# Anyone use a bell to potty train?



## Ginagbaby1 (Aug 1, 2011)

I've been hearing a lot about teaching a puppy to ring a bell when they want to go out to potty. I have the general idea of it but was wondering if anyone has any tips? I'm going to hang some bells right next to our sliding glass door and will ring it everytime we take Casper out to potty. I was also planning to bring some bells with me outside so that he associates the bell ringing with actually pottying. He is learning what the word "potty" means and will sometimes go when I tell him to go potty. 

Thank you,


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## WestCoastSpoo (May 11, 2011)

Yes I've done this with all my dogs and it's very helpful (especially since I always have dogs that NEVER bark - they just stare out the door and if I'm not paying attention I don't see their cue). Anyway, I just ring the bells every time I open the door. I never ring it while they are actually peeing - that would be pretty confusing. Because the bell doesn't mean "urinate now" it means "open the door please I need to go out". Bell rings, door opens. Your dog knows what to do once he gets outside so I wouldn't complicate things by ringing it other places.

My dogs all got it very quickly without any other training - bell rings, door opens. Pretty simple (even for my Great Dane who, bless his sweet soul, just wasn't as smart as a poodle)


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

I used a bell with Alex when he was a puppy. He would go to the bedroom door and ring the bell to indicate he needed to go out. None of mine will bark--I just get the stare, and that doesn't work so well when I'm asleep. Thankfully Merlin will give me the paw. 

I tried using the bell on the door leading to the patio but they insist on using the insistent, laser beam stare.


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## WestCoastSpoo (May 11, 2011)

http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/8980-teaching-bell-ringing.html

Here's another thread that discusses bell ringing and training. I think if you search for bell ringing you might find a lot more too, but this one has videos and pictures and all sorts of fun stuff!! LOL


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## Ginagbaby1 (Aug 1, 2011)

Thank you so much for the link. Our problem is that Casper doesn't really know what he's supposed to do once he gets outside . We take him out when he awakes from a nap, after he plays, after he eats and many times in between all these times but sometimes he just goes out and wants to play or will even just lay down on his belly with his legs sticking straight out. I was hoping that by ringing the bells when we actually go out and ringing them while he is doing his business he will make the connection that that is what he's supposed to be doing. I can see though how it can seem confusing...


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Awwww ;___; baby Vegas


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## lilypoo (Jul 25, 2011)

How funny--I just bought bells tonight to see if I can train Lily to ring them. She doesn't signal me yet when she needs to go--I just take her often and hope for the best. I have the same issues with her not seeming to know that she's out there to POTTY. Sometimes if it's windy or there's a dog barking or the neighbors are being noisy, she gets distracted and goofs off, or scared and wants to go back inside. I'm clicker training her though and I give her a click and treat right at the end of peeing or pooping. I'd recommend that over ringing the bell again outside.


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## norahl (Jul 27, 2011)

*bells*

Yes, I did the bells. Russell starting using it to just go out. I ignored the bell once, right after we had gotten in from the potty, and he got mad. He ripped the bells off the door post, threw them into the middle of the room and "stomped" out. What a Diva for a dude! I go with the icy stare now. Thankfully he knows to bark if no one's in the room to stare at.


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## Ginagbaby1 (Aug 1, 2011)

Thank you everyone. Norahl, I loved your little story and could just imagine the bells flying in the middle of the room like that! I put up the bells today and I have been ringing them when I take him out to potty. Hopefully he makes the connection. I'm having so many potty issues...


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

norahl said:


> I ignored the bell once, right after we had gotten in from the potty, and he got mad. He ripped the bells off the door post, threw them into the middle of the room and "stomped" out.


Hey, Russell! U da man!! lol .... What a great story. 

I read thru this thread thinking . . If either of my *almost* 7 year old dogs rang a bell I'd just look at them and say "Yr gettin' out when I'm good and ready to take u out. 'Til then? . . hold it!" lol

But it raises the question. Has anybody ever bell-trained a dog who's then grown up to a point where they're only going out for walks anyway? Do they keep ringing the bell? . . . or eventually stop bothering...


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## spoospirit (Mar 10, 2009)

_I tried bell ringing. It was fine at first...until my dog realized it got him outside. Then the bells were ringing all the time and it became annoying. I finally had to take them down.

My dogs do not bark in the house unless we have a critter outside or someone comes up the drive. When they want to go outside, they walk over to me or my husband, stand there quietly starring at you and wag their tails. That is how they let us know they need to go out to potty now. Not as convenient as bell ringing for sure as you need to be sure you see them waiting for you.

I know that this has worked for others and kudos to you. I would have liked to have used that method. 

Good luck with your bell training._


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## penny_ann (May 29, 2010)

I use the bells for both of mine. Penny took a little while to get use to them. In the begining, I used her paw then she would swipe at the every time we went out. By the time we got Ollie, Penny was using the bells to go out and Ollie learned mostly by watching her. I did use his paw to swipe it a few times. I think he had the advantage though and learned pretty quickly.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

Yeah, there was a time when Nickel would ring the bell just to go outside. In order not to ruin the training, I continued to open the door for him every time he rang the bell. BUT when he rang the bell, went out and not using the litterbox, I told him "too bad" and carried him inside and put him behind bars and ignored him for 5 or 10 mins. After doing this a few times, he got the idea: ring bell => door open => no potty => punishment

Now he rings the bell only if he wants to go potty. If he just wants to check out the view or his neighbors, he would sit in front of the patio door and stare at it REALLY hard.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Pretty slick Schnauzerpoodle. I am going to use all these hints. I just got bells for Swizzle yesterday. I don't even get the intense stare. Fortunately I have the potty box as back up.


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## norahl (Jul 27, 2011)

Gina, for such smart dogs, I had a hard time too. When you're about to take him out, put a tiny smear of butter on the bell. Licking at the butter, he'll ring the bell _himself_. That's what did it for Russell. You only have to use butter once, he'll continue to smell at it for a week. Hopefully he'll be done by then. Of course ring the bell yourself whenever you see another cue. Good luck, I feel your pain.
It's embarrassing to mention, but the cat got it before Russell. Maybe watching her is what really trained him!


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

I never ring the bell myself. I always grabbed his paw to ring it. I don't want the dog to think that it's a ritual of MINE.


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

I rang the bell myself in the beginning. I just wanted him to associate the sound of the bell with the door opening. The first day he rang the bell himself I ran over to let him out and I could see his eyes light up. He caught on really quickly and started ringing the bell himself (he pokes it with his nose). 

We also went through a period where he rang the bell just for fun or just to go out and play. My solution: From the beginning, every time he rings the bell I take him out on a leash to his potty spot and tell him "go potty." If he wants to play or jump on me, we go straight back in. Him ringing the bell doesn't mean I just open the door, it means we have a potty trip (I still do this). It is more work, but easier for him to get the point of ringing the bell (I think). If he rings and I know he doesn't have to go, I will ignore him or take the bell down for an hour or so. He mostly uses it for potty now, although sometimes he wants to go burry his bone in the yard. 

The bell was a lifesaver. We struggled with potty training and after the bell he never had an accident in the house again.


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## EmilyK (Mar 26, 2011)

I was just thinking of trying this because we've had a couple of accidents recently when we didn't notice him sitting by the door. He is too quiet and then easily distracted away from there by the kids (who are distracting us into not noticing him as well). But then I started thinking the kids would just end up ringing the bell and it would all just be a big game that had nothing to do with going potty...


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## royaltygirl (Apr 30, 2011)

Olivia picked up the bell on the first try! Now that the squirrel is outside, the bell is ringing all day! Oliver the cat also rings the bell when he wants to go out and bird watch. He is an inside cat but since we started the bell system, he goes out everyday and sits on the back patio. He has even learned to sit and sit pretty for a treat because of watching Olivia's training. I think he thinks he is a dog! lol It is hilarious to watch a really fat cat do tricks! I am working on lay next!


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

Ginagbaby1 said:


> I've been hearing a lot about teaching a puppy to ring a bell when they want to go out to potty. I have the general idea of it but was wondering if anyone has any tips? I'm going to hang some bells right next to our sliding glass door and will ring it everytime we take Casper out to potty. I was also planning to bring some bells with me outside so that he associates the bell ringing with actually pottying. He is learning what the word "potty" means and will sometimes go when I tell him to go potty.
> 
> Thank you,


Wondering how the bell training is going??


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