[peachypup]

Hello, I have a 4 month old female standard that I have had for the last 2 months. She is for the most part completely house trained but we still haven't perfected the whole process yet. Maybe she is still too young and I am expecting too much but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

There are two problems that we'd love to resolve:

1. When she has to go to the bathroom, she has no way of letting us know. I have tried VERY hard to train her to speak and have been successful in doing so. She will bark on command now. However, all of my attempts at conditioning her to bark when she needs to go outside have been completely unsuccessful. She will only bark when she is in her crate or when she wants a treat now. She never barks at people or in any other situations so I'm concerned that maybe she's just not a "barky" dog. I'm scared I will never be able to let her free in the house while I'm doing laundry, cooking, etc.

2. When I let her out first thing in the morning, she pees and IMMEDIATELY comes back in. Then, when she comes back in, if I let her out of my sight for even a second, she runs downstairs and poops right by the door. Does anyone know why she can't just do it all in one when I first let her out? Should I just leave her outside for a longer time in the morning (and run the risk that she digs a dozen holes and becomes filthy in the process)? I'm frustrated because I have to get ready in the morning and even though I get up extra early for her this still keeps recurring.

I know I am probably being impatient but I'm just worried she won't stop these behaviors and I'm scared maybe I'm doing something wrong. I have had adult dogs all my life (never raised a puppy) so I never had issues with dogs not barking when they needed to go out.

Thanks so much for any help in advance! I hope to post pictures of her soon. Other than these issues, she's a total sweetheart and we love her like a baby.

 

[starkeeper]

I would use a treat for when she does go pee and poop outside so that she is more apt

to bark or scratch to let you know she needs to go.

You have to be out with her and have her leashed and immediately say YES! and give her the yummy treat once she goes.

You also do need to stay out longer with her for her to poop at that age.

It isn't fun but just part of what I like to call

Puppy Hell.

 

[kathyd]

I agree that you need to go out with her and keep her outside until she's both peed and pooped. A that age, we never sent Murphy out on her own. There were 2 reasons for that: 1) so that we could give her praise as soon as she started to either pee or poop and 2) so that we could bring her in as soon as she was finished - to let her know it wasn't play time, there was a reason for the outing.

Murphy will be 9 months old this coming week and doesn't tell us that she has to go out. In fact, none of our dogs ever have. I put this down to the fact that as working people, the dog goes out on our schedule more than their own. For the most part, they've given us non-verbal cues. Murphy will head down the hall towards the door sometimes, but she doesn't bark or anything. As soon as she does, I say 'let's go outside for a pee' and take her to the door and let her out.

Have you tried teaching her to ring a bell instead of barking? Or since you have her barking on command, could you ask her to bark at the door just before you take her out? She should learn to associate barking at the door with going out. Once you think she's made that mental link, you could ask her to speak in the kitchen or living room or wherever you are when you decide to take her out. Just a thought.

 

[Jako]

My standard never barks to be let out. He usually sits in front me, stares at me, nudges my hand, etc. He usually pees immediately but takes a few minutes of running around before he poops. And sometimes, especially at night, he refuses to get off the front porch unless someone goes with him. He's scared of the dark, lol; and he's 3 years old.

 

[poodlelover]

I have three standard, my oldest barks at the door. My second one stares at me and paces around and when I ask her if she has to go pee pee she sings. lol. My youngest who will be 1 year old on March 15 goes to the door and just sits their until I let him out. I always went outside with him to make sure he did his business and he knows the words, "go pee pee and Poo Poo"He knows the differnece. Do you ask you pup if he has to go out and pee pee and poo poo? He should learn some words. Stay outside longer and tell him to go poo poo. Maybe you can put back in the crate after the pee and then let him back out when you are ready to leave and he should poo. Good luck.

 

[shaneyraepage]

Sometimes, young pups will forget to do one, after doing the other in the morning.

Add the audible cue, say "good boy/girl" and "go potty" when you give the treat, say it over and over as they chew up the treat. It associates the phrase with the action. Then, next time he comes back to the porch in the morning after only going pee, you can say "go potty" and it will remind him to go back and finish, THEN he'll get the treat.