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The doghouse

Will my dog ever go out to wee?

11 replies

sleepwouldbenice · 18/01/2019 09:04

Hi
11 month old cocker spaniel >was always a bit slow / lazy on the toilet training front but got it in the end. Will now hold on for a bit before going outside. Does recognise the phrase for toileting though (" toilet time") which can be useful if we want to prompt him for a wee before , say, a long car journey

Problem is he still doesn't show any signs of asking to go out. We always put him out every so often to do the deed. Sometimes he does quite a long wee so must have wanted to go but still doesn't ask


So we moved onto the bells. He's food motivated so yes now will happily jump at the door on the way out to ring the bells get a treat then go into the garden. But hes still not figured out he can use the bells to ASK to go out...… how do I do this

So yesterday, for the first time in ages, he weed inside. Totally out fault as we had forgotten to put him out regularly for once. But the frustration was that we (DH and I) were both right besides him in the kitchen 2 meters from the door and he still hadn't gone near it or of course the bells!

So how can I tweak this so he actually uses the bells to ask! He always paws at the door to come back in Wink

OP posts:
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BiteyShark · 18/01/2019 09:09

Could you dispense with the treat when he rings the bells? Maybe he associates the bells with the treat and not the actual going out in the garden bit?

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Swissgemma · 18/01/2019 09:13

With the bells... are you remembering to ring the bell everytime you open the door? We did the bell thing and every time we went out we rang the bell. So the bell was associated with going outside rather than treats.

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troubleswillbeoutofsight · 18/01/2019 09:20

I had a spaniel who never let me know when she needed to go outside. She lived until she was 12 and I just had to let her out periodically. When I was at work she would stay clean and dry for the most part. It was just a bit of a nuisance but not unmanageable

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Detoxpup · 18/01/2019 10:45

I don't get this asking to go out thing. (unless they are poorly or the odd occasion when they are caught short) Dogs are not pee machines

House trained dogs will wait until you let them go out. So as long as you go out regularly which is an obvious requirement of having a dog they should not be left long enough to need to ask to go out.

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BiteyShark · 18/01/2019 11:00

I guess that's a personal preference Detoxpup.

I prefer my dog to do both. Wait for me to let him out or ask if he needs or wants to go to the toilet.

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BluthsFrozenBananas · 18/01/2019 11:13

Detoxpup, that’s dependent on the dog. My dog is very small, has a small bladder and needs to pee every 2-4 hours during the day, sometimes even more often if she’s been playing and drinking a lot of water as a result. She asks to go out by standing by the door and squeaking, but she worked that out herself so I don’t have any advice for the op.

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Squickety · 18/01/2019 11:20

I've actually never thought about this! If mine wants to go out she goes and sits by the door, she will also go out though at my prompting just before bed. She was a rescue so we didn't train her, her previous owners must have as she did it from day 1. I think what a PP has said about associating the bell with the treats is probably correct. We've had to do a fair bit of training with ours on other things and I found we had to be really careful about not confusing her as to what the reward was actually for!

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sleepwouldbenice · 19/01/2019 00:20

Thanks all - will give the no treat approach a go and try to make it bells = go outside. Hes really clever with most tricks (esp with food involved...) but this just doesnt seem to click!

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MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 19/01/2019 10:30

He’s learnt that bells equals treats. He has no connection with going outside. You need to go back to the beginning and give him a different sign that means going outside.

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CatnissEverdene · 19/01/2019 12:32

At 11 months he's not fully matured, and I think you need to set a timer on your phone for every 90 minutes. We've got a puppy and are toilet training at the moment... if we're at home we set Alexa to remind us, otherwise I use my phone. And funnily enough our 5 year old has been going loads more than he would have done previously.... he's never once asked to go out.

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adaline · 19/01/2019 23:09

At 11 months they certainly don't need to go out every 90 minutes - mine won't ask to go out for hours on the day!

You need to get him to associate peeing outside with a treat - so always go with him, praise and treat. Every single time. He'll get it.

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