How will I know?

Hi! Good questions...and you will get many answers and they will all be right! Since your ID is momothree I assume you have children.... I think you can't exactly predict when your dood is going to be totally "getting it" any more than you can exactly predict when your kiddo will. There is a very complex bunch of the things going on inside your pup....physical maturity and learning to communicate... Sometimes I think the best learning experience for everybody is when you actually observe an "accident." Pup gets immediate feedback and you can kind of "replay" the last couple of minutes and see if you missed some signs you will recognize better next time. All these things will work themselves out with time and all the great attention and cues you are teaching. You'll know when Sage can have the run of the house.

I have two doods who are 8 mos. old. They are very smart, but also very distracted by the pure joy of each other. They do not yet have the run of the house. But they are definitely earning a little more territory as each week goes by. Right now they have freedom in the kitchen (hard surface floor), but they have to be tethered to us in the rest of the house. One of them left a mystery puddle last week, but we had had no other accidents for a couple of weeks before that. So sometimes it seems like two steps forward and one step back. Still, the trend is good! (We haven't gotten the bell thing together, though it sounds really effective for a lot of pups - so someone else will have to help you out with that.)

Lots of other other doodle folks will tell you their pup is really reliable a lot sooner than mine, and this will probably be the case with Sage, since I think they learn much more quickly when only one is involved.

But every dood is different. The main thing is it sounds like you are doing a fabulous job with Sage's training! Limiting access and opportunity for accidents prevents them establishing bad habits. And you are doing just that. Pretty soon you'll be picking up the signals and Sage will be letting you know.

Lisa-

Thanks for your input on my situation. It was nice to hear support for the way I'm doing it--some people I have spoken to think that my approach is a little to restrictive, but I can't afford not to be. You were right about the 3 kids, and one is a baby (the other 2 are 12 and 10--so they are less of an issue) so I really need to keep a close eye on Sage (and baby Kate). Also, there are baby toys everywhere and I really want Sage to (eventually) know the difference. Maybe that's a real fantasy, I don't know :lol: I suppose that, in addition to the housetraining issues, Sage will probably be having restricted access for quite a while---poor pooch. Maybe I won't really see her consistently signalling to go out to potty until she does have more freedom. Your right, I will just have to see if I can pick up on the more subtle signs until then. I've actually been hoping to catch her "in the act", but I always seem to catch it after :roll: Oh well, as you said, things will come together sooner or later. Thanks again

Jac

Thanks for your advice about the play time after pottying. We give her free play time, but not right after she does her "business"--I bet she would catch on even more quickly. I'm hoping her "subtle" signals become less "subtle". :lol:
Well, it's good to hear all the support for tethering---I just read the other recent post about it too, and I will definitely turn a deaf ear to all the nay-sayers out there. I honestly couldn't imagine trying to have a well-behaved puppy and a sane houshold any other way :lol: I actually have Sage signed up for obedience class on April 6th---she'll be 16 weeks old. I don't really know what the ideal age is, but I can't wait.
As for exercise, I have to say I am a bit confused as to how much she needs now, and how much she will need over time. At present, I take her out for a 15-25 min. walk in the morning, then one or both of my kids take her out at about 3pm for another 10-15 min. walk. Other than that, we throw her ball around in the living room for her a couple of times a day and sometimes, while she is tethered to me in the kitchen, I give her an upside down plastic bowl or empty plastic bottle (both of which she goes nutso over) and she boots around on the lino chasing it (sometimes I'll put some kibble in the bottle or under the bowl--that really keeps her busy). After her last set of shots (in 2 weeks), I'll be able to take her to the park etc. She'll love that.