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, since Lilly is doing so well with the bell ringing, I would keep it simple and buy bells to leave at your mom's place. When at friend's places, you will either have to bring bells or be alert to her in case she gives you a look that indicates she needs to go out. Otherwise, you can work on the Leash Method (may not work if she is visiting and does not know where you put the leash) or the Speak Method, which could work just about anywhere: https://wagwalking.com/training/signal-for-potty. All the best!

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!