OK, first of all Loki does target training at obedience class, so that's why he learned so quickly. I don't have a genius dog, just a well trained one! :-) I just said "Loki, TARGET BELL" and pointed to it and he understood. He is so used to learning new things it was easy for him, so please don't feel bad if it takes you longer!

shelbysmom, yes he does ring his bell at 2am sometimes, but I'd rather he let me know than pee on the floor! Sometimes he would just sit there and cry and I didn't know if he wanted water or to play or to go out. He also used to stand on me at night, trying to wake me up but I didn't always know why. Now I know there is one signal for OUTSIDE and he's very insistant if he needs to go.

bchgirl, Trace does the same thing Loki used to do. It sounds like he's trying, but doesn't really know how to tell you he needs to go. Loki used to scratch at the door and he thought that was enough. If I didn't come right away, he'd give up and go pee on the floor. It's like they don't understand you can't see them all the time, they don't think like us. So by giving him a bell it's something we both understand! I can respond to it 100% of the time, which doesn't allow for him to fail and need to go pee on the floor. My husband said that one day he was on the phone upstairs and heard Loki's bell ring. He couldn't get off the phone for 3 or 4 minutes, by which time Loki would normally just pee on the floor. He said Loki was just sitting there waiting for him!! I can just tell how proud Loki is that he figured out a way to tell us!!

One other nice thing is that he doesn't go outside as often now. Before if he went anywhere near the door I'd take him out to avoid an accident. Now that we don't have any, I wait for him to ring the bell or I just ask him and he knows how to say YES!

That's amazing Erin. I'm going down to the store right now for some bells and ribbon..lol...I know she will get it if I just try. What do you guys do when it rains? Does anyone also use puppy pads as supplements?

Ok, I'm gonna try the bells too. Unfortunately when it rains....I have an umbrella....Trace hates the rain, I ain't too crazy about holding an umbrella over a dog either ;)

It might confuse her. It's more likely that if you make a HUGE deal about going outside she will want to go out there more often and not want to use her pad. Maybe you should only keep the pad in your room? That way she is not discouraged from using it at night, but will ask to go outside during the day. I'm not the best person to give advice on pads, we don't use them and someone is either home with Loki or he's in his crate. I only bring this up because, what if she asks to go out and no one lets her out? That may discourage her from trying?

My dogs go outside, they let us know they have to go by "talking" not a bark, or a whine, they just chatter... but they also do this for other things, like they want the rotty to come in and play or eat, they want water, we forgot their treat after they went potty ect- so I may try and train them to ring a bell for potty.

Lilly, the puppy she goes outside, but she had to go more than mom and she didn't learn to tell us when she had to go she just went with mom, so we also had a pee pad out for her, which she used inbetween outside potty times.... recently though she hasn't needed it.

I think you can train her to go outside by slowly moving the pee pad closer to the door she will be going out of... also when you bring her outside to potty, don't play with her, and bring her to the same spot so she learns she is out to go potty, and give her lots of praise... then if you want to play move to a new spot in the yard so she relates the one spot for potty, the other for play.

good luck :)

She does go outside when we're out there, I just want for her to Tell me somehow or to let me know when she needs to go so I can take her out. I hate having pee pads all over the house. I don't mind at night or while I'm at work. I wouldn't expect her to hold it for that long.

You can also start decreasing the amt of pee pads you keep out- i only have one out and it is kept in the same spot always. Even if you don't train her to let you know she has to go outside, you can still decrease the amt of pee pads that are left out.

Yes I will do that too. I just am nervous about accidents and her potty trainig regressing. I will try it and let you all know. Any other suggestions or experiences would be great to hear.

Any more experiences with this method?