Bell Training

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dt42645

Boxer Pal
We have been using the bell training for our new pup. I don't think he is catching on quite yet. When we close the door after he goes to the bathroom the bell jingles. Is this going to confuse him? I try to close it very slowly but I bought a cow bell and it rings fairly easily.
 

gmacleod

Elusive Moderator
Staff member
No, it shouldn't confuse him. It is not the noise of the bell ringing that he is learning to associate with the door opening. It is the act of ringing the bell. Lifting his paw or shoving the bell with his nose. The action that produces a result (ie. you coming and opening the door for him).

The noise factor is irrelevant - to him. That part is for YOU.

I'm not sure how long you've been trying to teach him... but on average, it should take about 3 weeks for him to start to catch on. But if you take his paw or otherwise assist him to ring the bell every time you're about to take him out, then in time you should reach a point where you can encourage him to lift his own paw (or nose) and ring it (don't ring it for him though - as already mentioned, it's not the noise it makes he needs to associate with the door opening, but his own action in ringing it). Once he starts doing that, then he will quickly catch on to the cause/effect and start to use it to let you know when he needs/wants out.
 

kidzarme

Boxer Insane
Gmcleod-
I'm about to start using the bells too. Since Shae loves anything that makes noise and nearly had a fit wanting them, just when I showed her the new bells today.........will that cause any problem when I hook them to the door, if she plays with them at any time? Maybe not the first day as she will surely play with them constantly, but after that, should I take her out, every single time she bothers them and makes them ring, even if she's only playing? Right now, she does go to the door and sit and I always let her outside when she does this. Sometimes she just goes out to snoop around and does not potty if we don't go along and encourage her. I know this cause she has came right in and proceeded to pee on the floor within 5 mins before! But I still let her out every time she goes to the door. It's just that I can't always 100% of the time go right along with her at that second so I still let her out in our fenced yard. As long as we are vigilant about going out with her and encouraging her, she almost always potties outside and hasn't had hardly any accidents this week. We take the treats and tell her be a 'good girl' and shake the treat bag and she'll usually go right then and come to us for the treat. Sorry for the longie...
 

gmacleod

Elusive Moderator
Staff member
Yes, you have to respond each and every time the puppy rings the bell. Even when you KNOW she's only ringing them to play, or because she wants to go outside to play. She will only work out the cause/effect thing if you respond every single time.

Put another way, you can only start to be selective about which instances you answer the bell once you're certain that the puppy understands about toilet training - ie. that she must potty outside every single time. And that won't be for several months.

Does that make sense to you? Bell training is NOT housetraining. Housetraining, as in the full understanding by the puppy of pottying outside only AND holding on if the door doesn't open when required, is something that takes several months to master - going out with the dog, praising wildly the successes, and eliminating as far as possible any opportunities for her to get it wrong. All belltraining does is give the dog a means of communicating to you her need/wish to go outside. That's very useful! But the need/wish is not necessarily going to be potty related. Nonetheless, you must still respond every time up until the dog is housetrained (because if you only respond sometimes, she'll only ring it sometimes).

If you think she's going to play with it excessively at first, I'd suggest hanging it at a height that she has to make a bit of effort to reach. That won't 100% solve the problem of her ringing it just because she's playing with it (as opposed to wanting to go out to play or to potty), but it will probably cut down on the length of time she plays just for the sake of it.
 

kidzarme

Boxer Insane
Thanks so much, Gmacleod! THat's what I thought but didn't want to do the wrong thing for her. At this point, the only thing she does is sit by the door and if I'm not there to see....:-( So I thought maybe if she'll catch on to the bell, that will give her another way to alert me. She's doing better in general the past couple weeks but I know it takes TIME! Thanks for the quick response!
 

msswitch2u

Boxer Pal
Ohhh!!! I hung a bell today...one of the large brass Christmas types. Gunner looked at me like I had lost my mind when *I* rang it. It is low enough for the little guy to have to work at ringing it...so I will make sure from this point I take his paw and have him "box" at it.

We are having "potty training issues" but I am aware that it is due to his age. I think I just need to train myself. ;)
 
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