Ok, Guys I need some help from all you doodle owners!!

[cheryl & oliver]

Hi everyone, our GD Oliver Ollie to his friends, lol, is now a little over 3 mos old...he looks like a lanky teenager, he is all legs at this point with big paws, and fur that goes in all directions...Not sure what his adult coat will look like, but he is something else, lol....He is as sweet as can be, BUT, and it is a big BUT. He will not tell me when he has to go out...I watch him like a hawk, and I can tell when he needs to go out, but he doesn't bark, or cry, or anything. He will also just squat and pee if I miss the signs. If I say Ollie do u have to go out and pee or poop, he runs for the door, and out he goes. Is there something I can do to get him to tell me he has to go?...I have tried with the bells on the door, he loves them, he goes and plays with them, but doesn't know they are for telling me he has to go, he just likes to play with them. He is crated at night, and when I have to go out during the day. I walk him for the last time around 11P.M. and sometimes he will make it to 5:30 am, or maybe 6 am, but he has no qualms about peeing in the crate. He does not get any water after dinner which is around 5:30 pm. I do give him an ice cube or maybe 2 somtimes during the evening. Maybe I am just rushing the process, but I know he knows he did something wrong when he makes in the house, he runs when he sees that I have found it. I of course yell a great big no, but it is too late, I didn't see him do it, if I do see him, I yell no and grab him and take him out, where he then makes, and I praise him to the hilt, and give him a treat, with "good biy" being said continually...Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...Otherwise he is just a delight, of course the usual puppy stuff, chewing, but stops when I say NO chewing...We just love him so much, and he has made terrific change in our 11 yr old aussie, they get along great, of course Ollie wants to play with him all the time, and the older one lets Ollie do whatever he wants to him...Up to a point, and then he shows him who is boss, lol, but they are wonderful together, and Ollie has given Renny a new lease on life....Cheryl

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Make sure he doesn't have an infection of some sort. Especially if he is soiling the crate. They don't generally do that if the crate is the right size (if it is too big they will go in the corner).
Peri is 15 weeks Monday and she does use the bells. Do you ring them every time you take Ollie out and say "outside ring the bells"? We started pushing Peri's nose in it and she got the picture quickly. Just some thoughts, which you may have already tried.

[cheryl & oliver]

Yes I do say outside ring the bells, lol, he raises his paws and rings them, but not to go out, lol

[Jennifer Tramell]

Webster is 4 months old and usually very good about not going in the house - however, I have the same problem as you. I finally figured out that when he comes and looks at me and just "hangs out" somewhat expectantly, he needs to go outside. I used to think he just wanted attention but then realized that he would wander off and make a puddle in another room. What we have done in the past is teach our dogs to "speak" and then have them "speak" when we'd go outside. It's been so long since I've had a puppy (other dogs are 9 & 15) that I've forgotten some of my old tricks :-) Webster is such a good puppy that I have to remind myself that he needs "formal" training!

[cheryl & oliver]

Funny thing is, if we hear him early in the AM, and get right to him, he goes and runs right to the door, so he does tell us then, but the rest of the day, he does not. Maybe I will try that speak with him, not sure how to do that though, could u give me some hints on that?...Thanks, Cheryl

[Jennifer Tramell]

The trick to "speak" is to know when your dog is going to bark so you can give the command when they are going to bark anyway. If they bark at the door, say speak and then good boy while the dog is barking and hopefully the dog starts to associate the command with the barking. It's not a real specific training (sorry!) and it can be different for each dog. We have actually said "speak", barked ourselves, and continued until the dog barks with us. Sounds idiotic (and I'm sure it looks idiotic!) but our dogs like barking with us. Our dogs like the speak command because it is an easy way to get a treat. I'm guessing that your older dog barks more predictably then Ollie so you could probably teach the big brother and the little brother will learn also. After they know "speak", you tell them to speak each time you let them outside. Its is similar to the bells, the good thing is that often a bark is louder then bells and the dog can come to where you are to bark and ask to go out. Good Luck - I'll be trying to teach Webster while you're working with Ollie - hope it works for both of us! :-0

[Adina P]

Hi Cheryl,

Can you go over the steps you've taken and currently take to teach him to ring the bells? Be as specific as possible, perhaps we can troubleshoot what is missing in your plan. Otherwise, the only thing I can tell you is take him out often.

Perhaps I was just overly paranoid...but I was so afraid of pee accidents that I was constantly taking Rosco outside for a pee and making sure to praise and/or treat him when he peed outside. There were no 'signs' from Rosco...he would just randomly squat and go...no sniffing, no barking, no indication. So my only hope was just to be hyper-vigilant and take him outside. Once he got older (5 months) I also had NO problem telling him "NOOOO" in a loud voice to let him know that inside peeing was NOT okay and then ushering him outside.

[cheryl & oliver]

Hi Adina, yes I walk him over to the bells, and say outside to pee and poop, take his paw and have him hit the bells, I take him out very often, starting with 15 min after he eats, both breakfast & lunch. He will pee for sure at that time, and sometimes he will poop too. I then take him out every 20 min. till I think that he has peed enough, lol...and then after that I take him out about every 2 hrs. or as I watch him and see him sniffing around,,,I take him out just before I leave, and I am usually home within 2 hrs, and walk him immed. when I return home.I would love to be able to let him have his waterbowl filled so he can drink when he wants, but if I did that, he will pee in the house for sure. The ice cubes seem to help though with his drinking...

[cheryl & oliver]

oops, meant to say breafast & dinner, he doesn't eat lunch, lol

[Adina P]

So if you're helping him ring the bells EVERY time he goes out, that is GOOD. That's just what you should be doing. One thing that our dogs never do is paw at the bells. They always touch it with their nose...maybe you could help him touch it with his nose...kinda pick him up and help him do it. Not sure if that will help your situation, but worth a try. Also I would also KEEP taking him out every 20 minutes even if you 'think' he's peed enough because at his young age you just don't know for sure. If you can't do that then have him take a break in his crate for a while if you are busy doing other things. It's okay for him to be crated, he'll learn to relax and nap in there.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

I can officially say that the 6 month mark has been the magic moment for Abby. Havent had a single accident in 3 weeks now. I am hoping she is officially accident free now. She knew to go outside but would also stop and pee super fast mid stride if she was playing inside. Her accidents got fewer and fewer as she got older but now I hope and pray it has finally ended. For her it was like it took that long to clue into the fact that she better hold it until she gets outside.

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

6 months? I gotta wait that long? Finn is only 9 weeks and I was hoping he'd get it pretty soon. I know that's asking a lot but Yankee did it. No accidents on the main floor after one week with us.

[cheryl & oliver]

Wow Linda, 9 weeks, that is unreal, lucky you....Hoping that Finn does as well as Yankee did. Did u do something I don't know about? Can u give me your secret, pretty please?????