Paper-training 5-month-plus-old Schnauzer - Questions

AUGUST 10, 2009 E-MAIL

Subject: my mischievous pup
To: judy@toapayohvets.com


Hi there, happen to google and saw ur webby..

currently i have a mini schnauzer, she is 5 months plus. i bought her from pasir ris farmway and currently most of the time i keep her in her playpen.

i haVE a problem here which i need your adviCe. I recently paper-trained her and released her to come out more often. But usually i only let her out after she has finished her business. So during the time she will go back to the pee tray to pee. I can't let her out when we just come home, cos she will be over excited and anyhow pee and poo. But recently i dont know what got into her, she does her business outside her "toilet"and im so upset cos i thought a had already paper trained her, usually after she anyhow pee and pooed i will bring her to see the mistake she has done and locked her back to her playpen. Any reasons why she is misbehaving? any solutions? Please advise. Thanks!





Reply from Dr Sing
Tue Aug 11, 2009


1. It is difficult to advise without seeing how your puppy is housed. Can you e-mail 3 pictures of how the puppy is confined in the playpen?

2. What type of playpen are you using? Is it the type with a floor grate and pee tray below? Is it the type with half the space occupied by a pee tray as I presume this is your type.

3. Where did you put the newspapers to paper-train her?

Below are the possible reasons for "misbehaviours"

1. How often you change the soiled newspapers? Frequent changes are the secret to success as the puppy dislike dirty areas when confined. I presume you work the whole day and therefore has no time to do changes till you come back from work. Therefore, when let out nowadays, the puppy is smarter and by nature wants to be cleaner. She does NOT want to go inside the eliminate.

2. More "rebellious" now. She is 5 months plus and therefore more mature. Her mind is no longer a clean slate as at 3 months old where she can be easier to train as her hormones start to make her more mature and "rebellious". Basically, I presume she just dislikes going to the pee tray to eliminate if she has a choice of a clean floor.

3. How long have you been paper-training in a confined playpen? I presume it is 2 weeks. Paper-training needs more than 4 weeks in situations whereby the owner is working the whole day in cases I have studied. There are exceptions to the generalisation when the puppy has had paper-training by the home-breeder or is exceptionally intelligent. As you bought from a breeder in Pasir Ris, the puppy usually are crated on floor grates and therefore never had paper-training before. How long have you actually started on paper-training?

4. Your playpen is "locked". It has no door and therefore is hard for the puppy to access the pee tray inside. This happens to some owners who forgot to open up the playpen.

So the puppy eliminates outside the playpen onto the floor. After that, the smell is still on the floor and she does it again. The owner mops the floor but the urine smell remains strong to the dog. So she eliminates there again. So the mop wipes urine all over the floor where the puppy is let out. The smell encourages the puppy to eliminate. The owner gets angrier.

Try to neutralise the urine smell with using white vinegar:water at 1 part to 3 parts and start paper-training all over again.

5. I hope the above advices help. Pl e-mail 3 pictures of puppy housing. Best wishes.




AUGUST 14, 2009 E-MAIL


From: ...@hotmail.com>
Subject: RE: my mischievous pup - paper-training
To: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, August 14, 2009, 8:10 AM

hi there, the pics attached..

recently i also find out that whenever she saw us (example; just came home or we just woke up), we cant let her out immediately, she will be too excited to return to the pee area to eliminate and she will tend to do it else where. Where else when i let her do her business and let her out, she will go back to pee in her pee tray. but her good behaviour is on and off. sometimes she will misbehaves. I dont know how I can make her go back to the pee tray every time.

maybe regarding the newspaper i will try to change it often.

the pee tray is cover with a metal wire to prevent her from shredding the newspaper and she have no qualms peeing on it.
I always let her out and open up the front fence so that she have access to it when she is out.
When i cage her at night or when im not around in the house, she pees at the right place.

Currently i place her in the living room of my friend's house. His house is always bustling with people walking around and she is seldom left alone.

The punishment i gave her every time she eliminates outside is, i would carry her to the spot where she anyhow eliminates and scold her and then afterwards i would look her back to her playpen. Is there any better punishment or advise whom i can train her better?

Thanks for the time in replying my email.
Hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,
XXX



Reply from Dr Sing
August 15, 2009

To: ...@hotmail.com>


Thank you for yr 3 pics.
Actually you are training her to pee onto a grate and into the pee pan lined with newspapers. She has accepted this method. There will be "accidents" or misbehaviour as there are too many distractions from many people being around. She "forgets" to go to the pee pan as she is still learning. Observe whether she misbehaves when many people are playing with her.

There is a condition called "submissive" or "excitation" urination. Female dogs usually. They just pee on the spot when excited. Most likely, your dog has this condition. The cure is another story.

Continue training with food treats and praises but you MUST catch her about to pee (sniffing, squatting, turning) and carry her to the pee pan. Say "Pee here". On success, say "Good girl" and give a food treat, This is more effective than what you do after she has had peed.

If she is suffering from submissive or excitation urination, the cure is difficult and need a lot of patience.

Also wash pee pan's grate (wire flooring) at least few X/day and neutralise "accident areas" with vinegar and water at 1:3.

Best wishes

SUMMARY


Quite an interesting case.
The female dog seems to be having submissive or excitation urination. Excitement, loud noises, many people --- all cause her stress and the need to "wet her pants" to appease the dominant people. In this case, it may be better to house her in a quiet home and let her regain her self-confidence. But sometimes my advice is not practical.