Enoch is 6 months old and just a few days I was wondering when do you know when he is housebroken? He hasn't really given me any signs to let me know he has to go I just take him out frequently. A couple of times he whined and I took him out and a couple of times he went to the door but that was a couple of months ago. So I was wondering when do I trust him and yesterday happened. He has a drag leash on him and he has not made a mistake in months. Last night we took him out to play and my brother did our usually routine where we take him out to go potty after evening play. Most days he poops twice a day but sometimes he will poop after our evening play but this is not consistent. Now I wasn't there when this happen but my brother was watching football, which in itself is a problem when you are watching a puppy, and Enoch wandered into the next room and a few seconds later when my brother went to get him he had pooped in the house. This he has NEVER done before. We are aware that this is 100% handler mistake and accept that but before this happened we were wondering when do you know your puppy gets it and is housebroken? Should Enoch be housebroken by now or not?

Signs that the dog needs to go out can be as subtle as going over to the door for a moment, or looking intently at you. Hard to pick up on or interpret correctly. My pup has never whined to indicate that she needs to go out...

For mine, I felt she was quite reliable at about 10 months. She is now about 15 months old and has not had an accident in the house in a very long time. However, I don't give her much opportunity to have an accident.

Keep doing what you're doing; and the next time your brother is watching a football game, put the pup in his crate or tether him to him...

Lynne,

Was your pup reliable because you never gave her an opportunity or you recognized her signs? And if you picked up her signs what were they? I'm just wondering do you ever get to a point with your dog where he can move around the house without you worrying about him using the bathroom in the house. I hope I'm making sense but is there a point when I let him tell me he has to go outside or not?

Given how consistent you and your brother have been with Enoch, you're probably getting close to reliable in the house.

My GSD had her last accident in the house around that age (which includes accidents in the truck crate).

I know people vary on whether to teach a signal to the dog; I'm one of the ones who likes my dog to tell me (even if you have a set schedule, if something happens in the night, when we're sleeping, for example, I'd like my dog to be able to know to let me know she really needs to go out now!)

I don't like the door bell ringing thing, tho my cats use that signal, and it's fine for them. For my dog, when she was a baby puppy, every single time I took her out to do her business, I'd ask her, "do you need to go outside?" Then, here's the stupid part, I'd bark "yes!", for her, and open the door and take her out. It wasn't that long before she'd bark "yes!" with me, then not much longer after that that she did it herself. Eventually, this morphed into a snap of her mouth, which is also our signal for a "yes" answer to any question (no snap means "no", and it works. Do I get some false positives? You bet. Is the first question I ask ever "are you hungry?" or "do you want a treat?"...no<g>.

Now, when she needs to go out, she'll come up to me and snap her mouth (or just look at me, and if I ask her if she needs to go out, then she'll answer yes if that's the issue). Over time, she's become very minimalist about this; sometimes she'll only lift the edges of her lips in reply to a question. If she's being very emphatic, she'll snap very loudly<g>.

I'm not suggesting that you use this specific signal. I know people who've taught their dogs to come up and touch them (same method...you ask the question before you take them out, then take their foot/nose, whatever, and touch your knee/foot, whatever, and they get it in time). And, I'm sure there are lots of other signs one can teach. It's all up to you to decide what signal would work best for you and your pup.

And, BTW, for Enoch to never have had a poop accident in the house until now? That's amazing. Great job!

leih merigian

Thanks for the advice Leih. I think my brother realizes now when a football game is on to put Enoch away. And yes never a poop accident in the house. We've had peeing accidents and he has pooped in his crate when he had diarrhea but this is a first. I'm just wondering why you don't like the bell and that's a great suggestion you gave me.

 Quote: Maisha Butler

Lynne,

Was your pup reliable because you never gave her an opportunity or you recognized her signs? And if you picked up her signs what were they? I'm just wondering do you ever get to a point with your dog where he can move around the house without you worrying about him using the bathroom in the house. I hope I'm making sense but is there a point when I let him tell me he has to go outside or not?

I think it was a combination of the two...
Her signs are very subtle (going over to the door and standing for a moment is one of them); because of my lifestyle, I am still on a pretty regimented schedule with her, and I don't vary too much from our daily routine. Because of that routine though, the dog knows when she'll be going out.

However, if she's acting restless (or really obnoxious), then I'll take her out...

Sorry, I know that's pretty vague.

It really does sound like you are doing great w/ Enoch's house training; pay attention to him at around the time you would normally take him and and see if you can pick up on his signs...

Hi Mai,

There are several reasons I don't like the bells. I like to travel with my dog, and stay in varied places (camping, motels and hotels, other peoples' homes), and I don't want to bother with trying to adapt the bell to all those different environments. Also, don't want to take any chances on not hearing it if I'm too far from it. The biggie is I believe very strongly in a solid relationship and communication with my dog, and I want her to be able to let me know what she needs anytime, anyplace, and know I'll understand her when she communicates her needs to me. Ideally, that's a two-way street.

leih

The way we trained our first dog (20 years ago) was every time she happened to stand near the door she found herself outside.

It wasnt long before she figured out that if she wanted to go out, all she had to do was stand there.

My current dogs dont ask me to go out, because the door to the back yard is in the basement. I take them out 4-5 times a day on a schedule and that's when they go. I find that if they have to go inbetween (diarrhea, drank too much water) they get antsy and start staring at me and dancing around.

For those who do train their dogs to "ask" they usually do one of two ways. First is whenever the owner takes the dog out, the owner repeats a behaviour every time (ask the dog if it wants to go outside, for example). Soon the dog learns that when the owner says "outside" it means we are going out to potty now.

The second way is to let the dog perform a behaviour (standing by the door for example) and let the dog out every time the dog does that behaviour. At first, the dog had no intention of going outside, it just happened to do the behaviour (like touch a bell hanging from the doorknob with its nose). Voila, the door opens. Soon the dog figures out what it has to do for the owner to open the door.

I think the second way is like clicker training, the dog has to figure out what behaviour to do in order to get the reward (the door opening.)

My puppy had no accidents for a long time and then suddenly peed on the kitchen floor (at like 7 months). He was tethered to me so I caught him in the act. I said, "NO!!!" and took him out immediately. He was quite surprised, he had no idea that he wasn't supposed to pee there. He just hadn't had the opportunity to make a mistake for a while. He got a party after I took him out and he peed outside. After that one incident it was like he "got it" and hasn't gone in the house since.

The same thing happens with my adult fosters. I praise them when they go outside but it seems like in every case, (and maybe it's just me) I have to catch them going in the house for them to understand they aren't supposed to go there. (i.e. they aren't praised for just going, the praise is for WHERE they are going).

Hope it makes sense.

I'd say he's not 100% reliable for a few more months yet.

 Quote: angela burrell

My puppy had no accidents for a long time and then suddenly peed on the kitchen floor (at like 7 months). He was tethered to me so I caught him in the act. I said, "NO!!!" and took him out immediately. He was quite surprised, he had no idea that he wasn't supposed to pee there. He just hadn't had the opportunity to make a mistake for a while. He got a party after I took him out and he peed outside. After that one incident it was like he "got it" and hasn't gone in the house since.

We had one of these 'Oh, now I really get it!' moments w/ Chula also, and I think it was around 8 months old or so. No more accidents since that time...

 Quote: angela burrell

The second way is to let the dog perform a behaviour (standing by the door for example) and let the dog out every time the dog does that behaviour. At first, the dog had no intention of going outside, it just happened to do the behaviour (like touch a bell hanging from the doorknob with its nose). Voila, the door opens. Soon the dog figures out what it has to do for the owner to open the door.

I think the second way is like clicker training, the dog has to figure out what behaviour to do in order to get the reward (the door opening.)

Actually, the clicker is just the marker. I think when you say "clicker training," you are referring to pure shaping as opposed to lure/reward. You could use either method (shaping vs. lure/reward) to teach the dog to stand by the door when it wants/needs to go out, if that is the signal you want your dog to use.

leih