Puppy: "Please may I go out?"

[Excitedannie]

Ok so I WISH it were that simple! If my patio doors are open, the puppy is great at going outside to do her toilets. But now it's getting colder, I'm finding that she's toileting in the house because the doors are shut. She doesn't even make a move towards the door - she just does it! And even worse - she eats her poo -I think because she eats it to hide it!

So I've bought the bells but I'm not having much luck. Because of the shape of my living room, it's hard to have eyes on her 24/7. Any suggestions? She's 17 weeks

You need to actually take her out every 30-60 minutes and get a cue word , by allowing her to just wander in and out you’ve probably made it harder for her to get the right idea because you’ve not been outside with her praising her every time she’s done it in the right place .

Oh I do praise her each time because I see her wandering out so I follow her. But if the door is closed, she'll just squat anywhere

What she said. Ott praise and treats for when the puppy goes outside. Accidents inside - ignore and clean up without fuss or attention.

My only suggestion is keep taking her outside and treating her. Treat her like she isn't housetrained, because she isn't!

And maybe open the door any time she goes near it so she gets the idea that her presence there means open door.

I'm no expert tho.

Honestly - I do all that - most of the time I follow her out and then praise etc and then when we go on walks. Lots of praise, but just now I had nipped to the kitchen and she'd poo'd in the middle of the living room - not even near the door!

Has anyone had success with bells?

Are you taking her outside every 30 minutes to see if she needs to go?

What the others said. You need to teach her. She cant train herself. Bells are too advanced, you'd only do that once she is house trained and most probably when she's had some obedience training.

You have to watch puppies all the time. Pick her up everytime she looks like she's going to wee/poo in the house and take her outside. AND take her out every thirty minutes and shower her with praise when she wees outside. House training is hard work and then they just get it - it will suddenly click.

The subtle difference is that you have to take her out at regular intervals not wait for her to go out and then go out with her.

Set an alarm and take her out every 30 mins to start with then you will see a pattern and be able to increase the time gradually.

Yes - loads

Our dog learnt how to use them very quickly (we tapped her paw on them everytime we took her out)

They are great, however big downside - because of them, she doesn't bark to go in the garden. In fact she in general isn't a barker for attention, so we've had odd accidents when no one has heard the bells etc. We've just had to be in the habit of making sure one of us is in ear shot for a while after she's eaten etc

Bells, but also get some pen fencing and reduce her area so you can see her

www.amazon.co.uk/Bunny-Business-Rabbit-Enclosure-Gunmetal/dp/B00HYYPD66/ref=asc_df_B00HYYPD66/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=205211220682&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4752877026651890202&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007171&hvtargid=pla-421967923191&psc=1 This stuff is good because yiu can make a pen- but also stretch it out to make a barrier if you just want to block off a portion of the room

Following out is different to taking out. You go out, take her with you. Don't return until the business is done. Over and over again. Get your big coat at the ready because sometimes you'll be out waiting for some time. Jangle the bells each time you go out, the dog will soon pick up that the bells mean the door opens. But really at the moment it's all on you, you need to spend a lot of time outside in the near future. Also make sure you are cleaning the indoor mess well enough,the dog will keep going there if they can smell it. Good luck, you'll get there

This is how I toilet trained mine as a pup, took about two weeks. We had the odd accident for a few weeks after but worked really well.

You need to physically take her outside every 30-60 minutes. Add a command to going out such as ‘do you want to go out’ while you are in the act of walking to and opening the door. Make sure the ‘toilet’ is the same place, I.e. the back garden, if that’s where you’d like her to go and associate the commands with this place so they learn this is where the toilet is, and that it is outdoors. Dogs will always go to the toilet naturally on a walk.

Once in the garden when she does a wee use a command ‘go wee’ or something similar. Wait outside in the garden with her until she actually wees then say the wee command as she actually goes, lots of praise once she’s done it and a little treat when she gets inside the door.

it is time consuming initially but well worth the effort. As per PP any accidents inside, generally ignore and clean up. I used to take mine outside straight after an accident and wait for her to go to the toilet again (this will happen quickly if they know there is a treat at the end) don’t ever shout or scold for accidents indoors as they may then become scared of going to the toilet and associate it with bad things, and try and hide it.

I tried puppy pads for a short while and the sprays you can get but for me they were a waste of time and would of slowed down the process.

And by physically taking her out, as PP this is you instigating and leading, not following, to enforce and teach the toileting if you see what I mean!

Thank you - I appreciate the comments.

I'll start this tomorrow! Because she's 17 weeks, she can actually hold her toilets for hours so it might take some time! Time to be patient!

Back to basics. As PPs have said, take her outside every 30 minutes for now, then gradually extend the time between outdoor breaks. I wouldn't wait around outside until she wees, though. I would take her out, say the word or phrase you've chosen, and wait 5 minutes or so. If nothing happens, I'd take her back inside for a bit (and watch her like a hawk), then go out again. I also use a lead during the house training phase, to keep the pup with me in the garden and make sure she doesn't get distracted by playing or chasing squirrels or whatever. You could also keep a house line on her inside at first, to make certain that she stays with you so you can watch for her signals (sniffing the floor, etc.).

I suppose the bit I'm confused about is yes, I take her outside a lot and say "toilet" and if she needs one, she does it. She knows she needs to do it outside otherwise why does she go out when the door is open. Even if I do all the above, I'm still not understanding how that makes her alert me to the fact she needs to go out.

Am I missing something?

Maybe she only knows to go outside if the door is open? I used the bells. But it took a while, shaking the bells for a week, paw on bells the next week, each time the door opens for you to take her. Eventually she rang the bell for the door to open. But she's probably not old enough/trained enough to alert you yet- if she still thinks she can also go indoors. Have you crate trained? That helps for the pup stage, they won't wee where they sleep. Pup in crate (or alternatively, a pen) If you can't have eyes on. If you are watching her, watch for some signs that it's coming. Sniffing the floor or walking in circles. A bit far off for you at the moment, but I taught my dog to bark on command then swapped the bells out gradually by using that, so she barks to be let out now. And she just naturally taught herself to come and get me if I'm too far away to hear as she grew up.

mine never ask to go out- because they never get to the position I need to. I take them out every 3-4 hours so they have the opportunity. If she goes when you take her out and on the command toilet I’d go with that- it’s much easier, before you get in the car for example you can make sure they empty and they go on your schedule not theirs

Mine is exactly the same as this. I let her out every 3-4 hours now which is adequate. If she needs to go before that she will let me know, she comes to me and cries, then leads me to the door to let her out, it’s just something they learn, toilet is outside and someone needs to open the door so they can go out there.

Thank you all. She sleeps in the crate and holds for about 7 hours so she can do it!!!

I have a dog door which i propped open initially

They definitely can hold it for a long time, it’s just teaching and making them go on your schedule, and they will do it. If she’s already able to hold for so long, you may be able to train with just taking her out every couple of hours, instead of 30-60 minutes?

Good luck! It will be a pain for a couple of weeks but it will be worth the effort in the end!!

Can I kinda hijack your thread op?! Excellent advice above.

We trained our dog with bells etc all good but like you the doors have been open for months. Difference is we have a balcony with grass pee pad rather than garden and I think he prefers the park/road/lamp post outside. He can go HOURS holding his pee, and now doesn't ask to go outside to the pad. I honestly think he could go for 14 hours (we often give him a good walk in the morning and then not again until just before bed) without peeing. Surely this is too long? Should I be concerned? He's nearly a year and I do intermittently open the door and say 'toilet!' but he ignores me. Any thoughts gratefully received too!

Has he had a bad experience on the pad? Is it in a noisy area/somewhere he may have heard a loud noise or something that frightened him and now he associates it with that?

You could try moving the pad to a different area although I appreciate a balcony might not give many options! My dog is currently scared of the garden at night time (not in the day) apart from the bit right outside the door, I’m not sure why possible she was bitten by an insect or a fox has been out there? We are currently trying to desensitise her by using lots of treats and play in the garden and going out with her and lots of fuss/praise/excitement about being out there.
she’s slowly getting better but it’s a slow process, been a couple of weeks now!

if he really won’t go on the pad you could try nipping him outside elsewhere but 14 hours is a long time and could be bad for him. As I have been reading on how to help mine, if they associate the toilet with bad things they will withhold going and it’s not good for them. Look up desensitising and you should get some good tips!