I have two chis who were paper trained before I had them at 7 months, they now know that the garden is the place to go but occasionally I find poo indoors, I think it is mainly one of them that is doing it but can't always be sure. The dog concerned doesn't seem to know how to ask to go out as her sister mainly does the asking for both of them. They are now 1 year old. Any ideas please, I do not think they would take kindly to a crate as they love to be free.

Crate training is a great tool for house breaking issues. You may not always need the crate, as some dogs learn quite quickly. Is this only happening when you are away or while you are home as well? Is it always in the same spot? Do you give ample potty breaks through out the day (after eating, playing etc... )? Have all medical issues been ruled out?

Crate training is a great tool for house breaking issues. You may not always need the crate, as some dogs learn quite quickly. Is this only happening when you are away or while you are home as well? Is it always in the same spot? Do you give ample potty breaks through out the day (after eating, playing etc...)? Have all medical issues been ruled out?

Funnily enough it rarely happens when we are out, mostly when we are in, and yes they do get enough potty breaks, it often happens when I am upstairs , they come up with me but one will rush down sometimes and poo on the carpet somewhere often behind the sofa but not necessarily, she has even poohed in front of me in the bedroom. I do not think it is a medical problem as we may go two or three weeks in between this occurring

Crate training is a great tool for house breaking issues. You may not always need the crate, as some dogs learn quite quickly. Is this only happening when you are away or while you are home as well? Is it always in the same spot? Do you give ample potty breaks through out the day (after eating, playing etc...)? Have all medical issues been ruled out?

Funnily enough it rarely happens when we are out, mostly when we are in, and yes they do get enough potty breaks, it often happens when I am upstairs , they come up with me but one will rush down sometimes and poo on the carpet somewhere often behind the sofa but not necessarily, she has even poohed in front of me in the bedroom. I do not think it is a medical problem as we may go two or three weeks in between this occurring , it seems more to me that she doesn't quite know how to ask to go out. I don't think this has happened when the back door is open. How about a dog flap?

You're going to have to retrain both, since you can't be sure that only one dog is leaving a little gift behind.

Paper training is horrible, and this may be why you're having issues now.

Start as if they were brand new puppies. It won't take as long as training a puppy, because they both know the basics, but this is what I would suggest.

First, get a bell. Attach the bell the door (I'm recommending this only because you stated that the one dog doesn't know how to ask to go outside). When you take the dogs out for a potty, put their paw on the bell, making it ring. Then outside, pick a potty word, I used "potty time", and when they do their business, tons of praise, a treat, and back inside.

If you catch one of them pooing then a firm no, and even if it's mid poo, pick the dog up, take it outside, use the potty word, and then praise when the dog does its business.

If you find poo in the house, but didn't see who did it, then just clean it up, and say nothing to the dogs.

Positive reinforcement, and always be present when they're out for a potty break.

The goal will be that when they need to potty, they'll ring the bell. I've never used this technique, because my dogs have always been good about telling me they need to go. But I have a neighbor, and a good friend, that both used the bell technique, and it works very well. It takes a bit of time and patience to train, but if you're consistent, they will catch on.

Do not get a doggy door. You have to be present to train them. You have to go out with them. Well, not only you, others in the house can go as well, but make sure everyone is consistent. In other words, make sure everyone does the paw on the bell (if that's what you choose to do), and make sure everyone uses the same potty word, and praises and treats.

Consistency, time, and patience. They'll get it. :)

Alty, when does an owner know to take the dogs out for a potty break--like, after they eat?

Alty, when does an owner know to take the dogs out for a potty break--like, after they eat?

It really depends on the age of the dog, and the training the dog has had.

Our Rascal is 3 months old. He's crate trained. Even though he's a puppy, and should need a potty break often, he sleeps 8 hours a night in his crate without an accident, and without whining to be let out. In fact, he's never had an accident in his crate. But, he's been crate trained properly.

When he's free in the house, which is whenever we're home, I look for signs. When he starts sniffing I know he needs to go. So I take him out immediately. There have been a few times that he sniffed, I didn't see him, and caught him mid pee or poo. I picked him up, interrupted what he was doing, and brought him straight outside.

At 3 months of age he's 95% potty trained. The only time he has an accident is when we don't automatically heed his scratch at the door, or his whine. He's still a baby. He knows to ask to go out, but he asks when he's desperate to go out, so you only have a few seconds to get there, let him out, and avoid an accident. Once in a while, and this is rare, he won't even ask, he'll just start sniffing for a spot to go. Those instances are becoming fewer and farther between.

With a 1 year old dog, it's not as urgent. I would recommend taking the dogs out at least 30 minutes after they drink, and an hour after they eat. But it really depends on the dog. Rascal, as a puppy, should be pooing 20 minutes after he eats, but he doesn't. He poos around 3 hours after he eats. Actually, within the month we've had him, I can tell you the exact times he poos because he has a schedule to eat and go for a walk. He poos and pees (a very long pee) in the morning when he gets up (between 6:30 - 7:30 am). He poos again at 2pm, and at 8pm. That's his last poo of the day. He pees every 2 hours.

Every dog is different, but if you watch the dog, you'll see the signs that he/she needs to pee or poo. Sniffing is the biggest sign.

You're going to have to retrain both, since you can't be sure that only one dog is leaving a little gift behind.

Paper training is horrible, and this may be why you're having issues

Start as if they were brand new puppies. It won't take as long as training a puppy, because they both know the basics, but this is what I would suggest.

First, get a bell. Attach the bell the the door (I'm recommending this only because you stated that the one dog doesn't know how to ask to go outside). When you take the dogs out for a potty, put their paw on the bell, making it ring. Then outside, pick a potty word, I used "potty time", and when they do their business, tons of praise, a treat, and back inside.

If you catch one of them pooing then a firm no, and even if it's mid poo, pick the dog up, take it outside, use the potty word, and then praise when the dog does its business.

If you find poo in the house, but didn't see who did it, then just clean it up, and say nothing to the dogs.

Positive reinforcement, and always be present when they're out for a potty break.

The goal will be that when they need to potty, they'll ring the bell. I've never used this technique, because my dogs have always been good about telling me they need to go. But I have a neighbor, and a good friend, that both used the bell technique, and it works very well. It takes a bit of time and patience to train, but if you're consistent, they will catch on.

Do not get a doggy door. You have to be present to train them. You have to go out with them. Well, not only you, others in the house can go as well, but make sure everyone is consistent. In other words, make sure everyone does the paw on the bell (if that's what you choose to do), and make sure everyone uses the same potty word, and praises and treats.

Consistency, time, and patience. They'll get it. :)

Thank you very much for your helpful reply, I can see that working but am a little dubious as we have a kitchen and conservatory door for them to get through, and they may ring the bell just to go out and play! With regard to the dog flaps though, once they have learnt how it works would this not eliminate the 'asking' problem? Also I am curious as it is always a poo never a wee, can't they hold on to it?