[chewie2009]

I found that you can train your Yorkie to ring a bell when it wants to go and poddy.

With bell attached to a shoelace or string hung low enough from the door handle that the Yorkie can hit it with their paws, you can train the puppy to ring the bell whenever it needs to go out. This method works awesome. I will be sitting watching TV when i hear the bell ring and i simply open the door and let my Yorkie go...once done, the dog will run back in.

While poddy training, EVERY time BEFORE you open the door, make eye contact and physically take the paw of the puppy and hit the bell. I make the dog hit the bell 3 times so that I can hear it. Then take him out to do his business. IMMEDIATELY when done, you call your dog in. My Yorkie likes to play for a while after he's done in the yard.. this can be time consuming. If you follow this routine, the dog will equate ringing the bell with allowing him to go outside.

Luckily, it is winter here and he comes in right after because it's too cold for him to sniff around too long haha. In fact, sometimes I think he rings the bell just to go outside sometimes because he will ring the bell 3 times in one hour. When i figured this out, I limited him so that he knows it isn't for playing outside, just for poddy time.

So buy a little bell and attach it to the door knob with some string and let it hang all the way to the ground on your back door. With consistency, and routine, it should be a week or less before your dog rings the bell when it knows it needs to go!

Enjoy