I went to a craft store and bought these marble-sized bells, a whole bunch of them, that look like they might go on Santa's reindeer. I was able to attach them to a thin metal chain (by bending paper clips!), and hang that from the door. My friend with a Yorkie and a poodle just has a single bell on a piece of string.
I rang the bells before I opened the door (every time) and when we went outside, the first order of business was to go potty (stood there and said it until both dogs did something). No running around allowed until something happened. Lucy quickly caught on, and decided she wanted to ring the bell to go outside for some fresh air too. So if she rang the bell and didn't "do" anything, we came back in and she went in her crate for a little while. (15 minutes?) Eventually she got the hang of it and we don't have false alarms too often anymore. On a side note, the cat learned to use the bell too... LOL.
Teresa |