LOL, In my experience the question should be, "When does the owner clue in to the subtle signals their puppy needs to go outside?" REally, I swear, mine thought they could communicate via ESP and were mystified at what a poor receptor I was. They would think, PEE, and I'd miss it. Then they'd think PEE and look at me and I'd miss it again if I wasn't looking. Then they'd think PEE, look at me and maybe make a little whining noise so I would look at them. I did catch on that snuffling the floor and walking and turning in circles were tell tail signs of imminent bathroom need. Actually, the breeder told us to watch for that. You can predict potty needs a bit, after waking, after playing, after eating, after something special happening in the house like, a doorbell rang or someone came home from work. While awake at an active time in our household I would just bundle up and might go out every 20 minutes for a while.
Hi Mark and welcome to the forum. That's some good advice there - it's up to you to interpret your puppy's signals that say she needs the loo. Pre-empt it for all the trigger times Snowshoe mentioned, and the rest of the time, just keep an eagle on eye her when she's awake. It depends how you manage it, too - whether your puppy is crate trained, whether she's in a restricted area or if she has full run of the house. Some people like to leave a door open so the puppy can take itself outside, but that normally ends up with problems later on when the puppy, who everyone has assumed is house-trained, goes to the door but finds it closed, so just goes there. Puppies don't know they're not supposed to go inside, so it's up to us to teach them that, by ignoring every accident inside, cleaning it with a proper enzymatic cleaning solution, such as Simple Solution (because if you use regular cleaners, they won't get rid of the tiny trace smells that sensitive dog noses can detect - or, worse, they will contain ingredients which actively encourage the dog to pee!) and giving them lots of praise and treats when they do go outside, even if you've taken them there yourself. If you're consistent with which door you use to go outside, and go with the approach of lots of treats for going to the loo out there, then you should find that it takes very little time before your puppy walks to the door to "ask" to go out. Be aware, many will then immediately squat and go, on finding the door closed, so you have to still be on your guard and see your puppy approaching the door. In time, she'll be able to hold on for a bit longer and may whine or scratch at the door to go out. Not all do, though - so it's about watching all the time. Any time they go in the house, it's because you weren't watching. I read this advice the other day: if this should happen, you need to get a heavy newspaper, roll it up and hit yourself over the head several times, repeating "I wasn't watching the puppy. I wasn't watching the puppy!" Other than that, puppies learn to toilet train at vastly different rates. So it's a bit "how long is a piece of string". My Willow was quite slow to learn compared to others on here. At 4 months, she would still occasionally go inside if I lost concentration - for example, if I was cooking, she wouldn't want to leave and go to the door, so she'd just pee there. It lessens over time, though, and you suddenly realise you haven't had an accident in a few days, then weeks, then months.
I thought I had done a great job of training Twiglet to ring a bell to ask to go out - but she has completely stopped doing it now and doesn't ask at all! But now, at 23 weeks, she has a strong bladder and is able to wait 'till I remember to ask her if she needs one
Ella sometimes stands by the laundry door and gives me a look that can either mean "I need to go outside and wee" or "are you sure it's not dinner time yet?" so it's a little tricky to tell haha.
Juno used to go and sit on the door mat by the front door and wait until I noticed. In the evenings she will go to the door and then turn round and peep at us from around the door post. Agree with the other comments though, you have to learn from your puppy what their signals mean.
Hello, and a warm welcome to the forum. My dog (he is 2.5 years old now) never asks to go out, unless he is ill and distressed in which case I notice right away something is wrong. This is because he has enough walks and garden visits (I always go out with him) such that he doesn't need to ask to go out. I prefer it this way. It means I have no problems with him asking to go out when he doesn't need to but just wants some attention/a treat/me to get up etc.
This was my experience with Molly. I got her at 8 weeks and would take her into the garden every 30 minutes or so. If she went to the toilet I would use the word while she was doing it, tell her she was a good girl and treat her. This was very hit or miss, but you have to start somewhere. At about ten weeks we entered another stage. I began to recognise the signs of her needing a wee, running round in excited small circles and sniffing the the ground. I became an expert at scoop and run. I reckon that by about 12 weeks Molly knew what I wanted and where and though there were accidents she largely co-operated. She then started taking herself to the back door and making a noise when she wanted to out, which she does to this day. Initially I put puppy pads down, which she didn't use and in her crate at night, but my trainer advised that by doing so I was training her to use them and I would then have to train her to go into the garden so discontinued their use. We restricted her to the rooms with hard floors and watched her like a hawk. It was quite hard work but I do think it was worth it as she trained much quicker than my previous dog. Make sure you clean up accidents with a proper enzyme cleaner. No matter how scrupulous you are ordinary cleaners can leave behind a smell, undetectable to you, but which tells a dog "this is the place to pee".
Thanks for the replies, some very helpful information. Our pup Charlie has gotten a lot better recently, he's 4 months and it's gone from almost once a day to once/twice a week. Sometimes he cries when he needs to go, sometimes he just goes without warning but there's definitely progress.
Saba and his siblings were raised outside with three adult bitches, so he was used to pottering around on the grass and performing at will. We were concerned that once home, he would have trouble adapting, but he has been clean and dry - including overnight, since arriving. In the morning, we let him out without greeting him so he's not distracted, and during the day, we're in and out of the garden or on a walk. If he wants to go out, he'll sit by the door and wimper. I've noticed he rarely poos when out on a walk which means I must do a thorough clean-up of the garden every day. We have four young grandchildren who love to play outside, and I would hate for them to have a close encounter of the poo kind!
