The most common mistake most
time-pressed Singapore puppy owners in this research is to let the puppy
roam the entire apartment before he knows where he should pee and
poo.
CONFINEMENT Restrict the new puppy or adopted dog to a small area for the first
2-4 weeks and watch for signs of elimination when let out. This forms the
basis of house-breaking but few first-time owners are aware of this
fundamental.
SIGNS OF ELIMINATION. Take the puppy out of the crate during the first
week to play for half an hour per day but observe for signs of
elimination --- squatting, sniffing, turning around. Carry the puppy
onto elimination area (e.g. newspapers, pee pan) once you see signs and
adopt positive reinforcement training (see below).
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING - VERBAL CUE & REWARD
Put the puppy into the confined area quickly, say IN A FIRM TONE "pee
here", praise and give food treats, go out to play or some fun activity if
the puppy performs. A clicker may also be used
successfully instead of the verbal command.
NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING - FEAR
Forcing the puppy to smell his pee or poop when he has an accident and
then placing him in the owner's required toilet area for the puppy is not
advised. The puppy fears the owner and does not know why he is gripped and
force to smell his pee or poop.
OWNER'S PERSONALITY Many lady owners are naturally not firm on the new puppies and permit
the puppy free access to the apartment, resulting in a long-time or
failure in the house-breaking success.
DOG'S PERSONALITY Some male dogs are domineering even at 3 months of age and it is up to
the firmness of the owner, time spent in training
and asserting authority that makes house-breaking successful.
However, the dog will misbehave as some family members
will not conform to the owner's method of training. It is just like
grandparents pampering the grand-children, loosening discipline, much to
the unhappiness of the parents.
SUMMARY
ADOPT BASIC PRINCIPLES OF TOILET TRAINING:
Generally 2-4 weeks of confinement in a small space will be
necessary to toilet-train the puppy. Give commands e.g.. "Pee here".
Praise, food treats and playtime on successful performance. Monitor for
signs of elimination. Neutralise the urine smell of "accident" areas with
white vinegar diluted with water at 1:3
A lot of time in training the second
puppy may be required. It depends on the puppy's previous paper-training
experience and distractions from family members. The 2nd puppy may or may
not adopt the toilet location of the older mentor.
"Thinking out of the box" is not so easy, but the owner in this case study
did solve the problem of "missing the pee pan target" by having bigger
toilet area being papered using 2 pee trays (one being the "cover") in one
location.
Another example, if you use a grate
+ pee pan as shown in the picture above. The puppy and the grate still
have to be confined to a small room or playpen. Use urine smell to attract
the puppy to the toilet location, e.g. a soiled tissue with puppy's urine
or commercial pet shop puppy training aid.
