I'm pretty confident in Millie's toilet training, in that she has been trained for about 5-6 months now, knows exactly where to go, apart from two incidents, one when we had a stranger to stay for a while and one when she had a grass seed in her paw and couldn't walk properly, she always goes out to the garden, and if the door is shut, she barks to notify me she wants to go out.

When visiting relatives, she is also perfect at my mum's, my sister's, father-in-law's houses, she knows where the garden is and when she wants to go she goes out there to the right place.  However, OH has friends who live in a top floor flat and whenever he takes her round there, she poos and wees on their carpet.

I have been blaming this on him, because I have no doubt he takes her round there, then gets on the computer for the next two hours and completely forgets about her.  And obviously she can't see a back door with a garden so she doesn't know what to do.  I said when he takes her there, 20 minutes after getting there he should ask her if she wants a wee, then take her downstairs to the outside, regardless of whether she wants to go or not, then bring her up and repeat at 30 minute intervals.

However I went round there on Sunday, got in, and almost immediately asked her if she wanted a wee, took her downstairs but she wouldn't go (this could however have something to do with the fact I had to keep one foot in the main entrance door as I wouldn't have been able to get in, and she couldn't find a 'good enough' spot in the amount of space the borrowed retractable lead would allow her - there isn't much grass there, and she does prefer grass to go on). She didn't go, so I figured I would bring her out again every 20 minutes or so, until she had drummed into her that when she needs a wee she has to go all the way downstairs and outside (and let me know, obviously).  However five minutes after we got back upstairs she pooed and weed on the carpet.

Anyway, it struck me that if this is the case, its no good me thinking I will be able to take her in hotels in the future because it will be exactly the same thing - she won't be able to see a back door and a garden so she will just go on the carpet.  Many would say this means she isn't housetrained at all, just going where she prefers to go at home (the garden), yet if I ask her to go and do a wee (every night before bedtime) and during the day if we are going out somewhere), she knows exactly what I mean and goes and does it, so she is trained, and she knows in other people's houses with a garden that she must go out in the garden.

But in this flat, she never lets one of us know, doesn't bark at the door, she just lets it out on the carpet.  One thing, these friends do have a dog who occasionally goes on the carpet himself - not when Millie's been there but obviously she would get the smell, so could this be the reason why she's following suit?

I guess I just need tips on how to get her to let me know she needs to go out - I think the problem is that the front door doesn't lead outside, but to a hallway, with two flights of stairs, and another hallway and a doorway...so she doesn't connect barking at the front door to going to do a wee outside.  But it needs solving, as I want to be able to take her in hotels/caravans/chalets in the future.  I have no actual plans for this, but its best to plan ahead and try and sort it now, in case I do want to.

oh yes, and also before our friends ask me to pay for a new carpet lol

I would just treat her as tho u were still house training her. Since she know's what outside go pee means just ask her....I always worry when Iam at a friends with Tiva (who is 6 years old, or my other dogs cause u just never know) and all I say to her is you gotta go outside go pee, and she gets all happy and wiggles her bum and out we go....Maybe keep her on leash while you are there, this way where ever you go so does she.

TBH, 2 hours isnt really long to wait to go to the toilet. Unless she has a problem. I live in a flat, not a tower block one though. Its a big old houe that was converted into 4 large flats, it has its own garden.

Flat or House, they should still show some sign of needing the loo, be it barking like your's, pawing the door, or what mine does, goes and sits by the front door for you, then comes and gets his lead. :D

Yeah, she can go that long, she sometimes goes longer than 12 hours at night (i.e. is in no rush to go the next morning), always 'holds it' when she's in the car, in shops etc., so I think she must think its okay to go in the flat - either because she's done it before (she does it out of sight in the dark hall so nobody realises in time to stop her, and tell her no or distract her,  and even if seen, it takes 15 minutes to get shoes back on, keys for the door, get the dog, find the lead, get it on, door open, stop their dog escaping, find the lightswitch for the stairs, down the stairs and out to the outside world at by which time she's not going to connect what she's done to what she should be doing) or because she can smell that Smudger has done it.  Also she has never 'been' anywhere near the outside of their block of flats, and you know what bitches are like - if they can't smell where they've been before, they don't want to go, so they sniff around for 20 mins then head back for the warmth!

By like you say, she should show some sign of letting me know she wants to go, like she does at home or at other people's houses, but there she doesn't, she just goes when she needs to!  I was at their house on Friday night and I did what I said I would and took her outside every 20 minutes, asking her if she wants to do a wee first and then taking her (to kind of 'drum it in' in the hope she will understand) but she didn't go outside, but fortunately she didn't go inside either, she held it for 2 hours and went when she got home.  OH took her back there the next morning for a couple of hours, and she didn't go then either until they took the dogs out for a walk, so maybe (just maybe) she is getting the hang of it.

But you never can tell! Maybe she just didn't need to go whilst she was in the flat!

I suppose there could be an element of excitement in it, she's never done 'excitement wees' before, but maybe she gets excited and normally rushes to go outside everywhere else we go, whereas when she gets there and sees Smudger and gets all excited, she's too excited to tell me, and doesn't want to wait till she gets outside as that would mean leaving him behind, so maybe she's being super-intelligent and knows that if she lets me know, she will be taken away from her lovely friend for ten minutes, so best to keep quiet and let what happens, happen and stay by his side (or rather on his head...)....but then maybe not, lol

LOL :D

She probably has smealt that 'smudger' has done it there before, and thinks it's ok. At least she sounds like she is getting the hang of it now. Maybe an idea to get some of those pads you can get that draw the dog to wee on it. Then put it ina bag and take it upto the flat. When you go outside for a wee, put it down, and she'll soon get used to weeing there (outside ;))

After a few times, dont take the sheet, and see if she goes, try to take it to the same spot each time though.

HTH :D

That's a good idea! Ta!

I can suggest several things:-
1) Train her to wee on command
2) Don't let her leave you side when in the flat, certainly not out into the hall
3) Don't take her there

I must say I think your friends sound amazingly tolerant, I certainly would not have invited you back the second time :) I presume you or your partner have been the ones cleaning up :p :)

lol@isobel, they are tolerant but I think because their dog does it, they don't take much notice - they always have cloths and dog wee spray at the ready - but it doesn't stop me being any less embarrased.  She does wee on command at home, i.e. if we are going out somewhere or at night, but she is still allowed to go when she wants (in the garden) at home during the day, without having to hold it until certain times when I command it - is that normal for dogs to only ever do it on command?  It seems a bit restricting, but I'm still learning!!

I try not to let her out in the hall, but there's two problems - one that two excited dogs tend to run all over the place.  Especially Millie being a puppy she is still a bundle of energy that just goes hyper whenever she sees one of her doggy friends - in fact she's the same if she visits someone without a dog.  She's incredibly happy and when she goes visiting she almost bursts with excitement and doesn't sit still for more than 20 seconds before she's off again.  My sister has named her the tazmanian devil because she's like a whirlwind. The second problem is that usually their kids are in bed, and they leave the living room door open to keep watch because the kids like to sneak out of their rooms at night, particularly if visitors are round, so they keep their living room door open on purpose to watch them and in their small living room with four adults and two dogs you really need the door open anyway. 

So I think option c is probably best - don't take her there!  You've probably hit the nail on the head!

But then ah...problem...like I said before if we stay in a hotel in the future we will have the same problem so I do need to think of a way around it.  The bells sound like a good idea tohme.  Not sure she won't use them for attention 24 hours a day, just to wind me up, I'll have permanent ringing in my ears!  But I might give it a go.

Thanks everyone for all your tips, you've given me plenty to work on!

If you teach your dog to ring a bell every time it needs to go out then you can take the bell with you wherever you go so that although the environment is different, the bell remains the same.

Large jingle bells that people use at Christmas can be placed on a rope and attached to a handle.