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Originally Posted by Erin  You did the right thing my startling him and taking him outside. Maybe next time he will remember. I would still recommend making sure he is empty - the best way to train is to prevent mistakes in the first place.
Do you take his paw and show him how to ring the bell? Try target training with him. That way he knows ringing the bell is a good thing. When he does ring it, praise him and immediately take him outside. Until they are trained you need to take them out every time they ring the bell even if they are just ringing it for fun or attention.
It sounds like your source of stress is the carpet rather than the actual training. Can't you just block access to the carpet? I'm sorry but even if they are housetrained you WILL get stains on the carpet. Dog puke stains are a lot nastier than pee and poop stains. (Actually, the poop shouldn't stain at all unless it's diarrhea. I know that's gross but it shouldn't be mushy.) When my dogs puke they aim for my bed or my carpet. That's why we have a steam cleaner, extra sheets and good laundry detergent.  |
I think I posted earlier that Logan does not let me know he has to go out, but I just remembered after reading this reply that he has twice gone to the door and pawed at the bell or the blind covering the door. I took him out, and he pottied. But he doesn't do that all the time. I have not had any problems getting stains out of the carpet, and the poop is solid so it doesn't leave a mark. But I spray it with the solution that is supposed to remove the odors and prevent him from going back to that spot.
Our experience with our Maltese was so different. At first he had accidents, but when he was even a little younger than Logan, he quit having accidents and would go to the door to let me know EVERY time that he had to potty. So I'm just a little confused as to why our method hasn't worked with Logan when it worked perfectly fine with our other little dog. It doesn't bother me as much as it does my husband, and he's the one we need to appease so that Logan can stay. I would die if I had to give him away for this reason.