Kimber wrote in
:

I've always thought a "normal" dog would cry and scratch at the
door, which is not at all subtle. It seems strange to me that not
all dogs instinctively do that.

As has been pointed out, that's not instinctive behavior, it's
learned.

I mean Beanie could be standing
next to you for any number of reasons. Or does Beanie ONLY do that
to go out? Sometimes my dog licks my face just because she wants
to lick my face. So, how do I know when a face-licking means she
has to go out and when it doesn't?

Ask her. Seriously. Harriet's signal is usually sitting next to me
and staring a hole through me. The problem is that she does the same
thing for other reasons, too. So, I ask her, "Do you need to go
outside?" A "Yes" answer is unmistakable. While I was housebreaking
her, we went out only long enough to potty. If she didn't go, we
came right back in. It didn't take long for her to get the idea that
X behavior = potty break. (X behavior being getting my attention and
saying "Yes" when asked if she wants out.)

While crying and scratching at
the door can only mean one thing and would only be done for one
purpose. *That's* an acceptable way!

Acceptable for you, maybe. I don't want my door damaged, and I do
*not* (NOT!!!) want to teach my dog that whining is acceptable.
Besides, what if you are in another part of the house and can't hear
her whining and scratching at the door? I would prefer to have her
come to me and signal to me that she needs to go out.

However, if you want to teach your dog to signal at the door, there
are ways of doing so. You might try Googling for +dog +housebreaking
+bell. There should be lots of resources for teaching dogs to ring a
bell when they need to go out.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)