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Originally Posted by JiggityJig Thanks! You kinda addressed something else I was going to ask too, about whether or not you could move the location of the pad around in your own house.
I've read a ton of stuff here and elsewhere about the different approaches to potty training, and at this point it's all just a big ball of mush in my brain!  I know people get sick of answering these kinds of questions over and over, but it's so helpful for those of us who are lacking in practical/personal experience! (so...thanks again!)
How do you teach them to go "on command"? By saying "go potty" (or whatever) when you see them DO it, so they associate the words? |
Loki is outside trained, but I can tell you that the answer to your first question is no. And don't have multiple pads either. If you must use pads, keep them in ONE place or you will just have a dog who assumes it's OK to go in the house. They often mistake the carpet for the pad, or go near the pad, or start going on the pad but walk off, etc.
The second question - Yes that's what you do. Loki can potty on command. I mean sometimes I will tell him to go and he'll sniff around first but he understands it to mean "get serious" I am confident that if I tell him to "Go Potty" and he does not, like if he wants to go back inside or just sits there, that he does not have to go. Also helpful when we're away from home and I can only find a small patch of mulch for him to go in - it helps him to know it's OK to pee there (since he's used to grass).
Loki is outdoor trained. This transfers to other houses as long as he knows where the door is - we haven't had a problem. I will sometimes leave the door open (with a storm door closed) so he can be SURE where it is. I don't worry about him at my mom's house anymore, where he goes all the time. We were at my in-laws last week and he'd only been there once before a long time ago - we just showed him where the door was and he ran to it when he had to go. We kept a closer eye on him and probably took him out more often than we would at home, but that's OK. The only time we have problems is when we're at places like Petsmart where he's on a leash and he can't go to the door. With all those smells he will just go on the floor. We just hold him now :-)