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Posted by TeamBoxer on January 20, 2003 at 17:56:08:

In Reply to: Re: potty training posted by Lynn on January 20, 2003 at 17:14:40:

I have a 14 week old Boxer girlie too. I've had her for six weeks and from the very beginning I've been working hard to get her outside often for potty breaks. Often enough that she knows what 'go potty' and 'go poop' means... has since the first week. So that's helpful in getting her emptied on a regular basis, gives me 15-20 minutes of breathing room before I need to take her out again.
What most of the potty training literature fails to mention is that during times of active play, young puppies need to urinate OFTEN. Activity makes urine. At 14 weeks, Bliss can now go for about a half hour or so of really ACTIVE play in between potty breaks... so it's getting easier. Only last week I had to get her outside every 15 minutes.
In the meanwhile, every time she had an accident in the house I had to accept that she was LEARNING to relieve herself in the house... that my failure to watch her closely enough and get her out often enough was ALLOWING her to learn to go in the house.
Then one night, a couple of weeks ago, she had two accidents by the back door, and I realized she KNEW where she needed to go, just didn't know how to tell me she needed to go out. So I did what I've done for all of my other dogs... I hung a bell from the back door knob. All of my other dogs very quickly understood what the bell was for... it gave them magical powers to open the door to the great outdoors. But all of my other dogs learned it during warm weather, when it was fun to BE outside. And to top it off, Bliss was afraid of the bell.

Coincidentally, tho, I've also started USING the fact that Bliss doesn't like to be outside in the bitter cold to start giving heavy reinforcement for the COME command. Because when I'd take her out, I'd stand on the back stoop and watch her, praise her when she accomplished what we went out there for, and (because she was SO COLD) she'd come barrelling towards me at full tilt. While she was running towards me I'd say "Bliss, come!" and back up into the kitchen. And she'd plant herself in a sit at my feet and I'd give her a bite of cheese.
Well, NOW... I'm pleased to say... Miss Bliss has chained it all together in her mind. In order to get that bite of cheese for coming in, she must first go OUT and do her business. For four days now, she's been ringing the scary bell (tentatively at first, then ever more emphatically) when she needs to go outside! YIPPEE!

Kim, in Virginia,
with Rosie, Bay, Teacher and Bliss

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