One of the things I decided almost immediately was that I needed to teach Maya a way to tell me she needed to go out other than just walking to the door. If I'm in another room or studying, I might not notice that she needs to go out. When my brother's dog was a puppy, he taught her to ring a bell when she needed to go out. I figured this would work perfectly.
I remember he had a little Christmas-type bell that he tied on a string around the doorknob. He would hit the bell every time he took her out, and she made the connection. So I got a bell, tied it to the doorknob, and every time I took her out, I would hit the bell. She was just starting to hit the bell when she needed to go out. And then we went out of town.
I made the mistake of not taking the bell to my parents' house last weekend, and by the time we got back, she had forgotten everything that she had learned. Right now I'm having to keep an eye on her because she's not ringing, but at least she's going to the door. Guess we're starting over on this one.
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