Advancing Housetraining...

Dougal has being doing really well lately, and thankfully didn't forget everything while in kennels! As soon as he saw the chicken come out it seemed to come flooding back (BTW Karlin we just missed you by about half an hour the morning we dropped them off. You had just picked your bunch up)

Anyway the only problem we've been having is that he doesn't ask to go out. He will go to the door and stand at it for a moment, look at me and if I don't see him or react immediately he will go there and then. I know some people have mentioned using a bell, so we've been thinking of getting him one. Any suggestions?

Secondly he has problems going in strange places. :roll: He will go on command at home no problem in his toilet area but seems to be very reluctant to go in foreign places. Even with command word and the smell of chicken (which we use exclusively as toilet treats).
Otherwise he's doing great and can hold it overnight no problem

Dougal is doing really well for a young pup! Good job. We use bells for our crew and it is really helpful as we can hear the bells from several rooms away. Here's a short clip on how to train them.

http://clickertraining.tv/product.html?item=FREE-09

You can use bells from the craft store tied onto cording or string. That's how we started. Our pup kept chewing through the cord so we ordered some from this site who has a really nice selection of ribbons. They are nicely made and ours have been up for over a year and look brand new.

http://www.poochie-pets.net/

Hope that helps.

Hi Cecily!

I share those two issues. Neither of mine have ever barked to be let out, but as I said before on another post, I ask Holly if she wants out and she let's me know. Amber is starting to catch on to this too, but this technique only works if the dog is more or less house trained to begin with. And it's a difficult one to 'train' since it kinda just happened!!!

And Amber is just like Dougal for going to the loo. She will go both with and without a command at my house and my mum's- but nowhere else. She's maybe only widdled in the park once, if that. On Saturdays I end up having to put her in the little bathroom in the shop for the toilet because she *will not* go on either concrete or gravel there.... which is really odd as both my back yard and my mum's is paved.

It's a pain isn't it!!! Although we had a breakthrough today. First off Dougal peed on the concrete outside my mum's house and then a bit later he pooed in the Phoenix Park! He was heavily treated both times

Thanks for the links on using bells Molly. Should come in useful!
Lisa, Tandie (like Holly) never ever asks to be let out either. She never seems to be busting to go and has never had an accident, whatever kind of bladder she must have :lol:

I use the Poochie bells too.

Lucky knows what they are for and will ring to be let out. My problem though is that in the mornings he will ring just because he wants to go outside & play ... (he always pees too, but when the weather is nice I am convinced it is just to play because he just does a quick token wee and then he's trying to chase leaves & birdiesz ....)

I work from home, so although I would LOVE to just be outside with him when the weather is nice, that doesn't really work because I still have a boss and have work to bed done!!! So I have to keep him confined during the day whenever I don't want him to ring or can't take him out - I think if you do the bells the important thing to keep in mind is you should be consistent with taking them out (or letting them out if you have a fenced backyard) whenever they ring.

Good Luck. If you decide to use the bells, I think they will definitely work in time, but give it time and be consistent in ringing them every time before you go out. It took Lucky a while to catch on, but he definitely knows what they are for now.

i just got brady the bells yesterday and he's already using them to ask to go out. he was kinda trained on that before because he would bang on the blinds that hung on the door before. when he was a puppy (sometimes sill now) he would chew the blinds (they're like a plastic) i was trying to get him to stop doing that so i sprayed apple bitter on them, then he wouldn't ask to go out so i cleaned it off. so far with the bells, he seems to be using them and not the blinds anymore.

i also have to same problem with brady not going in different places. he will gladly pee in a new place, but he has to find just the right spot to poop and no where seems to be as good as at home. on christmas he didn't poop the whole day pretty much because we were out visiting different family members. i even walked him around the block in the cold christmas weather. one good thing is that if he's stuck in a room (like at the vet) and he has to go he'll cry and let me know.

it's a long process before it's 100%. Brady is about 10 months old now and i don't think he's 100% yet. I still leave him in his crate when i'm out. he's can be a bad boy when i have him out at night so i don't think he'll ever be able to roam around the house when it's empty.

Good luck!