Housebreaking a puppy - letting us know?

actually, yes.

to begin with, you WILL have to watch her and try to predict when she has to go. become familiar with her behavior, maybe there's a clue she always gives before going.

but you can begin to train her to do something like ringing a bell whenever she has to go out.

if you can get an appropriate bell (like loud jingle bells?), first desensitive her to the noise if it frightens her. (give her treats and praise for being brave with the big scary noise.)

hang the bell low, in her easy reach, near the door. every time you take her outside for relieve herself, tap the bells with HER paw before going out. if she ever rings the bells, praise her and take her to her potty area. even if she didn't associate the bells with eliminating, and didn't expect to be taken out, try not to let her in until she goes. you want her to think bells = potty.

never let her play outside on her potty breaks, though. take her out, have her go, then bring her back inside. you can take her out (without ringing the bells!) a few minutes later, so she doesn't think ringing the bells also means going outside to play.

any trained behavior will take awhile to learn, though, for most dogs. it'll probably be awhile before she's picked up on the bells logic.

my dog is nine months, and he doesn't bark and rarely whines. he's incredible with holding himself until either we think he should go, or until we notice him hanging around the door and possibly whining.

i dunno.

Door scratching is a bad habit to get her into. It was cute and helpful when my puppy did it, but now at 100 lbs and 2 doors later it is no longer helpful or cute! Crating a puppy is a great way to get them to hold their bladder/deification until let out. Crate during the night, let out in the morning to go outside for about 10-15 minutes, feed, let outside again for 10-15 minutes, re crate. When the puppy does have a accident do not rub the nose in ti since it just makes them want to hide what they are doing and then you get presents under the bed, in corners, etc. If crating isn't possible then at least use a baby gate or something to keep it in the bathroom, kitchen etc where a hard floor is present. Good luck with your new puppy!

I trained my dog to ring bells. I bought some cheap jingle bells at a craft store (like Hobby Lobby or Michaels) and tied them to some ribbon. Hang them on the door that she'll use to go outside. Hang them low enough so that she can ring them with her nose. EVERY time you take her outside, RING the bells first as you say the magic word "outside" or "potty" whatever word you decide to use. You must do this every time you take her out. You might think that she's thinking you are nuts, but it works. It should only take a few days (or weeks depending on the dog). Our Doberman pup learned it in 3 days. She was ringing it on her own. It got to be a game with her and she was ringing it all the time. You MUST let her out EVERY time she rings the bell. The novelty will wear off eventually and then she'll be ringing it only when she really wants to go outside. Once trained, you'll be able to hear your dog if you're in another part of the house. We take the bells with us when we're traveling too so that she can let us know that she has to potty when we are staying at someone's house or a hotel.

I am sorry to disagree with the first person to answer but my puppy was potty trained by 7 weeks and hasn't had an accident since (we got her at 6 weeks)

i would have to say, maybe making her speak at the door (with a treat in the air) right when she barks open the door, After awhile she will figure out that her barking has to do with you opening the door!

Repetition works!

I am sure she will be potty trained in no time!

She is an infant and you need to give her some time. You can leash her to yourself when you are at home and that way you can watch her every minute. Put a low bell next to the door you go out to do her business. When you go out tap the bell and say something like "lets go check the back"

After a few trips use her foot to tap the bell and go out. Praise her a lot when she does her stuff. It takes time but she will learn. I have a spaniel who NEVER barks or whines. And we have to really remember to let him out to prevent accidents. He simply will not bark to go out and he is 12 years old. When we do out job.... he does his.

Tie a tug rope on the door knob and wire a bell on the rope just under the knob; the excess rope with the tug end hanging free below that, put some bacon grease on the tug end. She will go play with the tug, the bell will ring and you will take her out. This will be what she learns--that when she pulls the rope the door opens and she goes out. Soon it will enforce the habit and she will do it every time she wants to go out. Good luck!

You will just have to keep an eye on her for a while. Take her out the same door to the same spot every time. It may take a while, but she will start letting you know eventually. She may just sit by the door quietly, but as long as you're keeping an eye on her, you will know.

Instead of waiting for her to ask, you should take the initiative. Take her outside every hour on the hour when you're home. Wait outside with her too, so you can see her potty and give her LOTS of praise - so she will associate pottying outside with happy parents! When you aren't home, put her in a crate or pen, and take her outside as soon as you get home. Also take her out as soon as she wakes up, and right after hard playing, as well as 30-45 minutes after meal time.

Good luck!

At 10 weeks, they don't know how to signal they have to go. You have to watch them and anticipate.

Assign the command - Potty, or Outside and always use it. Then ask her... Go Potty? And take her out. She'll learn to look at you when she has to go.

Some people attach bells to doors. I tried that. It didn't work for me because my dogs went to the door every 5 minutes because they wanted go in and out, in and out...

I have one that spins in circles. They learn. Just be patient.

lol,, at 10 weeks you are doing great,, be prepared, though, right when you think she is trained,, all will go to hell,, 4 months old is pretty much the earliest that you can have a reliable house trained dog,, even then, they will have the occasional accident.

dogs , NATURALLY will not go where they sleep , live , eat or play..

so for the time being, keep your eye out for her body posture, this will let you know when she has to go outside..

repitition , patience and monitoring and your dog will be just fine

Well my method may not be liked by some, but it worked for our dogs. First, you kind of have to train yourself. It is very hard if you work outside of the home, because it takes patience and persistence. Start by taking the pup out every hour on the hour. Give them a few minutes and this is essential, because after a while, the pup will know about how long you are going to wait for him before you call him back inside. Until he/she is trained, keep him on linoleum, it is easier to clean up. Each time he does his business outside, he gets his favorite snack, immediately, plus a lot of praise, Good boy, you did it! Yeah!! I am so proud of you, just for that you get a snack! Each time he makes a mistake, spank him throughly with a PAPER TOWEL ROLL (CARDBOARD)....the sound is horrifying to them and they will act like you have hit them hard with a baseball bat! Show them you are disappointed, "Bad dog, No-No, you go outside!!" Then dab your finger in the mess and smudge it on his nose, then take him outside and lightly smudge his face on the grass where you want him to go and say, "you go here, outside!" Give him 5 - 10 minutes to think about it, then pet him and love him and say to him that you know he will do better next time and drop it! Not another word about it. Then start the "out each hour" again. some pups take longer than others, ours took about month or so. He still does well now at 10 months old, but if we don't take him at 6am each morning, by 6:15 am, we are to late. It is a joint venture, you and your pup, make it a memorable time, even though it is hard work, you just have to be persistent and consistent and eventually they get the idea. The paper towel roll works great!