[Cat J]

Alaska Dobe

Hi eph,

I had a similar question for the forum with my girl Annie who is about 8 months old. It gets into the -40s here in Interior Alaska, so I KNOW pottytraining can be tougher for us than the dogs. It also can last for months on end in the pitch black... cheery isn't it?
Anyway, Annie is not completely trained yet, but I know this and watch her when she is out of her kennel like a hawk. She is only out when I can watch her. She goes out first thing in the morning, right after she eats, at lunch when I come home to eat, first thing when I get home and then again after she eats and then AGAIN when it's time to go to bed. These are just the times I know she'll have to go, I'm not counting after playing or napping. I went out with her for months in the cold. I had pull-on snow boots and a parka by the door and I also had a 20 foot line just in case... It's like taping the ears, just gotta keep doing it until you KNOW it's clicked! Good luck!

Cat & Annieunk:

 

[Luv_my_Bruno]

Didn't read the other replies so forgive me if I'm repeating anything lol. I'm sick and getting sleepy lol.

But with Bruno we just ALWAYS took him out. Didn't matter if he had to pee or not. It was like every hour it was time to go out. We had gotten him in early December of 05 as well so it was winter and we still made him go out. We got him in a habit of going out often so he'd know when it was time He did really well. Of course he has accidents from time to time. But it's always our fault for not being promt with letting him out. It does get easier the more you take them out, so I've found anyway

 

[alwayshadpets]

There are a lot of good ideas that were mentioned. Watching all the time, crate, if not put on leash and tie them to you.
One thing that really worked for me with the cold weather was. I took her out on a retractable leash. Gave her about 10 - 15 ft. I picked our regular spot and I did not move. She learned to get bored with the same area--did her business and we went inside. I only stayed outside about 10 minute. If she did not go she went back in the crate. She quickly learned we went out for a reason. I found if we walked around she would get distracted to much and forget about what we were there for. So just pick a spot and don`t move. It worked great. Keep your spot the same. Good Luck.

 

[JavasMom]

One thing I found w/ Java at that age, when she did have an accident is was because I didn't pick up on the sign she made for me that she had to go out, even though we were consistent about letting her out after every meal, drink of water. But when a girl's gotta go, a girl's gotta go!

At 20 mos she is only now starting to go to the back door and let out a bark - before if I was busy or occupied, she'd go to the back door and stand there. Problem is, I'd be in the kitchen and couldn't see the back door from where I'd be working. Sometimes puppies are like small children - they wait until the last possible minute to let you know they have to pee!

 

[eph94]

Thanks for the vote of confidence everyone. I had a good idea that I was on the right track, but there was that little nagging doubt in the back of my mind. I guess I'll keep him a schedule. We usually do 7AM, 12PM, 5PM, 9PM, and 11PM--at least those are the times that I supervise and make him potty on command. I'm sure, when the weather is nice and he is left outside in the back yard, he does his business in between those times as well.

Yesterday when we had the accident, Harley went at 7AM, 12PM, and a few times at the dog park between 1:30PM and 3:30PM. I figured wrongly that he easily could have waited until his next potty break. I now know that I should have made a detour into the backyard and made him potty before bringing him into the house. I won't make that mistake again. I guess I felt confident that he would let me know if he had to go.

The cold weather definitely makes it tougher. I can see the wheels spinning in Harley's brain that he would much rather go in the warmth of the house (of course, not near HIS home, the crate) than face the frigid temps outside. In a way, I can totally see his canine logic, but that is not acceptable to me as his provider of resources. This morning, for example, he did not want to go when I let him out. He just sat there begging me to let him back in. When he finally did go (I had to physically go outside to join him and coerce him), he had LOTS of business to take care of. If I caved into his pleading eyes and let him back him, he no doubt would have left me a double present inside the house. While not Alaska weather, it was 3 degrees F with a -20 degree F wind chill! Oh, I forgot to mention that he finally did his business after I brought him back in briefly to put on his Chilly Dog winter coat.

Until we got this cold spell (we actually had the warmest December on record here in the Boston area), Harley had no issues running into the yard, taking care of business, and coming back. That's what led me to believe that he knew that the yard was for potty and not the house.

I can't wait to train him with the Poochie Bells, but something tells me when it is super cold, he will not want to ring them, especially if it means going outside!

 

[mariposa692001]

Tracy Jo...where didy ou get that running dobe?

 

[illnacord]

The freedom concept is right on. Any sign where my dob just walks off to a part of the home that I can't see her, she will drop a #1 or #2. The regular routine also works where I drop her on the lawn and she'll either do it, or run back into the house. She just #2 and #1 in consequential order in my home while I was on the computer.