Help with bells. For anyone who's trained their puppy to ring the bell, I could use some advice. I hung the bells on the door and at first my 6month Napoleon would not go near them. He didn't like the sound they make and would shy away. Then I tried to associate the bells with a treat. Whenever he rang it, I gave him a treat. He was no longer afraid of the bells, great! Then I stopped with the treats and whenever he rings the bells now, I take him outside. The problem is he is constantly ringing the bells now! I take him out for like 10 mins for a walk, go back in, he rings it, I take him out for another 10 min walk, go back in, he rings it, I take him out, and so on. Last night after giving him a nice brisk 30 min walk, I took him out like 5 times again due to him ringing the bells, until I was too tired to go out again and put him in the x-pen and I went straight to bed. I like it that he has associated the bells with going outside because before he gives me NO indication when he needs to go out to pee/poop. He doesn't bark, he doesn't whine, he doesn't stand next to door or scratch it. So for those who's trained their Yorkie with the bells, how did you do it? Will it get better for me or is my life going to be spent outside wandering around on the grass with my apartment neighbors concluding I must be lost and homeless with my puppy? Haha :D |
I asked a trainer about that. If you just took him out and you know that he does not have to do #1 or #2 distract him. He is bored or wants a treat. you can give him a time out in his x pen or distract him with a toy. Chance went through this as well because he loves to go outside and play. If Chance rang it right after coming in from outside and I saw him go potty then I would distract him with a toy or a chewie. Its hard but the bell saves me from having poo or pee on my carpet. |
Thanks for the tip. I will try to distract him by playing with him more when we get inside. I know that he loves playing outside so much now when I put him in the x-pen, he would start to whine. How long was it until your puppy didn't constantly ring the bells? How are things now? |
OK, Don't take him out for a 10 minute walk. Loki goes out on his flexi, if he goes out, sniffs the wind, and doesn't pee then I call him back inside. We don't have a fence and I don't have time to stand there and hold his leash while he sniffs the wind. That cuts down on 90% of our unnecessary bell ringing. You're rewarding him for ringing the bells. You need to reward him for going potty. The bells are only there as a tool for him to communicate that he needs to go. Once you do this for a while you'll be able to tell. Loki will ring the bell and then look out the window and he's just watching the neighbor get her mail. If he rings it and then gives me a HARD STARE and stands on the door mat then I know he needs to go. And don't be fooled by the "You JUST went out" thing because Loki will go out twice in 5 mins and really need to go. Sometimes he'll pee, run inside, then need to go back out and poop. Or something he'll drink half his bowl and need to go back out. |
Both my girls do this. I just tell them no and ignore them or play with them if I can, whatever I can do at the moment. :p If they REALLY do need to go out, they won't take no for an answer and will keep ringing the bell louder and louder LOL But they are very trained at this point. |
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kizzy was scared of her bells too, she wouldnt go near the door. so i hung them in the kitchen chair and all along when i walked by i rang them pretty hard to get her use to the sound. then I hung them on the door. I started balancing a cheerio on the top two and showed her where it was, then she would raise up on them to get the cheerio. then I just quit putting the cheerio on it and she would raise up to see if one was there and I would say outside tee tee? and make her speak. then open the door and take her out. but then she started the same thing, ringing them everytime she came back in , and I knew it was to get another cheerio. So I just started trying to keep cheerios in my pocket on my duster or in my jean pocket and give it to her outside as soon as she tee teed. she will still use the floor sometimes at the back door, no bell ringing or barking. so I try to keep an eye out for her to go down the hall and follow her and ask her the same thing and she will speak. If we're outside on the deck she will beat the h*ll out of those bells for me to let her out with us tho. But still not that good to let me know she wants out to pee. But have to admit, she is doing lots better. goodluck to you, I think we all just have to try different things till we see what works best for us and our dog. |
Thanks all for your tips. Still working on Napoleon's bell ringing. I don't take him out every time he rings it now. He's ringing it less as a result. Whenever he rings it and I kind of know inside that he just wants to play, I say to him: "Not yet." Just to let him know I heard it but not prepared to take him out yet. All the other times when I know he has to go, I stand with him at the door and won't open it until he rings the bell. Hopefully, in time he will learn that if he really has to go, he will ring the heck out of it and won't stop even when I say "Not yet" :D We haven't had any accidents yet for several days now. I should be happy he's not afraid of the bells anymore ;) |
This is a wonderful idea!! Obviously i'm new to this all but at what age can i start this bell trick? How big do you get the bells how many etc.:D :D :p :p :aimeeyork :aimeeyork :aimeeyork :aimeeyork :thumbup: |
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http://www.poochie-pets.net/ I train mine to ring the bells. I love them, because I can hear them all over the house! I started Kacee when she was about three months old, if I remember correctly. :confused: Anyway, I just started taking her to the door and I'd hold her little front paws in my hands and ring the bells and ask her if she wanted to go potty and out we'd go. She, of course, went through a phase of ringing them all of the time, but that is just what they do because they are just like kids, but this phase will pass. She walks up to the bells and now rings them most of the time with her nose :D and will bark a little or make some sort of crying noise :rolleyes: . She's been easy to housebreak. I've said it before, but she was mostly housebroken by four months of age and had just a few accidents after that time. She had two or three after she was spayed at six and a half months of age, but I figured that was from the surgery and there hasn't been any since then. I really love the bells, because it's hard to read silent messages when they come tell you sometimes! :D |
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