E-MAIL TO DR SING JAN 12, 2012
Hi Dr Sing Kong Yuen,
I really need help toilet training my new puppy. We have tried different things from fencing to open roaming and back to fencing.
She is a Female Tibetan terrier
Presently (3.5-4)months old
Born 20/09/2012 In Brisbane
where had lots of space to play and was fenced up with siblings
Came to Singapore from breeder in Australia when 2.5-3 months old
Flew with brother to new home in Singapore
When she flew over, she was confined to a small cage with brother
for over 10 hours so had to pee/ poo there while travelling
We stay in a 2 story house with a garden.
We have 2 young kids who adore her and who keep going into her fenced area to play with her or taking her out to run.
Kids laughing just seems to excite her and so confuses her when being told off by me bur kids giggling.
We have an 8 year old male Tibetan terrier who is an angel ( very passive) and is toilet trained to pee outside in garden twice a day when we take him out.
Fencing and toilet- training:
We brought her home and fenced her with collapsible fence(1.8 by 1.8)m.
During the day, she stayed in the fenced area downstairs.
One side had sleeping box & toys & water bottle and food served on other side. Newspaper with pee smell on side wall of fence (for soilage)as in photo. At same time,also, tried taking her to shower cubicle to pee/poo with pee tray or newspaper. Failed miserably. Would sleep there or whine. We would wait and cajole for over (15-20) min but she would not do her business and then soon after that she would come out and she wiuld pee on toilet floor or room floor/mat.
At night, Slept upstairs in bedroom in smaller fenced area (0.6 by 0.6)m with sleeping box and water bottle. When we suspected she needed to pee/poo, she was taken to a different upstairs shower cubicle but same result of sleeping / whining in there and peeing later outside.
Feeding:
Being Fed 3x/day since she came.
(7am/12.30pm/7pm)
For first week, Food was left in pen till finished and sometimes hand fed as figured puppy was getting used to new environment and separation anxiety.
About 2 weeks later, once started eating fairly well, we picked up food after one hour whether eaten or not. Tried a bit of cajoling if not eaten much but figured will learn to eat faster when realises food not there all the time.
Also, had to get water bottle as she had tendency to jump into water bowl and splash and play with water and bowl.
We would let her run around for a while on & off around the house and with kids and other dog and then re- fence her but she would soil anytime & anywhere.
2-3 weeks into her arrival, we changed strategies. We made mistake of letting her loose in house all day and only putting newspaper on outside balcony near garden. We thought we had confused her earlier with where to pee/ poo (too many options for locations to pee/poo including upstairs bathroom cubicle and paper in fence and downstairs bathroom cubicle, so we changed it to one location near balcony with paper and put a (0.6 by 0.6)m fence around. So when saw her sniffing we would put her there. But she would go to sleep in there and pee/ poo once out.
A while later,we changed to not confining/ fencing peeing area as we thought she was confused with fence also being used to punish her. But without fence she kept running off the newspaper and then of course she peed/ pooed in wrong place. As a punishment, we would make her see/ smell the pee/ poo and at same time say 'no no' and then place her in fenced area (0.6 by 0.6)m Would say' bad girl'or 'no, no' after pointing to the wrong location for soiling.
A month after she arrived, we have started smacking her bum for:
biting/ barking/ nipping people/ nipping other dogs/eating wrong things(ie: poo/ shoes) /running out of gate/ eating leaves in garden.
We also tried the loud noise ( old empty drink can with coins) to teach her it's wrong but seems to scare her quite a bit.
Is this correct? What's your opinion on this?
We are frustrated as now:
•She pees/ poos whenever she eats & everywhere and house smelling
•She refuses to pee when take her to newspaper with pee trainer smell and instead will sleep on the paper and whine softly but no pee/poo there and soon after being 'released' she will pee/ poo somewhere else ( no fixed place). No matter how long you wait.
•She might then eat/ play with her poo
•She whines/barks when confined / alone in punishment fence
Plays with her poo/ Tries to eat poo
Seems confused about toilet place
Sleeps in toilet confined area/ in toilet cubicle/ on newspaper with pee- trainer smell
When realize she wants to poo/pee so take her to open area with newspaper to pee/ poo she runs away or sleeps on newspaper and soon after does it somewhere else on floor/ carpet
. Sometimes chews newspaper
As of today, after reading some of your cases, we have decided to refence her (1.8 by 1.8)m with toys on one side and newspaper at other side and food placed near toys at meal time. Also decided to feed her earlier 7am/ 12.30 & 5pm so that has time to empty bladder before sleeping.
For example today,
She ate at 5pm and at 7.30pm still just sleeping on the paper. Not peed/ pooed.
So at 7.30pm i decided i will get her out to exercise and run and instead she ran to kitchen and peed there. We brought her back to the newspaper in fence and she went to sleep on it.
At 8pm kids went into fence to play for 20min. Then she peed just next to paper on wooden floor.
At 8.30pm, not pooed yet.
At 10pm plan to take her to sleep in fenced area in bedroom. ( does not like to sleep alone and once upstairs she goes to bed).
What do I do if she keeps peeing in fenced area but not on newspaper?
Do dogs poo after every meal? How long do I wait for her to pee/poo before allowing her to go to bedroom?
Also, aiming to slowly move to 2 meals a day by 6 months. Is that ok?
Please please help and advice me about toilet training her.
About to pull my hair out.
This is becoming a battle of wills.
I'm also worried she might be stubborn enough to not pee/ poo in fenced area on paper and may end up with kidney/ urine infections.
How long do I just let her not pee/poo in the fenced area? Basically, how long do I wait?
What if she does not do it on newspaper and does it in other parts of fenced area? What do I do?
Do I need to cover entire fenced area with newspaper?
Every time she pees on floor in fence, I spray the smell repellant and disinfectant and wipe it off. Is that correct?
Should elimination area be in/ out of playpen?
At night, can she sleep in fenced area in bedroom?
At what age can we take puppy for walk on leash?
Eventually want him to pee outside the house once toilet -trained like my older dog.
Does paper-training confuse or hamper that?
I was hoping to take her for walks with older dog in hope that would copy older dog when peeing/pooing but she tries to bite leash and lies on floor & refuses to walk and hates collar so unable to do that.
Will send you photos of the fenced area and her sleeping fence too.
Really waiting eagerly for your wise words as really quite lost & frustrated!!!
Yours sincerely,
Name of Owner
E-MAIL REPLY FROM DR SING DATED JAN 14, 2012
Thank you for your email and details. My reply focuses on toilet training as you will need to read up or get a dog trainer to answer the other questions. Books are available at the National Library and the info is in the internet.
In this reply, I can only provide you the concept and principles of toilet training a puppy in Singapore based on success achieved by other Singaporeans in my survey of over 600 puppies.
1. It takes 2-8 weeks of confinement of a puppy to achieve success. Much depends on the intelligence of the puppy, the hard work and time spent by the owner, the distractions of family members and friends. For example, a couple living alone with the puppy will have a higher rate of success within 2-4 weeks than a big family with so many interferences and distractions affecting toilet training.
2. Patience and perseverance and research of the owner. Many owners are sabotaged by their family members giving various instructions and treats affecting the success in toilet training.
3. Focus on one method of confinement e.g playpen fencing confinement.
4. My case studies would have given you some ideas of the successes of various types of housing plans for puppies. Basically, strict confinement 2-8 weeks is the main part of toilet training. Positive or negative reinforcement training and others are needed.
It is not possible for me to advise you in detail in your case as each puppy has different management.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
819. Performance of the vet surgeon: Urinary stone surgery
I am collecting data to improve the processes and system and the productivity of vet surgery by an associate vets at Toa Payoh Vets. Timings depend on the complexity of the surgical case and therefore there is no fixed period of time.
Ferocious biting Shih Tzu, Male, 8 years. 13 urinary stones inside the bladder
TP 16915
Op Date: Jan 12, 2012
Surgeon: Associate vet
A. Sedation injection 3.11 pm
Skin prep, Isoflurane gas
B. Skin incision 3.38pm
C. Skin stitched up 4.11 pm
B-A = 27 minutes. Dog was ferocious and therefore prep had to be done after sedation
C-B = 33 minutes. This is acceptable for an experienced vet doing cystostomy alone. All 13 stones were inside the bladder and accounted for. Therefore there was no need to do urethrostomy. The stones must have been flushed back into the bladder under anaesthesia by Vet 1 during the after midnight visit.
Blood test by Vet 1 - Significant findings, 12.40am Jan 12, 2012
MCV high 79 (60-77)
WBC high 26 (5.5 -17)
NEU high 21 (2-12)
MONO high 3 (0.3-2)
BASO high 0.16 (0-1)
PLT high 660 (175-500)
BUN high 31 (7-27)
ALKP high 233 (23-212)
K high 6.5 (3.5-5.8)
Ferocious biting Shih Tzu, Male, 8 years. 13 urinary stones inside the bladder
TP 16915
Op Date: Jan 12, 2012
Surgeon: Associate vet
A. Sedation injection 3.11 pm
Skin prep, Isoflurane gas
B. Skin incision 3.38pm
C. Skin stitched up 4.11 pm
B-A = 27 minutes. Dog was ferocious and therefore prep had to be done after sedation
C-B = 33 minutes. This is acceptable for an experienced vet doing cystostomy alone. All 13 stones were inside the bladder and accounted for. Therefore there was no need to do urethrostomy. The stones must have been flushed back into the bladder under anaesthesia by Vet 1 during the after midnight visit.
Blood test by Vet 1 - Significant findings, 12.40am Jan 12, 2012
MCV high 79 (60-77)
WBC high 26 (5.5 -17)
NEU high 21 (2-12)
MONO high 3 (0.3-2)
BASO high 0.16 (0-1)
PLT high 660 (175-500)
BUN high 31 (7-27)
ALKP high 233 (23-212)
K high 6.5 (3.5-5.8)
818. How many urinary stones?
An X-ray of the Shih Tzu with a recurrent urolithiasis and an X-ray. "How many stones?" I asked my assistant Min as part of my mentoring process.
"Eleven," he said. "Well there are 13," I showed him the 2 stones hidden near the pelvic bones.
"Better make sure that you don't flush the bladder or urethra too vigorously duringb cystotomy," I said to Dr Vanessa who would be operating. "13 stones are expected." She got 13 stones. Well done. All stones were inside the bladder and she had used a bigger catheter to ensure no more stones are left behind.
"The stones must be sent for analysis," I said. "The dog had a previous surgery 1 year ago and the stones had recurred."
"Eleven," he said. "Well there are 13," I showed him the 2 stones hidden near the pelvic bones.
"Better make sure that you don't flush the bladder or urethra too vigorously duringb cystotomy," I said to Dr Vanessa who would be operating. "13 stones are expected." She got 13 stones. Well done. All stones were inside the bladder and she had used a bigger catheter to ensure no more stones are left behind.
"The stones must be sent for analysis," I said. "The dog had a previous surgery 1 year ago and the stones had recurred."
817. The Golden Retriever has a twitching eye
Vet 1 treated this 8-year-old Golden Retriever with a bottle of eye drops and asked the owner to return if the right eye infection (eyes 3/4 closed) had not cured. This was what the owner said to me. "Is the sunken eyeball normal?" I asked the owner as the right eyeball had retracted (enopthalmos), the upper eyelid had drooped (ptosis) and the nictitating membrane (3rd eyelid) had covered the eye.
"The right eyeball was of same size and position as the left," the lady said. She had phoned for a house-call but I advised her to bring the dog dog. Her dog had developed fits.
"This is not a simple case of eye infection," I said to my assistant. It appeared to be a 3rd cranial nerve or brain problem. A blood test and urine test are done. X-rays are advised but this would be costly. The fits were controlled and the dog went home after 3 days.
I had the dog bathed one day before he went home. His ear canals were irrigated (no ear infections).
I told Nicole to take a video of the right eyelid twitching. Very rare. The dog was very thin. Proteinuria and high blood urea. Could also have kidney disorder as well as 3rd cranial nerve palsy. Is there a cure?
"The right eyeball was of same size and position as the left," the lady said. She had phoned for a house-call but I advised her to bring the dog dog. Her dog had developed fits.
"This is not a simple case of eye infection," I said to my assistant. It appeared to be a 3rd cranial nerve or brain problem. A blood test and urine test are done. X-rays are advised but this would be costly. The fits were controlled and the dog went home after 3 days.
I had the dog bathed one day before he went home. His ear canals were irrigated (no ear infections).
I told Nicole to take a video of the right eyelid twitching. Very rare. The dog was very thin. Proteinuria and high blood urea. Could also have kidney disorder as well as 3rd cranial nerve palsy. Is there a cure?
816. First impressions of a new vet graduate
POST-SURGERY COMPLICATIONS
Yesterday, Jan 12, 2012, I had a chat with a new female vet graduate from Australia about bleeding in a neuter of a Labrador Retriever. Closed technique, 2 ligatures used by her but lots of bleeding. "A transfixing ligature and open technique may be wiser in big dog neutering to prevent ligature slippage," I said. The dog was OK after a repeat surgery at this practice I visited. For new vets, the tying of the ligature and the number of throws of the knot is important. I usually knot 5 times firmly using absorbable sutures. If you knot 3 times, you may find that the stitch breaks down and then post op return of the patient.
SPAY TIPS FOR NEW VETS
Keep surgery simple. Using intradermal or subcuticular stitching impress clients as they don't see the stitches which are hidden under the skin. However, your stitching technique has not been perfected yet. It the continuous intradermal stitches break down or irritate the cat or dog, there will be intense itching and post-op infections. Therefore, I usually advise one or two horizontal mattress sutures to close the skin. In the past 30 years of spay, I rarely encountered any return for post-op stitch breakdown or infections. Remember, your reputation is on the line. Clients will seldom refer you if your surgical outcome in a spay cause the client worries and return to be re-operated on due to post-op stitch breakdown and infections.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
First impressions count for a new vet graduate. "Dr.... wears jeans and his staff wears sneakers," said one young male vet to me. For older vets, dressing may not be so important but it is still best to create a good first impression. For the lady vet, I noted that half of her left eye is covered by her falling hair, making it distracting to talk to her. She kept sweeping her hair to uncover her eye. Best to get a good hairstyle as clients may only see half of you!
In my surgery, younger vets and interns tend to dress casually. From 2012, I have stopped staff wearing sandals, sneaker, jeans and clogs to work. For those who persists, they will need to work or intern elsewhere. First impressions still count in a professional practice. Uniforms are sometimes used to ensure that the staff dress appropriately and create a good impression in some vet practices to resolve this tendency of the young to dress casually. I may implement this dress code.
Yesterday, Jan 12, 2012, I had a chat with a new female vet graduate from Australia about bleeding in a neuter of a Labrador Retriever. Closed technique, 2 ligatures used by her but lots of bleeding. "A transfixing ligature and open technique may be wiser in big dog neutering to prevent ligature slippage," I said. The dog was OK after a repeat surgery at this practice I visited. For new vets, the tying of the ligature and the number of throws of the knot is important. I usually knot 5 times firmly using absorbable sutures. If you knot 3 times, you may find that the stitch breaks down and then post op return of the patient.
SPAY TIPS FOR NEW VETS
Keep surgery simple. Using intradermal or subcuticular stitching impress clients as they don't see the stitches which are hidden under the skin. However, your stitching technique has not been perfected yet. It the continuous intradermal stitches break down or irritate the cat or dog, there will be intense itching and post-op infections. Therefore, I usually advise one or two horizontal mattress sutures to close the skin. In the past 30 years of spay, I rarely encountered any return for post-op stitch breakdown or infections. Remember, your reputation is on the line. Clients will seldom refer you if your surgical outcome in a spay cause the client worries and return to be re-operated on due to post-op stitch breakdown and infections.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
First impressions count for a new vet graduate. "Dr.... wears jeans and his staff wears sneakers," said one young male vet to me. For older vets, dressing may not be so important but it is still best to create a good first impression. For the lady vet, I noted that half of her left eye is covered by her falling hair, making it distracting to talk to her. She kept sweeping her hair to uncover her eye. Best to get a good hairstyle as clients may only see half of you!
In my surgery, younger vets and interns tend to dress casually. From 2012, I have stopped staff wearing sandals, sneaker, jeans and clogs to work. For those who persists, they will need to work or intern elsewhere. First impressions still count in a professional practice. Uniforms are sometimes used to ensure that the staff dress appropriately and create a good impression in some vet practices to resolve this tendency of the young to dress casually. I may implement this dress code.
815. Follow up - The Cocker Spaniel that had tick fever
In Oct 2011, the Cocker Spaniel had pale gums. Tick fever was treated and the owner was most happy.
This case is reported in:
http://www.sinpets.com/dogs/20111039tick-fever-cocker-spaniel-singapore-toapayohvets.htm
On Jan 11, the owner messaged me to get her Cocker Spaniel vaccinated and checked. The Cocker wanted to bolt out of the door as she remembered me very well. It was great seeing a patient who had recovered from tick fever and put on weight.
She had put on weight and was very active. Her gums were pinker than normal. "It is best not to give too much liver," I advised. The dog had no fever. I took a blood test to review her health. Her owner did not bring any urine sample as she said: "Every time I tried to collect urine from her, she would stop peeing!"
The blood test revealed a low white cell count and very low platelet count. "Could it be the return of tick fever or a wrong blood sample being tested?" the owner asked me when I told her to stop using the tick wash and tick top up. The dog had a tick wash 2 days before as she still had small ticks.
"It is unlikely to be tick fever," I said. "The dog is eating well and is active. The lowered platelet count could be due to toxic blood. Your dog would have licked off the tick wash and ingested the poison over a period of time." The owner did not want a repeat blood sample so soon.
She sent in the urine sample for analysis. Results would be known tomorrow. With blood test, one assume that the dog is OK and keep giving tick washes (to prevent tick fever). The area where the dog exercises has ticks and that is why this dog has small ticks now and then. The owner is specially careful that she does not get tick fever again as it can be a killer.
This case is reported in:
http://www.sinpets.com/dogs/20111039tick-fever-cocker-spaniel-singapore-toapayohvets.htm
On Jan 11, the owner messaged me to get her Cocker Spaniel vaccinated and checked. The Cocker wanted to bolt out of the door as she remembered me very well. It was great seeing a patient who had recovered from tick fever and put on weight.
She had put on weight and was very active. Her gums were pinker than normal. "It is best not to give too much liver," I advised. The dog had no fever. I took a blood test to review her health. Her owner did not bring any urine sample as she said: "Every time I tried to collect urine from her, she would stop peeing!"
The blood test revealed a low white cell count and very low platelet count. "Could it be the return of tick fever or a wrong blood sample being tested?" the owner asked me when I told her to stop using the tick wash and tick top up. The dog had a tick wash 2 days before as she still had small ticks.
"It is unlikely to be tick fever," I said. "The dog is eating well and is active. The lowered platelet count could be due to toxic blood. Your dog would have licked off the tick wash and ingested the poison over a period of time." The owner did not want a repeat blood sample so soon.
She sent in the urine sample for analysis. Results would be known tomorrow. With blood test, one assume that the dog is OK and keep giving tick washes (to prevent tick fever). The area where the dog exercises has ticks and that is why this dog has small ticks now and then. The owner is specially careful that she does not get tick fever again as it can be a killer.
814. A duty to charge fairly for work done - lawyers overcharging
Straits Times Jan 12, 2012 Pg B2
"Two lawyers face disciplinary court for overcharging"
Tow lawyers of more than 18 years of practice had an agreement to charge 5% of the estate when its assets were sold. The estate value went up to $9.77 million in 2004 and they were entitled to $488,500. The disciplinary tribunal said that they overcharged by around $566,000 when the fees should be $170,000.
The lawyers' defence was that this fee agreement must be set aside before they can be said to overcharge. The tribunal rejected their defence as the charges showed that the lawyers wanted to profit from the rise in the value of assets rather than get paid for work done. In addition, the tribunal questioned the contents of their bill of costs. The two lawyers spent one hour in drafting two letters. One letter consisted of one sentence and the other three sentences. So, the lawyers were referred to the Court of Three Judges for gross professional misconduct.
"Two lawyers face disciplinary court for overcharging"
Tow lawyers of more than 18 years of practice had an agreement to charge 5% of the estate when its assets were sold. The estate value went up to $9.77 million in 2004 and they were entitled to $488,500. The disciplinary tribunal said that they overcharged by around $566,000 when the fees should be $170,000.
The lawyers' defence was that this fee agreement must be set aside before they can be said to overcharge. The tribunal rejected their defence as the charges showed that the lawyers wanted to profit from the rise in the value of assets rather than get paid for work done. In addition, the tribunal questioned the contents of their bill of costs. The two lawyers spent one hour in drafting two letters. One letter consisted of one sentence and the other three sentences. So, the lawyers were referred to the Court of Three Judges for gross professional misconduct.
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