9. Real case --- Negative reinforcement effective in a male Jack Russell Terrier

Date of interview: Nov 19, 2006.
Owners: A working couple in the fifties
Dog: 2-year-old Male Jack Russell Terrier.
Residence: HDB apartment.
Toilet: A crate placed inside the common bathroom that has a squat toilet bowl.
Purchased: when he was 3 months old. Crate with pee pan. Accidents in the kitchen.
Method: Negative reinforcement: Caning for 3 months. Freedom to roam inside the kitche. Barricade with baby gate.
Time to be successfully crate-bathroom-trained: 3 months.
Feeding: 2 times per day.

The owners would query the Jack Russell puppy on reaching home from work with "What is this?" as he had peed and pooped on the kitchen floor tiles. The puppy would run away to hide inside the common toilet. Over 3 months and caning, the puppy used the appropriate toilet area which is the crate.

When the owners were not free to bring him downstairs, (3 times per week, usually weekend), he entered the crate, peed and pooped on the right hand side. He peed above the drainage hole cover. He did not step on the poop by turning at an angle to pee and poo. The owners would then close the crate door. They hosed water on the dog's feet to get rid of any urine stain and hose off the stools.

Advantages of the crate toilet area.
1. No need to pick up stools to dispose in the garbage bin.
2. Keeps paws clean by hosing with water after elimination.
3. Pee Pan is redundant in this situation.

Negative reinforcement in this situation is effective. The male Jack Russell urine marks every lamp post outdoors but will not do so inside the apartment. He just goes to the common bathroom crate when he is not going outdoors. He does not lift his leg to pee in the crate but does so outdoors. He has a routine of going outdoors 3 times per week. "Pees at every lamp post," the owner laughed.



Many owners cannot manage to control urine marking in grown up male dogs but this case is exceptional. He does not urinate mark at the Veterinary Surgery too. I would consider him very well behaved as many male dogs urine mark at the Surgery.

Comments: Male dogs that are dominant tends to urine mark inside the apartment and inside the veterinary surgery unless they are well trained at a young age not to do so. This case study shows the successful application of ROOM and CRATE method using NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT training. It needs a strong human personality to execute this method to let the dog know he is lower in the pack hierarchy. As the couple is working, 3 months is needed to achieve success.