Focus: Small
animals - dogs, cats, hamsters & rabbits
Toa Payoh Vets
Clinical Research
Research & case studies
commencing in 2005
of over 500 puppy owners in Singapore
by Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
Canine toilet-training
problems in Singapore are drafted in the blogs below:
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.
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
Another example, if you use a
grate + pee pan as shown in the picture below, 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.
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.
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
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.
Toa
Payoh Vets Clinical Research
Research & case studies
commencing in 2005
of over 500 puppy owners in Singapore
by Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
Toa
Payoh Vets Clinical Research
