Any one out there using bells for potty training?
 

OK - long story short - I purchased a set of Poochie Bells that you can hang on your patio door to train your puppy to ring to let you know when they have to go outside potty the first week I got Izzy (Memorial weekend). You first get your puppy used to the bells, then start to introduce the same line, "outside potty ring the bell"; then after a couple weeks you take their paw and hit the bells as you say the phrase. The instructions say it can take a couple days to a few months and you must say/do every time you go outside with them. My husband laughed and laughed because he never thought Izzy would do that - he said I was wasting my money and our time. Ha! boy did she prove him wrong because the light bulb must have went off in that pretty little head of hers and just this past weekend she started to ring the bells not with her paw but with her cute little nose. OK - you say - how exciting and wonderful.;) Yes, it is and I'm so proud of her but she's using the bells to go out to chase mice and squirrels.:eek: Yeah, she rings to go do her business at times but not always.

For those of you who have trained your furbabies to ring any type of bell to let you know that they have to go outside potty - have you experienced anything like this? I don't want to derail the training - so if she rings the bell to go out when I know she doesn't have to do anything I'm still letting her out. Last night she rang that crazy bell at least 5 times in 20 minutes. Help - she's becoming a bell ringin Diva!

i taught lexi how to ring the bells too,, my b/f said she would never do it.
sorry charlie,,, she now rings it and i let her out , whether she pottys or
not. smart cookie i have... i dont have the poochie bells, i rigged up
a small chime i had to the door,, its louder than the poochie bell i thought.
i could here them from my bedroom at night or in the early morning if she
has to potty.. she also goes on her wee pads in the house and i walk her
and she pottys too.... she knows it all

Yes we have a love/hate relationship with bells. It will take time. Give her an awesome treat when she goes outside to actually pee. Otherwise, just be like - oh well, back inside. Sammy likes to go outside and chase bugs and Loki will just go lay in the yard. The problem? We don't have a fence! So when they get annoying with the bells - going outside every 5 minutes - we either give them sticks or take them for a walk or otherwise distract them.

Loki is smart. He knows that if I'm busy I will ONLY get up for the bells. So he rings them, waits until I get up and then runs to whatever he wants (like the treat can) and sits there.

By the way - if you KNOW she is empty it IS OK to ignore her. But be sure... and if she rings them and then pees on the floor it is your fault! HA. But no seriously, there truly are times when I look at them and say "No you just went out" If they try again in 10 minutes or they are relentless, I let them out.

Oh yeah!!! With two dogs, I am like the door-woman here... sometimes I have to just take the bell off the door... they would drive me crazy!!!
And sorry, I have to cut the post here, somebody is pulling the bells!!!:eek:

i have poochie bells too and morgan sometimes does the same thing. however if i know she just went out recently and did BOTH pee and poop then i know she doesn't really have to go outside so i ignore it or tell her no we were just out there (which i know she doesn't understand LOL)

I just recieved our bells yesterday, and Otis isn't too sure about them! At first he was barking at them and knocking them with his nose to play. Anyways, I was wondering, how long did it take for your little one to get the concept of the bells??

Thanks,
Nicole

I bought poochie bells 6 months ago and they are 99% trained. It took a week of constant training to get them both to ring the bell. $20 well spent:)

took morgan a week to learn the bells. she only rings them to go potty. she doesn't play with them thank god.

AprilLove played with the bell at first just to get me to jump up every time :rolleyes: but, she also used them to go potty so I just kept rewarding her when she DID go potty after ringing them, and did not reward her if all she did was run outside look at me and come back :rolleyes: I don't remember how long it took, but she doesn't do that anymore and now she also uses them alert me when my non-bell trained older dogs need to go in and out!!!

how did you train them? I've tried but they just don't get it.
They are both 99% potty trained they use pee pads and go outside.
I'm tired of using pee pads and would like them to let me know when they need to g. The problem is they won't let me know when they need to go out. I usually just take them out every so often.

It took Izzy about 3 months to get it...at first she was afraid of the bells and then she got used to them. Now the problem is ringing them just to goof off outside. But I do not reward her when she comes into the house just because she was on squirrel or mouse patrol!!:eek: Only reward for actual potty business only.

Don't give up - use the same command all the time for every time you take them outside (even if you take them out 10 times a day - keep saying the phrase the same) - first I just said the command and took her out, then I progressed to actually taking her paw and taping the bells while saying the phrase. Now she rings with her nose and when I don't get up and let the princess out immediately....she progresses to actually banging them against the glass. geesh!:animal-pa

See my husband never thought she was do it and told me I was wasting my time and money. Guess who's laughing now? lol.

I tried this with mine, but, like the others, Otis rang it alllllll the time. He would rather be outside than in, so he was constantly standing at the door, ringing the bell, staring at me. Needless to say, the bell was removed. They are so smart!

Potty Bells
 

Where can i get the potty bells? I've been wanting to get them.

http://www.poochie-pets.net/

I made mine with some ribbon and bells because I wanted 4 sets of bells so it would be louder. I can hear the bells anywhere in the house. I spent about $6 to make them.

I don't use bells, Sissy would drive me insane,she wants outside evey five minutes.