Bell Training

[Cami]

My girl, (as a pup) learned the bell in about 3 hours.
I put the bell on the floor and let her "play" with it. Getting used to the sound (you never know what sounds will spook them). Once she was used to the sound I took it from her but held it within her view. I walked to the door, rang the bell myself and immediately opened the door, closed the door, rang the bell, etc....over and over until she associated the ringing with the door opening up.
At this point SHE WANTED THE BELL......I then hung it from the door. She went after it with her nose, it rang and I opened the door. She went out BUT wanted back inside to "play" with the bell (I was also praising like CRAZY)....also saying "bell" and "ring it" each time she made it make a noise.
This went on for quite a while. Ring, open, close.
I took the bell away and out of her sight to test if she understood what the noise meant.
She got interested in something else and then I placed the bell back on the door out of her sight. I then rang it myself and she came running! I opened the door and from that moment on she knew what it meant. Sound equals door opening.
She utilized the bell for a solid year until I got tired of hearing it and now she just goes to the door, sits and strikes it with her paw.
Between her and the CAT ringing the bell it was getting a little crazy. The cat knew that when the bell rang the dog went outside. She liked to get the dog outside so she could play with a specific toy (only allowed when Cami was outside). The dog would be in another room and the cat would get her to come by ringing the bell. ERRRRR!!!!!

You can also put some peanut butter on the bell so that they have no choice but to get interested in it and ring it.

 

[kayboxer]

Well, Buster will ring the bell with his nose, but not hard enough for me to hear it. :( Olive still has no clue. Problem is Buster goes to the door and does it before Olive (you know, the alfa thing). So when I open the door for him, she runs out too! I have to try to stop her and make her do it, but she won't focus because she is watching Buster outside. I've decided to go check out the doorbells one previous poster suggested. I just can't hear the little bell and Buster won't ring it hard enough for me to hear it. At least he is doing it though, so I think I can get him to use a doorbell too. Poor guys, that will be so confused because mommy can't hear the stupid cow bell!

 

[Barron's mom]

Zeus is bell trained, too. I purchased the poochie bells and hung them on the door knob. What worked for me in getting Zeus to ring the bells after saying a comand word was to hold a treat on the other side of the bell so he would have to put his nose right on the bell to get the treat. As soon as he rang the bell, I praised him and let him out. I also purchased bells for my bedroom door (where he sleeps) because I found he would sometimes go downstairs in the middle of the night and "do his business." Now, I close the door and he has to ring the bell to get out.

 

[larrygs]

This is an interesting thread. As with Cami, Layla took to bell training pretty quick. However as others have said, realize unintended consequences, ie you are also being trained, LOL.

Sometimes Layla just wants to spend time on the deck. Or she will see a bird or something outside, run high speed to the door, slamming the bells, turn and look at us impatiently. After all she is in a hurry and the bird might get away.

Once she decided she needed a car ride. We use the deck door for walking her to do her business, that is where the bells hang. The garage door is for getting in the car. She was well accustomed to this. You can imagine our surprise when she rang the bells, then walked us purposefully aroung the house, into the garage and to the car door.

Have fun!

 

[kayboxer]

This is an interesting thread. As with Cami, Layla took to bell training pretty quick. However as others have said, realize unintended consequences, ie you are also being trained, LOL.

Sometimes Layla just wants to spend time on the deck. Or she will see a bird or something outside, run high speed to the door, slamming the bells, turn and look at us impatiently. After all she is in a hurry and the bird might get away.

Once she decided she needed a car ride. We use the deck door for walking her to do her business, that is where the bells hang. The garage door is for getting in the car. She was well accustomed to this. You can imagine our surprise when she rang the bells, then walked us purposefully aroung the house, into the garage and to the car door.

Have fun!

How funny! Smart little buggers aren't they! Well, it is going well. I went to Walmart and got a suction cup so I could hang the bell lower on the door. It worked! Olive could reach it and started ringing the bell. She doesn't do it if I ask them if they want to go out, only if she is by herself by the door (which is what I want). Buster nudges it with his nose, but it very quiet. We are working on him doing it a bit harder, but they are getting there!

 

[KWilson]

All of these tips and tricks are so helpful gosh...I don't know what I would do if I didn't have BW!