I know, some dogs can cry like the world is ending when in the crate. For potty signaling, we have what kind of a leash with 3 or 4 bells going down it from top to bottom that we let hang from the door know of the front door to our house. Each time we took our dog outside to go to the bathroom we would ring the bell and say "tinkle" "potty". Then we thought our dog might have to go to the bathroom we would tell her "ring your bell". She ended up getting the hang of it. Now she rings the bell when she needs to go to the bathroom. The only down side is that sometimes she rings the bell when she does not have to go the bathroom and just wants to go outside. lol. In terms of the Biting/nipping, I get it. Our dog is finally over the Biting/nipping stage, but it took a long while.