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