Hi, my 7 month old Border Terrier has been a devil to house train. She 'gets' that outside is the preferred option, but won't ask to go out. Therefore if she is left for any length of time will generally decide that she is not going to wait. We have used all the recommended methods so I'm not sure where we are going wrong.

However in the past 2 weeks we have trained her to use a dog flap and 99 % of the time she will use it to go outside to the toilet with the occasional accident. My question is am I making a rod for my own back by not house training her to 'ask' to go out before she has the freedom of the dog flap.

The only times you will encounter problems with this is if anyone has to look after your dog in their own home and they don't have a dog flap, or if you visit someone for any length of time. Alternatively if you move it may be a problem. My whippet learned to use a dog flap, and then I moved to a house without a secure garden, and it was hell going back to basics.

Dog flaps are great, and I understand why you've got one, but you may just encounter some problems in the future.

The only way I've now managed to get my whippet house trained now is to take him for 4 walks a day. Exhausting stuff!

Some never assk to go out. Two of mine just sit and look at you hoping you will twig they want out. Another just goes when she is let our, and never asks, and the oldest makes it abundantly clear when she wants out!!!

If you let her out at regular intervqals throughout the day and ensure she has been, then she should prefer not to go indoors.

Having learnt my lesson from teaching Bonnie to 'ask' (ie bark) when she wanted to go out, I'm now trying to teach Missy to ask by touching me with her paw - every time I see her at the door, or if I ask if she wants to go out, I touch her on the nose with my hand before letting her out, at the same time saying in an 'excited' voice 'do you want to go out?' - and yesterday for the first time she came and found me and pawed me to tell me she wanted out........