was ready to join the real world.

"But you will not make a good salesperson," I said. "I know your personality as a father."

"How do you know all about me?" he raised his voice as he was behind me in the car.

"You expect buyers to come to you because you sell $10 cheaper than the retail Pharmacy with lots of shops?" I asked. "Are you prepared to travel to the home to deliver goods to make $10.00?"

"$10.00 savings may not mean much to you," he replied. "I could take the subway train and bus."

He would have 3 helpers in his downline.

"Do you think the 3 helpers would work hard for you and for themselves if they are undergraduates or studying?" I asked. "Are they that hungry? They are from the middle-class and they have girlfriends and other distractions."

I explained to him about the MLM system. I had been involved in the system and had not been able to sell due to the fact that it needs time and a great network. I was just too busy with the practice and other things. So, I got stuck with the goods which I had to buy, to qualify for being a MLM distributor.

"But there are great successes in the MLM system. Only that you need to spend time to train your downline and sell yourself. Lots of time and energy. Do you have time? Even if you have, you will be going overseas in 3 months' time. So, you can't buildl up the business. Many success depends on the person...

"What you say is that I need a large network," the young man had cooled down. He decided that he would rather not put down his money no matter how good the product was. I am impressed that the sales presentation was very good. I should have encouraged him to get on. Let him fail. Let him spend his money and learn the hard way.

But should a father do that? Maybe, I ought not to advise him. To discourage an entrepreneur.

*425 picture - Triangular floor plan for toilet training

2006-11-08T06:35:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

A fine Sunday morning.

A young couple with a Shih Tzu came in for vaccination.
Shih Tzu, female, 14 weeks.
With owner for past 3 weeks.

Fed 2x/day. Wolf down food.
Poop 2x/day but after around 2 hours. (Distraction by owner after feeding. On day 1, she pooped within 30 minutes. Should have waited for her to poop before playing with her. Working couple. Puppy home alone.).

Water bottle.
Triangular floor plan.
Backyard of executive condo.
2 walls and 2 sliding panels of fences to make a door (Good idea as this is floor plan is space saving. The sliding panels can open to permit the puppy to go in and out. Saves money on buying 4 panels as the 2 walls are 2 panels in place).

Pee pan cum wired flooring + pee pan (pee pan complex, PPC).
90% of the time, the puppy will eliminate on the PPC. Sometimes just outside the PPC.

"Sort of miss the target," the young man told me.

"Most likely, the puppy is trying to avoid the soiled wire flooring if the owner is not around to remove the poop," I guessed. The puppy would poop around 2.5 hours after breakfast. So, the owner would be at work and could not clear the poop. The puppy eats poop.

Owner picks up the poop.
Other times, anywhere in the apartment (let out to roam at day 7, too early).

Word commands:
If the owner sees the puppy looking at them, they say "Shish, shish". She goes to the PPC. They say "Good girl."

That is good. But insufficient motivation. A food treat will be better.

"But the food treat is hard," the owner said.
"Food treats can be anything," I said. "A small piece of dog food or bread."

At the early training stage, use food treat. Some puppies are not highly motivated by praise alone.

WHAT TO DO WITH THE POOP-EATING PUPPY?
Many ideas from various books and the internet. I have this idea for the owner.

1. Give the puppy a fixed schedule so that the puppy poops within 30 minutes of feeding.
(No distraction by playing).

2. Confine the puppy again in the backyard.
3. Feed and don't play with him till she poops.
4. Once she poops, reward with treat and praise. This treat distracts her and she may forget the poop.
5. Let her out. If she has not pooped, do not let her out.

"Will she get out of the poop-eating habit?" the lady asked.
"Not likely from my other cases." I said. "They eat poop when adult."

6. Confine to bigger area but no more free roaming of the apartment, without supervision. Watch for signs of elimination. Put her back on the PPC.That means, increase her free space, room by room till she is fully PPC-trained.

7. Neutralise floor urine with vinegar:water 1:2.
"She likes to eliminate on the floor mat," the young man said.
"Soft areas are preferred toilet areas," I said. "Neutralise it with vinegar:water,"

8. "I use air freshener to spray on the accident areas," the young lady said.
"This is one method to mask the urine smell," I said. "But does it work?"
She shook her head. So, it is vinegar:water method to neutralise.

9. "How about the newspapers?" the young man asked.
"She is not paper-trained," I said. "She is PPC-trained. Later you may have to replace the PPC when it is rusted."

"The PPC is made of plastic," the young man replied. "It will not rust."
"If the puppy chews on the plastic, it will expose the metal and rust," I mentioned this in passing.

"The disadvantage of the PPC is the need to pick up the poop. If the puppy is paper-trained, the papers can be removed, I said.

"But the floor tile is still stained by urine and poop," the lady said.

"Yes, that is where the pee pan can be used," I replied. "Put the newspapers on the pee pan."

Does this article sound too technical for the readers? I don't know. The owners promised to e-mail me a few pictures of the housing of the puppy. It was a very happy chat with the young couple." The waiting room was getting crowded. I took some pictures of this puppy for my case study.

SOMETHING WRONG WITH BLOGGER.COM. Unable to upload pictures for all newer blogs. Will have to switch to another blog.

431. Application of toilet training knowledge. How to do it?

2006-11-08T06:05:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"The puppy is my present for her," the father spoke quietly as I vaccinated the puppy for a fair be-spectacle slim 14-year-old. "She had good examination results."

"With top marks, you could study in any subject you like," I said. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"A veterinarian," she did not hesitate. Seldom do 14-year-olds in Singapore know what they profession they want to be. Their minds are still wandering in music and computer online games and chat. Even if they want to be veterinarians, they do not have the top grades to get into the undergraduate studies.

"You have a very good chance if you continue to excel in your studies," I advised. "Only that your father may need to save to more than $300,000 for the 5-year-old studies in Australia, as at 2006. Fees seem to be increasing every year. By the time you are ready in 5 years, the fees may be $400,000. You may apply for the one or two veterinary scholarships given per year."

Sometimes, it may be better to have not so clever a child if the parent cannot pay for the overseas education. There is no veterinary course in Singapore. Most recent graduates are from Australia. A quarter of a million dollars --- not peanuts --- from the parents must have been spent in the recent graduate. A parent's retirement money,love and hope have not been in vain for those young veterinarians.

I was glad to meet a top student in the top class in Secondary Two. It was a rare meeting because the top 5% are so few in number. She would be around the age of my friend's daughter called Melissa Chua whom I had not seen for a long time. She told me she was Melissa's classmate in the primary school but they separated to various classes in Secondary School.

"Do you know how to toilet train your puppy since you must have researched and surfed the internet for knowledge?" I asked her as her best friend, a slim girl who did not wear spectacles held her puppy.

"It is not as easy in practice," the girl said.

Knowledge is power. But the devil is in the details of the execution of the teaching! "How to apply the knowledge?" Each puppy and situation is unique. Is there a formula or instruction manual?

I hope to write one. Will it be a best seller? I doubt it. But there seems to be a need to get this book out. For first-time puppy owners and for puppies to be in good hands.

430. Pee pan with wire flooring - Interview with pet shop operator

2006-11-01T15:33:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

It is interesting to hear from another point of view --- the experienced puppy seller. If the timing is right and the pet shop operator knows me long enough, he told me the following reasons for using the PPWF:

1. The feet of the puppy will not be dirty as his urine flows through the wire flooring onto the play pan. So, the floor of the apartment will not be messy and wet.

"When does the owner use this? Immediately?" I asked.

I was surprised when he said that the puppy should be paper-trained first.
Put the PPWF onto the papers or where he eliminates.
The puppy will climb onto the PPWF and eliminate after eating.
Most puppies poop after eating.

The theory sounds simple. Does it work in the home? Research is never ending!

429. *Woman afraid of the biting and growling Shih Tzu puppy.

2006-11-01T15:15:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Shih Tzus with white collar are intelligent," the mother with two pre-teen daughters said. "But my husband likes him."

"The coat colour is not a sign of intelligence in a dog," I said. "This Shih Tzu with the black face and dirty brown coat. Most Singaporeans avoid buying this colour. He is intelligent as he bites you and your daughter. He has dominant leadership quality at such a young age.

The Shih Tzu is only 10 weeks old, but he also climbs on the woman's leg, bites and growls at them.

The mother is scared of his "bad temper" as he bites and growls at her.

WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?
1. Be assertive. Say loudly, "Puppy, NO biting".
This does not work.

2. Time Out.
Never heard of this method.
If the puppy bites, put him inside a dark room for 3 minutes. Wait 5 minutes.
Take him out. If he bites, repeat. Sometimes you need to do it for 20 times.
If the puppy persists even after 5 minutes, keep him in longer time.
Consult the professional dog trainer if the puppy cannot be trained.

3. Pick up the puppy by the scruff of the neck, look into his eyes and say loudly, "Puppy, NO biting." I demonstrated.
The woman dared not do this.

4. Muzzle holding. A strong lady demonstrated to me this method. Grip the muzzle. Spank the muzzle and say loudly "Puppy, NO biting!" It worked for her Miniature Schnauzer.

5. Neuter at 6 months of age? Too late?

This puppy was paper-trained by the home breeder. So, no complaints as he eliminates onto the newspapers. But he is wanting to be the boss, I said to the lady. What can she do? Can a professional dog trainer really solve her problem? Will she pay for professional training?

Now, if there is a proper puppy training school, this will be a good case. Sometimes, it is the branding and the infrastructure that gives confidence to the puppy owner to pay for training.

Mark Richman, Any other ideas?

428. *Pee-pan (automobile) trained in 4 weeks. Follow up.

2006-11-01T15:04:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

I remember this case because the owner recommends the use of the car boot pan, sold at 30, Ave 6, Bukit Batok shop called AutoBacs. The dog is now over 1.5 year old. He came in for booser vaccination.

I will need to go through the files later as I am in National Library typing out this case before I forget.

Instead of buying the pee pan from the pet shop, he used the pan for keeping the car boot clean from liquid spills. I have not seen this pan.

Toilet area:
1. Newspaper on automobile pee pan at home.
2. Outdoors - Grass. Poop on grass. Will scratch the front door to go downstairs at 9 p.m to poop on grass. Dinner at 6 p.m.
3. No specific grass area. Any area. Owner will pick up the poop and put in plastic bag.

Social behaviour
1. Urine marking by peeing on every pillar downstairs, but well behaved at home. Urine marking is characteristic of male dogs.

427. A diaper-trained Poodle wants its crate to be a clean den.

2006-11-01T14:32:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

2 young ladies share their interesting observations about their diaper-trained Poodle.

They bought the puppy from a pet shop. Their friend gave them the crate with pee pan and recommended the use of the puppy training pads, known as "diapers".

TOY POODLE, MALE, 12 WEEKS OLD now.

Toilet location: One big diaper in the kitchen.

Sleeping and eating area: Crate with pee pan in the living area on week 2 after purchase. Slept without whining or barking. Feed bowl removed within 10 minutes of completion of food.

In week 1, put in the bedroom. Messy. Pooped after midnight. Barked on day 3 at 11 p.m. Put puppy onto the diapers. Everytime he barked, put onto the diapers.

How puppy communicates?
A different kind of barking. Barked very loudly, jumped up and down exciting wanting to get out of the locked crate to go to the kitchen's diaper.
If the puppy wants to come out of the locked crate, his barking sound is softer.

How to use the diaper?
Every week, change to new diaper. Very absorbent and keeps the puppy feet clean compared to newspapers.
Spray commercial urine spray onto the centre or edge of the diaper.
The puppy would smell and never pee or poops outside the diaper.
Stools are promptly removed.

Accidents?
Diaper-trained after 3-4 weeks.
Accidents only when the puppy is in a room or the owner is not around.
Pees as it is too late to go to the diaper.
After midnight, puppy pees inside the locked crate. Wire flooring. Urine goes onto the pee pan.

WHAT I PROPOSE?

1. Place another diaper in the living area near the crate.
2. Do not lock the crate.
3. Most likely the puppy will pee and poop on the diaper in the living area if he can't make it to the kitchen diaper.
4. Vinegar:water to neutralise the crate floor and any "accident" area to remove the smell of urine.

OR
1. Place the unlocked crate inside the kitchen. Barricade the entrance with a baby gate so that the puppy can still see human activity.
2. Place another diaper in the living area.
3. After 7 days, open the baby gate so that the puppy now has the living and kitchen area to roam about.
4. Neutralise the urine smell in the floor and crate flooring.

REASONS
Increase the free area from kitchen to the living room.
Neutralise all puppy urine smell areas.
No need to lock up the crate during the daytime when the owners are not at home.
With 2 diapers available, the puppy should be 100% diaper-trained in the next 14 days.

426. The 3.5-year-old Miniature Schnauzer was pee-pan-wire-flooring trained.

2006-10-22T13:30:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore - 2 weeks' confinement

Some Miniature Schnauzers are most easily recognised by me. He had erect ears and looked bigger than others. He is pee pan complex trained - pee pan with wired flooring (PPC). 2 weeks confined to the balcony when he was first purchased. After that he would go to the pee pan. I saw him one year ago. Now, it was another year for vaccination booster.

"No accidents?" I asked.

"He pees purposely on the floor when he is home alone," the couple in their 50s laughed while the a teenaged daughter wearing black boots and a blue white floor dress smiled.

"If we say 'don't dirty the floor or we will kill (spank) you,'" the father said.

"Does this command work?" I asked.

"70% of the time," the father said. "If he misbehaves, he would lower his ears and hides under the dining table or behind the sofa."

"Maybe he sees your angry face," I said. "He is frightened of being spanked."

But the dog will greet the owner happily if he has not soiled the apartment. So, this is an intelligent dog and really knows he has be mischievous?

ANAL GLANDS

The owner could not squeezed much oil. My assistant squired a large volume of clayish grey oil after I asked the owner to try and try again.

The dog had been circling and biting his backside. Grooming every 3 months. Well cared for.

I checked the backside. The dog finally lost his patience. It is painful. He growled at me. He has been the best patient dog in Singapore. It was just too much to get pinched in the anal area on this fine Sunday morning by so many people!

*425. Best Practices: Small backyard, 2 panels of fences for the poop-eating Shih Tzu.

2006-10-22T12:54:00.000+08:00

424. A protruding sideways abdomen - 2 pups entangled

2006-10-21T08:14:00.000+08:00

PROTRUDING ABDOMEN -- ENTANGLED PUPS IN UTERINE BODY

Singapore breeders want the least veterinary cost. No fanciful ultrasonic scans. In this case, the dam looked as if she had more than 3 pups as the abdomen was stretched sideways and protruding.

"X-rays are not reliable," the breeder had confirmed that the X-rays taken at another vet practice showed 3 pups. For this breeder, X-rays were routinely used.

She phoned for an elective Caesarean as there was long straining by the dam. On the way to the Surgery a small pup was born.

"Do you want a Caesarean?" I asked. This dam sure looked as if she had more than 3 pups because of the protruding abdomen.

On Caesarean, I had great difficulty getting out the pup. I made a bigger than my usual incision in the skin and inner layer --- 1 cm longer --- since the 2 pups were both in the uterine body and it was too difficult to take one out. I saw a water bag with fresh reddish blue blood.

Unusual. I had done nearly a hundred Caesareans and had not encountered this. The umbilical cord had ruptured. There was no time to waste.

The large pup came out with the umbilical cord 3/4 ruptured. So, the bleeding in the water bag was due to the rupture of the cord blood vessels.

Nature always surprise the veterinarian.

"2 pups left. An easy Caesarean," I thought.

It was good that all 3 pups were strong and active. The market value for these high quality Miniature Schnauzers would be around S$2,000 per pup. If the breeder had been complacent or not decisive, only 1 out of 3 pups could be alive. But this is an experienced breeder.

So, the ending was a happy one. A protruding sideways abdomen, without the fanciful ultrasonic scan, would indicate that the 2 pups had entangled and struggling to be forced out. However, the birth canal was not able to let both out at the same time.
The breeder's elective Caesarean saved the 2 pups.

As to the bloody vaginal discharge after the first pup was born, this might be a sign that something was not right with the dam.

In this case, the breeder was happy. The pups were very beautiful and of high quality stock.

423. Hand signs for the deaf puppy - Repetitions needed for training.

2006-10-18T02:59:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

For the first 8 - 16 weeks, puppies grow fast and are able to absorb learning without the clutter of distractions that happen for older puppies.

However, the first-time puppy owners have great difficulty understanding and communicating with the puppies.

Hard spanking from the owner in obedience and toilet training are still being practised. Sometimes it is effective. Each puppy is unique. For aggressive male puppies like the Shih Tzus, spanking provokes aggressive biting back the hand that feeds them!

HOW TO SHOW YOUR PUPPY A SIGN
When do you first introduce a sign? It varies with the situation. Sometimes, before, sometimes during and sometimes after an occurrence will help to make the association clearer.

In toilet training, most modern dog training books recommend before the puppy eliminates. Carry the puppy to the toilet area and say "Pee here." Rewards and praises.

Some owners in my research have success after the accident using spanking and scolding. They bring the puppy to the accident spot and say "No".

Each puppy behaves differently, is at different stage of mental development and so there is no fixed guideline.

BARKING past midnight. It may be a means of telling the owner to come and change the soiled newspapers inside the crate.

SCRATCHING on the door of the crate to get out. Some puppies use the crate as a clean sleeping and eating area. Scratching furiously at the door of the crate is to tell the owner he wants to get out and go to the bathroom or designated toilet area. Not inside the cage.

PEEING in front of a closed door. PEEING on the floor mat placed outside the door. Accidents happen here commonly in my survery. This "favoured areas" mean that the puppy has no choice but to eliminate there as the owner is not aware of the signs.

TURNING, SQUATTING, SNIFFING THE FLOOR. Some of the signs that the puppy wants to eliminate. Shouting stops the process sometimes. Carry the puppy quickly to the toilet area. Praise and reward if he responds. Repeat your sign and command. Some puppies learn faster than others. But most learn by 4 weeks if the owner has time to interact and train.

CLICKER METHOD. Sound and signs and praises. Effective in many cases.

DEAF PUPPIES. Hand signs are the means of communication with them. They associate an action with your hand sign. Get rewards and praises. Motivated to learn.

WHEN TO START HAND SIGNALS?

On the first day you bring the puppy home. The puppy will be around 8 - 12 weeks.
All puppies observe the owner's face for signs.

Daily activities like eating,drinking, changing soiled newspapers or the puppy wanting attention and going out for exercise.

WHICH SIGNS TO START?
Hand signal to "Sit" before giving the puppy food in his food bowl. The hand sign may be pointing your index finger towards the floor before giving the food. When the puppy sits, you say "Good dog" and give the food.

Most owners waste this opportunity as they are not aware that before giving the food is the best time to teach obedience training.

You can use signs to satisfy the puppy's needs and desires. Young puppies have basic needs of food, water, clean area to sleep and love. How do you do use hand signals to communicate with the puppy?

If the puppy can connect the experience to your sign and gets rewarded with the response he wants, he will be motivated to learn more signs. However, you need to repeat many times over several days to be successsful.

Repeat your sign every time you give a command. Hug the puppy or reward if he responds.

REPETITION is the key to success for most puppies. You need to spend time to interact with your puppy for the first 2 weeks. No time means a messy puppy. Training needs to be short and fun. Most effective obedience training such as "SIT" is done before feeding as puppy focus full attention on the owner.

NOTES

* In general, the more your puppies see a sign, the faster they will learn it.
* Be patient. All puppies are different in mental development.
* Have fun in teaching. Read more dog training books.
* Many puppies learn fast with SIT signs as their first sign.
* Puppies cannot sign back like babies. But they can bark to tell you it is dinner time.
* Make signs when the puppy has eye-to-eye contact with you.
* Repeating and reinforcing your signs. Be patient and consistent. Don't show frustration as training is meant to be fun for you and your puppies. Look for situations where you can use a sign. During meal times, give half as much food. When the puppy finishes and ask for more by looking at you, use your hand signal to command "SIT" before giving more food.
* Speak in short sentences as the puppy cannot understand too many words. Good English may not be practical for puppies. E.g. Point your index finger to the newspapers, say "Pee pee" rather than "Please go to the newspapers to pee."

422. Night-time Control of Bladder & Bowel

2006-10-16T19:31:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

Not easy task to ask the puppy to masterthe involuntary muscles when they are asleep. Esp. if puppy has just mastered daytime control.

1. Will take time to develop control.This varies.
2. Restrict water intake, esp before bedtime.
3. Encourage more drinking during daytime.
4. Use the toilet before sleeping. Repeat again before lights out.
5. Night-lights from bed to the bathroom.
6. Just pee pan plus paper near the crate.
7. Change soiled Newspapers before sleeping and wake up at 4 am to change soiled papers if puppy barks.
8. Puppy diapers if you cannot get up to changing soiled newspapers in the middle of the night.
9. Alarm clock to wake you up?

421. Problems encountered in toilet training

2006-10-15T13:53:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

1. Purposely not pooping on newspapers but will pee on them.
Suggestion--Don't scold or yell at the puppy. Too much pressure on the puppy.
Observe, tell him to "poop" on newspapers.
Change soiled newspapers
Do not distract him within one hour after eating so he can poop.

2. Puppy wants to play with his faeces.
Rare cases, eat the stools too.
Too unsanitary, worms infestation.
Careful supervision during and after pooping.

3. When the puppy regresses.Not ready or stressed.
Stressed by new puppy.
Change of new environment. Moving apartment.

4. When the puppy refuse to use the toilet.
Too much pressure--puppy need to assert some kind of control

Owners need to remove the pressure and let the puppy go to the toilet.

5. Puppy use newspapers at home but not at a friend's place or outdoors.
Not comfortable to use the toilet. Anyone is nearby, Hold it until he gets home.

420. "How much you will pay me?" the 10-year-old boy asked the vet

2006-10-14T13:55:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The parents had brought in a white Miniature Schnauzer for vaccination. The puppy had one or two coughs. So, after a long explanation of why he should not be vaccinated, the puppy vaccination was deferred for 2 weeks.

"How much you will pay me?" the 10-year-old boy asked me when his mother suggested that he worked at the Surgery to gain more experience of handling animals. I told the mother he could be a doctor as he was not afraid of blood and insects unlike most city boys of Singapore.

He was the rare type of boy in highly urbanised Singapore not to be afraid of insects and animals in his garden. He could even catch them and destroy them. "If not brought up properly," I said to the parents, "he would grow up to be a wildlife endangered animal species smuggler---for the big money to be made."

He would catch iguana by the tail in the wink of an eye. Scorpions and millipedes would not escape his sharp eyes. Grasshoppers destroying his mother's plants were (I shuddered to describe) sent to heaven.

"How do you catch cobras?" I asked him.

"Just go behind them, grip their neck behind their heads," he said confidently.

"He sold frogs to his classmates," the mother said.

"I am surprised that there are buyers," the young boy replied. He sure had his entrepreneurial streak.

"Why don't you write a report like 'Animals in my backyard' or "10 iguanas in Singapore" for me to publish?" I asked him how much he wanted as fees.

"$100," he replied. "I will sue you for infringement of copyrights if you publish without my permission."

The parents were a bit embarassed.

"But if I paid you for the article, you could not sue me," I said.

He has a younger sister who is not afraid of animals in the garden too. So, no more mentoring of this boy because he expected to be paid to learn. It is such a pity as he could be mentored to be a great veterinarian or doctor. Now, I assessed that he would want to make big money and for that he had to be a business man.

"I like to smell the dollar notes," he said to me when I asked why he needed to make money and was he not getting money from his parents?

"In this case, you ought to be a financial analyst or stock/option/bond trader" I advised. "There is no big bucks in medicine or veterinary medicine generally." This was a boy I could talk for hours on "Unusual and wild animals he encountered in Singapore." It is a pity the parents did not get him to write and photographed the animals for all animal lovers in the world.

419. FOOD & WATER. Water bottle for puppies?

2006-10-11T18:31:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

In Singapore, pet shop operators usually recommend that the water bottle ith a metal spout be used to provide fresh water to the puppies. Bowls of water sometimes get tipped over or become dirty.

Some animal activists are against the idea of the puppy having to get water from a water bottle. Pet guinea pigs drink from the water bottle usually.

HOW MUCH SHOULD THE PUPPY EAT?

Much depends on the breed. Pet shop operators recommend two feedings a day. Seems to have no adverse effect on most breeds. Finicky eaters will eat little or wait for new food or home-cooked food, knowing that the owners will give in.

Chihuahua, mini-maltese, yorkshire terrier and the Pomeranian will need 3 times a day. Make sure they really eat as they develop low blood sugar fits or become inactive if they have not eaten the whole day.

418. CAT SURGERY - Do not let the cat out of the bag.

2006-10-11T05:00:00.000+08:00

FOR CAT LOVERS. 4 pictures of cat surgery at:
http://www.toapayohvets.com/surgery/20061010Malodorous_Cat.htm

Personal Experiences - Cat Surgery - The Malodorous Cat
Last updated: 11 Oct 2006.
Don't let the cat out of the "bag"--- I mean "apartment.
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS

The cat flattened her ears as I touched a 4-cm swelling to the right side of her tail. She hissed "ss...ss..ss" as I continued to examine the sore backside.

A man with a 3-rubied ear stud on his right ear and a long beard in his forties had browsed the world wide web, keyed in "veterinary Singapore" and here he was.

He was extremely busy as he was organising a meeting for the International Olympic Committee that had met in Singapore.

The Committee would vote for the city to host the 2012 Olympic Games. Paris was the favourite and London was second. Singapore was the meeting place for the Committee.
"An abscess, probably due to a cat bite or scratch," I said. "I will tranquilise it and drain the abscess."

"There was this neighbourhood tom cat who came up to my 2nd floor apartment," Mr Wong said. "He must have attacked my mother's cat. The cat was just outside the apartment waiting for my mother to return from work."

Tom cats do seek out and destroy their enemies to assert control over their territories. Some people do the same thing too.
I injected the 5-year-old spayed cat with a tranquiliser. Then I gave her some anaesthetic gas through a face mask. This would be the safest method.

She showed her claws.
Tranquilisers don't knock out a cat. Just sedate it.

Finally she was anaesthesized. It took a few minutes to drain the pus from the swelling.

A malodorous smell would make the most seasoned veterinarian and veterinary nurse puke. Some sort of flesh rotting bacteria were multiplying inside the swelling.

The next day, Mr Wong came back. A blackish discharge oozed from the backside wound.

Whitish and soft skin edges. The cat would lick the wound obsessively.
This time, I gave the cat a general anaesthetic injection into its back muscle.

I seldom used this method as an injection is irreversible if the cat had reactions. The cat may die unlike gas anaesthetic which can be given in small amounts first.

Mr Wong was into the surgery room. The ceiling extractor fan could not remove the malodorous smell promptly.

Mr Wong stepped further away from the operating table and stood nearer the surgery door.

The smell of the decay of rotting flesh was so much unpleasant. Nurse Ann and I had insensitive noses. We were conditioned to malodour over the last 30 years.

"Do you want to wait at the waiting area?" I suggested. I did not know whether he would faint as his work with beautiful music and movies would be a world of much more pleasant smells than a veterinary surgery.

What sort of bacteria was so virulent as to cause tissue decay? The cat has an elastic skin and a bite from the tom cat had injected bacteria into the skin below.

Being elastic, the wound closed. The bacteria multiplied. The cat's defence white blood cells could not cope with the invasion. Cells die and a putrid odour wafted in the surgery room.
The wound was flushed and cleaned. It needed antibiotics and then another surgery to close the hole. The owner did not want the cat back yet.
as a table-tennis ball diameter.
His mother missed the cat but would not be able to clean the wound or give antibiotics. Nurse Ann gave antibiotics by mixing with the cat food.

Over the next 6 days, the wound was licked clean by the cat. All dead edges of skin were licked away all the dead skin creating a hole is as big
It is always a challenge to close up a big skin hole. I hate this type of surgery as failure would mean the cat would suffer from a much bigger hole.

Not as simple as you would think. It took more than one hour. Now, the mother wanted the cat home.

"If the stitches break down, the hole would be 5 times bigger in area and there would be no second chance at stitching. At home, the cat would be walking about and rubbing its stitches against some walls. You have been informed of the risk."

Veterinary costs are most important for the owner. I understand what the mother was thinking. She is from the baby-boomer generation where thrift is important.
It was not easy to earn money. She worked hard to earn a living to bring up a filial son.

And here, just a bite wound from a tom cat would cost money.

Mr Wong said, "How to get rid of this tom cat?"

"Well, you can contact the government's Veterinary Department," I mumbled, without volunteering him the phone number.

"Another tom cat will take over the territory."

He fingered his beard. Nodded his head. I was wondering why his mother let the cat out of the apartment in the first place but it was not my business to ask. Many older Singaporeans would feed but no keep the stray cat at home. Sometimes, the cat just wanted to go out daily.

The veterinary expenses were high although this was just a cat bite wound. The musician and writer owner understood that this was not a simple consultation.

Mr Wong visited the cat in the evening. He saw the stitches, the long incisions of skin I had to pinch skin from further down the leg to seal just a 20-cm hole.

I had to get skin from every where just to close the gap. The right side of the anus had only 0.5 cm of skin left and I needed to make sure that the anal area be stitched up.

I remembered this uncommon surgery. A dark green blob of anal oil oozed out when I undermined the anal area to get the skin loosened to stitch to the other skin flap.

I cursed: Damn it, anal gland oil contaminating the wound. Would there be infection now?
I swabbed away the oil. I should have squeezed out the anal gland oil before surgery. But I had never thought of it.

"3 or 4 days later," he said. "I will bring the cat home."

"No," I said. "The skin wounds take at least 10 days to heal. 14 days preferred.

"There would be no second chance if the stitches break down, " I advised. "The cat would have a gigantic backside wound!"

"Let me pay the outstanding fees now," he said. "Otherwise the total amount payable on discharge will give me a heart attack!"

Mr Wong gave Nurse Ann the Nets Card to debit the fees.

The surgery and anaesthesia was $250. It took over an hour just to stitch up a "small" wound in the backside. Preparation for surgery took another half an hour.

The man with the beard and left ear ring loves his mother without a doubt.

Otherwise he would have just asked the humane shelter to take away this cat and saved him money. After all, she was just a stray cat!

From this experience, all cats should be kept at home for their own safety.

It is still a cat-bite-cat jungle in Singapore. Not only from tom cats. But from the 2-legged ones.

Singapore cats seem to be becoming an endangered species, in my observation.

As they trusted people who feed them, they would be easily trapped.

Stray cats are becoming extinct in modern Singapore in 2006. The few wise ones would not venture out during daytime as they observed the danger. Who the cat catchers were, I do not know. I have never seen them in action but I was told by cat lovers that they use nets on long poles to nap the stray cats.

I hope the man with the beard and ear rings would be able to see his mother's cat for the next few years. I advised him not to let the cat out of the bag...

I mean not to let the cat out of the apartment.

It is a real cat napping jungle outside his apartment.

Never let the stray cat room if you want to feed him. Keep him at home.

FOR CAT LOVERS. 4 pictures of cat surgery at:
http://www.toapayohvets.com/surgery/20061010Malodorous_Cat.htm
It is much safer for him. The cat catchers are everywhere!

417. Two weeks to paper-train if confined

2006-10-10T18:53:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

The fair woman in her forties said, "Paper trained in 2 weeks."

"How you do it?" I wanted to confirm the 2-week success remark I had heard from the pet shop operator and a breeder.

"Just do not let the puppy out of the playpen for 2 weeks."

"Who advised you?" I asked.

"A pet shop operator at Thomson Road. I bought the puppy from the pet shop," she said. This was a different pet shop operator.

Mark R, another dog trainer just told me today that 2 weeks would be the minimum time.

416. Why the puppy pees in front/behind the door?

2006-10-10T18:44:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

During my research, many puppy owners say "The puppy would pee in front of the bedroom door or behind the main door. Doing this on purpose."

Well, I did not think much about their observations.

In my surgery, my assistant Anna had a 3-month-old Chihuahua puppy for the last one month. I asked her to let the puppy be out at the reception area instead of being crated at the back room.

"Naughty boy, naughty, naughty," Annie would say as she mopped up the puppy pee found in the reception and waiting area. The puppy could run out of the reception area to the waiting area. The door to the back room would be closed.

I noted that the puppy peed just outside the door a few times. He did pee elsewhere but outside the door was a common area. Why?

I thought about what the other owners said about "peeing behind the door." It dawned on me that the puppy was trying to go to its crate or toilet area. Since the entrance was closed, the puppy had no choice but to pee on the floor tiles behind or in front of the closed door! Bedroom doors are closed to prevent the puppy from eliminating in the bedroom. So, the puppy could not wait and pees near the bedroom door or behind the front door. The strong smell of its urine make it want to pee there most of the time.

415. Conflicting veterinary advices - bladder stone

2006-10-10T18:26:00.000+08:00

"It is best that you do not advocate surgery," I advised my ex-nurse. "Your boss might infer that you are drumming up business for me. He is a really nice gentle giant and would not say so."

This 3-year-old femal eminiature Schnauzer had been passing blood in the urine for some months. Jenny had felt a hard "stone" in the bladder. This woman with over 20 years of dog experience instantly diagnosed bladder stone.

She scheduled a surgery after getting quotations from me and probably elsewhere. She is one of those rare employees who cares about the need to minimise expenses for her boss.

I suggested X-ray of the bladder to confirm it. It could be a bladder tumour. The dog belonged to her boss.

Since I do not have the X-ray machine, I asked her to get it done at another practice.

The other vet recommended a home-based diet to get the bladder stone "dissolved." So, I did not hear from Jenny for some time.

Now, the bladder stone was as big as a quail egg. Hard as a rock. "Like a figure of 8" Jenny said when she palpated the bladder. "How could such large stones dissolve when home-cooked food is fed?" Another month had passed. Reddish blood, bright and red stained the backside of the Miniature Schnauzer every day.

Jenny's boss accepted this advice. But the female dog kept passing blood in the urine. Jenny decided finally to operate. So, I told her that she had a conflict of interest in the sense that she was my ex-nurse and now the other vet had given a separate opinion to the owner who was her boss.

"How in the world can such a large bladder stone disappear?" Jenny was sceptical. "The dog is still passing blood in the urine everyday."

The conflicting veterinary advices had postponed the operation by more than one month. What to do? The dog kept passing blood in the urine. It was not a normal situation.

Ultimately, it is up to the owner or the care-giver to decide. If this was my dog, I would opt for surgery. An infected bladder over time would lead to infections of the kidneys or death. That would not be good for this dog.

414. The abused puppy is operated.

2006-10-10T18:05:00.000+08:00

Part I - Blog case No. 412.
http://puppytoilettraining.blogspot.com/2006/10/412-best-place-in-world-for-injured.html

Mrs Baker's puppy came for surgery to cover up the exposed muscles of the affected legs. There was no pus or smell as the puppy had been on daily antibiotics. The wounds were bright red.

"The swabs are is stuck to the wound," Mrs Bakers observed after using the scissors to snip off the protective bandage. "We used saline to wet the swabs before removing it." Actually, all I needed to do was to pull off the swabs and the puppy would not feel any pain. Saline water to wet and loosen the swabs were unnecessary.

I asked Mrs Baker to wait outside as it was all too painful for her. The swabs came off easily. Yellowish pus on the swabs showed that infection would be setting in soon.

"There is bleeding," the domestic worker pointed out to a bright red spot of blood on the examination table.

"Bleeding is due to the friction with the exposed muscles," I explained. "It is important to use the skin to cover the leg muscles, otherwise the puppy will lick the flesh till it gets septic."

But this operation is one I hate to do. The skin is tight. It is a challenging surgery and takes a long time as there are no spare skin available over the exposed elbow. And lesser skin over the hock (ankle) of the hind leg.

If the operation to cover the wound is successful, it could be very satisfying to the owner. Mrs Baker could see that there was no surrounding skin to cover the wounds.

"What a bad case of puppy abuse," she remembered the newspaper reporting about this serial cat killer who enjoyed abusing cats in the neighbourhood. "Are there such cruel people in Singapore?"

I said the puppy probably had a car accident. The lower side of the car had sliced off the skin of his front and back legs.

"How could this be?" Mrs Baker asked.

"The puppy could be hit by the side of the car. As she turned, the other leg could cut too. One back leg joint was extremely swollen."

Of course, it was my pure speculation. Mrs Baker did not think so. Surgery to cover the big exposed elbow and leg muscles would be necessary. After antibiotics of 7 days, the puppy was operated upon.

It took over 2 hours to repair the wound. If there was no infection, the operation would be successful. 90% of the muscles would be covered up. Mrs Baker brought the puppy home to nurse her.

413. Success in 9/10 cases, the pet shop operator asserted

2006-10-08T07:49:00.000+08:00

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"You have a stingy boss," the pet shop operator said to James, my receptionist when I advised James to eat a small slice of the mooncake, 1/8th of a piece of the small mooncake instead of the whole cake. It was the small type of around 4 cm in diameter, full of the orange egg yoke. It could be eaten all at one time. To me, this mooncake was mostly egg yolk than cake.

In eating a slice, James should be able to assess whether the mooncake was of good quality. That was how I sample moon cakes from various manufacturers. If the small slice was no good, then, don't eat any as the cakes can be quite fattening.

We were at the shop to vaccinate 4 puppies. The pet shop girl offered us the mooncakes---presents from customers. October 7, 2006 was the day after the Moon Cake Festival and no more moon cakes would be on sale.

Howver, a customer was present. A lady and her Singapore Management University psychology undergraduate daughter were browsing. It was no good for my reputation. Yet it was Mr T's personality to make such provocative remarks. Maybe he was paying his pet shop girl more than the market rate.

"Mrs Chua, the mooncake offered is not mine, so how can I be a stingy boss by asking James to eat a small piece?" I sought the customer's opinion. She nodded her head. For the sake of the puppy toilet training research, I soldiered on.

I asked Mr T to take a picture of the puppy in his shop for my puppy toilet training book.

"You want to become a professor?" he laughed. "Still writing this book for the past 3 years!"

"It is a difficult book to write," I said. "Some research is incomplete." Mr T was the temperamental type, so it was not a straightforward matter of asking him how he advised on toilet training after he sold his puppies. Confine in the playpen or crate, the pet shop operators selling the puppies would say. But Mr T was one of those progressive pet shop operators with hands on experience in breeding and selling puppies for more than 10 years.

So, you would expect that he would not give free advices so easily. And he did not do so for the past 3 years I had known him and took all his jokes and provocative remarks without getting angry.

So, today, I did not expect him to do so. I took some pictures.

"The secret of success is to put the puppy inside the playpen or crate for 2 weeks," Mr T said. "9/10 of my cases were toilet-trained."

"Incredible!" I shook my head. "Most puppy owners have a hard time toilet training and take more than 2 weeks. The reason being that they let the puppy free."

"Suffer for 2 weeks," Mr T said. "Enjoy a life-time with a clean dog that does not mess up and make an apartment smelly."

"No taking out of the confined area," Mr T continued. "Remove the stools from the wire flooring promptly. The puppy would then be attracted to the urine and poop smell. You can use the crate and wire flooring set. Get the puppy to use this set as a toilet by spraying the commercial urine spray onto the pee pan which is covered with newspapers. The the puppy would be attracted to use this set as a toilet area."

"As for the playpen with newspapers, remove the soiled newspapers promptly. Shred the newspapers to provide the flooring in the playpen so that the puppy would not step all over the stools. Reduce the paper area so that the puppy just eliminates on the newspapers."

That was an unexpected excellent advice from Mr T after 3 years of business with him.

Actually he had terminated the business relationship for the past few months as an aggressive layman who operates a veterinary clinic had been successful in securing his business.

It was like meeting an old friend again. Business had been much better. I asked Mr T what he wanted to do in life? Any new ideas or expansion? His uncle had opened a very beautiful puppy shop.

The pet shop girl had taken some time off from her busy grooming to ask me, "Why don't you ask me what I want in life?"

"What do you want in life?"

"A very rich man to marry. Over 80 years old. One foot in the grave. So that I do not have to work anymore and care for my baby daughter full time."

"Really? This is what you want?"

She nodded.

"You will not give conditions like sleeping in separate beds?"

The pet shop girl was silent.

Mr T wrinkled his nose, "He has somebody in mind for you!"

We all wish we do not have to work for money. To do something we enjoy doing. Not for all the money in the world. Where do I find such a very rich old man for the pet shop girl?

412. The best place in the world for an injured stray dog

2006-10-03T18:08:00.000+08:00

THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR AN INJURED STRAY DOG

"The puppy fell into the correct drain," Mr White smiled as he puffed his cigarette and drank a glass of Tiger Beer at the gate. I was leaving the house after an unannounced short house visit. Mr White was a visitor to Mrs Baker's house. Mrs Baker was surprised to see me. So was I surprised to see her as she was a busy working lady.

I came to check on the black Miniature Pinscher Cross with terrible large areas of exposed front and back leg muscles being nursed by Mrs Baker. The best bandages money could buy covered her foreleg and hind leg being changed daily. Temperature taking at four hourly intervals. This was the 3rd day and the puppy had no fever due to the antibiotics and sterile cleaning by Mrs Baker.

"Yes," I waved to him. "Mrs Baker's house is the best place in the world for a stray dog to fall sick."

Mrs Baker spent the whole night assuring the puppy that everything would be all right on the day she spotted her in the drain outside her house. Her brother lifted up the puppy and got bitten in the hand. He was given a tetanus jab by the doctor.

"Bring the dog to the surgery," I said to Mrs Baker when she asked for a house-call on Saturday, the day she found her in a drain. "Dog abuse. Somebody had sliced off the puppy's skin. I read about cat abuse in the Straits Times and this is a real bad case."

But Mrs Baker did not bring the dog to the surgery. She nursed her. Taped up the wounds.

In the Sunday evening, I went to see the puppy as she complained of a high fever.
She had done a good job in washing up the wounds. But I told her that the puppy needed to be given a thorough cleaning of the wounds to remove the embedded grit and hairs. And this should be done under general anaesthetic. It was just too painful.

The puppy was treated on Sunday afternoon. Thoroughly cleaned and bathed. Mrs Baker wanted to bring her back to nurse.

Today, the puppy was lying down on her cushion. There was no more fever today. The puppy was fully bandaged.

"Do not forget that the 7th day will be the day I need to do surgery to close up
the muscles," I reminded Mrs Baker who happened to be at home when I visited today before lunch time.

Everybody was happy. Mr White, a South African expatriate was much impressed to pass the comment of Mrs Baker's house being the best place to fall sick if you were a stray puppy. I could not agree more.

Subject:	RE: 2007 Update:: Rocky's Toilet Training - Pooping on floor.
Date:	Wed, 6 Jun 2007 00:48:17 +0800