36. A success story: Chihuahua in a shower stall for 2 weeks.

A success story.
Dec 20, 2006

Surprisingly, the owner of the brown chihuahua, male, 17 weeks old, asked about Rachel's chihuahua Kopi whom she saw at the Veterinary Surgery sometime ago.

"Kopi is in a new home for the last 2 days," I said sadly.

I was thinking of the chihuhaua Kopi who might be returned back to Anna if he continued to bark a lot.

Barking for attention is like throwing tantrums in 3-year-old children. I told Rachel's mum to totally ignore Kopi's barking on the first day at the new home. The maid and the grandmother ignored this advice.

So Kopi knew that the maid or the aged grandmother would come to see him if he barked long enough. Just like a 3-year-old I met at Thomson Medical Clinic visiting somebody who had a newborn baby. Her 3-year-old niece just had to open her mouth to cry. The aunty would quickly give in to what she wanted. No need further action.

If Kopi was ignored on the first day, he would not bark anymore. But the maid was attentive to him. The grandmother would see him.

It was also important that Kopi be given a routine of feeding and exercise so that he could be properly toilet trained. That meant crating him up for most of the time for the next 7 days.

However, too many visitors and play distracted him. So he pooped outside the crate, under the dining table and on the tiled marble floor. Or pooped many times as he held back wanting to play. In the end, he would be returned to Anna through no fault of his own.

He is home alone most of the time. My veterinary assistant, Anna has to work. Kopi is better off with a family with more people. Kopi is a social dog. He just loved company.

Back to the present, I spoke to Kiki's owner. "Kopi has been given as a present to Rachel, a 7-year-old girl about the age of your daughter. How old is she?"

The little girl said "I am eight years old." She was not as talkative as Rachel. Her mum continually train the chihuahua. "I need Kiki to come out of the carrier as there is light for photography," I explained to the mum as she kept commanding Kiki to stay inside the crate.



This mother had time to train the dog. Rachel's mother could give instructions from her office. Still it was best for Kopi's future that I followed up. Barking was the main problem. Disruption of his routine by so many visitors was another. The maid was told to give Kopi a time table of feeding and exercise. Rachel still had not recovered from her fear of dogs. At 3 years old, a big Beagle jumped onto her back. At that age, she became fearful of dogs. So, she was a bit afraid of Kopi even though Kopi should be afraid of her. She was 10 times bigger. To Kopi, she was gigantic.

"How's the toilet training in the flat?" I asked the mother. She has another child to care for. The maid was with her at the Surgery.

"I don't live in a flat," she told me she was residing in a condo. By "flat", I mean an apartment. But I guess it meant different to others. A condo has a swimming pool and other facilities. A flat does not have such facilities? The Speak Good Englishment Movement of Singapore people may need to educate me.

The mum has a very good way of toilet training the puppy.

Toilet location: Shower stall with glass door for 2 weeks. The glass door enabled the chihuahua to see the owners but not to come out for 2 weeks.

Newspapers covered the floor except for the area where the plastic carrier crate is.

Bed: The plastic carrier crate is the den. Soft towels and two chew toys. The door is left open.

On week 3, permitted to go to the kitchen. Restricted area with no urine smell and near the shower stall.

Positive reinforcement training. Food treats given after elimination on newspapers.

By 14 days, this puppy was paper-trained. No need for food treats now. Just poop 1x/day, 5 minutes after eating. Pees 5-6 x per day.

"How often you change the newspapers?" I asked the maid. It was 5-6 times a day. This was about the same as reported by other owners of 5-month-old dogs. But pooping once a day was really exceptional as most do it more than once.

New sleeping area: Kitchen, inside the carrier crate.

It sounded so easy. However, the mother was a strict teacher who spent time teaching as I could see her pointing fingers for Kiki to go inside the carrier crate while I wanted to take pictures. She was afraid that Kiki might come out and fall down the operating table on which I took pictures. I needed the light as it was a heavy 24-hour raining day today and there was no sunlight. The operating lights would do.

Success comes to those who know what to do and spend the time--- work hard to do it.