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PAYOH VETStoapayohvets.com Date: 18 April, 2009 |
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TOA
PAYOH VETS toapayohvets.com Date: 18 April, 2009 |
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ANTI-SOCIAL
BEHAVIOUR OF THE MALE DOG - |
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The 13-year-old daughter believed that
it was extremely cruel to neuter the 1.5-year-old Miniature Schnauzer. So,
the domestic worker had to mop the floor and wash the furniture every day.
Every time she did it, the male dog urine-marked the furniture again. The
carpet was not spared too. "Nobody advised us as how to stop this
urine-marking behaviour," the exasperated mother said to me. "It is difficult for the groomer to advise you" I said. "An deep understanding of the male dog behaviour is needed. How to stop urine-marking inside the apartment? It is the execution of the recommendations of how to stop the anti-urine-marking behaviour that is difficult." The mum must have been stressed by this anti-social behaviour. "Neutering at 6 months would be effective," I explained that it was a bit difficult to know whether urine-marking would stop after neutering now that the dog was 1.5 years old. "But the operation would likely reduce the urge to urine-mark. There is still a need to train your dog to pee outdoors." The daughter was quiet during the consultation. She was as tall as I am for a 13-year-old. Seldom do I meet such a tall Asian girl at 13 years of age. She seemed to understand her mother's frustrations about having to keep the dog away from the carpet and the sofa. It was a losing battle every day. She did not object to the neutering. Later at home, she phoned me to ask whether the dog would feel the pain or die during neutering as she had surfed the internet. "Unlikely to die," I said. "There is no pain during neutering as the dog will be under general anaesthesia."  ZOLETIL SEDATION AND ANAESTHESIA IN THIS CASE Zoletil 50 - 0.2 ml IV. Dog was sedated within a minute. I noted that the dog salivated a few watery drops and had a bright red maroon tongue as if the dog was dehydrated. The normal tongue colour during xylazine sedation which I often use is pink. Zoletil also caused the pupils to be dilated unlike xylazine, even at this low dose. I gave a 0.5 ml atropine injection IM and the pupils went back to normal size while the salivation ceased within 2 minutes. Isoflurane gas anaesthesia was given. Neutering was uneventful. I find that Zoletil IV is not as good as xylazine in sedation as there is a need for atropine to prevent the above-mentioned side effects. Xylazine has the main disadvantage of causing vomiting after injection. Zoletil 50 at 0.1 ml IV was more useful in the sedation of cat than in the sedation of the dog in my opinion. RE-TRAINING THE DOG TO PEE OUTDOORS 1. This dog was warded for 10 days while the owner neutralised the urine smell inside the apartment with white vinegar:water at 1:3 using a piece of rag. She did it 3 times. 2. The dog was crated but taken out 3 times a day to exercise and pee and poop. Meal times were 2x per day. This routine was performed for 10 days. The owner was informed and told to continue the routine. The 13-year-old daughter was prepared to wake up at 6 am to bring the dog outdoors first thing in the morning as the dog usually eliminated in the balcony. However, my routine was taking the dog out at 8.00 am and so the domestic worker could do the job. It sounded cruel to crate the male dog. This method ensured that he would not pee and poop inside the crate as he wanted to be clean. He was happy to go back to the crate after the exercise as he had to rest after neutering. He went home on Day 10 and so far, there was no complaint. The owners had to adhere to the routine or it would be back to square one. The dog would be confined inside a crate for the next 4 weeks and observed. He should no longer be urine-marking inside the apartment as he had a routine he would look forward to. This means that the mum would no longer be stressed out and yet maintain the harmonious mother-daughter relationship. The mum thanked me personally and I hope she would now have peace of mind. |
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