# Bell training for potty



## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

All this work and times shakeing the bells and haveing Tucker touch the bells before we go outside is finally paying off!

Just about 10 minutes ago he walked over to the door. Shook the bells (all by himself) and walked and sat beside my chair and looked at the door. 

I'm so proud of my booger butt! He is doing so good!

Does anyone else bell train? What methods do you use? What kind of bell do you use? I just have a ribbon with bells strung to it hanging on the door.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

I have the same one you do. I started Bridget off on day one. A few people here told me some dogs never catch on. I don't really understand how any dog couldn't. All it is a trick used to communicate. 

The way I trained is to simply hold the treat over the dog and trick Bridget into hitting it before going out. Once the bell is hit the treat is given and we go outside. Sometimes she'd do it just to get a treat and again we'd still go outside. I slowly backed off on the treats but she was left with an understanding that ringing that bell means outside because that is what always happened.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

I did this with Tucker, I started by encouraging him to poke it with his nose for a treat and outside time. Once he caught on and actually hit the bells hard enough to be heard I stopped treats so that bell just meant outside. Unfortunately he soon began hitting the bell a LOT, just to go outside for fun, and I was torn because on the one hand I knew he didn't have to go potty but on the other hand I didn't want him to think the bell had become useless. So we'd go out to his potty spot, wait a couple of minutes, then come back in. He still hit it too much lol. So I took it down after a few months, but he had learned to go over and stand by the door because that's where the bells were. for some reason he never stands by the door unless he actually has to potty, so it works great. I don't regret the bells at all because without them he would never have learned to go stand by the door to go out, in the end they accomplished what we needed, a way for the dog to ask to go out.


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## Deaf Dogs (Apr 10, 2012)

I taught this to Oliver too... unfortunately he was the same as Tucker... he started hitting it everytime he was bored, so the bells came down. I taught him by asking him to touch (his cue for hitting something with his paw) then clicking and rewarding him with going outside.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

Sheba started using them right away, especially when she found out I would let her out when she nosed the bells. Funny, my cat watched Sheba doing it and started ringing them herself. Sheba was sleeping next to me by the computer when I heard the bells ring and a Meow or two coming from the door. I never showed her how to do it.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

I think it works well for me because we don't have any yard. They potty on the treelawn. So when we go out, its to potty. Unless he sees all the leashes and their working collars in my hands, then he knows we are going, but he knows its on my time, not his.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

I guess this is where having stubborn dog works out for you. Bridget refused to do anything for me if I didn't have any treats. Jumping up and ringing that bell was a trick to her so she wouldn't do it if she didn't smell treats on me. I guess one day she wanted to go out and realized that go outside to potty was also a rewarded so she rings the bell for that to. If she wants to go outside to play she will get my attention, drag me to the window and bark towards it. This means something interesting is going on outside and she wants to get a closer look. If she just lays by the door it normally means she wants exercise and fresh air.


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## tuckersmom20 (Dec 12, 2010)

I can tell you some dogs don't catch the drift lol.

I have tried teachIng tuck so many times... He knows touch is to touch my hand... So I used touch for him to touch the bells. He understood... I'd say ring your bells and he'd do it, and I'd let him out.
But for some reason he correlation of ringing and potty didn't catch on.

Now duke, he's my dumb dumb lol.
Of course the dumbo catches on.
He rings them so loud you can hear them anywhere in this house.
If you dont respond quickly he rings them harder slamming them off the wall lol!
He does get impatient, but st least he catches the idea lol!


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## StdPooDad (Mar 16, 2012)

Teaghan just stands by the back door and looks (unless the doggie door is open)


Seamus very politely taps the door with his nails. He'll tap...wait a while, then tap again...it's quite funny, and very effective.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

I don't really actively train. 

I just hung bells and they ring them.


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

I've always wondered what happens if you go to another persons house and they don't have a bell?

Like my dogs just go to the door (Flynn whines and Piper just stares at it for awhile and then goes up to one of us, and then back to the door).


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

We really only wanted it for housebreaking because he was having a lot of accidents, we wanted to make sure he could tell us he had to go. Now that he's housebroken he just goes out when we take him out, he's on a schedule and he's capable of holding his bladder if he needs to. But I think if the bells suddenly disappear for a bell trained dog they'll go over to where the bells usually are, that's why my dog will wait by the door if he has to go, the bells used to be there.


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

We trained Emma with bells when she was only about three months old. We use catfishing bells on one door and my mom's christmas sleigh bells on the other door. LOL She learned it pretty quickly so long as we hit her paw with it every time she went out. Now of course she uses her nose when she does it herself. She is 13 months old and really doesn't need the bells anymore but they are nnice to have because she does use them. After a walk or off leash run she always has to pee about ten minutes after we get home and it is nice of her to remind me to get her out.


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

KittyKat said:


> I've always wondered what happens if you go to another persons house and they don't have a bell?
> 
> Like my dogs just go to the door (Flynn whines and Piper just stares at it for awhile and then goes up to one of us, and then back to the door).



If we will be gone at some one else's house for a while, Some times I will take them with me. If I forget, its just more frequent potty breaks than normal to make sure Tuck doesn't have an accident. Some of my friends and Family already have bells. some times (Like at my Dads/uncles/grandmas) the dogs generally stay out side if it is nice because they love to be back in the barn. When they come inside, they go into the finished basement where my dads apartment is and they can get out to potty if they want. Some times they will just bark.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

when your dog shook the bells did you praise, treat and take him out?



Makovach said:


> All this work and times shakeing the bells and haveing Tucker touch the bells before we go outside is finally paying off!
> 
> 
> >>>> Just about 10 minutes ago he walked over to the door. Shook the bells (all by himself) and walked and sat beside my chair and looked at the door. <<<<<
> ...


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## Makovach (Jan 24, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> when your dog shook the bells did you praise, treat and take him out?


We don't use treats. If he gets treats, he expects one every time. If the treats stop, he stops doing it. I don't prefer to train with treats often. Usually only for harder things, but it is weaned off very quickly. But he did get lots of pets and scratches and a "Good boy!!" as well as outside automatically.


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## bridget246 (Oct 26, 2011)

KittyKat said:


> I've always wondered what happens if you go to another persons house and they don't have a bell?
> 
> Like my dogs just go to the door (Flynn whines and Piper just stares at it for awhile and then goes up to one of us, and then back to the door).


In my experience this wasn't a problem. Bridget knew that the door is behind the bell. She rings the bell, the door opens and we go out. No bell and she will jump on the door which can mess up the paint a little so you don't want to leave her doing that. Before actually jumping on the door she will get my attention by barking, growlig(not mean) and direct my attention towards the door so I know she has to go out. She hasn't had an accident in so long. The last time she had a little cannon butt and she did let me know but I wasn't fast enough. Normally she sleeps in the bedroom but those few nights she wanted to sleep right by the door so she could go out faster. Which of course meant I had to sleep close to the door to with my clothes on so I can get her out faster. Of course I didn't learn that until after she made a small mess. 



doggiedad said:


> when your dog shook the bells did you praise, treat and take him out?


That is what I did at first. I believe dogs like habits. If you get them doing it for so long then they will keep doing it. 



Makovach said:


> We don't use treats. If he gets treats, he expects one every time. If the treats stop, he stops doing it. I don't prefer to train with treats often. Usually only for harder things, but it is weaned off very quickly. But he did get lots of pets and scratches and a "Good boy!!" as well as outside automatically.


I use to think the same. So for the first 50-75 times out(about a month) she got a treat. The next month she would get a treat sometimes. To keep her doing it I would show her the treat but not give it. Instead I would give the treat when she used the bathroom outside. After the second month that went away too and it appeared my house training was done. 

Trying to start Carlos going on the same path hasn't really resulted in much success. He is going to have to relax when someone leaves the room before he stops having accidents. There has been a few times when he has done this within 10 to 15 minutes of going out. The bell doesn't solve this problem because I think it is his nerves that trigger it and he probably doesn't even realize he had to go.


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