Ask Alecia: My Min Pin Won't Tell Us He Needs Out!

Dear Alecia

I have a 5-year-old min pin. Whenever he sees a squirrel or bird in the back yard he will run to the door and bark like crazy to be let out. But whenever he has to go potty, he goes to the door, stands quietly without making a sound. If we don’t hear or notice him there, he’ll go in the house. How can we get him to let us know verbally that he wants to go out, like he does for backyard critters? — Kitty

Dear Kitty,

Interesting issue your Min Pin has. I would suggest placing a piece of string with a bell on it on the door he generally goes to. See if each time you go out, you can ring the bell and get him accustomed to that.

When he does ring the bell to go out, pop a cookie in his mouth and praise him that he did good. Only praise him when he rings the bell then praise, then let him out.

Pretty soon he will be ringing the bell to go out and potty and you will have a clean house.

Paws Up! Alecia

Alecia Evans is the inventor of The Walk In Sync™ Humane Dog Walking and Training System with her exclusive 5 Minute Manners Makeovers using the Walk In Sync™ Harness and Accu-Grip Leash, along with her Walk In Sync™ 3 Easy Steps to teach any human/dog duos to Walk In Sync in just minutes.

The former host of the award-winning GrassRoots Aspen TV Series, The Whole Animal-An Alternative Approach to Animal Care, Alecia takes a natural approach to dog training and health care. Her work has been featured on Fox and Friends, The Sandra Glosser Show, NY 1, and in Aspen Magazine, DogTipper.com, The New York Daily News and Woof Report.

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Paris Permenter

Paris Permenter is the award-winning co-author, with John Bigley, of over 30 pet and travel books including The Healthy Hound Cookbook and Texas with Dogs, both available through Simon and Schuster. Paris is also a member of the Dog Writers Association of America.

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