At 4 months it's unlikely she knows that she needs to go until 10 seconds before. It's your job to keep her empty by taking her out a lot and if you can't watch her (or you can't pick up on her signs, sniffing, circling, etc.) then you need to keep her in a crate. Also try tethering her to you with a leash. You'll still have accidents so try to restrict her access to the carpet or places that are harder to clean up. Make sure you go outside with her and praise her and give her a treat the second she goes!
Once she does get fair warning, she needs to learn the proper way to tell you she needs to go out. We struggled with this because Loki would scratch or paw at the door but unless you were watching him you'd never know (he was too quiet). I would spend too much time following him around especially if he went downstairs for any reason, even if it was to get a toy or a drink of water, I'd have to follow him to make sure he wasn't going to the door. I put up a ribbon w/ bells on it and taught him to swat at the bells when he needs to go out. This works well since I can hear it anywhere in the house. |