[MelissaHazel]

Hi all,
I have an 8 week old female. She's doing really well with the potty training. However, it's because we are constantly taking her out. The second she starts sniffing, we run her out. When will she begin to give us signals that she has to go out? Is there something we can do to help initiate this? I've heard of using the bell, but I think she's too young for that...we tried for a day and she really just wanted to play with it. Thanks in advance!

 

[Islander]

Congrats on your new pup. Our girl is now 17 weeks old. Believe me I know what you mean about constantly taking her out... the first few weeks we had Ziva I thought I might as well just pitch a tent in the yard and stay there with her .... I thought she was a pee-ing machine!

Since we live in a piling house in Fla. (up on stilts) and have no fenced in yard we literally have to put her collar/lead on her each time and down the stairs and out to the yard and back again (repeat what seemed like thousands of times ) ... anyway... with each week she got better and better. Actually now at 17 weeks I can't even remember the last time she had a pee pee accident in the house, she never did poop in the house.
It wasn't long before she knew if she went to the door and whined we came running and out she went. So now she seems like an 'ol pro at it.

I thought about using the bells too, but then thought I would rather her just get used to going to the door and whining, cause what if you're away and there are no bells at the door. Ziva goes to my husband's office and if she has to go out while there she just whines and out we go. So she definintely has the idea now.

Just hang in there. She will get better with time and before you know it the frequency of trips will subside.

 

[stevie-j]

At 8 weeks - the only thing you can do is just keep doing what you're doing. When we brought Sam home at 10 weeks she went out every 45 min or so....seemed like a lot, but I made sure to keep it short and sweet. dropped her in the spot I wanted her to go - let her go and praised her and back inside we went...she got the hang of it after about 3 weeks and now goes to the door and stairs at us, like "hey dummies - I need to go out!" good luck...just be patient.

 

[DragonTheRevolutionary]

we have doggy doors so ....

 

[gunnr]

At 8 weeks old your puppy is doing one of the following. Eating, sleeping, playing,and looking for a place to go to the bathroom. If she's not doing one of the 1st three, she's looking to do the fourth.
She is actually giving you a signal,a nd you've picked up on it. In a few weeks she'll associate sniffing around to go to the bathroom with going out the door to do her stuff.
It won't take long, and you're going about it the right way.