Many Singapore apartment owners do not realise that the new puppy must be confined to a small room or crate for 2-4 weeks to achieve some hope of success in paper training.
The puppy at 2-4 months is at an impressionable age and can be paper trained if there is some consistency, perseverance and time spent in training it. As he grows older, it becomes more difficult as the hormones kick in and the older puppy rebels.
Parents with adolescent children who prefer not to be seen with the hand that feed them for the past 15 years will understand what I mean. Young adults, if not brought up with sound values experiment with alcohol and drugs and bring much grief and sorrows to the parents.
Toilet training of puppies use the same principles as bringing up a child. Time is needed. A sound knowledge is also required.
For puppies, toilet training begins when they are brought home at around 2 to 3 months of age in Singapore. They are easily toilet trained if time is spent with them and they are confined for 2-4 weeks.
We examine the 2 dogs in this case study.
Russell, Miniature SchnauzerXChihuahua, Male, 5 years, not neutered
Initially kept in a playpen when bought. Stepped on stools. So, let out of playpen after 2-4 weeks of no success in paper training. He was praised and rewarded with treats when he peed and pooped on the floor of the balcony which became the toilet and sleeping area for the past 5 years. Poop cleared using plastic bags. Floor of balcony flushed with water to clean it.
The dog never goes outdoors. At 3 to 4 years of age, he starts urine marking on vertical surfaces in the apartment. 2-3 times a day or sometimes not doing urine marking. Spanking him is ineffective.
Miniature Schnauzer, Female, 15 months.
"Not so intelligent," the owner said. "She pees and poos in the living area or bedrooms during daytime. She does not go to the newspapers in the daughter's bedroom to eliminate."
There are no newspapers in the living area.
During the initial 2 weeks, sleep in the daughter's bedroom. No crate or playpen. Newspapers on bedroom floor. Occasional elimination on newspaper. Bring her to the accident area where she had peed, said "No,", spanked her backside. But she would pee and poop on the newspapers sometimes. At night, sleep in one of the two beds in the balcony. Eliminate more onto the floor of the balcony now. Had been with the owner for the past 1 year.
Advices
1. Neutralise the urine smell in the living area with white vinegar:water 1:3.
2. Urine marking behaviour of the male dog onto furniture is difficult to eliminate. Neutering was an option but it might not be effective. If breeding is desired, no neutering is advised.
3. Paper training is too late now. The strong urine smell on the balcony floor far away from the beds may be the toilet area.
4. I forgot to advise that the pee pan with newspapers + urine smell be put on that area if the owner wants to do paper training and has less cleaning work to do. As the female dog is now a "young adult", it is much harder to paper-train her. She had used the same toilet area as the male dog. The male dog is a distraction in paper training a female dog.
As the mother and her daughter seem happy with the two well looked dogs, the toilet location will be the edges of the balcony floor. In retrospect, the male dog should have been paper-trained on a pee pan (with newspapers) and confined to the playpen and kept in the balcony for the first 2-4 weeks. He was in the bedroom at that time. He kept stepping on the stools because he wanted to get out and had no sense of cleanliness. So he needed bathing every day. The owner let him out of the playpen early and he eliminated everywhere in the apartment. Till one day, he went to the balcony floor and was not scolded. He was praised and given food treats and therefore he used the balcony floor (with no newspapers) as the toilet location.
Now, you can see that the sleeping area is kept clean by the dogs as they eliminate as far away as possible from their beds in the balcony.
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