TOA
PAYOH VETS
E-MAIL TO DR SING AND DR SING'S REPLY DATED JUN 1, 2010
IN CAPITAL LETTERS
Date: Monday, May 31, 2010, 11:36 AM
Hello Dr. Sing,
I am a first time dog owner and has specially taken one week leave to toilet train my dog. I feel a bit frustrated now that I am not seeing any results.
IT TAKES 4-8 WEEKS OF CONFINEMENT AND TRAINING TO SEE SUCCESSFUL RESULTS
I just got my toy poodle named ..., close to 3 months old, back home on Saturday afternoon. I have set up my playpen as per the photo attached.
I have been trying hard to train her to get up onto the Pee tray. Sometimes she pees on the pee tray (that's when we confined her to just the pee tray) by a fence in btw. Yet most of the times, she will pee outside the Pee tray-Black area.
THERE ARE A FEW REASONS FOR THIS BEHAVIOUR.1. YOUR PUPPY MAY BE USED TO PEEING ONTO THE SOLID FLOOR. YOU NEED TO LET ME KNOW WHAT TYPE OF FLOORING SHE WAS USED TO AT THE BREEDER'S HOME. IT MAY BE JUST TILED FLOORS. SO THE PEE TRAY BLACK AREA CLOSELY FEELS LIKE THE TILED FLOOR. CHECK WITH THE BREEDER. I suspect that your new puppy has no experience with this yellow plastic grate as the breeder or seller never uses it. It is usually sold to puppy buyers. The puppy has been used to another type of grate or flooring and so you do not expect her to eliminate on it.
| Yes, she does not have any experience with the yellow plastic grate. For the past few times, when I visited her at the pet shop (before she had the second jab), she was placed in a cage whereby the ground she is stepping on is the grey wider metallic grate and Poop/Urine will automatically fall onto the pee tray. |
URINE SMELL. For the yellow grate, you need to
put urine smell (tissue paper with puppy's urine
smell onto the pee pan. This pee pan is below
this yellow grate. I hope you know what I mean.
| What I did was that I don't change the newspaper very frequently (Once a day). Is it true that dogs like to smell for their own pee and will then pee at those spots where they smell it? When she pees correctly on the pee tray, I leave the soiled newspaper beneath the yellow grate so that she can search for that smell and pee there subsequently. I have used the housebreaking solution on the pee tray as well. Outside the pee area, I will use just pure vinegar to clean off the spot she peed wrongly at. |
2. YOUR PUPPY MAY BE THE TYPE THAT IS VERY CLEAN
AND FUSSY. YOU WILL NEED TO WASH THE GRATE every
time she pees on it and also to get some urine
smell onto the pee pan.
THE YELLOW THING IS CALLED THE GRATE + PEE PAN
WHICH COLLECTS URINE BELOW THE GRATE. THE BLACK
THING IS ALSO A PEE PAN OR PEE TRAY.
|
I don't quite understand this point. How
do we wash the grate and get the urine
smell at the same time? So meaning I clean
the grate with water and leave the
soiled newspaper at the bottom? I realise that my puppy loves to go onto the pee tray actually. She will play on the pee tray quite frequently and she likes to sniff it at times. I have a feeling she still cant quite differentiate. She likes to sniff the black area as well. |
The spot she always pee outside the pee tray
is the spot closest to us, marked "X" .Weirdly
that's the area where we feed her food.
SHE HAS NO CHOICE FROM THE LAYOUT OF YOUR
PLAYPEN. THE BACK OF THE BLACK PEE PAN IS WHERE
SHE SLEEPS. THE YELLOW GRATE IS AVOIDED BY HER,
I PRESUME. SO SHE HAS TO PEE ON THE FRONT PART
OF THE BLACK PEE PAN.
 Please
see picture attached for the location that
she sleeps. The area she likes to pee is
the area whereby we give her food during
meal times. |
MANY OWNERS HAVE PROBLEMS WITH TRAINING THE
PUPPY ON THIS YELLOW PLASTIC GRATE + PEE PAN
BECAUSE THE PUPPY IS USED TO THE WIDER METALLIC
GRATE. GO AND VISIT PET SHOPS SELLING PUPPIES
AND YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I MEAN OR SEE MY PICTURES
OF GRATE + PEE PAN IN MY WEBSITE. YOUR PUPPY IS
ONE OF THEM.
| Yes, totally understand it. |
When she pees correctly on the pee tray, i will
say "Good" , "Pee pee here", pat her and give
her a treat.
PRAISE AND TREAT IS CORRECT. HOWEVER, DID YOU
WASH THE YELLOW GRATE + PEE PAN? YOUR PUPPY MAY
AVOID STEPPING ON IT AS SHE CAN SMELL IT AS
UNCLEAN.
| I don't clean the grate actually. When she poops on the pee tray, I will clear it and use water to clean it. But if its pee, I will not do anything so as to leave the smell there. Am I doing the correct thing? |
Sometimes, I like to say "Pee pee here" at
the pee tray and get her to come to the Pee tray
and put her in the peeing position. But she
doesn't pee most of the time.
IT TAKES AT LEAST 4 WEEKS OF TRAINING AND CLOSE
MONITORING AND TEACHING. YOU CANNOT EXPECT
RESULTS IN ONE WEEK. KNOW THE HISTORY ABOUT HOW
THE PUPPY PEES AT THE BREEDER AND LET ME KNOW.
| At the pet shop, she is confined to a cage and pees anywhere in the cage on the wider metallic grating. She had no proper training at all. |
Question 1: May I know if my method is correct?
Cause weirdly after treating, the next time she
still pees wrongly.
METHOD OF ORAL COMMAND, PRAISE AND TREAT IS
CORRECT. BUT CAN YOUR REALLY STAY WITH THE PUPPY
24 HOURS. I DOUBT YOU CAN DO IT. SHE PEES
EVERYWHERE INCLUDING THE FRONT OF THE BLACK PEE
PAN.
THE SOILED YELLOW GRATE AND THE BLACK PEE PAN
NEEDS TO BE WASHED PROPERLY. URINE SMELL ON THE
BLACK PEE PAN (FRONT PART) NEEDS TO BE
NEUTRALISED WITH VINEGAR:WATER AT 1:3 TO PREVENT
MORE PEEING THERE.
Question 2: She got two ways of peeing. One
is semi squat (the usual way), the other is "
she will jump onto the fence-Legs on ground,
hands on the fencing and pee. Is that normal?
YES. SOME OWNERS OF PUPPIES DO TELL ME THAT
THEIR PUPPIES GRIP THE FENCING TO PEE. MOST
LIKELY THIS IS BECAUSE SHE HAS NO SPACE OR IS
TRYING TO AVOID THE FRONT PAWS STEPPING ON THE
SOILED AREA. IF ONLY PUPPIES CAN TALK.
Question 3: For the past 2 nights she has
been here, she poos in the early morning (eg
3-4am, 10am). I have peeped once before and saw
that she poos with her legs on ground and hands
on fencing. Do I have to stay up to make sure I
catch her in the act and correct her when she
poos?
IF YOU SLEEP NEAR THE PUPPY, YOU CAN DO THE
HOUSE-BREAKING WITHIN 1-2 WEEKS. BUT THIS MAY
NOT BE PRACTICAL FOR YOU. POOPING WITH FRONT
PAWS ON THE FENCING IS DONE BY SOME PUPPIES,
ACCORDING TO SOME OTHER OWNERS. I DON'T THINK IT
IS ABNORMAL.
Question 4: Do I have to give her water
often? I think maybe restricting her to peeing
during certain hours could be better. So can I
only give her water before play and during food
time. Is that sufficient?
STOP ALL WATER AFTER DINNER OR 8 PM TO GET THE
PUPPY HOUSE-BROKEN EARLIER. WATER AT ALL TIMES
ADVISED. FOOD SHOULD BE GIVEN FOR 15 MINUTES AND
TAKEN AWAY TO ENSURE THAT THE PUPPY DOES NOT EAT
ALL DAY LONG. DO NOT DISTRACT THE PUPPY DURING
FEEDING TIME AND SHE POOPS USUALLY WITHIN 30
MINUTES AFTER EATING. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE IF
YOU KEEP PLAYING OR DISTURBING HER.
|
OK. We have actually come up with a
schedule for her. Please see attached file
"Poodle Training". This is to make it a
daily routine for her and hope that she
will gradually pee correctly. Is my
method correct? The "Confine to Pee
tray" means we place a fencing between
the Yellow pee tray and the black area
to induce her to pee/poo.
I have looked at the case study. I think
it really takes time. But I would like
to ensure that I am doing the right
thing first and then will follow it
accordingly for the next one month or
so. I am a first time owner and is
unsure of what exactly is right and
wrong, hence need your advice. I very
much appreciate it and thank you so
much.
|
|
Poodle’s Daily Routine 9-9.30AM: Give water. 9.30 -10AM: Confine to PEE TRAY 10-11.50AM: Release her and DON'T PLAY WITH HER. 11.50AM-12PM: Give water 12PM -12.15PM: Lunch Time 12.15 to 1PM: Confine to PEE TRAY 1PM TO 1.50PM: Release her and DON'T PLAY WITH HER. 1.50PM TO 2 PM: Give water 2PM to 2.20PM: Play Time 2.20PM to 3PM: Confine to PEE TRAY 3PM to 5.50PM: Release her and DON'T PLAY WITH HER. 5.50- 6PM: Give water. 6PM-6.15PM: Dinner Time 6.15PM to 7PM: Confine to PEE TRAY 7PM to 8PM: Release her and DON'T PLAY WITH HER. 8 to 8.10PM: Give water 8.10 to 8.30PM: Play Time 8.30PM to 9.30PM: Confine to PEE TRAY 9.30PM onwards: Release her and DON'T PLAY WITH HER. |
My dog is very hyper. She doesn't seem to listen
to my cue. When I say NO in a fierce manner, she
doesn't really seem to catch it.
YOUR ORAL COMMANDS TAKE TIME TO BE USED TO.
PROBABLY YOUR PUPPY DOES NOT KNOW WHAT YOU WANT.
USE TWO WORDS INSTEAD OF 3 WORDS OR A
SENTENCE AND USE THE SAME TWO WORDS FOR
HOUSE-TRAINING.
You just need to be patient and keep at
training. No other way.
See one case report at:
Grate-Training follow up. It may be useful
for you. Let me know if you have any queries.
