Housebreaking to a bell?
 

Has anyone done this? I would very much like to train Ollie to ring a bell at the door to let me know that he needs to go out, but right now our housebreaking is progressing *very* slowly.

I've introduced shaved chicken as a reward for going out, but last night at my parents' house I took him out FOUR TIMES in a span of three hours (trying to give him as many opportunities as possible for positive reinforcement), and he didn't pee once outside, but then he peed in the kitchen floor right in front of me!!!

As far as I know, he does not "signal" to go out at all at this point, except to turn circles right before he poops. But usually when I catch him at it, and move him to a pad or outside, he gives up and won't do it until my back is turned later on. I know he still has to go after he's been interrupted, but why does he stop when I move him to an appropriate area? ARGHHHH.

I am using an enzyme cleaner to "fix" any accidents too, so I know it isn't a scent issue. It just sort of seems like I take him outside, he goofs off, and then remembers he had to pee as soon as we get back inside. I don't play with him at *all* when I take him out to use the restroom, and I will usually keep him out about 10 minutes before I give up and bring him back in.

Any advice would be appreciated. I try very hard to catch him before he has an accident, but his personality can be sort of mysterious (he is not overly expressive most of the time) and so it's difficult to judge what he wants...

Hi, I'm having the same problem.. except mine is mainly with poops. Starting yesterday he is in his crate for the most part of the day. If he poops, he gets a treat, a walk, and gets to be free in my bedroom (and my bedroom only). I either carry him down to go outside or I put him on a tight leash so no accidents can happen. I've talked to a trainer (who believes in using crates) and she said to do what I am doing. He did not have any accidents today so far or yesterday. Make sure you do not force him in the crate but he goes in on his own (use toys/treats). I don't use pee pads but perhaps you are confusing him by using pee pads and outside. I have caught him in the act pretty much every time but saying NO and taking him outside doesn't do anything.. it might just be him though. Good luck!

Vanessa

Bell
 

I have a bell at my front door that both of my dogs use. The key is to be consistent. To start, before they knew how to use the bell, I would jingle the bell on the string in front of her face ( kind of like you would a toy) to get her to grab onto it and shake it. Once she touched it, I would let her outside. If she went potty outside, I would give her a treat as soon as we got back in the house. Every time before I let her outside I would entice her to grab the bell and shake it. She got to the point that it was "fun" to ring the bell and mom would get up and she would get to go outside and play. I only gave her a treat when she went potty. It was super annoying at first because it was fun for her, but I had to let her out becasue she was ringing the bell. She eventually got over the fun of it and just rang it when she had to go out.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Mine both ring a bell to go outside (and when they want water, and dinner, but whatever at least they ring it to go out.) Anyway, the bell is good but what you need to do is when you come back inside after the 10 minutes or whatever you need to put him in a crate until you can go out and try again. You are exactly right, he is having so much fun out there he forgets why he is outside. Then when he comes in he realizes he has to go. If you put him in the crate, what should happen is that you will avoid that accident (hopefully he will whine, cry, bark, paw at the door or something rather than pee in the crate) and then you can go right back outside. When you are house training you should ONLY give freedom to an empty dog!

I thought my little guy by ringing the bell everytime I took him outside in the hope that he did his business and rewarding with praise and treats whenever he did.....then moved on to tapping the bell with his paw each time we went outside......eventually he got it and was ringing it himself to go out.....not always to do sometimes.....but the connection was made.......good luck.

Thanks for the responses guys.

I do need to mention that I keep bells around Ollie's neck so I know where he is when he's underfoot (I've never had a small dog and it helps alleviate my fear of stepping on him, as well as letting me know whereabouts he is in the apartment when I can't see him...)

Will that be confusing to him, or do you think he'll be about to differentiate between the bells on his neck and the bell by the door? Should I make sure to get one that has a different sound than the jingle bells he wears?

Both mine have on the tingle bells too.....the bell I use on the door is a large brass parrot bell from the pet store....it does not confuse him......my girl does not ring the bell cause I never taught her but she gets that when he rings the bell she sits and waits at the back door.....she just got it......they catch on.....

Thank you!!!! That's what I wanted to hear. :D :thumbup:

It doesn't have to be a bell. Heck I taught Loki to press the Staples Easy Button. You are just teaching targeting :) So it's not so much the sound of the bell to them as "if I ring this Mommy will let me out" I don't recommend hanging bells on the doorknob - I've used hanging bells but we hung them next to the door. They shouldn't associate bell=the door opening, they should associate "i ring bell"="someone lets me out" Does that make sense?

My bell is not hung from the doorknob.....it is attached so that it only makes a sound when touched not when door is opened...

we tried the bell thing becase neither of my two will let you know they need to go so we tried the bells and it has been almost 6 months of doing it and i would say in that time between the two of them they have used the bells maybe 5 times. they will just hold it until a door opens and they run out pee and come back in. its weird that they wont do the bells but whatever we have enough traffic in the house that they get out like 6-10 times a day for a quick potty break. either way they dont go in the house anymore and that is all that matters.

I would love to hear more about how exactly all of you who use the bells did it. We have a cool parrot bell with a rubbery circular "cage" around it, and I know enough to hang it next to the door, not on the door. Do you try to get the dog to bat at it, or nose it? And do you start by ringing it yourself in the beginning, or do you just start right away with using his paw for him to bat at it, or his nose, or whatever?

I'm about to start the bell thing, but it's hard (for me anyways) to find a good how-to. I want to do it right - make it as easy as possible for him and us!

Thanks,

Lauren & Nikko

I would like to know this too, for when I get a new puppy. Prudence was already potty trained. Lucky me!

Mine pushes on the bell with his body. If you are consistent on touching the bell at each go out they will get it and then one day you will unexpectedly hear the bell go and you'll be jumping around with joy and excitement. This was my first dog and I was amazed.

We started using a bell so we could get rid of the pee pads. It worked amazingly. Bentley is an avid user and has been since the begining. Houston never rings it, he just waits for Bentley too.

We bought ours at a pet store nearby. It is a stuffed dog that hangs down with a bell hanging off each foot. They never play with it or anything so it seems to work well for us. Hope this helps.