Why oh Why oh WHY?!

[Margie Payne]

Bear is so so smart.  The pup can sit, stay, knows his name, come (he got all 4 of those by 8 weeks) wait, spin, speak, Go 1 (90% of the time), Go 2 (60% of the time).  We're working on roll-over, for some reason he's not "getting it".

Anyway, he's not having a hard time connecting with what we want and even will respond to correction pretty quickly.  I mean, when we're outside (always on lease in backyard - not all shots yet) he would be OFF and RUNNING if not for leash and no way he'd come if we called b/c of the smells and sounds, but in general in the house, for an 11 week old, he's rocking.  We've got your basic and normal puppy issues but for the most part he's blowing our minds with how willing to please he is.

Here's my issue.  He can now stay in the crate from 11pm to 7:30am and not a drop of pee.  He's not barking and having a fit either.  I just know that he MUST have to go.  He will sometimes wake up around 6am and whine a second or two and then back to sleep he goes.  When I take him out he goes a LOT and right away.  The problem is that I've got to be ON IT with him at all times.  

He's also leashed to a table in the same room with us if we're not keeping an eye on him or playing directly with him.  For his safety and my sanity.  ;)

So here's what I'm talking about

Example:  Tonight I saw him sniffing around, he'd JUST gone outside and didn't go a lot but enough, so I thought, "okay, I've gotta text this info to my hubby and then I'll take him out"...literally 10 seconds later, a small pool of pee on the floor.  MAKES ME SO FRUSTRATED!!!  I know he wasn't feeling like he "had" to go b/c I'd just taken him out 20 mins ago.  He didn't have but a few laps of water when we came back in after he pee'd.  It's like he doesn't know how to tell me he's gotta go and I don't know how to teach him?!  Why doesn't he bark??  Whine loudly??!  

I've not wanted to use the bells b/c 1...I'm not a butler.  and 2.  We travel and go places and what about when he's in his crate?   How's the bells going to help us?!  

Could I use "speak" to tell me he's gotta go?  Have him do it before we go outside?  For goodness sake he's not allowed to pee in the house, we never say "Go 1" in the house!  He knows what that means b/c he does it on command!  

I know, I know, he's not 12 weeks old and also this takes time.  But I feel like I know him and I know he's not getting it....I'm not teaching him what he needs to learn in order to tell us and I feel like I'm at a complete loss!!  

Any help would be much appreciated!

Margie

[Missy]

first of all, look at that face!! oh my! he doesn't mean to disappoint.

I use the bells and we are having success.

Although something else that I do that you might want to do, is I take treats with me outside and as soon as he #1 or #2, he gets a treat.   I was finding that he explored too much and by the time we came in the house he had no clue as to why he got a treat.   I also stayed outside until he decided he wanted to come inside. if he resisted coming in, then I let him sniff and explore.  yes, potty time could take up to 20 minutes. and I kept my eye on him all the time for weeks. literally!!  so I would learn his cues before he #1 or #2.  

as the weeks have gone by, he has learned that I don't want that #1 or #2 in the house!

if you are against the bells, then I would watch him like a hawk and teach him(with treats), that one door is the potty door and always use that door to go outside.  hang in there as I know Bear will learn what you want!!

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

We don't use the bells with our dogs because we have a puppy door into our backyard. The boys (4 months old) have learned to go out on their own to potty. We have had only rare "accident" in the house in the past month. I have a good friend, though, that does use the bells with her pups. They both learned to ring the bells within about 2 weeks. She also travels a lot - in her motorhome - and her dogs are in crates a good deal of the time when they are traveling.  When she does, she just has another set of the bells that she takes along. She has modified this set so that part of them hand on the side of the crate and the dogs will still ring the bells when they need to potty. The other piece of that set of bells is by the motorhome door so they will ring the bells by the door if they happen to be out of the crates and need to go.