The bells will help if you can get them to ring the bells. It's also good if they have access to the door so they can learn to go to it. If there is a gate in the way they might get confused. I had 2 crates for Loki when he was a puppy and if I wasn't watching him, he was in one of the crates. Sammy is so small she would either be on my lap or I'd park her in a laundry basket.
Sammy was nearly 1 when we got her. She had been taken outside and also had pee pads in her pen. She was not trained. We've had her for a few months now and she is to the point where I don't even have to constantly watch her. I just keep an eye on the clock and make sure she gets out every couple hours. A few times a day she will try to "ask" to go out by sitting by the door or barking at me, but she isn't into the bells quite yet. She usually waits for Loki to need to go out and then comes running over to go too. Anyway, it CAN be done. I used to have to watch her every second and now I can let her run around the house.
