[Starlette]

When I trained Julie, it did not take very long to teach her about the Bell. This is what I did:

I put peanut butter on the bell. While she was licking the bell, obviously it would be ringing. While the bell was ringing, I would tell her, "Julie, get busy?" and physically have her paw ring the bell. Julie began to associate ringing the bell with going outside to do her business. Afterwords, I would give her food treats, and then wean her from the treats and use verbal words of praise.

Yes, there are times when ringing the bell gets to be annoying. Both my husband and I recognize that ringing the bell a second time, means that Julie truly does need to go a second time. There are times when Julie rings the bell just so she can get outside to race up the sidewalk and up the stairs so that she can get back in the house through the patio door. And yes, this does become annoying. But in time, you will know the difference of all three.

Starlette