Maybe though, you are making things too easy for him. If he only has to do
so much as look at the door before you let him out, he's not learnt to ask
you, he's learnt to look at the door. instead, when he looks at the door
and
you think he is asking, call him to you, good boy and then go out
together.

Diana

This is what I thought of first. Show him a great happy attitude when he
realizes *you* know what he means, about him wanting to go out. (Of course
once he catches on, you can lower the enthusiasm, as labs go they do tend to
get really *HAPPY* when they figure you out. G)

When he looks at the door call him to you, and once you have his attention,
ask, "Wanna go 'OUT?" If he gets a bit frisky, or shows whatever sign of you
getting the message to him, take him out. Saying "Good boy! Good Out!!!"
Just give a lab a way to show you attention and he'll run with it.
It's also the greatest feeling in the world when you see that light bulb go
off in their brains. They get 'it' and get really excited, tho I wouldn't
excite him too much after he's eaten, (as per Matt's advice on bloat).
My dogs were all trained this way. Whenever they picked up on a toy/action,
I'd name it and use the name for it all the time, now they will all go and
look for that special toy, whenever I ask for it.
Also, when they want water, I'll ask if they "Want water?", same as "Are you
hungry?"
Giving them a big thrill at you guessing it right, they will soon learn to
get your attention, just beware of what you wish for. evil grin
Anyway, make a fuss, ask him if he needs to go out, and then let him out
with tons of hugs, praise, and commotion, for the first few days. Trust me,
once he realizes he gets positive reaction from you, he'll love it.

Go out and get some 'Nature's Miracle', an enzymatic cleaner, that gets out
even dog noses ability to smell things, long after we can't.
You'll probably get tips about perhaps crating him in your room at night, or
even just letting him sleep with/without you, but in your room. Crating,
done right is a Godsend. I only used it for puppies to house break, but
Ceilidh demands to sleep in hers. (At SIX!), as she'll "Go to bed", and pull
the door closed, won't go to sleep until we latch it. She's so silly and
happy go lucky, and you're very lucky, also, they are so much fun!

I wish you tons of luck, I have a golden and a mix, and I also have a female
black lab, 6 who is the delight of anyone who has met her. Very sparkling
personality, has Ceilidh.

MaryBeth

Maybe though, you are making things too easy for him. If he only has to do
so much as look at the door before you let him out, he's not learnt to ask
you, he's learnt to look at the door. instead, when he looks at the door
and
you think he is asking, call him to you, good boy and then go out
together.

Diana

This is what I thought of first. Show him a great happy attitude when he
realizes *you* know what he means, about him wanting to go out. (Of course
once he catches on, you can lower the enthusiasm, as labs go they do tend to
get really *HAPPY* when they figure you out. G)

When he looks at the door call him to you, and once you have his attention,
ask, "Wanna go 'OUT?" If he gets a bit frisky, or shows whatever sign of you
getting the message to him, take him out. Saying "Good boy! Good Out!!!"
Just give a lab a way to show you attention and he'll run with it.
It's also the greatest feeling in the world when you see that light bulb go
off in their brains. They get 'it' and get really excited, tho I wouldn't
excite him too much after he's eaten, (as per Matt's advice on bloat).
My dogs were all trained this way. Whenever they picked up on a toy/action,
I'd name it and use the name for it all the time, now they will all go and
look for that special toy, whenever I ask for it.
Also, when they want water, I'll ask if they "Want water?", same as "Are you
hungry?"
Giving them a big thrill at you guessing it right, they will soon learn to
get your attention, just beware of what you wish for. evil grin
Anyway, make a fuss, ask him if he needs to go out, and then let him out
with tons of hugs, praise, and commotion, for the first few days. Trust me,
once he realizes he gets positive reaction from you, he'll love it.

Go out and get some 'Nature's Miracle', an enzymatic cleaner, that gets out
even dog noses ability to smell things, long after we can't.
You'll probably get tips about perhaps crating him in your room at night, or
even just letting him sleep with/without you, but in your room. Crating,
done right is a Godsend. I only used it for puppies to house break, but
Ceilidh demands to sleep in hers. (At SIX!), as she'll "Go to bed", and pull
the door closed, won't go to sleep until we latch it. She's so silly and
happy go lucky, and you're very lucky, also, they are so much fun!

I wish you tons of luck, I have a golden and a mix, and I also have a female
black lab, 6 who is the delight of anyone who has met her. Very sparkling
personality, has Ceilidh.

MaryBeth

Not quite sure how best to handle this...I've recently taken custody
of an awsome lab mix...Bo is about 2 years old, and we get along
great. Original owners had to move overseas. For the most part, Bo
seems housebroken. If he even looks towards the door, I'll let him
out, and he's usually outside several times a day where he happily
does his thing. At night, he sleeps in a dog bed indoors, not far
from me. This morning, I found a nice steaming little present from Bo
on my carpet! I'm a light sleeper...Bo never once whined, scratched,
or made any of his "normal" noises that indicate a need to go outside.

I would be happy to let him outside, no matter what time of the day of
night....but obviously I can't stay awake 24 hours a day waiting for
him to give me a sign that he needs to go. How does one handle a dog
who needs to go outside in the middle of the night but doesn't say
anything?

Thanks,
Dave

On Thu, 14 Aug 2003, Dave Austin wrote:

I would be happy to let him outside, no matter what time of
the day of night....but obviously I can't stay awake 24 hours
a day waiting for him to give me a sign that he needs to go.
How does one handle a dog who needs to go outside in the
middle of the night but doesn't say anything?

i'm not sure how i'd go about solving this problem. Bo is
definitely old enough to hold it overnight, unless he's sick
or stressed for some reason. so, it could one of three
problems:

A) Bo just doesn't know how to ask to go outside.

i don't know how you'd go about solving this problem.
perhaps teaching him an "i gotta potty" cue. some people hang
bells on their doors. every time they take the dog out to
potty, ring the bell. the dog will learn to associate the
ringing with going out to potty, and will--so the theory goes,
but i've not ever tried this!--learn to ring the bell
themselves to tell you they need to go out.

B) Bo isn't really housebroken. he may have just been managed
so well that he never had an opportunity to potty indoors.

if this is the case, you should probably start over with
house training. tethering him to you is recommended by many
people. he won't have an opportunity to wander off and have
accidents (i realize that's not a current daytime problem for
him, but if housebreaking is the issue, this could still
help). you and he will also, by necessity, be spending a lot
of time in close proximity to each other. you will learn his
signals (they can be *very* subtle) and he will hopefully
learn how to better communicate his needs to you.

C) this is a rare occurrence and Bo was sick and just couldn't
hold it.

--
shelly (foul wench) and elliott and harriet
http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette

On Thu, 14 Aug 2003, Dave Austin wrote:

I would be happy to let him outside, no matter what time of
the day of night....but obviously I can't stay awake 24 hours
a day waiting for him to give me a sign that he needs to go.
How does one handle a dog who needs to go outside in the
middle of the night but doesn't say anything?

i'm not sure how i'd go about solving this problem. Bo is
definitely old enough to hold it overnight, unless he's sick
or stressed for some reason. so, it could one of three
problems:

A) Bo just doesn't know how to ask to go outside.

i don't know how you'd go about solving this problem.
perhaps teaching him an "i gotta potty" cue. some people hang
bells on their doors. every time they take the dog out to
potty, ring the bell. the dog will learn to associate the
ringing with going out to potty, and will--so the theory goes,
but i've not ever tried this!--learn to ring the bell
themselves to tell you they need to go out.

B) Bo isn't really housebroken. he may have just been managed
so well that he never had an opportunity to potty indoors.

if this is the case, you should probably start over with
house training. tethering him to you is recommended by many
people. he won't have an opportunity to wander off and have
accidents (i realize that's not a current daytime problem for
him, but if housebreaking is the issue, this could still
help). you and he will also, by necessity, be spending a lot
of time in close proximity to each other. you will learn his
signals (they can be *very* subtle) and he will hopefully
learn how to better communicate his needs to you.

C) this is a rare occurrence and Bo was sick and just couldn't
hold it.

--
shelly (foul wench) and elliott and harriet
http://home.bluemarble.net/~scouvrette

Dave Austin said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

If he even looks towards the door, I'll let him
out, and he's usually outside several times a day where he
happily does his thing.

Are you positive that he's pooping during these times? At 2
years old, and if you're feeding him twice a day, a healthy dog
should be having, at the most, 3 bowel movements a day. After
going in the evening, Bo should be able to hold it all night.

Unlike the first responder to you, I would not recommend feeding
a lab (or lab mix if he's deep chested) only once in the
morning.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Dave Austin said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

If he even looks towards the door, I'll let him
out, and he's usually outside several times a day where he
happily does his thing.

Are you positive that he's pooping during these times? At 2
years old, and if you're feeding him twice a day, a healthy dog
should be having, at the most, 3 bowel movements a day. After
going in the evening, Bo should be able to hold it all night.

Unlike the first responder to you, I would not recommend feeding
a lab (or lab mix if he's deep chested) only once in the
morning.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

Hi dave ,
Hopefully this is a one off.
I always find a good off leash walk helps a dog to poop .
It might be that his previous owner was not so understanding about
being woken up and may have indicated by his body language he was
annoyed thus making the dog reluctant to wake you .

Alison


(.com wrote in message
om...
Not quite sure how best to handle this...I've recently taken custody
of an awsome lab mix...Bo is about 2 years old, and we get along
great. Original owners had to move overseas. For the most part, Bo
seems housebroken. If he even looks towards the door, I'll let him
out, and he's usually outside several times a day where he happily
does his thing. At night, he sleeps in a dog bed indoors, not far
from me. This morning, I found a nice steaming little present from
Bo
on my carpet! I'm a light sleeper...Bo never once whined, scratched,
or made any of his "normal" noises that indicate a need to go
outside.

I would be happy to let him outside, no matter what time of the day
of
night....but obviously I can't stay awake 24 hours a day waiting for
him to give me a sign that he needs to go. How does one handle a
dog
who needs to go outside in the middle of the night but doesn't say
anything?

Thanks,
Dave

Hi dave ,
Hopefully this is a one off.
I always find a good off leash walk helps a dog to poop .
It might be that his previous owner was not so understanding about
being woken up and may have indicated by his body language he was
annoyed thus making the dog reluctant to wake you .

Alison


(.com wrote in message
om...
Not quite sure how best to handle this...I've recently taken custody
of an awsome lab mix...Bo is about 2 years old, and we get along
great. Original owners had to move overseas. For the most part, Bo
seems housebroken. If he even looks towards the door, I'll let him
out, and he's usually outside several times a day where he happily
does his thing. At night, he sleeps in a dog bed indoors, not far
from me. This morning, I found a nice steaming little present from
Bo
on my carpet! I'm a light sleeper...Bo never once whined, scratched,
or made any of his "normal" noises that indicate a need to go
outside.

I would be happy to let him outside, no matter what time of the day
of
night....but obviously I can't stay awake 24 hours a day waiting for
him to give me a sign that he needs to go. How does one handle a
dog
who needs to go outside in the middle of the night but doesn't say
anything?

Thanks,
Dave

"Rocky" wrote in message =
news:Xns93D7630975AB3australianshepherdca@IP...
Dave Austin said in rec.pets.dogs.behavior:
=20
If he even looks towards the door, I'll let him
out, and he's usually outside several times a day where he
happily does his thing.
=20
Are you positive that he's pooping during these times? At 2=20
years old, and if you're feeding him twice a day, a healthy dog=20
should be having, at the most, 3 bowel movements a day. After=20
going in the evening, Bo should be able to hold it all night.
=20
Unlike the first responder to you, I would not recommend feeding=20
a lab (or lab mix if he's deep chested) only once in the=20
morning.

Your mistake why try and make it his? What would deep chested have to =
do with it mat?