House Training

Question
Hello, my name is Melanie and my husband and I just got a boxer puppy about a month ago. We have an underground fence so we leave her outside all day when we are at work and let her inside in the evenings and at night, letting her out about every hour. The first couple of weeks that we had her she didn't have any "accidents" in the house but the last few weeks we have had a problem with her urinating inside. Alot of the time she will do it right in the middle of playing fetch or running around. Do you have any suggestions on how we can train her to let us know when she needs out. We have been putting her outside each time she does it but we aren't sure how long we should leave her out before we bring her back in and start playing again. Thank You.  

Answer
Hi Melanie!  Make going outside a routine.  I always found it helpful to say "Wanna go outside?" When outside, stay with her and I know it's "corny" but say to her "go pee pee/poo poo" and she will soon recognize these terms and what going outside means.  Stay with her outside until you see her go, then reward her with a treat and/or praises like "Good Girl!  You go pee pee outside!" and make a really big deal out of it.  In no time, when you say "Wanna go outside?" she will run to the door to go out and do her business outside....and catch on even more so she will just go to the door and/or bark when she has to go.  I hope this helps and best of luck!  Boxers are a very intelligent breed, so I'm sure she'll catch on in no time!  Just remember...be consistant and patient.  If she messes on the floor inside your home, show it to her and tell her "no, we go pee pee outside" and while you clean it up, continually use the word "no"...she will catch on that this is NOT the right thing to do!
Best of luck and give her tons of welcome home kisses for me!
Hilary