656. Toilet training a toy poodle - wife upset

656. Toilet training a toy poodle - wife upset

E-MAIL TO DR SING DATED OCT 6, 2011

Hi Judy,

I got a toy poodle puppy about 10 days ago. And it has been peeing and pooping everywhere since day 1.

I keep him in a nice-looking cage which cost me $150, but without a pee pan. So I bought a toilet about 1/4 of the size of the cage and put it inside.

However, he only peed there twice, which I assume is random. I immediately praised him and gave him sneaks after the two times, but then he still messes around.

I tried putting a paper with his urine in the toilet, which doesn't work.

I also tried using the so-called spray to seduce dogs to pee, but he never reacted to it.

Then my wife became impatient and started to beat him. Now my poodle is very scared and confused, he does not know where to toilet, but cannot hold. So after he pees, he will wipe it with his paws.

It is even more messed up when he is inside the cage. Every time when nobody is around, he will make the urine everywhere inside the cage, except for the toilet I bought for him.

I completely don't know how to deal with him. Please help!!!

Thank you!

Best regards,
Name given


E-MAIL FROM DR SING DATED OCT 6, 2011


I am Dr Sing from Toa Payoh Vets. My general advice is:

1. Get a dog trainer to paper train your dog as it takes some 2-4 weeks of patience, positive reinforcement and confinement to train your puppy if your wife is upset with the need to clean up after the puppy.

Contact me at Toa Payoh Vets to discuss further as a book can be written just on how to toilet train a new puppy in the Singapore apartment based on different types of housing, history of the puppy, intelligence of the puppy and the personality of the puppy owner, spouses and family members.

2. The puppy would likely be from a pet shop. If this is correct, your new "toilet" area is so much different from what he is used to. So, he gets confused. Shouting and beating really frightens him at this young age. He may be used to grated floor and pee pan below if he has been sold at the pet shop or breeder as this is the most common type of housing. Sometimes, duplicating what the puppy is used to, will have made life easier for the puppy and your wife.

3. In your situation where one family member (wife or mother usually as they have to clean up the urine and stools and bathe the puppy to keep the apartment much less smelly) is upset over the toilet mess and where the owner (buyer) does not want to give away the puppy, based on my experience with 600 cases of puppy training situations in my research, your better solution will be to get a puppy trainer to do the toilet training. Pl make an appointment to see me if possible as email diagnosis and advices are not as good as one-to-one discussion and analysis of the real situation which takes much more time than writing a reply to you.