Bell training

[fayebay1969]

For anyone having problems potty training, I would suggest at least trying it. I had the hardest time with Buddy. I got the doorknocker bells right before Christmas and he took to it like it was a game. He hasn't had any accidents since. Our problem was we couldn't hear him whining from the other side of the house. We touched his nose to the bell every time we took him out and it only took a couple of days. Now, he sounds like he's at batting practice if we don't get there quick enough for him. (he uses his paw now) But you're having trouble, what have you got to lose??

 

[JDuff]

isn't working!

We have been bell training religiously for over two weeks now and Layla doesn't seem to be getting it. I am trying now not to ring it for her but to wait there until she rings it and then open the door, but it's not clicking. It seems that most people have had a lot of success pretty quickly with this. Will she ever get it?

 

[JDuff]

Layla just rang the bell for the first time, just now! We had been religious about it for 3 weeks and she just got it! Hang in there!

 

[Bogey&me]

Be prepared!

I trained Bogey when he was still a pup and he took to it like a fish to water, but.....he now realizes that when he rings that bell that mom or dad comes runnin to let him out. So, if i'm in the shower and ther bell rings I have to get out and go open the door which is good and bad for obvious reasons. Good because he's letting me know that he needs/wants to go outside. Bad, when he ring the bell then just looks up at you like, "aren't you coming with me?" He didn't need to go do business, he wants to go play.....*sigh*

I'm thinking of getting another pup sometime soon and I'll train he on it as well. The good far outweighs the bad...

 

[Jill's boxer]

Question for those of you that use the bell-ringing method. I am bringing Daisy home in 3 weeks to our apartment. She will be 4 months old. Her first 4 months of her life she has been an outside only dog.
Should we focus first on training her to not just pee wherever she is and that she needs to go outside and then once she knows to go outside start teaching her the bell. Or should we start off with the bell and do it all at once?

I did not use the bell initially (b/c I had never heard of it!) but after reading about it here at BW, I decided to give it a try...Gracie took to it very well and it really helped with the housebreaking! I would say I started the bell about a month after we got Gracie, so we'd already been well into housebreaking by that point but the bell really brought it all home and actually sped up the training! I would treat Daisy as if she were a brand new puppy--watch her relentlessly for signs that she needs to go out, give her a "go potty" command when you do take her out, praise her like crazy for going outside...and as this was my first bell training experience, I am not sure if the others used it straight away or after initial housebreaking had begun, but I don't see why you can't use it straight off.

 

[Coopster2208]

The good far outweighs the bad...

We started Cooper on the bell a little late. A friend did it with their boxer, so we gave it a whirl, he took to it immediately. At first, when he would start whimpering like he had to go out we would ring it for him, then open the door, now he does it with his nose or head. We have one of our bells hanging on our back door, if the bells rings the door will open. We also keep Cooper in our room with us at night, so there is another on our bedroom door, so if he has to go in the middle of the night, we can hear it.

The good definitely out weighs the bad, because once your pup understands then they get a little bell crazy, Cooper hears the cat on the prowl in the hall *ring ring*, he notices a rabbit outside *ring ring*, it's nice out and he wants to sun bathe *ring ring*, he hears another dog barking down the street *ring ring*, he's bored *ring ring*, he left his ball outside *ring ring*... you get the idea, but I must say, since we started with the bell, we have had 2 maybe 3 accidents in 10 months... Best of luck to you!!

 

[Louise501]

What are the type of bells that you all use?

After reading through the posts I wondered what kind of bells do you all use, thanks!

 

[fayebay1969]

I didn't use the bell 1st off either. Buddy had started slipping on the potty training and having accidents. We didn't know if we just couldn't hear him whining or if he just wasn't. So, I got the idea from BW to try it. Within a few days of touching his nose to it, treating, doing his business, then treating again, he got it. It does get on my nerves a little when I'm cooking, he rings to go play outside but it sure beats accidents because he wants attention.

 

[xenaprincess]

After reading through the posts I wondered what kind of bells do you all use, thanks!

I use a strip of bells, kinda like Christmas bells that I bought in a craft store. There are 5 bells on it and I have it tacked to the moulding that's around the door, that way the bells won't ring when either me or the kids come in our out of the door. My dogs just hit it with their heads or nose.
I would recommend bell training to anyone, especially with a pup. One thing that stood out for me is that as pups, they get so stressed because they don't know how to tell you they need to go, and then when they have an accident, it's even more stressful if they are reprimanded. This method gives them the ability to say "hey..I need to go"! Makes for a happier pup and a happier human! I LOVE having people come over and look in amazement at how my babies ring bells to go out! Gives me another opportunity to brag about the intellignece of this breed! :D

 

[Coopster2208]

Bells to Use

We picked up the big Christmas type bells, the gold ones, come 2 to a pack, they were about $2-3 dollars at the local fabric store. We threaded an old pajama/sweatpant string through them and hung them off the door knob.

Some people were saying about nailing them to the molding... I think the door knob re-inforces the training. So, the bells ring whenever the door is opened. Even if we go to take out the trash, we open the door *ring ring* Cooper comes running, so we hardly ever go out alone, and every now and then, he takes care of business while we walks us out....