# House training question



## Lorieann (Jun 29, 2009)

My puppy Mia is just about to turn 7 months. She is pretty reliable when it comes to being around the house and not going on the carpet/floors. But I try to take her out every 2 hours, sometimes more often. I always take her out after I return from an errand. (She is crated) I always take her out after a nap or a hard play and after a meal. So my question is how long can your pups go between potty trips? When do you know they are really house trained?
Sometimes she will let me know she want's out with a bark or she'll scratch at my legs, etc. But last night she tried squatting twice on the carpet we caught her mid squat... Do you still put the water up at a set time at night? I am used to a Golden who can hold it forever! Bladder of steel!


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

I take the water up at 8pm and last potty is around 10-10:30pm. Gracie is 6 months and she needs to go out about every two hours, we do as you, out after a nap, food, or lots of playtime. She's doing good, still has a few accidents, but it's getting better. Scooter and Murphy ring the bells to go out, can't wait until she'll do that too!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Hi! Mia is adorable. I think 7 months is a very important time with Havs. I would be just as dilagent for a little while more, especially if you caught her squating... But you may be able to stretch to every 3 hours... does Mia hold it all night? that shows you what her bladder can do. Does she go every time you take her out? But to be honest, unless you give her some freedom when you are around watching you will never know... I think 7 months is when it all clicks... so catching her and correcting her goes a long way.


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## Lorieann (Jun 29, 2009)

Any suggestions in the bell training area. I would love to have her bell trained, it would be helpful!

Thanks for the response. I feel better about her progress. She really is good. I think maybe it's when my husband and I don't pay attention to time or signals when she has an attempt to squat. We have had no #2 accidents with her at all. We have even taken her on trips and in hotel rooms and no accidents.

She goes all night without going out. We crate her at night too. Once in a while I can tell when she has an emergency though, tummy upset, and we take her out.

I'm pretty sure she has gone 3 hours during the day without an attempt. But I have just started to let her have freedom to roam through most of the house.

Thanks again!


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

We have a bell and Scooter and Murphy both ring it, Gracie hasn't learned yet. If you have a bell, show her how to ring it every time you go out and say whatever you tell her when you want her to go. We ring the bell in front of Gracie and say, "Potty!" As soon as we get out to the grass we tell her, "Go potty!" She is learning to go outside and she gets a tiny treat every time but she hasn't gotten the bell yet.


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## trueblue (Jan 22, 2008)

Scooter's Family said:


> We have a bell and Scooter and Murphy both ring it, Gracie hasn't learned yet. If you have a bell, show her how to ring it every time you go out and say whatever you tell her when you want her to go. We ring the bell in front of Gracie and say, "Potty!" As soon as we get out to the grass we tell her, "Go potty!" She is learning to go outside and she gets a tiny treat every time but she hasn't gotten the bell yet.


Ann, do you ring the bell as you're going outside and say Potty? Also, what treats do you give them? I need some new tiny treats...


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

To bell train, I hung up the bells by the door Tucker uses to go into the back yard. I took him out a lot, (he was still a puppy then,) and every time I went to the door, (usually with him in my arms, sometimes he'd be walking on his own,) I set him down, rang the bells with his paw and said "outside?" Then opened the door and out we went. It only took him about two weeks to get the hang of it on his own. Sometimes he rings the bells with his nose, sometimes he hits it with his paw--usually when he's being more insistent and saying "hurry!" 

I also carry a set of bells to hang when we travel. I show him where the bells are, and he knows that is the door he needs to go to when he wants out. 

Our cat, Nitro, who was about 6 years old, watched him and figured it out on her own after the same amount of time, and she now rings the bells, too. 

It's so cute--since there are no bells on the outside of the door, when Nitro is outside and wants back in Tucker will sit by the door (inside) and ring the bells for her until I come to open the door and let her in. He's such a gentleman!


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## Jammies (Apr 4, 2009)

*Ahh, Sheri, that is so cute. Do you give treats when Tucker comes in from outside? If so, and Nitro gets one too, it's a conspiracy! When Shannon comes in (because we aren't out there with her, she gets a treat) and, OF COURSE, Jammies gets one too! The same way goes if we take Jammies out and when we bring her back in, Shannon is waiting for a treat! You would think they would go out together, wouldn't you? It's a conspiracy, I tell ya! * :spy:


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## trueblue (Jan 22, 2008)

What kind of bells do you guys use? Do they sell them specifically for that purpose, or did you rig up your own?


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## DorothyS (Aug 11, 2009)

Our guys are just 7 months old too. They can hold it at least 4 hours, but we don't push it beyond that. We thought we had the whole thing licked with no accidents for a couple of months, but just last night, Rascal got down to the basement by himself and peed. We missed taking him out for his usual 8 o'clock evening "pee" and it usually isn't a problem, but he had played very hard that afternoon and drank a lot of water in the early evening. So it is our fault for not realizing. We will just be more vigilant and not let him have quite so much freedom in the house. For sure, he's not going in the basement by himself for a long time now!

So I guess what I am trying to say, is that even if they seem to get the house training thing, they can still relapse. We have little desk bells on the floor for them, but they don't seem to understand them, even though we ding them everytime we go out. Probably the hanging bells would work better. Hmm... may have to try...


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

I only gave Tucker treats outside immediately after going potty. (We'd have a big ol' potty-party!) I didn't give treats for coming in the door or going out the door. And, I haven't given treats for going potty for a long time now, although I do use a real happy voice and tell him what a good boy he is to go potty!

Here is the link to the bells I mostly use. I did also make a set, trying to save money, but the only bells I could find are not as strong, and I didn't like them. I will say that some folks warn against the type of bells Poochie Bells uses, saying that their claws could get stuck in the cut-outs, (which does seem like a possibility,) but I've not found a better solution.
http://www.poochie-pets.net/pbells.html


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## trueblue (Jan 22, 2008)

Thanks, Sheri. I'm going to give this a try.


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

We have Poochie Bells too. 

Kim-We do say "Outside, let's go potty!" every time we go out. I have a friend who bought them but she's the only one who does it consistently, her family won't do it, and her dogs aren't using them. We had to make sure everyone did it and they learned within a few weeks.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Use any bells you have......I have some sleigh bells hanging by the front door. If they can ring it, then it will work!


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

I just saw in the HRI auction a bell set called "Tell Bells." That looks like a good option, too! If fact, it might be better, if you haven't already trained your dog to the hanging bells, because they wouldn't swing on the wall or door, and they shouldn't be able to get any claws stuck. Check it out! I think they were on page 2 or 3.

http://tinyurl.com/yj7kutq


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## Lorieann (Jun 29, 2009)

Sheri that is so cute that Tucker rings the bell for his cat! I have seen my cat Mocha ring the bell at the door wanting outside. Mia actually went to the sliding glass door today and scratched at it wanting out, beside the bells hanging there...I guess I count that as progress! LOL


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## Baci Baby (Apr 23, 2009)

We use the type of bell that you might see at a hotel front desk. It's placed on the floor near the door to the back yard. Baci learned how to ring the bell quite easily, however, she rings whenever she feels like going out! If I bring her in too soon after "doing her business" or if the cats are still outside, she pounds on the bell. Is there a way to have her understand that the bell means "potty outside" not "party outside"?


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Scooter's Family said:


> We have a bell and Scooter and Murphy both ring it, Gracie hasn't learned yet. If you have a bell, show her how to ring it every time you go out and say whatever you tell her when you want her to go. We ring the bell in front of Gracie and say, "Potty!" As soon as we get out to the grass we tell her, "Go potty!" She is learning to go outside and she gets a tiny treat every time but she hasn't gotten the bell yet.


That's a great way to train it. I have one dog that refuses to use the bell but has the others trained to ring it for them and we never have a boo boo.
Now that the house is for sale the bells are off of the door and I thought we might have a problem but somehow it all worked out ok. The dogs have no clue to scratch the back door but will go to it and stand there and look at us like, "Well, are you going to let me out or am I going to stand here with my legs crossed?"


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Baci Baby said:


> Is there a way to have her understand that the bell means "potty outside" not "party outside"?


Connect the word potty with the bell and say the word potty when the dog goes. It can take a while to untrain so hang in there


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

Sheri said:


> I will say that some folks warn against the type of bells Poochie Bells uses, saying that their claws could get stuck in the cut-outs, (which does seem like a possibility,) but I've not found a better solution.
> http://www.poochie-pets.net/pbells.html


It is without a doubt dangerous for small nails and your dog can get it's foot stuck there, break a leg, rip off a nail, etc. Look in the bird section of a pet store at the parrot bells with the big open bottoms


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Murphy rings when he's hungry and we've gone past the time they usually eat! :hungry:


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## susieg (Aug 28, 2009)

I've been thinking about bell training because sometimes I miss Lola's signals. Sometimes she walks to the door, but sometimes she just gives me the "look"....which is the same look she gives me when she wants attention.

My question is will bell training work in a condo? I'd have to ring the bells at my front door, then walk down the hallway, wait for the elevator, then walk out the elevator to the front door to get outside. Is that too long of time for the puppy to make a connection that the bells mean potty outside?

Has anyone used bells in a similar situation?


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

I don't have any experience with condos, but I'm thinking if Lola understands that staring at you or standing by the door will eventually lead to the outdoors for her, that she'd not have trouble learning that ringing the bells leads to that also.


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## mikeb (Mar 11, 2009)

At 6 months I'm not having many mistakes with george but I also don't think he is potty trained. We live in an apartment on the second floor so to go outside we have to open our door and close it, lock it walk down 15 steps go thru hallway open door to outside and go out. Reverse the order going when he is done. I take him out often enough that he doesnt often make mistakes but I don't think he has the whole concept of going outside to pee and poop. Luckily in a few weeks when we move to florida there is a house of our own with 1 door and yard I think that's when things will click in. In the mean time I have to take many many trips in and out and up and down stairs.


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## cloe's_mom (Aug 21, 2009)

Well, I can't say enough good things about crate training. After the first two months of waiting for Chlöe to tell us when she wanted to go out, we switched to crate training, e.g. letting her run free only for as long as she had just done her business outside 1/2 hour/1 hour, then back in the crate for regular intervals. It's not been a full week but the mistakes are down to almost nil per day. Yeah Crate Training Yeah :cheer2:


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

I wondered about that Tell Bell. Has anyone else tried it? I wondered if it was exactly like the hotel bells but with a larger dinger? I don't know if that would be loud enough. We use a Goat bell hanging from a bandana. It's like a cow bell but smaller. I saw that the Havtohavit store has the Poochie Bells so if someone wants them they could also support HRI.  http://www.havtohavit.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=83


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## leena365 (Sep 17, 2009)

I am with you on that one Dorothy. I thought I had KASHI trained but as soon as you give them too much freedom and turn your attention for a second they are going where they should not be on the floor, on the carpet on the rubber mat anywhere but on the potty pad! It gets really frustrating at times. I am waiting for the day that it clicks for them. They go both outside when they are outside but only on the potty pad when they are penned.


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