Wednesday, November 15, 2006

9. Submissive or Excitation Urination

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Submissive urination - generally occurs in young and/or insecure dogs that are around dominant dogs or people.

If you punish your dog, it will cause her to urinate more as she wants to "apologise to you."

Patience and consistency from the owner to help the dog regain the confidence.

1. Consistency. The entire household has to practise the same procedure. Approach the dog without appearing dominant or threatening.

2. Quiet Greetings --- Avoid eye contact, no loud greetings, turn you body at 45-90 degree angle from your dog's. Say "Sit". Then take her outside to pee before playing.

3. Visitors at the door --- Put your dog on a leash before admitting visitors. Ask them not to ignore your dog on arrival.

4. Patience & Repetition --- Keep repeating positive reinforcement behaviour. Repeat acts she excells at such as Sit, Stay and Come. Rewards with food treats and praises.

As her confidence grows, submissive urination problem disappears. This may take weeks or months.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Tether The Puppy Method

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Using a leash, rope or chain to restrain a puppy so that it can move only within a set radius.

Leash used. Ordinary. Special types.

Leash chewing. Siberian Huskies.

Balcony.
Heat stress.
Living Area to chair. Small breed.
Outside the common bathroom.

Fixed schedule.
Change newspapers promptly.

Friday, November 03, 2006

8. Dr Sing's Toilet Training Secrets (Singapore Puppies) --- How to toilet train?

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A variety of ways.

1. What is the benefit to the puppy?
Positive and negative experiences. Carrot and stick method. Clean den. Who's the boss. The Gastro-Colic Reflex. N-1 formula. Acute sense of smell and hearing. Visual breeds. Play-fighting, Play-biting.

How to do it? Pictures are shown during the lectures.

1. Puppy's mental development. Blank slate to rebellious stage.
2. Communication --- Barking loudly, Positive experiences best. Needs to spend time.
3. Confinement --- 14 days seldom practised. Too cruel?
4. A Daily Routine.
5. Signs of elimination.
6. Persistence and Perseverance.
7. Handling accidents.
8. Crate Training --- N-1 Formula and the Gastro-colic Reflex.
9. Pee Pan with wire flooring and urine spray.
10. Room by room method.
11. 2nd piece of newspapers.
12. The Leash Method --- Non-chewable leash for the Siberian Husky.
13. Respect and Love --- Electric Collar and Choke Chain or Euthanasia?

7. Dr Sing's Toilet Training Secrets (Puppies) --- Where is the toilet?

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WHERE IS THE PUPPY'S TOILET AREA?

For Singaporeans, indoor toilet areas are the floor tiles, newspapers or puppy diapers put on the kitchen, bathroom and balconies and living areas. A baby gate at the kitchen entrance will be good as the puppy is a social animal and needs to see his pack members. Some small breeds use the part of the bedroom.

Outdoors - usually grass downstairs. Pick up the poop in a plastic bag and dispose of it in the rubbish bin. Grass patches become yellow after the puppy has peed on it. Some puppies prefer one area. Others just eliminate on grassy areas.

Large breeds such as the Golden Retrievers are best toilet trained outdoors. However, many apartment-living ones have been successfully toilet trained to use the bathroom floor or end corridors as toilet areas. They are used to the hard flooring surface.

Indoors and outdoors. A daily routine of feeding and exercise will give the puppy time to eliminate. Usually the owner wakes up late during weekends. The puppy will sometimes bark to wake up the owner to go to the toilet outdoors. During rainy days, the puppy may go to the indoor toilet locations.

6. Dr Sing's Toilet Training Secrets (Singapore Puppies) --- Why you should Toilet Train Your Puppy?

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WHY SHOULD YOU TOILET TRAIN YOUR PUPPY?

Everyone loves the new puppy. Many become best friends. They are awake when the owner comes home, "listen" to the owner's problems and never talk back or play out the owner.

There may come a time when you are no longer able to care for the puppy. Maybe you become ill or have to relocate to another country to work. A toilet trained dog will find a good home.

The whole apartment may smell of urine to visitors leading to complaints. The owner and family members may not be able to detect such smells as their noses have become used to it. A toilet trained puppy will not foul up the air in the apartment.

The puppy depends on you to teach him what is the right thing to do. By spending time to teach him or getting a professional dog trainer to do it, you spend more time with him than with cleaning up a messy apartment or house.

5. Dr Sing's Toilet Training Secrets (Singapore Puppies) --- When do you Toilet Train?

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When to Toilet Train Your Puppy?

Some first-time owners believe that the 8-12-week old puppy is too young to be toilet trained. So they patiently cleaned up after them. Family members may be irritated by the smells and the mess. As he grows older, it is much harder to toilet train him.

Toilet training starts on the first day of arrival at the new home. Owners who confine the puppy for 14 days and give him a routine of sleeping, feeding and exercise, without distractions are successful in toilet training. Water restriction after 8 p.m may help bladder control. Some puppies have been paper-trained before purchase, so they have no problem.

Whining and barking past midnight. Many owners are not aware that the puppy actually wants them to clear the soiled newspapers. So, they ignore the communication. Spending the first 7 days without much sleep will help the owner be more successful in toilet training.

In general, the average puppy owner in Singapore takes around 1 month to toilet train the puppy. But they still get "accidents". "Out of spite for being left at home," the owner would tell me. Actually, the whole apartment smells of urine. The puppy just can't help it.

4. Dr Sing's Toilet Training Secrets (Singapore Puppies) --- Who is the teacher?

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WHO TEACHES TOILET TRAINING?

Singapore has professional dog trainers who can teach toilet training. However, it may be difficult for the first-time puppy owner to find them or to pay them the estimated $300 fees. Many first-timers do not know how to toilet train the puppy correctly, but after 1 month, the puppy gets toilet trained more or less. Advices from the pet shop puppy seller may not be in detail as each puppy and the family environment makes it difficult to provide a sure to toilet train your puppy successfully advice. Family members and children sabotage the routine of feeding and exercise as they distract the puppy after eating and at various times. Aged parents may give extra food for the poor puppy, upsetting the daily toilet training schedule.

Successful knowledgeable puppy owners who take 7 days' leave to full-time toilet training find success in 7-14 days.

The knowledgeable working couple needs to spend the evenings and weekends toilet training. They are usually successful within 28 days.

The veterinarian usually does not provide toilet training advices as they are busy with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and surgeries. In any case, there are so many situations and equipment and each puppy is different. It may take half an hour to discuss toilet training.