How to Train Your Dog to Ask to Go Outside

Hello, I would hire a trainer to help guide you along this process. It will involve several different things. First, I suggest teaching her to ring a bell when she needs to go potty and rewarding her with treats when she potties outside, to help increase her motivation to go outside - this will be half the solution but probably won't be enough on its own. The Peanut butter (or liver paste or soft cheese instead) method: https://wagwalking.com/training/ring-a-bell-to-go-out Second, she isn't likely to ask to go out right now because outside is scary for her. For her to be motivated to go potty outside she needs to get over her fear of being out there - the two are connected. I suggest spending a lot of time outside doing fun and relaxing, low pressure things with her. Simply sit outside with a book, sprinkle treats in the grass for her to find, practice easy tricks and commands with treats, play any games she likes, and simply spend time out there - whenever she looks at something that could be scary and stays calm or is still thinking about how to react - praise confidently and give a treat. Whenever she looks at something, then looks back at you - give a treat. Whenever she generally does something to relax more, investigate, be friendly, and show good courage - praise confidently and give a treat. Your attitude should be calm, happy, and confident - not soothing, worried, or frustrated (that can be one of the hardest parts to implement honestly as pet parents). For the toys, take things slow. Focus on getting her more familiar with her surroundings, teaching basic commands to build your relationship, and working on a schedule. As she starts to do better teach games and toys using methods like the one from the article below: https://blog.petflow.com/fetch/ Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, It normally takes a few months of a dog being consistently potty trained before they will start to tell you when they need to go outside on their own. Before then you need to stick to a strict potty schedule and initiate taking them outside for them to prevent accidents - any accidents will make this process take longer. To help the process along you can teach her to ring a bell when she needs to go outside. This will teach her a way to alert you when she needs to go out, but her desire to keep your home clean through strict potty training that forms a long term habit of only peeing outside will still need to be firmly in place for her to be motivated when the urge hits her. The bell can speed up that process though. Follow the Peanut Butter method from the article linked below: https://wagwalking.com/training/ring-a-bell-to-go-out Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Butch, First, know that it is early for pup to learn to alert you on her own. Most dogs won't begin to alert on their own until potty training is almost 100% - meaning that you are very strict with taking them on a schedule and limiting freedom until potty training is mostly accident free (less than 1 every two weeks). Focus the most on preventing accidents through giving less unsupervised freedom and taking her out on a consistent schedule - and not expecting her to alert you yet - and you will get there sooner because you will have fewer accidents. With the above said, you can still work toward her ringing the bell and I do recommend working toward that even while taking her out consistently and not waiting for her to alert. The main issue with how you are teaching it right now is that you are grabbing her paw and physically making her ring the bell so she is not having to make that choice on her own to begin associating the bell with going outside - I don't say that to condemn what you are doing because what you are doing is extremely common. A more effective way to teach her would be to put a little peanut butter on the bell and point to the bell while saying "Bell". As soon as the bell rings because she is licking it - give an additional treat. Practice this until you can point to the bell and say "Bell" and she will bump it with her nose without the peanut butter and then you give her a treat. When you can do this with your hand very close to the bell, then over several sessions, slowly point from a couple of inches away so that she has to move toward the bell when you point to it. Once you can stand in front of the door, point to the bell from where you are and she will go over to it and ring it, then begin giving the treat after she gets outside and not right then. Finally, point to the bell on your way out, open the door when she rings it, then give the treat only after she goes potty outside. This too will take time, so try not to get discouraged, but once she is fully potty trained, since she will know how to ring the bell to get the door open by that point, she will have the tools to alert you when she needs to go potty - she has to be potty trained well enough that she is motivated to hold it inside your home though first. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Thank you for the question and such a cute play on the dog names! Your pups are still young and the fact that their bladders are not yet mature may play a part. It's important to note that any mistakes inside on the floor must be cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner because even despite your efforts, a regular cleaner will leave traces of odor behind that a dog's sensitive nose will smell. And then, they'll pee there again. Are you accompanying your little pups outside? If not, they may play in the yard and forget to pee when they are out there. This is a great article on training Pugs, but the same goes for Poodles: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-pug-to-pee-outside Your intelligent pups may pick up on this method quickly too, solving the house soiling issue: https://wagwalking.com/training/signal-for-potty It may be wise, if only one of the pups is peeing inside, to get a vet checkup just to make sure that there is no medical reason for the accidents. Good luck and have fun with your duo!

Hello Shannon, Check out the article linked below on potty training. The crate training method tends to work the best/quickest, but followed carefully, the other two methods can work well also - consistency and preventing accidents is key more than anything. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-german-shepherd-puppy-to-poop-outside Know that, even when done correctly, it takes most puppies an average of three months to become potty trained. Potty trained is also defined normally as a dog holding their bladder between scheduled potty trips - where you are still the one initiating the trips outside, the dog is just accident free while inside so long as you maintain their schedule. It usually takes several more months for the dog to have developed a long-term habit of keeping your home clean, to be sufficiently motivated to actually tell you when they need to go potty without you initiating it. Most dogs naturally learn to tell you when they need to go on their own, when such a long-term consistent habit of keeping your home clean has developed - so that the dog actually doesn't want to have an accident either. The exception to this is that most puppies will let you know they have to go when in a crate when they wake up during the night - which can help them learn to alert you at other times if you respond to that alert by taking them outside to go when they wake up and cry. With all that said, expect pup to need you to keep track of their schedule and take them out regularly for quite some time, even after accidents are a rarity; you can help pup learn to alert you when they need to go out a bit sooner by teaching pup to ring a bell. It will still take pup a while to ring it of their own initiative but not quite as long as it would normally take a dog to figure out their own way of alerting - such as barking, going to the door, or nudging you. Bell methods: https://wagwalking.com/training/ring-a-bell-to-go-out Once pup knows how to ring the bell when you tell them to or point to it, give a treat each time they do so on command right before you go out the door. As they improve, command them to ring the ball on your way out, but wait until after they go potty also to give the reward so that they begin to associate ringing the bell with needing to go potty eventually. Pup will do better if you don't physically make them ring the bell (don't lift their paw and hit the bell but tell them to instead), but if they ring the bell physically on their own when you tell them to, so that they actually have to think about how to do it. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Karen, I do highly suggest teaching the Bell method still. You will need to continue with your scheduled potty trips most likely - so that he is not waiting until the last minute to go out with your long trek outside, but the bell method could fill in the gap for times when he needs to go sooner than the scheduled time but isn't alerting right now. When teaching the bell method, choose a method and teach him to ring the bell on cue at first - such as the Peanut Butter method. Bell article: https://wagwalking.com/training/ring-a-bell-to-go-out Once he will ring it when you tell him to or point to it, then instead of forcing him to ring it by physically moving his paw or nose to it (a common approach), give the bell command or point to it, so that he rings it himself and has to actually think about it more, then reward him and take him outside. Eventually, once he is good at ringing it, have him ring it on cue, take him outside, and once he goes potty outside give the treat then - after pottying not after ringing the bell (so that the full "trick" is to ring the bell, go outside, and go potty to earn the reward), work up to this gradually though just like with any training, rewarding small efforts with the bell at first. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Rachel, At this age you will have to respond to some false potty asks, but pay attention to how often pup genuinely has to go. If pup is asking to go when it's been less than an hour, most of the time you can safely ignore them unless they were just running around excited or ate or drank a lot - which can make them need to go sooner. When in doubt, take pup outside. If it's been at least an hour since pup last went or you think they might truly have to go sooner, you will need to take them potty. When you take them though, keep things all business - no play or treats unless they pee first. Things should be quiet, calm and super boring until they empty themselves. Give 10 minutes to go potty, walking them around slowly and telling pup to "Go potty" to get things going, then if they don't go during that time - straight back inside and crate for 45 minutes (or sooner if it's been over an hour since they last went potty), then try taking them again. Going potty is their ticket to fun, just going outside is not. This won't be a perfect answer at this age - you will probably still get some false asks that you will have to respond to while pup is still learning, but doing the above should decrease the false asks, and when pup is fully potty trained and accidents are less of a risk, you can more safely call pup's bluff on this later. My own dog tried this when she was a puppy. It did get better once potty training was more underway and she discovered that potty trips weren't that exciting unless she went potty. When you take pup outside to play, also use a different sentence/command...such as "Do you need to go potty?" vs "Want to go outside?"...This may not be something formal you teach, but most people end up asking their dog a similar question when taking them out, so pay attention to how to word both and be sure to word them differently. If you have two exit doors, you can also take pup potty through one door and out to play through another door - pup will eventually probably begin going to the door associated with what they need, such as the play door if that's what they are wanting, which will help you tell - but that will take time. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Pam, As a puppy, when a puppy says they have to go, you have to take them immediately or an accident is soon to follow due to limited bladder capacity; however, if you take pup out every 1-2 hours (like a puppy needs anyway at this age), pup should have less need to ring the bell in the first place, and the bell is simply a backup for when pup needs to go and you aren't taking them often enough. As pup becomes an adult, the same thing applies - if you are taking pup outside every 3-4 hours on a schedule, they shouldn't need to ring the bell as often. You can prevent frequent bell rings that are associated with needing to truly potty outside, by taking pup on a schedule, then the bell rings are just backup for times when pup needs to go sooner than the schedule - so that pup rings the bell then instead of having an accident. You can't delay taking pup for too long once they ring the bell, since if trained right, they truly do need to go at that point and could have an accident if you wait, but a healthy, young, adult dog can generally wait 2-5 minutes if you indicate that you heard them by responding with something like "Do You need to go outside?". Asking to go out at false times is the number one issue with this approach. To prevent that, keep potty trips boring - take a young pup potty on the leash, to prevent distractions, give them 10-15 minutes to go, then back inside if they do not go. If crate training, you can put them into the crate for thirty minutes after the false ask, then take them potty again after thirty minutes - which is a good practice for potty training a young puppy anyway to prevent an accident when their bladder isn't empty and they are free. As soon as pup gets good at ringing the bell to go out, transition giving pup a treat after the bell ring to only giving pup a treat after they both ring the bell AND go potty - at the end of pottying. Discontinue treats altogether if false asks become a big issue even then. Don't let pup play outside after ringing the bell unless they go potty first. When you take pup outside to Play, use a different word or sentence to indicate you are playing outside than what you use for pottying, such as "Go Outside?" Vs. "Need to Potty?". Know that many dogs find ways to ask to go outside on their own, such as barking, running to the door, or pawing at you. The bell is simply a substitute that's a bit more polite instead of one of those things, so false asks are a common problem with all puppies at a certain point, even without teaching a bell Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden.

Hello Sarah, When you take pup potty, walk them around slowly on the leash the whole time you are outside, to help their body feel the urge to go. Encourage sniffing as you walk. Tell pup to "Go Potty" and keep a couple of treats hidden in your pocket. Purchase a potty encouraging spray such as "Go Here" or "Hurry!", and spray it on the area you want pup to go potty on before you take them outside each time. When pup does finally go potty outside, praise and reward with the treat. It's normal for pup to expect treats in general. Teaching pup the Go Potty command and practicing overtime should help pup learn that the treats are only for going potty as you insist that they must potty first. If treats continue to confuse pup, you can skip the treats and just work on the walking and adding scent. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Thank you for the question. This is tricky - Louis likes to be outside that is clear! I think the best way to tackle this is to take Louis out on the leash every time he rings the bell. Wait till he does potty and then bring him back in right away. Next time he rings the bell, same thing. Then, he'll learn that the bell means potty not playtime. Of course, it is important to take him for walks and outside for playtime often, just not when he rings the bell. Good luck!