# House "training" help needed



## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

So Bella was immediately trained, like within days, as a puppy. To define training, I mean she would go on command outside, she wouldn't soil her pen/crate, etc. This continues to be the same. We would take her out every few hours, command she'd go. We thought she was trained and we were good to go.

In the recent months, however, it has become clear this is not the complete case. 

She will never ever ever alert us that she needs out (unless she is in her pen at night/early AM). 

How do I teach her to do this? She will do all sorts of whining and fussing to go out if she wants to chase a yard "intruder" (LOL - squirrel, etc.). 

She has gone in the house 4 times in the last 3 weeks. I know one answer is to just never leave her unattended in the house (unattended meaning we are HOME but she is not right by our side. We do not leave her home alone around the house). I keep thinking that by 1 1/2 yr she should be alerting us that she needs to go out, but somehow we missed teaching her this? 

Any suggestions? Yesterday, after the incident (and we FINALLY caught her in the act), I kept her in her pen all evening, except to take her out on leash, and give the command with treats ready; until she would go. Then she got off of the leash to play/praise/etc. But is there anything else we can do? It's the lack of alerting that is the problem, I think.

She won't "speak" on command, so we can't do "speak" then let her out. When she gets all nutso to want out to play with the wildlife I will say "you want to go out!? you want to go out?" all nutso (LOL) to try to make the connection and then let her out. So far, no go.

Thanks.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Could she have UTI or spay incontinence?


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## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

Hmm...I don't know. Wouldn't she soil in the night if she did? I've never had a dog with either of those problems. 

We do have a vet appt. next week so I will mention it if you think it's necessary (I'm hearing cha-ching as it's not like they can just get a dog to give a urine sample. LOL.)

ETA: I don't know that it's related to her spay as in looking back she was probably always like this but not given the "opportunity" b/c she was a puppy prone to various other kinds of puppy mischief so she wasn't given such freedoms.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I'd try a week or two of back to basics, and perhaps include bell ringing or some other signal as you go out. With a sufficiently tempting reward, she should cotton on pretty quickly.


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## Skye (Feb 19, 2010)

My German Shepherd started having accidents all over the house. I did have to get a urine sample (boy, was that hard!)! I'd slide a bowl under her, and when she would hear her urine start to hit she'd get up and look around like "what the heck?!" LOL 

When I took her to my vet, (that I adored, and who has since retired  ) he lifted her lip and smelled her breath. With the other info I had given him, he was sure she had a kidney problem before he even tested the urine. She had to go on a no protein food, since the protein was hard on her kidneys.

I sure hope it is nothing that serious. I was going to suggest trying to "bell train" her as well.


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## CelticKitti (Jul 1, 2010)

I had the same problem with both of mine. They knew they were supposed to go outside, and if I took them out they would go. But If they had to go, they didn't know how to tell me they needed to go. 

Both of mine ring bells to go outside now. It only took them a few days each to learn, and Mia's accidents stopped almost immediately. Yes Kodi went through a phase where he rang them just to go outside and play. But I picked them up after we came back in for about 2 hours then put them back down. By that time he would potty again if he went out. He grew out of that stage and Mia hasn't figured that out yet..(fingers crossed). Now the bells just hang next to the front door.


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

I will add my experience but its mostly not with a poodle - but with Shih-tzus. Sam will sometimes whine at the door, but then Sam will sometimes whine and I have absolutely no idea what he is whining about. 

Tyson will sometimes bark once to go out. But to tell the truth, I can't really rely on this. Quite often Tyson will stand at the door and never bark. 

I think I have more or less trained myself to send them outside when they haven't been outside for a while. Quite often when I send them out - they will pee. Needing to poop is far more likely to make them ask by whining or barking.

I guess seeing I am around the house a lot, it doesn't matter that they don't ask. All that matters to me is that they don't go in the house. And they don't. I am going to try to teach Lucy to ring a bell, but I haven't started that yet.


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## buttercup123 (Oct 7, 2010)

Do the bell and start from the begining, I would be very strict the first few days.

Have her tied to you, outside every hour, praise.
If she doesn't go put her in her crate without saying anything try again in 15. 
All while teaching her the bell.

Also putting her in her pen for that long and after telling her off is no good. 
She will start to think it's bad and she wont know if shes in there for hours because she pooed in the house. You can give her time outs for like 15 min and somewhere she doesnt need to associate with being good.


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## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

Thank you. 

I should have mentioned when I said she was in the pen for the entire evening wasn't as punishment for going in the house, it was because I though I kept taking her out to the yard on the leash, she wouldn't go, so back in the pen she went. I didn't say anything in a disparaging tone to her or anything like that. She did FINALLY go after several hours and attempts, got her treat, her praise and her freedom to torment the squirrels.

Today, we are having the same story. Of course my husband's fault he wouldn't take her out first thing b/c it was cold when she was guaranteed to need go go. He just let her out per usual to go on her own. *grumble* So now she doesn't have to go. I've fed her, and we're just back to me leashing her up, taking her out, waiting around, back into the pen. She's got to go eventually! 

I know there's a fine line that I don't want to cross by making her 'bedroom' a punishment area, but I'm also not sure what to do with her for these in-between times while we're working on this. Any ideas? 

So about the bell...is that basically just because I can't get her to alert by a bark? I really don't want to do the bell, I want her to tell me! She's got a great little alert "hey people!" bark. She uses it first in the AM, or on the very rare occasions she is done being outside before we have invited her in. My hesitation for the bell is the lack of portability of the behavior. We want her to travel with us, and I want her to let us know when she needs out wherever we are. So do you all take a bell with you on trips!? And you tie it to a string on the wall? Do they just bump it with their noses? How does this work, exactly?

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your advice. 

PS - Knock on wood...she hasn't pooped in the house for a long time. knockonwoodknockonwood. It's just puddles. Big Puddles. :argh:


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Mine don't bark when they need to go out. They just stand by the door and stare out the window. Then look at me. Then stare out the window.


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## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

ChocolateMillie said:


> Mine don't bark when they need to go out. They just stand by the door and stare out the window. Then look at me. Then stare out the window.


LOL. I think that is my problem. The quiet request.

So she just came upstairs to find me (kids are home playing with...or irritating her...she wasn't unattended). She fussed/whined, wagging and stared at me. Translation: "I NEED TO GO OUTSIDE TO CHASE SOME DAMN SQUIRRELS THAT ARE TAKING OVER OUR YARD WHILE I WAS STUCK INSIDE ENTERTAINING THE RUG RATS!"

So, I responded to her "You want to go outside!?" and down we ran to let her out. Off she went after the squirrels. 

Now, how to do take that ability to convey a clear message and turn it into when she needs to pee?!


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

ChocolateMillie said:


> Mine don't bark when they need to go out. They just stand by the door and stare out the window. Then look at me. Then stare out the window.


This is what Jäger does. It's very subtle, so subtle I often miss it. When he has acccidents it's usually right by the back door.

I NEED to get the bell. I have been meaning to do it and keep forgetting to buy one.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Lol, personally I would prefer to clean up poop over pee (solid poo, not runny poo) since you just.. pick the poop up and disinfect, not soak all the pee up.

Vegas rings the bells, Vienna will just stand by the door. That girl only needs to go once every 12 hours though I swear, if I let her out midday like Vegas, she just sniffs around to eat cat poop u_u

That's weird that she's started a change.. I would think health reasons over anything else.


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## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

So no one has any comments on how to deal with the bell signal while traveling? 

I have to share something Dh told me this weekend which has had me chuckling ever since.

Again Bella came into me, very clearly communicated that she wanted to go out. I let her out and off she went to tree a squirrel. I told Dh that I just don't understang why she can communicate so clearly when she wants out to play but not when she needs out to go to the bathroom. His response: "She can pee anywhere, but she can only chase squirrels outside."


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## curlysmama (Oct 31, 2010)

I am learning all sorts of new things here! The bell sounds neat.


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## pudlemom (Apr 16, 2010)

Bella's Momma said:


> . His response: "She can pee anywhere, but she can only chase squirrels outside."


You have to admit that was funny:rofl:

I have 2 that give you the quite stare,1 that dose the pee,pee dance she jumps around in circles and barks it to funny and 2 that just stand by the door hoping you see them.


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