# Dog letting you know that he/she needs to go out



## MacGyver (Nov 9, 2009)

Hi all,

My husband and I have been working with our Hav for quite some time to tell us that he needs to go outside. Although we have not had an accident in a while, we feel it is mostly because we know his schedule and when he needs to go. Ideally though, we would like him to tell us when he needs to go. We have been using a bell for a couple of months now, and he just does not seem to get the concept. We have him ring the bell with his nose or paw every time we go out, we get all excited and say "outside outside" and then we go out. We have even tried putting cream cheese on it, and that gets him to sniff it and ring it a little, but that's about it. He definitely knows the word "outside", but does not seem to understand ringing the bell.

Suggestions as to what we are doing wrong with the bell or other ideas for how you get your havs to let you know they need to go out would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Thanksgiving!!


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## oohbetty (Mar 2, 2009)

I think if you just keep ringing the bells just before you open the door every time he'll find a clear way to communicate it to you. I wouldn't bother with the cream cheese, that may just distract him from the task at hand. Mine's 11 mo and he scratches at the door and we hear the bells ring or if we're not near the door he'll come to us and cry.


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## Rita Nelson (Jul 13, 2009)

We bought bells for Tucker and finally gave up on them. At 5 mos. old he started scratching at the door when he needed to go out. He'll be 8 mos. old 12/4 and has been accident free since Aug. I guess the little rascals find their own way to let you know when nature calls.


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## oogie-boogie (Jul 8, 2009)

our technique is kinda wierd actually:

Because we spent basically every living moment with Havannah (I take her to work with me sometimes, or she stays with the wife at home we've gotten to know her very very well. Almost to point where she "talks" to us.) When she gets excited or "looks" at us funny usually after an activity/training we do with her or after her nap, we ask her if she has to go out. "You have to go potty?" Then she gets really happy and jumps once and get's nippy like biting my finger gently or getting me to get off the chair. We walk her to the door and she rings her bell all by herself.

Havannah is 11months....


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

MacGyver said:


> Hi all,
> 
> My husband and I have been working with our Hav for quite some time to tell us that he needs to go outside. Although we have not had an accident in a while, we feel it is mostly because we know his schedule and when he needs to go. Ideally though, we would like him to tell us when he needs to go. We have been using a bell for a couple of months now, and he just does not seem to get the concept. We have him ring the bell with his nose or paw every time we go out, we get all excited and say "outside outside" and then we go out. We have even tried putting cream cheese on it, and that gets him to sniff it and ring it a little, but that's about it. He definitely knows the word "outside", but does not seem to understand ringing the bell.
> 
> ...


How old is your pup?

I have taught Dexter the bells, which he rings the most for dh. I have learned to read Dexter's expressions (he will sit between me and the door and give that look)...also, Dexter does scratch the door also.

Potty training may not click really good until 5-6 months if you are lucky.

Hang in there, Havs are small dogs.


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## MacGyver (Nov 9, 2009)

MacGyver is 8 months old...we have had him for about 4 months. There are times when he sits up real straight and looks at me differently. I then say "outside" and he runs to the door....so he does try to tell me sometimes, I just don't see him doing anything consistently.


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## gsweenie (Oct 17, 2009)

Button is 15 mos old and is 'almost there' with his potty training or maybe WE are almost trained - lol:wink:
He will come paw at my leg when he wants something (attention / out / etc) and I will ask him 'do you need to go potty?' and he will go to the door - otherwise, he continues to paw at my leg and - wow - this is where I get lost - 'what does he want?' :frusty: He has just started wanting to be held or be in my lap a lot!

Oh - we tried the bells - they didn't work and only annoyed us going in / out the door 
Did I mention how cute they are!


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## KSC (Aug 6, 2009)

I think we're the same as most here...Kipling has body language and looks that then cause us to say do you need to go outside? And if he does he'll move to the door...however by 5-6 months he also began to go to the door, face it and bark when he really needed to go..usually for number 2. He is completely reliable - no accidents and it seems to be a combination of us knowing to ask him, taking him out when we come or go to give him a chance, and him letting us know. If we didn't ask him I'm pretty confident he would let us know by barking at the door. I wondered the same thing you're wondering and people told me it would come...and it did. Hope that helps.


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## grace132 (Nov 5, 2009)

Murphy is 4 1/2 mo. old now, and he's very good about telling me when he has to go...as long I'm within view of the door he goes out. He'll go to the door, turn around and sit down and look at me. When I say "do you have to go out", he turns back around and faces the door. If I don't see him right away, he'll just sit there and stare at me. 

He'll actually come to get me when he has to poop. He'll come running to wherever I am, and then quickly run back out to the living room. I've picked up on that signal, so I don't make him wait too long. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite get it that he needs to do the same thing when he needs to pee. If I'm not right there to see him at the door, that's when the accidents occur. They're getting much fewer and further between, but they still happen. The difference is that now he feels bad about it when it happens, so I guess that's progress. The last hurdle is getting him to understand that he can come and get me for peeing, too!


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## Amy R. (Jul 1, 2007)

Biscuit walks up to you and gives you THE LOOK. Very intense. Heath is now starting to do this. Also, if they've been sleeping & Heath gets up & becomes restless, that's also a sign to be heeded.


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## heatherkurt (Sep 1, 2009)

Hudson and Cosmo are nearly 9 months - we're still working on it! I tried the bells, tried teaching them to bark at the door. My kids said I was making a complete fool of myself, and apparently the dogs thought so too. Nothing worked. We just installed a dog door a few weeks ago, and I'm hoping this will do the trick. I've been giving them a little more freedom lately, testing them to see whether they will go out on their own without my prompting them. I think they are getting better, but I still can't trust them - our carpet is just too tempting!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

MacGyver said:


> MacGyver is 8 months old...we have had him for about 4 months. There are times when he sits up real straight and looks at me differently. I then say "outside" and he runs to the door....so he does try to tell me sometimes, I just don't see him doing anything consistently.


Kodi (almost 7 months) doesn't bark, (well, at least not to potty!!!<g>) and the signs that he needs to go are subtle. If I'm paying close attention, I can usually tell, but if I get distracted, I can miss it. If he's confined to a "safe" area (i.e. no rugs!<g>) he'll go use his litter box if I don't notice that he needs to go. But we don't trust him on rugs yet. (well, he also chews the rugs which is an even bigger reason not to allow him him near them!)

He has no problem using the litter box to pee in, but he'd really prefer to poop outside. Fortunately, his schedule is pretty regular. He goes first thing in the morning, before breakfast, and again when we go for a long walk late morning or mid-day. It's if the weather is really bad so we can't go for that walk that I need to watch him really carefully. He'll use the litter box if he has no alternative, but I have to walk him over to it, and encourage him to use it. On bad days, as we approach the time when I suspect he'll need to go again, I either confine him to his pen (with a litter box) or to a small area near my desk with a litter box so that I can watch him closely.

So I'm not sure we're in a much different situation than you are... Kodi doesn't "tell" us he needs to go out in any obvious way (though there are subtle signs), we just kind of know his schedule.


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## descha (Jul 3, 2009)

Holy Toledo! My Havs are 6 and 8 months old and they ring the bell religiously to go. Problem is the oldest one seems to want me to go with him and tell him what to do! The only way I'm sure I won't find a surprise on the floor is if I go out and tell him "Desi, go poop!" My friends all laugh, but he looks at me, scampers off the deck and poops! Now we are expecting snow any second in WNY and I just can't be out there with him at 6 am in my robe and slippers telling him to poop! The younger one seems to have caught on much quicker and I am wondering if it's corelation to size. The older pup is a tiny, petite Hav; the younger one is a good 3 lbs. heavier, taller and longer also. Any advice on making sure we do our business before coming in the house?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

descha said:


> Holy Toledo! My Havs are 6 and 8 months old and they ring the bell religiously to go. Problem is the oldest one seems to want me to go with him and tell him what to do! The only way I'm sure I won't find a surprise on the floor is if I go out and tell him "Desi, go poop!" My friends all laugh, but he looks at me, scampers off the deck and poops! Now we are expecting snow any second in WNY and I just can't be out there with him at 6 am in my robe and slippers telling him to poop! The younger one seems to have caught on much quicker and I am wondering if it's corelation to size. The older pup is a tiny, petite Hav; the younger one is a good 3 lbs. heavier, taller and longer also. Any advice on making sure we do our business before coming in the house?


I always go out with Kodi, but then, I don't want him out by himself. It's a pain getting dressed and going out with him (particularly on weekends!!!) but I feel safer that way. I am finding it easier to go back to bed for an extra hour after he's taken care of!


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## waybrook (Sep 13, 2009)

Housebreaking is really tough! Panda will be 6 mo. on 12/7 and is just now becoming more reliable. She still goes to the wrong door to go outside, but when I see her at the front door, I hurry her to the back. We've tried bells, but she just isn't interested - so I gave up on those. Our yard is securely fenced but I have to go out with her - she won't stay outside by herself. As with the others I think its more of me being trained to watch for her hints than it is her being trained. We haven't had any accidents though for about a week - so one of us is getting better!


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## Fore! (Dec 18, 2009)

I'm hoping to resurrect this thread as we've got a question about using a bell for our 4.5 month old to tell us he needs to go.

We've been using the bell for only a couple of weeks - so it could be early days to make judgement (?) - but Desi definitely seems to get the concept - however the issues are:

1) he's not consistent. There have been many times when he has gone over to the bell, pulled on it once or twice, then looks at us in the kitchen and waits. We've taken him out and quickly he has peed and/or pooped. BUT - there are still times when he seems like he needs to go, but doesn't use the bell (he gives us a look or seems anxious or hangs out by the door while looking at us, etc)

2) more importantly, now he seems to ring the bell just to go outside (not necessarily to go). He rings bell, we take him out to his usual spot, sometimes for up to 15 minutes or more - nothing. Bring him back in, within a few minutes he rings the bell again, repeat... nothing. This was our fear about using the bell - but we had read that they typically ONLY ring the bell when they need to go to the bathroom, not just because they want to go out and play/explore.

Any thoughts? Do we need to just give it more time? Seems to me that there smart enough to figure out that bell ringing = let me out, for whatever reason, not just to go. So how do we discern?

Thanks!


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## SMARTY (Apr 19, 2007)

Welcome to the Forum. Your baby is young he will probably get it in time. BUT my Smarty got the bell and rang it all the time just to go out or just playing. I took the thing up and never tried to teach Galen the bell. My girls are let out when they first get up, many times during the day when DH and I go outside and last thing at night before I go to bed. Both will let me know they need to go Smarty by dancing or sitting up and shaking her paws, Galen will bark or "dig" on me. You can choose something he does naturally and each time he does it "out he goes to his potty place" in time he will associate this with potty time.


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## grace132 (Nov 5, 2009)

Murphy is very good about ringing the bell every time he has to go out. In fact, if I'm doing something else and don't immediately come to take him out, he will continue to ring it, making it louder each time. Talk about impatient!! But he also rings the bell when he just wants to go out and play. If he's just been out within the last few minutes, we just tell him to go play or to go lie down. He gets the point, and it doesn't discourage him from ringing the bell later when he really has to go.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I have been trying to teach Jack to use the bells, but Dexter is always on that side of the door....so, I have to move Dexter out of the way to ring the bells. 

I expect accidents from Jack for another few months. His brain has not clicked yet about the potty issues. We do get excited when potty occurs outside. So, it takes time and patience with the bell system.

Sometimes when Dexter was learning when he was younger....and I knew he had to use the potty, I would say "Ring the Bells" and he would go over and ring the bells. He is stubborn now to ring the bells, he just gives me the "look." 

Oh! And, I hang the bells on the side of the door frame, not on the door knob....bell ringing will get old very quickly with you going in and out of the house.


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

My boys are three and four and I just introduced the bell to save my doors. But just like scatching on the door, since they know we jump to attention when we think they need to go out, they now ring the bell when ever they want attention or a treat as well as when they need to go out. smart boys. How do you break them of this habit without jeopadizing their perfect potty training? 

Jasper also does the stare. And if we ignore him the paw. And if we ignore that the grumble. This is his prefferred method to letting us know.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I'm not a fan for using a bell for housetraining. Housetraining is a huge problem for many people. It comes down to following some of the well known proceedures and sticking with them. I will continually send people to read related articles at Dog Star Daily or Before You Get Your Puppy. There are numerous others but I find these the best. To learn when your dog needs to go outside you have to learn their signals and habits. It's like riding a bicycle. To see the reason why using a set signal to tell you their need to go outside is questionable; read the new post I am going to do called Housetraining Using Signals. I think its worth a new post .


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## sprorchid (Mar 30, 2010)

My little guy, since I got him at 8 weeks old, scratches at the door if he wants to go outside, for whatever reason.

annoying b/c sometimes the door is wide open (sliding glass door to the backyard), and he makes a poor choice by peeing in one of his known spots in the house. I"m trying to break him of the habit by using the fragranced perfume crystals typically used for outdoor grass when dogs/cats are peeing and yellowing your lawn. So far so good (two weeks and going). I tell ppl he's 90% potty trained.


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

Kashi does not use the bells either. He will either circle on the pee pad that is near the door so we know he needs to go or if he is on our bed he will bark and we figure its either water he needs or to be let out. Miya I am still shaking my head about. She holds her bladder for quite a long time


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## jag (Apr 3, 2010)

*converting from litter box to going outside*

Izzy came from the breeder at 10 weeks litter trained. Because we were in an RV , we did not feel we could take her outside safely until she had her shots. We are now home for a few months and I am not sure how to move her from the litter box to going outside. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

There has been times, when I know Dexter can wait, because we just came from outside (Dexter is over a 16 months old), so, I know he can wait, sometimes, I know he just wants to go outside to smell or see if Dad is coming home. 

I say "Wait" and sometimes he wanders away from the door and gets his mind on something else, but if he is persistent with the door ringing, it is an emergency.


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## ls-indy (Apr 10, 2008)

Daisy was about 6 months old when we got the bell. She started using it within DAYS. When we got Beau - he saw Daisy ring the bell from day one - but didn't ring it himself for the longest time. I had begun to think he would just wait for Daisy to ring it for life. Then around 7 month he suddenly started ringing it too.

We have a small cast-iron bell that hangs about 8" off the floor. We bought it an an "art fair"....


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## kgiese (Apr 18, 2007)

Hank is almost 6 years old now, and we've had the bells for almost 5 years. To this day he refuses to ring the bells. If he needs to go out we also get THE LOOK. If we ask him if he needs to go potsie potsie he will start jumping up and down and run to the door. If we're in the car, he'll start talking to my husband and barking to let us know he needs to go. That's for short trips around town. On long trips he sleeps, and we just take him out every time we stop.


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## grace132 (Nov 5, 2009)

The bells have worked well for us. Murphy's signal used to be just a silent stare, but that only worked if we were right there in the room with him. It didn't allow us too much freedom to do what we needed to do. And there were too many chances for accidents that way. He did eventually learn to come and get us on occasion, but not always. The bells were the answer for us. He rings them every time he has to go out and they can be heard from anywhere in the house. Sometimes, when he just wants to go out and play, he will ring them for that too, but it's not all the time. And when we tell him to go play, he'll run off and find a toy or a bone and be fine until he really needs to go out.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

kgiese said:


> Hank is almost 6 years old now, and we've had the bells for almost 5 years. To this day he refuses to ring the bells. If he needs to go out we also get THE LOOK. If we ask him if he needs to go potsie potsie he will start jumping up and down and run to the door. If we're in the car, he'll start talking to my husband and barking to let us know he needs to go. That's for short trips around town. On long trips he sleeps, and we just take him out every time we stop.


Kodi gives "the look" too...sometimes with a tiny "woof" along with it. Then if you ask him, "Do you need to go potty?" He tips his head to the side. If it's something else he needs, you'll get a blank look until you guess right. (the other two options being dinner or an empty water bowl) When you get the right answer and get up, he runs toward the thing he wanted help with.

I don't know how many "non-command" words he understands, but there is a list that he definitely knows:

Potty
Dinner
Water
Toy (plus a couple of favorites that he knows by name)
House (which is what we call his ex-pen/crate arrangement)
Crate (the plastic crate we use away from home)


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## hedygs (May 23, 2007)

Well I'd take "the look", "the stare", "the bark" or any other way Gitter would let me know he needs to go out. He just doesn't let me know as is evidenced by the peeing he did on my sons tshirt just a few hours ago. That was after Gitter and I had come home from our walk and he didn't pee. So I stayed outside with him for a while and nothing. Inside on the carpet and tshirt - apparently much better.

I can't tell you how frustrated I am. I love him but this part - not so much. :Cry:


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

I am with you Hedy. I have the same issues with Miya. I don't know if I will ever get her trained. I am trying the bells and outside as is suggested by all. I keep her on a leash as much as possible since Kashi is still recuperating. By the way, we are returning to Oakland on May 19th for the follow up.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

hedygs said:


> Well I'd take "the look", "the stare", "the bark" or any other way Gitter would let me know he needs to go out. He just doesn't let me know as is evidenced by the peeing he did on my sons tshirt just a few hours ago. That was after Gitter and I had come home from our walk and he didn't pee. So I stayed outside with him for a while and nothing. Inside on the carpet and tshirt - apparently much better.
> 
> I can't tell you how frustrated I am. I love him but this part - not so much. :Cry:


It sounds like he really doesn't understand where he's supposed to go and where he's not. It sounds to me like you need to go back to square one and confine him to a very small space (crate or at least ex-pen) and start all over again as if he were a tiny puppy. every time you let him get into a situation where he CAN pee on something he's not supposed to, you are making it more likely he will do it again. You need to set him up so that he has no option but to be successful, and then have a party when he does go in the right place.

Since he's not a little puppy any more, and has "learned that he can go places you don't want him to, it will likely take longer for the good habits to become ingrained than it would for a small puppy.


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