Poochie bells. Who is training whom?

[Camus]

I bought poochie bells for Camus (9 weeks old) about a week ago.  The first day was pretty bad because Camus tried to play with the bells as he plays with his toys, but very soon he learnt that ringing meant "going outside". That is obvious because now he rings and then sits waiting for us to fasten the leash (he is obliged to sit before we click the leash).  The problem is that he rings too often and many times just because he wants to go outside to play not because he needs to. I feel like I don't know any more who is training whom.

I noticed some difference between calls: he rings gently and humbly when he needs to go to the toilet; and very loudly and enthusiastically when he just wants to go outside for pleasure. 

I'd like to know if this is going to work properly some day in the future or it will be always like this with many false alarms? Are these bells really a good idea? Does anyone use them?

UPD: yes, we take him outside always on leash because there are holes in the fence that are big enough for his 13 lbs to escape. 

UPD 2: we stopped using poochie bells about week and a half ago. Camus learnt very soon how to communicate with us quickly. He seats at the door and whines. No accidents in the last 6 days. (nock nock on wood)

[Camus]

I agree, even tough we don't use crate at all.

[Adina P]

Yes that's what I've heard.  I've used it for both and have had no problems.  If they are taught to accept confinement early on then they will be fine.  Besides a 'time out' doesn't necessarily have to be done in a punishment fashion.  If a pup is going berserk and completely out of control at some point during the day and you want the pup to calm down it is perfectly harmless to send them to their crate.  You don't have to be angry or punitive about it...just crate them for some down time.  But even used as a negative consequence I think it can be done successfully.  My trainer uses it as a negative consequence when needed and her dogs readily accept the crate without problems.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I agree!

[Adina P]

They tend to get better about bell ringing, they really do.  On the other hand if you have a dog like my Boca, she wants to be outside A LOT and will tell you by ringing.  But with Rosco, after he got over the intial novelty, really only rings to go potty or if he's hot and wants to lay on the concrete.  He much prefers being indoors.  Without them I'm pretty sure we'd have accidents now and then because, while Rosco will bark, Boca will not bark to go out.

[Camus]

Good to know. Thank you!

[Cathy w/Shiloh~Cody]

I use them -but I know now which are false alarms. You will see a pattern.

99% of the time for me-he really has to go. But.. then they are times

when one of us leaves the house and he goes and rings the bell wanting

to go. He also rings the bell when he hears the trashmen and when

its raining (lucky me-he loves the rain) wanting to play.

I believe he would bark more without the bells.

[Camus]

Thank you.  Yes, I think I have already started to distinguish the false alarms. As for barking, Camus doesn't bark at all except for the times when he asks for food.  We don't have many rains here, but Camus likes sprinklers and likes running under water opening his mouth to catch some of it. :)

[Adina P]

Also when he's a bit older and you are confident he's potty trained, you can, if possible, simply block access to the back door.  I know that quite often at night when we are watching tv that Boca JUST wants to go out to be out.  So I will close the baby gate that leads to the kitchen and mud room and then Boca can NOT go and ring the bell.  So eventually she settles down and naps.  I wouldn't do this if she was Camus' age because I'd want to give her every opportunity to ring to go potty.  At the same time, at THAT age I think I took my dogs out every 15-20 minutes anyway so it was constantly going in and out with or without bells.

[Camus]

I see. Our bells are in the living-dining-kitchen room - we have an open space design - on the french door that leads to our back yard. Camus holds for 3-4 hours already. The last night I got enough sleep for first time. :) I took him out at 12:30 AM and I woke up this morning at 5:30 AM. I woke Camus up, because he was still asleep. It is incredible how fast those intervals grow: just as fast as his bladder, I guess.

[Adina P]

Well mine could hold it for that long while in a crate or overnight.  But, with Rosco anyway (since Boca didn't join our family till she was 16 weeks and basically house trained), he would pee while playing in the house.  One minute he'd be chasing a ball...the next he'd end up on his dog bed and squat.  There was no rhythm or warning.. :-(  So while he was free in the house, I had no choice but to take him out that often.

[Camus]

It's a pity dogs don't use warning signs before peeing. :)

[Steve Drury]

We have used bells since day one. I have never intended them to be solely used for potty breaks. I taught the dogs that ringing the bell opens the door. Sometimes they want it open for a potty break; sometimes they just want to get some fresh air and lounge around the yard; sometimes the two of them want to go out and rough-house.

My primary reason is I didn't want them scratching at the door to go out or barking. Bells are much more civilized.

Both our girls abused it a little when they were puppies---not too bad. They're now two and three. It's an effective commuication tool. Sometimes Daisy just wants to get a door between herself and Maggie. A girl just needs some peace and quiet from time to time. (I think I blogged about how Daisy also uses the bell to trick Maggie into beating her out the door----and then Daisy goes back to laying down in the bedroom.....sisters can be snotty sometimes.)