tpvets_logo.jpg (2726 bytes)
TOA PAYOH VETS
toapayohvets.com
Date:   04 June, 2008   
Focus: Small animals - dogs, cats, hamsters & rabbits.
EDUCATIONAL ARTICLE FOR VET STUDENTS

TOILET TRAINING AN OLDER DOG. CAN YOU TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS?
Dr Sing Kong Yuen

Sunday Jun 1, 2008

Dog: Shih Tzu X Maltese
Male neutered, 2 years. Much loved by this couple in their late 30s.

PROBLEMS: Pees and poops in the living room. So smelly. Despite scolding and warnings to go to the bathroom, he still did it. So the owner took him outdoors. Now he seldom eliminates inside the apartment. Unfortunately, he became infested with ticks despite the use of Frontline over the past 4 months.

"The Frontline cannot prevent ticks," the couple in their mid 30s asserted. "My dog is full of ticks, his room is full of ticks and we don't know what to do?"

"Some ticks are said to be resistant after several uses of Frontline" I said. "There is the Frontline Plus and other brands and you can make your dog wear booties when he goes outdoors so that ticks will not attach themselves into his paws. Check his paws when you go home from the daily outdoor exercise to eliminate...."

"We just want your groomer to clip our dog bald and get the anti-tick injection," the couple was fed up with the ticks. "We want our dog to stay inside the apartment so that he will never be infested with ticks! But he just will not go to the bathroom to pee and poo.

"Now, the pet shop owner recommended that we put the ticks inside the hot water. Is there a way to get rid of all the ticks inside the apartment? Especially in the dog's room and under the bed of the maid?"

Small ticks started appearing on my consultation table. I was wondering whether there is a solution to his two problems - ensuring that his dog and his apartment can be tick-free. Is there a solution to every doggy problem?

SOLUTIONS:

1. SOLUTION 1. Getting rid of ticks inside the apartment.
"You can use insecticides to spray onto the corners and areas where the ticks are. But you may poison your dog if he licks the insecticide.

I will recommend that you remove the dog from the apartment, e.g. boarding somewhere after clipping his coat. The ticks will come out of the cracks and hiding places to look for the dog to suck his blood. You will see them on the floor. Get the maid to vacuum all the ticks on the floor and wall. It is easier than catching or sweeping them and putting them into hot water."

"How long must I board the dog?" the man asked.

"2 days but more than 7 days will be better," I said. "It is a matter of costs."

"How long can the ticks survive without the dog to suck blood?" the man asked.

"This is a tough question as the exact number of days is hard to say," I replied. "I expect the small ticks not to survive more than 7 days if they don't have blood to suck, from my observations with other owners. Your dog will be given an anti-tick injection that will last for around 3 weeks. I need to do research on the survival of small ticks without access to the dog."
 
Outdoor toilet. Risk of getting ticks. Owner wants to re-train for indoor toilet. Toa Payoh Vets
Shih Tzu's coat clipped and ticks removed


1. SOLUTION 2. Getting the adult dog to go to the approved toilet area.

"Your adult dog purposely goes to the living area to pee and poop because that area has a strong smell of urine and poo despite your maid's mopping," I said. "He has had been using this area since puppyhood. You need to start toilet-training again, as if he is a puppy."

The wife asked: "How do I do it?"

"Confine the dog to the bathroom for 2-4 weeks. Install a baby-gate so that he can see you but cannot climb out. If you want to use a pee pan and newspapers onto the pee pan, put the pee pan at one corner. Away from his eating and drinking and sleeping area which may be nearer the baby-gate. Over time, you will notice that the dog will eliminate in one corner far away from his eating area."

The couple did not say anything.

"How big is your pee pan?" I asked. "If it is too small, your dog will pee or poop outside the pee pan. Its length should be 2x the length of the dog!" I used my consultation table which is around 3.5 feet long to demonstrate that his long-bodied Shih TzuXMaltese will need this length.

The couple had to think hard.

"Does your dog shred newspapers," I asked. The wife thought so but the husband did not agree.

"If he does not shred newspapers, then put some soiled tissues with his urine and poo smell at the far corner of the pee pan. When he smells it and steps onto the pee pan, his whole body will be inside. If you put the soiled tissues in the centre of the pee pan, his backside may be outside the pee pan and you can't be successful."

So many things to consider just to toilet train a dog to use a pee pan and newspapers.

The couple will try. The dog was boarded for 2 days and I hope he will be tick-free forever. The couple remembered that they have a big crate with pee pan below and will try to toilet train the dog in this crate placed inside the bathroom. This is a more complicated step.

Many Singaporean owners have this idea that their dogs will never get ticks if they don't bring him downstairs. So they keep the dog indoors. This is correct as long as the dog is not brought to a place where there are many dogs, e.g. the groomer or veterinary places.

The use of urine scent is important in toilet-training of the dog. Neutralisation of the dog urine smell with vinegar:water of unapproved places where the dog has had peed is equally important to succeed in toilet training.

Check the paws of the dogs when you go home after visiting such places. It may be difficult in long-haired paws of Shih Tzus but it must be done.
 

Singapore World No Tobacco Day 2008 "Tobacco-free Youth" theme. Toa Payoh Vets
The above picture has no relevance to the article. But readers may be bored seeing so many doggy pictures in my website. This anti-smoking picture from a 16-year-old looks good

Sunday, June 1, 2008 Blog

19. Case study: Toilet-training. Can you teach old dog new tricks?

tpvets_logo.jpg (2726 bytes)Be Kind To Pets
educational article sponsored by
Toa Payoh Vets
Date:   04 June, 2008 

Copyright © Asiahomes Internet
All rights reserved. Revised: June 04, 2008

Community Education:  Be Kind To Pets

Home