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Signal to go outside

7K views 52 replies 21 participants last post by  swaye 
#1 ·
Hi there,

I'm almost certain this has been covered in a previous post somewhere, but I'm not sure how to find it specifically, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask again.

My little Freddie is doing fairly well at housebreaking. He #2's 99% of the time outside (we've only had 2 accidents in the 3 weeks that he's been home), but he continues to sniff out spots to pee if I'm not proactive to take him outside when I see he's getting restless.

Is there a way to train him to give me some kind of signal to go outside? He does whine sometimes to tell me it's time to go, but it's not consistent.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Training bells work well for puppies too small to jump in our laps or have other methods to let it be known. This time of year, large jingle bells are readily available and a little less expensive than Poochie Bells or similar bells. I just make sure my puppy hits the bells with his nose or paw before I open it.

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#7 ·
yup, I taught Tillie to ring the bells around 15 weeks old. She caught on right away, she just needed a WAY to tell me she needed to go out!

BUT be warned... in the begining, when they are learning, they will ring them a LOT. and you HAVE to let them out. EVERY single time. Otherwise it undermines thier training and confuses them. :D
 
#9 ·
This is helpful for me too. Doug is going OK with his toilet training. Though if we weren't ontop of it he would pee all day inside!! He just seems to enjoy it I think lol a couple of times I have taken him out spent 10 min outside while he enjoyed just laying on the grass so come back inside, litterally while I am shutting the door behind me he has then peed inside! Grr lol. We have started him on the doggy door from yesterday and he seems to be taking himself outside to go - so not signaling to us but having the access means he seems to be understanding inside is not for potty.... I hope.
 
#11 ·
Don't give up on the bells!! We taught Beau to ring the bells every time we went out -- but for the loooonnnngggest time he: 1) enjoyed ringing the bells; 2) enjoyed getting my attention; 3) thought they were a great toy. Still, he would ring the bells, go outside to play, come back in -- and then pee and poop when he came back inside!!!!! I thought I would be the only one on the planet with a great dog, a smart dog, a joyful and loving agility dog -- who had his inside and outside totally backwards. And then, all of a sudden, around 18 months, he stopped peeing and pooping inside and became really adamant about ringing the bells to go outside to do his business! The only time we have a problem now is when it's raining out. But, we're still working on it.

Don't give up!! And remember, the dog must be old enough to "hold it" before we hold him responsible. If it doesn't work real well for awhile, it's your fault -- not his.
 
#12 ·
Don't give up!! And remember, the dog must be old enough to "hold it" before we hold him responsible. If it doesn't work real well for awhile, it's your fault -- not his.[/SIZE]
Great advice Beau and Lorraine. Thank you! I taught him "touch" last night, so that's step one in the bell training I think. Mind you, it's touching the inside of my palm, so I'll have to try and do "touch" with something else before we successfully work the bells. Yeah, he's pretty good about holding his pee, and I can tell when he's anxious to go outside to poop. So I'm not expecting perfection, just hoping to start something early to try and nip accidents in the bud.
 
#14 ·
I use the bells with my boys. And.................Jack fools me a lot! I have been training him to wait also when I know he was just outside. Now, if he is consistently ringing the bell over and over again, that means to get up and take me outside now!

If he rings the bells and I do not act like I am suppose to act and he gets to running frantically with his nose to the ground....that means you better move real fast because if he stops he will go potty in the house.

When I am in the bed. Dexter will paw on the linen to let me know he wants to go outside. Jack will either do a little sniff noise or he will do a little soft bark if he wants to go potty.

You just have to learn to read their body language and listen to their noises, watch their eyes and you will learn a lot! It is really fun learning all this stuff.
 
#15 ·
The bells were exactly what the dr. ordered to get Gucci 110% housebroken, and I think its quite common since Havanese aren't notorious barkers that some will just sit there for a minute and expect you to read their minds, lol and if you don't see or realize they are at the door quickly, they'll soon decide to pee in the house somewhere.

I just snapped a pic of our bells, I basically bought some ribbon and bells from Michaels and strung them to the floor, she usually swipes them with her face and she also has this technique of walking into them without walking into the glass (its sort of impressive) lol...

I think this will the answer to your problem! Just when you train, be on the outside with some yummy treats and reward for the bell ringing.

and once they learn it, you'll know because you will have a good 2-3 days of going to let them out the door 2938904 times..:pound: but BE patient and suck it up and open the door a zillion times and know that the constant bell ringing will be short lived.

Kara
 

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#17 ·
and once they learn it, you'll know because you will have a good 2-3 days of going to let them out the door 2938904 times..:pound: but BE patient and suck it up and open the door a zillion times and know that the constant bell ringing will be short lived.
Hurray! I'd better wear shoes in the house that day for easy outdoor access. Ya I'm prepared he's going to ring those **** bells over and over. That is, if he wants to go outside...
 
#16 ·
I didn't have to train Oreo to let me know when he needs to go. He just sits down in front of me and whines. That's his signal to me he has to go do his business.

I see less of it now because we have him on a schedule.

7:30am - pee
7:45am - eat
9:30am - poop
1:00pm - pee
5:00pm - eat
6:30pm - poop
9:00pm - pee

Having him on a schedule is awesome because it makes planning my days so much easier.
 
#18 ·
I didn't have to train Oreo to let me know when he needs to go. He just sits down in front of me and whines. That's his signal to me he has to go do his business.

I see less of it now because we have him on a schedule.

Having him on a schedule is awesome because it makes planning my days so much easier.
That's pretty amazing! I don't think Freddie is quite able to hold it that long. I just usually take him out every half hour-45 mins or so, or when I see him suddenly get up from a resting position and start to sniff around on the carpet, I know it's time to get moving fast!
 
#25 ·
lol. There will still be accidents for a little while. The bells are great though.
I put up bells for Bucky and they worked great for him. He came home in September, and by Christmas I was confident enough to take him to my mom's. Not a house for dogs, usually. He was welcome to come back :)
Fia's having a tougher time with training but that's got a lot to do with the -20C temps and deep snow. She can't get down the stairs to the door either.
 
#28 ·
Spiffylike, my Teddi is the same age but is not as far along as Doug. Teddi pees and poops outside, which is good and we have a "Yay, Teddi" party whenever she does what she is supposed to do outside. Inside she will use her puppy pee pads but I am usually not around to witness this, she just knows what to do. My problem is that if I take her out of her enclosure to play, she will play hard and then just squat down wherever she is and pee. I watch her like a hawk for any obvious signals and I am able to grab her and run for the door most times but sometimes I miss and so....it's puddles on the floor. Does Doug do this?
 
#29 ·
That's fabulous! How old is Oreo now? Teddi is almost 13 weeks old. She peeps and poops outside whenever I take her out but if she is out of her enclosure she forgets while playing and has accidents. Tonight, I brought her out of her ex-pen to play for a while and we were having a fun time but then she runs under the Christmas Tree and pees! What will Santa say? Did Oreo have accidents?
 
#30 ·
It sounds to me like Teddi is doing great overall. I would just interrupt play time with a few toilet breaks. I think that pups just get too excited. When I am watching Doug he seems to be ok inside, so if we are playing not a problem. I just can't trust him enough to turn my back on him for too long because he tends to go inside then. He is trustworthy when he is in his restricted area and then we will go off outside through the doggy door. But this improvement is only in the past 5 days since bringing in the doggy door. Before that we had him in the crate a lot more to have some more control.

Doug actually does the excited wees when someone visits so now when someone comes over we put him in his restricted area (which is the laundry, has his crate in there, access to outside through the doggy door however we have a pen outside that so he can't have complete run of the year and a gate so he can still see what is going on) until he calms down enough to come out and say hi so we usualy wait about 5 min.

Doug has done so many wees inside I have lost count. We have had him three weeks now and he has got soo much better but I still don't trust him enough when he is in the main lounge area of the house he will still go on the floor if he had the chance. I can't wait until he is fully trained lol
 
#31 ·
PS so far Doug has been great around the chrissy tree. Fingers crossed it stays this way. He hasn't dared to do a wee under neath or grab anything off the tree he doesn't really even get that close to it just every now and then when the lights are on he will stare at it for a little while lol
 
#32 ·
Glad to hear things are going well with Doug and the Christmas tree!
Freddie is doing well with the bells. But he sometimes uses them just to get my attention. I'm hoping this subsides after a while and after he realizes that the bells are for business only.

Best example of using the bells well: I had gone to bed and my boyfriend was up late last night. Freddie was horking up a hair ball or something (DBF thought he was choking), and let him out of his crate. In his absolutely EXHAUSTED state (it was like 1am), he trudged over to the bells and *ring.* By the time the DBF got his coat on, there was a pretty big puddle on the floor, but Freddie at least gave him the warning. I am so proud of the little fluffball!!
 
#34 ·
The bells work great. Just hit them on the way out the door. The Havs figure it out pretty quickly although when they get ordered sometimes its just a plaything. Right now you are your puppies success. When ever we miss their signal, an accident is sure to follow
 
#35 ·
Rosie developed her own way to let me know. At first she would scratch or paw at me or DH and when we would ask what she wanted she would run to her pee pad. Course we got up to take her immediately. Then she realized that might work for her carrot, so we would walk by the fridge to the door and if she stopped at the fridge, we ignored her. She either went out or we went and sat back down. Then she just used the pawing and I would take her outsidel. Since I work upstairs and watch TV also that got to be a pain. So I would tell her to go tell her "Daddy". Course she didn't go at first, so I had to take her down the stairs and holler for DH to take her outside. Then I got smart and used the intercom on the phone to tell him that I was sending her down. Now I just say go tell your Daddy and buzz him. She goes right to him and he takes her. Love it. Wish he was home in the daytime.
 
#37 ·
Rosie doesn't like to go out in the rain either. I started going out with an umbrella, but she would not pee next to me. So I just make her go in the rain. She runs out and right back now. My little schnauzers used to run under the hedge near the back door, but Rosie likesto go in the grass. When she runs back in, she stops on the towel and lets me dry her feet and fur. On most days she holds up each leg as I call our the number. I can't wait until she gets it perfectly. My SIL's big mutt lays on his back to get his feet wiped..
 
#39 ·
Most 'little' dogs don't like to go out in the rain..Oreo didn't...at first.

I conditioned Oreo that going out in the rain isn't a bad thing. We've gone on poopy walks for hours many times in the pouring rain. It's so cute when he hops over puddles that are in his way.

He's a rain champ!
 
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