Sat Oct 20, 2007
E-MAIL TO DR SING.
Thanks for the useful real life feedback.
I will reply in CAPITAL LETTERS to your queries below.
...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Dr Sing,
>
> Many thanks for replying, it's pretty much spot-on
> whatever you have Mentioned and enlightening for me. Please see my
> responses to your suggestions as I'm keen on getting some of the
> suggestion to work better and succeed.
>
> Appreciate your patience and help!
> Regards
> Namge given.
>
>
> On 10/17/07, Dr Sing KY
> wrote:
> >
> > Thank you for your email to Judy. I am Dr Sing
> from
> > Toa Payoh Vets and will attempt to reply to your
> > queries.
> >
> > PROBLEM:
> > Your Pomeranian urine-marks in the house as well
> as
> > outside. Urine-marking is often mistaken by many
> > owners as a relapse in toilet training and
> therefore a
> > toilet-training problem. Urine marking in male
> dogs is
> > a normal behaviour especially for alpha
> > males---dominant males. Some alpha females do
> > urine-mark too.
> >
> > They want to make sure that other dogs or
> subordinate
> > 'dogs' in the pack (including, forgive me for my
> > frankness, your family members and possibly your
> good
> > self, as less than his equal in status).
> >
> > SOLUTIONS:
> >
> > 1. Neutering of male dogs at 6 months of age
> usually
> > stops urine marking. This is the usual solution
> > besides agressive training.
> >
> > If the surgery is done much later, e.g. at 3 years
> of
> > age, some dogs continue to urine-mark.
>
>
> *[COMMENTS FROM DOG OWNER] I'm definitely considering this option, but how long does the
> surgery and healing process last? I have heard that
> owners who brought their
> pets to be neutered have to stay home and look after
> the dog. also what is
> the average cost?*
SURGERY 5 MINUTES. HEALING AROUND 10-14 DAYS. NORMALLY NOT EATING FOR FIRST 2 DAYS. IF WOUND IS INFECTED, DOG NOT SO ACTIVE OR EATING FOR >2 DAYS --- CONSULT YOUR VET.
NO NEED TO STAY AT HOME BUT NEED TO OBSERVE WOUND. MALE DOGS LIKE TO LICK WOUND. ELIZABETH COLLAR USED FOR 10 DAYS.
AVERAGE COST OF NEUTER IS AROUND S$200 IN TOA PAYOH VETS.
>
> 2. NEUTRALISING URINE SMELL WITH VINEGAR. As the
> > motivation for urine-marking is territorial
> > acquisition and not a natural need to pee, your
> dog
> > will seek new areas to urine-mark. Or go back to
> the
> > same areas again later.
> >
> > In toilet-training, the smell of urine is used as
> a
> > training aid. In urine-marking, it plays a great
> part
> > too and you will find the male dog urine-marking
> on
> > same areas but in a few drops. The male dog goes
> for
> > places with vertical planes like walls, legs of
> tables
> > and beds. Am I correct that your dog is seeking
> such
> > objects?
>
>
> *[COMMENTS FROM DOG OWNER] They are all correct. So far I have been using the vinegar concoction, but as you mentioned Junior will look for new places to mark.*
>
> 3. CONFINEMENT TO CRATE OR SMALL ROOM LIKE THE
> > BALCONY. This anti-social behaviour is hard to
> > suppress. In my survey, most Singapore owners of
> > apartment dogs simply crate the dog at night or
> when
> > they are not around. The let him urine-mark in a
> place
> > like the balcony or utility room as they feel that
> > neutering is cruel.
> >
> > This may be the best solution for your case.
>
>
> *[COMMENTS FROM DOG OWNER] How do we 'crate' a dog? Since young we
> did not provide a 'bed'
> for Junior for him to identify as his own 'home'.
> Can we still do that? At
> night, to prevent him from doing what he likes in
> the living room when no
> ones around, we leash him to the toilet door, and he
> sleeps just outside it.
> Once when I tried confining him inside the toilet,
> he kept barking.*
> *For this solution, by confining in small room at
> night and when I'm ard
> even though my grandmother is, does it mean that I
> have to keep Junior for
> long periods of time and until he gets used to
> marking inside and stop
> barking?*
YOUR METHOD IS PRACTICAL. YOU JUST PRAY THAT YOUR POM DOES NOT STRANGULATE HIMSELF ONE DAY WHEN HE GETS ENTANGLED IN THE LEASE AND NOBODY IS AT HOME.
>
> 4. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING. Some dogs
> respond
> > well to commands (e.g "No pee here"/hand
> > signals/clicker and food treats for not
> misbehaving
> > like barking. Train 4-8 times a day at short
> intervals
> > of 5 minutes, making training fun.
> >
> > I doubt you have time for such in-house training.
> > Instead of food treats, take him out for exercise
> when
> > he performs. Obviously, you need a lot of time
> and it
> > is not practical advise for you.
> >
> > 5. NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING. In your case,
> it
> > works when you are around. However, family members
> (I
> > presume you have family members) are not so
> "fierce"
> > and so he urine-marks as he considers the house as
> his
> > territory and family members excluding the
> "fierce" as
> > his subordinate canine members of the pack.
> >
> > So many words. In conclusion, unless the family
> > members can make Junior accept that he is really
> > "junior" in the ranking of the pack, the
> urine-marking
> > problem in an intact male will persist till the
> end of
> > time. When you are not at home, Junior is the
> senior
> > or top dog.
>
>
> *[COMMENTS FROM DOG OWNER] sometimes, even when I'm at home, just
> that I'm not really
> noticing him or upstairs in the room, he will pee
> too. How do I make it
> known that I'm above his rank?*
>
SPEND MORE TIME TRAINING HIM WITH POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT AND FUN, USING FIRM TONE OF VOICE, PRAISES AND TREATS.
NOT PRACTICAL ADVICE AS YOU ARE WORKING LONG HOURS (I PRESUME). SO, THE DOG CONSIDERS YOU AS THE OUTSIDER INVADING HIS TERRITORY. YOU ARE LIKE A HOTEL GUEST TO HIM. HE IS THE INNKEEPER!
>
> > Neutering may or may not help at this age but it
> is
> > better to do it now than wait till another year if
> you
> > want to resolve Junior's behavioural problem. In
> many
> > Singaporean families, there is great resistance to
> > neutering by one member (the alpha homo sapien?).
> >
> > So, the rest of the family just tolerate the urine
> > smells and mops or wipes diligently, to keep peace
> > within the family. It is an extremely interesting
> > finding of human-dog relationship in my survey.
>
> >
No comments:
Post a Comment