How to House-Train Two Male Puppies on the Pee Tray + grate

Date of Interview: 18 February 2010
Written by: Tanya Trevethick

Description

Two male salt & pepper Miniature Schnauzers around three years of age at the time of interview are owned by two men in their late 30s. They were house-trained as puppies at the same time by the current owners.

Equipment
At the time of interview, 3 pee trays were placed in the bathroom of an HDB apartment and shared between both dogs. The trays are near a wall; paper is not used. Neither dog has a preference for any particular tray.

 

Process
When the puppies started to eliminate, the owners carried them to the pee tray. The puppies were confined, with the confinement area gradually increased as the puppies got used to using the pee tray. Puppies were confined most of the day except when allowed out at a regular time each day to play.

Management
The owner washes out the pee tray and grate after every use. The grate has never needed replacing as it did not rust. The dogs pee two or three times a day and poop twice a day (once in the morning and once at night). The dogs are fed once a day on dry commercial dog food with very occasional treats.

Motivation
No treats were given after use of the pee tray. Puppies were spanked when they lifted their legs too high resulting in urine on the adjacent wall.

Difficulties
Training took a long time, two or three months instead of the usual two to four weeks. This could indicate that training two puppies together at the same time is harder than training just one. Also, the owners were at work during the day thus the puppies were not trained continuously throughout the day.

Success Rate
100% at time of interview. The dogs use the pee tray all the time, never soiling other parts of the bathroom or the house. The male dogs also do not lift their legs fully when urinating (one does not lift at all), as they get spanking and scolding when they do it. Thus no urine is sprayed onto the adjacent walls or floor area outside the pee tray. The owners noted that the dogs do not use the tray when it is unclean; this is the rationale behind their washing it after every use.