In my dog training business, CommuniCanine Inc., I always get people calling me needing to hire me to help house train their dogs. Their complaints are often, “He goes out most of the time but other times he just goes on the floor. He never tells me that he needs to go out! Argghhh!”
After listening to their rant about the evils of a puppy who wont alert of his intestinal needs I typically respond with something surprising to them.
“Well, if you hire me I’m NOT going to show you how to get your dog to alert you of his potty needs. I think it is a horrible idea to teach a dog to do this. Here is why:”
The following reasons are why I never teach a dog to ring a bell, scratch at the door, bark to be let out, or whine near the back door:
1- Too many dogs abuse the privilege. You know the saying ‘If you give ‘em an inch they’ll take a foot’? With dogs the saying should read ‘If you give them an inch they’ll take a mile long run with you chasing behind them screaming for them to come back.”
Many dogs that are taught to alert when they want to go out become abusers. They will ask all day long so that they can head out back to play and roll around in the dirt. They don’t need to go to the bathroom, they just want to play. Hey, sometimes playing is fine. But when I become the doorman for a dog that wants to play that is when I have a problem.
2- A dog that alerts will often never learn how to hold it. If your dog is used to ringing a bell and going outside that means that he goes out on his terms. If he is going out with such frequency there is a chance that he will never learn to hold it. Why hold it if you can go out on a whim?
Dogs that don’t learn how to hold it often have an accident here or there throughout their life. The owners explain it away by saying, “Oh, it’s my fault. I wasn’t there to see him scratching at the door.” That’s all well and good but, frankly, I don’t EVER want my dog to have an accident. Even if it means holding it for longer than usual. Hey, I have to hold it longer than I want to all the time.
3- It’s ANNOYING! If you teach your dog to ring a bell or bark at the door what happens at three in the morning? That’s right, Fido will tell you that he feels like going out. Come on, Fido, go back to sleep. Well, Fido has learned that he can push your buttons by ringing a bell and he doesn’t have to hold it.
4- I don’t want to sound like a warden here but when it comes to dogs I like control. Dogs need a strong leader that controls things for them. That means that I control when my dogs eat, how they walk on a leash, how they greet my guests, when they go to sleep, what they do when I say ’sit’, ‘down’, etc., and also WHEN THEY GO TO THE BATHROOM.
I don’t support commands and behaviors that put the dog in control of me. To me this is a backwards way of thinking. My dog should be looking to me for leadership and commands, not the other way around.
So what do you think? Do you like to teach your dog to alert or not.
6 Comments
I just take my dog out around the same times every day. He never asks to go out because he is used to going outside at our usual times. When he sees me getting my shoes on or picking up his leash, then he waits at the door, ready to go.
Yup, that’s how I got my dogs trained also. Much nicer when the dog just knows a schedule
I believe in my dog having a way to tell me she needs something. I’ve had enough times where my listening to her “I need to go out” cue meant the mess was outside instead of inside, that I want to know. Dogs get stomach bugs or UTIs that can screw up their schedules. I’d hate to think I’m so rigid on control that there is no dialogue, only my list of “you should” or “you will” behaviors for the dog.
It’s not that tough to allow the dog to tell you her needs without getting the every 5 minutes “I wanna go out” thing. You do have to pay attention on the actual bathroom breaks and you have to meet the dog’s other needs, then you can say simply, no, it’s not time now, when that is true.
I’m not sure you understood the post. The whole point of this post is that there aren’t any accidents at all if you just teach your dog to hold it. The reason your dog has had accidents in the past is because she didn’t need to learn to hold it because she just tells you when she needs to go.
If your dog never has a cue then there is never anything you need to ignore. Its about simplifying things for you and the dog.
My point is that the dog may not always be able to hold it if she is ill. I’d rather she have a way to tell me “I need out NOW” than clean up the mess. Just me. I’m silly that way.
Agreed