PAPER-TRAINED INSIDE A CRATE IN 4 WEEKS
Sunday July 22, 2007
"When my mum who is very firm or when nobody is around, the puppy will pee all over the apartment," the couple in their late twenties said. "But he knows how to go to the newspaper to poo. It is just that he pees around 10X per day and cannot make it to the newspaper in the utility room (away from the kitchen).
The HDB has an extended room during upgrading. This utility room is very small, not sufficient size to put in a single bed. The puppy was given free access in the apartment but mess up everywhere for the first 4 weeks. The owner bought a crate and confined him especially at night. By the 4th week when I saw him, he was paper-trained successfully.
The newspapers were put on the pee pan. Normally the pee pan is placed below the wire flooring of the crate so that urine and poo could drop through the flooring into the crate, keeping the puppy's lower body clean.
However, the owner felt that the wire flooring gaps may trap the paws. So he put the pee pan inside the crate. 3/4 of the pee pan would be newspapers (1/2 page of the Straits Times, measuring 35x58cm. The puppy sleeps on the 1/4 area on the right side (see picture).
As most puppies want to keep their sleeping area clean, this dwarf Shih Tzu has no choice but to pee and poo on the newspapers on the left side. When the papers are soiled, he will bark to ask the owner to change them.
"The puppy is growing. He needs a bigger area," I advised.
"I thought of buying 3 panels of fences to wall off an area outside the gate," the young man said.
"It is a good idea," I said. "In this case, put some newspapers outside so that the puppy has a 2nd toilet location. Or he may sleep outside and the crate is his toilet area."
I don't know whether the owner will extend the crate area. Another way is just to get a pee pan with newspapers and urine smell (use second sheet of soiled newspapers) and put it somewhere in the living area or corridor outside the bathroom so that the puppy can run to it when the other toilet area is soiled.
Shih Tzu, male, tricolour
Born: April 6, 2007
Now 15 weeks old.
1.8 kg, like a dwarf. He should be heavier at 3.5 months of age.
Been with owner for last 8 weeks, but still "not toilet-trained because he pees anywhere in the living room and bedroom".
REASONS
1. Newspaper is too far away.
2. Newspaper is half the page of the Straits Times. So he "misses his target."
3. Crate with pee pan below and door. However, the owner is worried about his paws being caught on the wire flooring. Therefore, the pee pan is placed onto the wire flooring. Newspapers cover 3/4 of the pee pan leaving right 1/4 for the puppy to sleep.
4. Whenever the paper is soiled, the puppy barks to ask for change.
SOLUTIONS
1. "If the puppy is not toilet trained after being with the owner for 2 months, there is a need to know why," I said.
1.1 Reasons:
In the first month, the owner thought it was cruel to crate the puppy. So he eliminates in the kitchen. But mum wants the kitchen floor to be clean. So,the owner bought a crate with pee pan. The mum cleans the kitchen floor thoroughly with Dettol and it was said to be better than the spray bought from a pet shop.
In the last 4 weeks, the crate was successfully used. The puppy has been confined inside, esp. at night. The door is left open and the puppy goes inside to poop and pee.
"He is a clean puppy and will bark if the papers are soiled."
2. Extension of the sleeping area by putting up 3 panels of fences outside the crate. This was the owner's idea. Good. But there should be a gap for the puppy to go out. Most likely the puppy will sleep outside the crate in the extension area. The extension area can be used as an extra toilet location.
3. "We don't know that there is a need for a second toilet location," the young man told me. Put newspapers in the living room. The puppy is able to pee on newspapers but the one inside the kitchen may be too far away.
4. URINE SMELL. The owner does this: Tissue paper dabbled with puppy's urine is put in between the newspapers earlier on.
Newspaper covers 3/4 of the pee pan (on left). Puppy sleeps on 1/4 on right and has his chew toys scuh as pig ears
5. SIGNS OF ELIMINATION like turning and sniffing.Owner will quickly take a newspaper and put the puppy on it.
6. ACCIDENTS. Owner makes the puppy smell his urine in accident area and scold him. Not effective.
7. Pee pan + newspaper in the living area may be effective. "I thought of only one toilet location," the man said.
"Two will be better as the puppy does not like to use soiled papers.
8. MISSING THE TARGET NEWSPAPERS. Pees outside the edge.
Quite a common complaint. "You put the tissue with puppy urine in the centre of the papers. When he smells it, his legs will be outside since this is only half a page of the Straits Time. So, the puppy misses target!"
9. PAPER TOO SMALL IN AREA. Needs to increase size to full page instead of 1/2 page as the puppy is growing.
In this case, as the Shih Tzu is a dwarf, the crate and pee pan housing was sufficient area for toilet-training. Confinement to the crate for the past 4 weeks was a key to success. Now, the puppy should be given another pee pan with newspapers (urine from 2nd sheet) as a 2nd toilet location so that he needs not bark for owners to change the soiled papers. Sometimes the owners are not at home. The Shih Tzu then need not be "confined to barracks". In this case, the barracks are the crate.
P.S. "barracks" = extremely plain or uniform housing. Soldiers are "confined to barracks" when there is a possibility of military coup?
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