shelties4me
Forums Novice
It's really interesting, and they are all different, in my experience. I did do crate training with the ones I had as puppies. Paul, my tri male, would come up to me and, one paw, tap me on the leg, then give me "the look". I'd ask him, "do you need to go out?". He'd turn in a single circle, stop, sit and look at me. Turning in a circle, for him, always meant "YES!". I don't know how, or why, as i never taught him that, but that was his affirmative signal for his entire life.
Joanna, the blue merle, would go and sit by the door and bark, once, then wait.
Zoe (another tri), would start herding whoever was available, to the door, if she had to, but then, she had a doggie door most of her life, and used that. I don't really like doggie doors, but that's more because I have very often lived in raccoon areas and they LOVE doggie doors!
Tiffany, the rescue, would just come and lay her head either on my knee, or right beside it, and give me the eye, and if I didn't respond as fast as she wanted/needed, would quickly follow with the "nose nudge".
Arty, the sable, does NOTHING. As he is 7, and we have not had him all his life, we have no idea. He's pooped in the house, in my studio, once. It was a definite STATEMENT, not a "need to go" poop. He was also used to a kennel/concrete and gravel potty yard, from his breeder owner. We had a hard time training him to use grass.
But, from my experience with puppies, I'd say, always take them out 15-20 minutes after eating, give the command, and wait to see if they go, then high praise. If nothing, go back inside and crate the dog. Wait another 30 minutes, take out again and see what happens. They should go within that time frame if they've eaten. I never used treats as rewards for pottying, only praise and affection. Other than that, either keep crated and take them out once an hour, or keep them right by you, and take them out hourly, or if they start to "go" and you notice, say, "wait" (do not shout "no!") and grab them and get them out the door immediately, then when they go, tell them how wonderful they are. It worked very well for me, never ever used puppy pads (nightmare), and if there were accidents, it was my fault for not being alert while they were out of their "room". I just cleaned it up, without anything else. Puppies have short attention spans.
Never did the bell thing, but I know folks who have. It depends on your circumstances. I have worked from home for 25 years, so my dogs have always been with me, or in their crates, until they were trained. Well, before that, when I did work outside, I think I only had a puppy once, that hadn't been trained, and I honestly don't remember what I did, way back then... but it wasn't those horrible pads!
Joanna, the blue merle, would go and sit by the door and bark, once, then wait.
Zoe (another tri), would start herding whoever was available, to the door, if she had to, but then, she had a doggie door most of her life, and used that. I don't really like doggie doors, but that's more because I have very often lived in raccoon areas and they LOVE doggie doors!
Tiffany, the rescue, would just come and lay her head either on my knee, or right beside it, and give me the eye, and if I didn't respond as fast as she wanted/needed, would quickly follow with the "nose nudge".
Arty, the sable, does NOTHING. As he is 7, and we have not had him all his life, we have no idea. He's pooped in the house, in my studio, once. It was a definite STATEMENT, not a "need to go" poop. He was also used to a kennel/concrete and gravel potty yard, from his breeder owner. We had a hard time training him to use grass.
But, from my experience with puppies, I'd say, always take them out 15-20 minutes after eating, give the command, and wait to see if they go, then high praise. If nothing, go back inside and crate the dog. Wait another 30 minutes, take out again and see what happens. They should go within that time frame if they've eaten. I never used treats as rewards for pottying, only praise and affection. Other than that, either keep crated and take them out once an hour, or keep them right by you, and take them out hourly, or if they start to "go" and you notice, say, "wait" (do not shout "no!") and grab them and get them out the door immediately, then when they go, tell them how wonderful they are. It worked very well for me, never ever used puppy pads (nightmare), and if there were accidents, it was my fault for not being alert while they were out of their "room". I just cleaned it up, without anything else. Puppies have short attention spans.
Never did the bell thing, but I know folks who have. It depends on your circumstances. I have worked from home for 25 years, so my dogs have always been with me, or in their crates, until they were trained. Well, before that, when I did work outside, I think I only had a puppy once, that hadn't been trained, and I honestly don't remember what I did, way back then... but it wasn't those horrible pads!