Daisy is 16 weeks and goes all night in crate with no soiling. During the day she is 95% house trained. It's the 5% not that I'm concerned about. She doesn't alert us she needs to go outside, and so occasionally wees near back door. I've cleaned whole area with enzyme based cleaner. And we try to be vigilant about letting her out regularly. We try to give heaps of praise for going outside. Today's accident occurred 15 mins after she had been outside, so assumed she was safe (as she can hold on for hours overnight). She had a wee accident at back door when I turned around for 2 minutes!! And it was a huge amount! This sort of accident occurs once every 4-5 days. Is there anything more we can do? I've heard of dogs that ring a bell when they want to go out but there is no way to attach a bell near our back door- and what happens at other houses for dogs that do this?
Hi , I know its a nuisance but honestly , she will get there . Daisy is still very young and just like human babies , they all vary with regards to ability to hold their bladders, or just plain forget at times . Just keep doing what you are doing, praise up the good and try to ignore the not so good , there isn't any more you can do , but good luck
I went through this with Pongo. I tried all sorts of things, including the bell on the door (very, very funny but not a great success). And in the end it was a problem that just went away when he got older - he now has a bladder like a camel and only has a wee a couple of times a day. I think it was at about six months of age that it (quite suddenly) stopped being a concern. He is just over two years old now. I remember thinking that it was a huge problem that he didn't seem to be able to tell us when he needed to go out.... I couldn't think of a solution..... but actually it has turned out to not be a problem at all. The bell on the door-knob was hysterical, though. He loved the sound of it and would pull it off just to drag it round the house (at TOP speed) jangling it behind him. It drove me crazy.
Hiccups are normal at 16 weeks, as her bladder matures she will be able to hold it until you notice her by the door .
We tried this. Twiglet did it for a week or two then stopped! I think because I allowed her to play with it, she got confused as to its use. Now she just sits by the door. I will try again with the next pup .
One of the most common house training problems is caused by this misunderstanding. It is normal for puppies not to ask to go out. You can teach a puppy or older dog to ring a bell to go out, it works for some people, but others find that the dog overuses the bell in order to repeatedly go in and out of the house (something that seems to entertain dogs enormously ) At 16 weeks the occasional, even twice weekly, accident is not unusual. It can usually be prevented by managing the dog more pro-actively. At this age this is usually caused by the puppy being distracted and not emptying herself properly while outside. To make sure she empties her bladder fully, go with her when she is outside and make sure no-one distracts here while she does a wee. If you are giving edible rewards for wees outdoors, it might be simplest to stop this for a while as some puppies will 'cut short' their wee, in order to get the reward. It sounds as though you are doing a great job overall, so don't be disheartened by these very common setbacks. You might find it helpful to have a look at this article for more tips and explanation http://www.thelabradorsite.com/15-puppy-potty-training-problems-solved/
I think this is exactly what happened today - distraction. But thanks for the tip on the food reward. I had noticed that she seemed to do 2-3 wees sometimes and expected a treat! Thanks for all the advice and reassurance. I think I had been expecting her to bark or whine or something to let us know she needed to go out, and because she wasn't I began thinking we were doing something wrong
They're all different. Willow learnt to whine to go out. Shadow never did. You've had good advice above.
By the age of 16 weeks Pongo had quite a repertoire. There was: - the real "I Need a Wee" wee. - the Interrupted Wee. This demonstrated immense bladder control. It went: wee...dash back for treat....another wee....dash back for treat....another wee....dash back for treat....and repeat. - the Fake Wee. This is when there really is nothing left to deliver, but still optimism about treats. It involved squatting, looking up at me with an expression of intense concentration, wiggling a little then trotting up with "so where's my treat" look. Sometimes this could be very convincing indeed.
Juno has never "asked" to go out by whining or barking what we noticed was that she would go to the door and then come and look at us. It might be worth taking Daisy out when she goes to the door, it could be her way of alerting you. Good luck, but you will get there.
@Boogie what a wonderful photo. Boy, there are some good photographers here. RE. bells. I guess it's stupid to refuse to do something without trying it, but, no way would I do bells. After my dogs figured out I did NOT have ESP and could not read their minds and did amp up their I Want Outs (AND I learned to watch them and read doggy body language) they wanted out to pee, yes. But also to see who was barking next door, if any new apples had fallen, to roll in the snow, to check what new goodies the crows and squirrels had thrown out of the compost, to drink the hot water outside instead of the fresh cool water inside, to lie in the sun, to lie in the shade., etc. And lots of times they don't toilet at all. The bell would drive me nuts.
The reason I tried a bell is that Twiglet's owner will be blind, so simply sitting by the door won't be a good enough clue! I will try again with the bells for next pup but not let him/her play with them, just have them for the 'I want a wee' signal. We'll see! (The bells are still by the door but nobody bothers with them lol) .
