How does your dog tell you that he/she needs to go?

[yorkiemel]

Howie just gets up and stares at me or just walks around, I already know something is up if he isn't laying down

[LondonRee]

Ellington whines, and gets louder and louder. However since having him neutured, he is much happier to wait longer periods of time, and doesn't seem to need to go outside as much.

[bobohyde]

When Columbo was a puppy, I wanted to get him a bell, but he came up with his own solution. Our back door has a window that goes mostly to the floor, so the blinds hanging on them also go almost to the floor. He bumps the blinds to make them rattle until he gets our attention.

[Hopesmom]

I wish Hope would tell us when she has to go. I've been taking her out about every 3-4 hours but if I get busy and forget she will just go to her pee pad which I'm not complaining about. I think she's going to be one that I'm just going to have to keep an eye on for signs. She's the quietest dog I've ever seen. Rarely barks at all! Is that normal?

[DBlain]

Originally Posted by tokipoki

Dog Training: How to Teach your Dog to ring a bell to be let outside, For Charles and Alli - YouTube

What I did was just every time I took Toki outside to use the bathroom, I'd use her paw to hit the bells that are hanging by our door...sometimes I'd also just kick the bells myself as we went outside...she picked this up over a couple of days! Very quick! We probably started this when she was 4 or 5 months? I honestly don't remember but I wanted to see if she would take to them and she did!

Like I mentioned before, sometimes she just rings them for attention but other times Toki will totally body check the bells when she means business lol. I guess it's kind of like your dog is training you with the bells but once you know the potty schedule, you can spot the fake outs

Exactly Lola is bell trained with a stand of jingle bells on a ribbon I made myself. Frankly to me it is the ONLY way, and why everyone does not do it this is a mystery to me. My house is several levels and I can not always see the door or see Lola standing by it, so she rings the bell and I can here it in my office or while watching TV. I then take her out on a retractable leash, if the weather is bad I stand on the porch if it is nice I will walk her around the yard. I am lucky because she sleeps through the night and then I am up for close to two hours in the morning before she needs to go out, however if I need her to go out sooner then I just take her out on the leash and she goes when I say go potty. if I spend a few more min. out there she will normally poop, but if I am not going anywhere i just bring her in and we go back out either when she rings the bell or in an hour and then she poops. Having her on a leash lets ME control the schedule, she knows the leash and walking around the front lawn means potty, not play. It is normal to go through a period of ringing the bell just to go outside, but since Lola goes out to do her business on a leash and not to play I think that stage did not last that long. The bell also makes travel to other homes easier because Lola knows wherever I hang the bells is her exit to a potty place. Even in fenced yards we use the leash for potty, my sisters yorkie, Lucy potties off leash and my sister never knows what she did or when she did it because she can't see all over the yard. We argue over this all the time, Lola is not yet two and just about never has an accident while Lucy is 5 and will be let out, then we leave for two hours and when we come back home she will most likely have gone on a pad my sister still leaves down or on a throw rug. My sister thinks it is easier to just open the door and let Lucy out, she thinks putting on the harness and leash and then holding it while Lucy is outside to be to pain, heck I would rather put the leash than clean crap and pee off the floor My sister lives in NY and I am in MI, when I travel back home no one has a problem with Lola staying at their house because she does not have accidents, however with Lucy it is a different story and my sister (thankfully) will not bring her to my house because I don't have a fence and because of all the accidents. I can bring Lola anywhere and it does not matter if they have a fence or not. From experience the leash and bell combo is the best potty training method out there.

[hncooley]

telling me when he needs to go potty is one of the things i can't seem to get miles to do yet.. i just take him outside every 3-4 hours, and if it will be more than 4 hours before i can take him out again, i confine him to his enclosure in the den. we rarely have accidents on this schedule, but every once in a while i'll midjudge when he needs to potty and he has an accident on the floor.. which upsets him as much as it does me

i've thought about trying potty bells, but i also have two cats and both of them love to play with bells, and i'm afraid they will ring with them constantly.. it seems like the bells would have to ring exclusively when i'm taking him outside for him to make that connection.. or does it matter? anyone have cats and use potty bells?

[YorkOfTheShire]

Sprout has never told us in any way that he has to go, but over the years upon years of having him we just sort of 'know' when it's that time for him and let him out. He has a certain walk when he has to poo - similar to a full diaper-walk on a toddler. lol He's a clockwork dog - same times every day.

Bella is trained to potty pads and she doesn't tell us when she has to go - she just goes. However, she's definitely vocal about when she's already gone because she waits around for potty treats. She has now started adding new things she knows to her "after poop encore" such as sitting, laying down and "sitting pretty" for her potty treat.