LOL, they do let you know, but wow it's not always easy to see. Much harder than I thought it would be. We're trying so hard to bell train Nikko, and there for awhile he was doing SO well! Then a series of problems sprung up that we didn't expect or plan ahead to avoid, and that we maybe didn't deal with in the best way... and now, even though we're still working on it, he doesn't bother to ring the bell anymore! But we've started noticing other signs finally... He'll walk over close to the door and look up at me if he needs to pee (usually, anyhow). Or if he needs to poo, he'll abruptly stop whatever he's doing as if he's startled (perhaps by the sudden feeling of poo needing to escape?), and run a handful of steps toward the door. It's anyone's guess what he'll do after that, so if we miss that first startled stop and run toward the door, we're outta luck... lol, it sure is a long road.
But even now, as imperfectly as it's going, and as frustrated as I am sometimes that he's not fully trained yet despite all we've done so far, I can comfort myself just by looking back to a month or a couple months ago, and I can see that it HAS gotten better. When I go to bed every night, I dream of the day I can stop obsessing over watching Nikko, or feeling the carpet for wet spots, or buying nature's miracle. That day will come eventually, I have faith!
Lauren & Nikko |