How does your Sheltie let you know to go outside?

All the dogs I have had learn to notify me when they want outside. Laika will set by the door and give a very quiet, dignified "woof" and Aztec scratches the door frame.

A lot of it is watching, and when they do notify you praise!
 
Emma, Figaro, and Sasha just go to the door and look out and then give us "the look." The puppy will walk towards to the door to the outside but he doesn't always make it all the way outside. Indy does an Elvis-impersonator low-pitched grumble-mumble that sounds sort of like "a-thank-ya-a-thank-ya-verra-much." I plan to hang a bell on the patio door handle and see if I can get them to "chime" to go out. I certainly can't see "the look" or the pose at the door when I am asleep!
 
Wagonracer said:
I have seen bells and other devices that a dog can be trained to press to ring a bell alerting you it want's out. Have any of you used one of these devices or have any suggestions how a puppy can notify you to let them out? Potty training Jasper is good well, the only trouble is we have to watch him and initiate getting him outside to go. This requires keeping an eye on him every second and not letting our guard down. Thanks for any input...
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When Cassie was a baby (6 weeks old) we took her out very often. We covered all the carpet with plastics. LOL Now she is 4 years old and most of the time when she wants out she sits "glued" to the entrance door and won't leave. Sometimes she just barks without any evident reason. We sense it too. Very very rare she can poop or pee on a carpet, almost never. It happened when she was sick and could not wait for us. :cry: Poor baby.
 
Chinook just sits by the door, rarely will he make a sound. I used to have the service bell for him, but he learned to use it 'just' to get to go outside, and now that he is almost 1 and has not had any mishaps for as long as I can remember, I don't bother with it anymore. I just let him out if he is sitting by the door.

Now, Maia on the other hand lets the whole world know she needs to go outside. She will start off with crying for 10 secs or so, and if you do not respond to her, she will go into an all out howl! No mistaking what she wants.
 
BarbV, you actually described it pretty well! They really don't let you know until they are potty trained-- or rather the fact that they let do finally let you know means they finally get it!

I have to watch watch watch and let out often, and we still have accidents. Then one day Bailey went to the door and whined to go out--WOW did I make a BIG DEAL over him for that. LOTS of praise and a SPECIAL treat. Now he will do that sometimes, and sometimes he still doesn't. He snuck downstairs into the basement and pooped the other day, and I swear he never went to the door first. It's frustrating, but I know it will come and the accidents are much fewer and far between (he's almost 6 mos. old). And like Dave said, a few months of no life watching your pup constantly is a small price to pay for the years of a best friend you get in exchange! :biggrin2:
 
Dylan was taught to ring a bell to go out. He still uses it if he has to. Normally he is on schedule and can hold between schedule (4 times a day. A morning walk, an afternoon walk, an evening walk and before bed time). But if he has to go between the schuduled outings, he will go and gently push the bell with his nose. If we ignore it (we don't do that normally since we know when he rings a bell, it means business), then he will walk back and forth between us and door.
 
Toby at 4months when i got him 2 weeks after i got him he started to ring the bell i have hanging on the door handle. very very smart learned really quick
 
As a follow up...

Duncan is 10 weeks old on Saturday. His (that is, OUR) last potty accident was April 30th. We've already been able to relax quite a bit in our watching him. He's now spending more time going through the house with us, as opposed to staying mostly in my den. They really are incredibly quick in picking up things :yes:
 
One time we were out camping with Layla and Bits. Bits got a horrible case of the runs in the middle of the night. But bless her, no mess in the tent. She'd come over to me and put her front feet on my chest and stare at me until I woke up. "Excuse me, I'm so sorry, but I have to go out again, please." What a courteous girl she was when she was so miserable!
 
Treader will stare at me when he, waiting for me to ask "want out?", to which he then heads toward the door and does a dance (jumping on her fronts legs, back and forth) in front of it.
 
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