[Gunnarsmum]

Has anyone done this and how early do you start? I wanted to do this because if at some point in Gunner's life, I'd like to hear the he has to go potty if I'm not exactly right there.. What steps do you take?

 

[GusGus18]

I'm curious about this as well. I will soon have another puppy, including the one puppy that I already have, and this would be a very handy thing for my pups to get down.

 

[ozzymama]

Dh trained ours to do it. It took a weekend. Basically (our dogs were 6mos and 8 years old when they learned, well potty trained) everytime they went to the door and wanted out, or started pacing a bit, dh took them over to the door and made the bell ring, now Ozzy is the nosiest dog ever, if you touch something, he wants to touch something, so once dh got his nose touching the bell and associating going outside with the bell, basically requiring Ozzy touch the bell before he got let out, he started ringing the bell whenever he needed out. It's a great trick, but I swear I hear bells ringing in my sleep

- Good Luck

 

[Shugmort]

I did this with Roxie and am starting with Falken now. I started the day I brought him home, at about 10-1/2 weeks. I have the bells hanging from the back slider door, where they go out to do their business. I put the pup in a sit to put on his leash, say "let's go potty" and then ring the bells (which are at a height right at Falken's nose). It's been about 2 weeks so now I'm starting to put Falken's nose to the bells to ring them so he gets the idea. The key is consistency, every time they go out to potty ring that bell. (I admit it's taken me a little time to remember to ring the bell myself) And they go out to potty and right back inside, no playing after ringing the bell. As soon as they figure out they go out when they ring the bell they will start ringing it just to go out and play !! Roxie got the hang of it very quickly, within a couple weeks. Falken is taking to it slowly, he's rung the bell 2 or 3 times on his own but not sure if it was on purpose or not LOL!

Good luck!

 

[Tonto]

We accidentally did this over Christmas when we hung bells on the backdoor. I guess the bells would jingle when we opened the door. After about a week my dog starting ringing the bells on his own. We still have the bells back hanging up, sure beats his other method of alerting me that he needed to go out. He would come up out of nowhere and just start nipping at me. Finally figured out that was his way of saying I need to go potty!

 

[Meb]

I tryed to do this but bought the actual door chime like for your house instead of bells. It didnt work for Meb cause at the time he wasnt heavy enough when he stepped on the door bell and I even tried to put a flat rock on top of it for weight but it still didnt work. Good luck though, I guess the actual bells work good

 

[Helly]

Jackson rings a bell to go out. We started out holding his paw and hitting the bells with it and saying "let's go outside"...everytime...finally after a couple of weeks, he finally started ringing it on his own.

Its really cute, plus it saves on the guesswork

 

[SunCzarina]

My neighbors are trying to teach their 5 month old terrier to use a bell. He's not getting it but my shepherd is! Every time Morgan hears the bell, she runs over to wait for the puppy through at the fence.

 

[Skye'sMom]

Skye learned to ring the bells on her visit at my house before I adopted her. She was 4 months old.

My other dogs rang the bells to go out and she almost immediately nudged the bells to magically make the door open.

In most cases, if you just make the bells ring everytime, then open the door your dog will pick it up. Some in a few attempts, some in a few days.

It works great for dogs like mine who just do not bark to go out.

 

[Barb E]

Originally Posted By: SunCzarinaMy neighbors are trying to teach their 5 month old terrier to use a bell. He's not getting it but my shepherd is! Every time Morgan hears the bell, she runs over to wait for the puppy through at the fence.

 

[3K9Mom]

Camper learned to ring the bell, and I could tell by the intensity of the ring how quickly I needed to get to the door. If he crashed into the bells, he had to go BAD, and I ran to the door, opening it as fast as humanly possible. A little tink-tink of the bell and I could saunter over.

 

[Shugmort]

That is EXACTLY what Roxie does !

She doesn't ring the bell that often anymore, she can communicate to me in other ways that she has to go (picture 80 lbs of GSD blocking the TV and staring at you

) But if I don't get the message, she'll slam into the bells as if to say "it's now or never mom" LOL

 

[Nerrej]

I'm not having any success with this. Sasha just doesn't seem to be getting it. I say "out" then I take her nose, tap the bell, and open the door. She goes, I treat, and we go back in. We've been at it for about 10 weeks. The only reason I know she has to go out is by body language. If I'm not watching, there will be an accident.

 

[JohnS311]

I've done it with 3 dogs. One of them being my Chinese Crested Powderpuff. The other was a boxer owned by my brothers girlfriend, and them with a Border Collie/Rott mix. It's extrememly effective and easy for them to pick up on. But they get smart to it eventually, ringing the bell to go and and them waiting on the deck until I open the door, then they look up at me wondering where their treat is. HAHA!!!