Did I miss a step in bell training or do some dogs just not get it?

[Cammy Todd]

Hi everyone - posting here since I think this is really a training issue more than a puppy issue - if you think I need to post it Puppy Madness instead, let me know!

I'm wondering if I missed a step somewhere with bell training Izzy to let us know when she needs to go out.  She is now over 10 months old. 

We started out right when we got her at 8 weeks.  Got bells and put them on the door we use to go out (deck door) as well as the front door at the office (she comes to work with me a couple days a week).  At first I rang them for her and said "Izzy-outside," took her outside to do her business, treated and praised after she did her business outside, and then came back in.  A month into her training, we discovered she had a UTI that took about a month to clear up.  During this time, we still rang the bells (most of the time) when we took her out, and were still taking her out regularly.  At about 5 months, we weren't getting anywhere, so I gave up and didn't use the bells for a while.  I decided to try and watch for other signals that she needed to go out. 

Fast forward to 9 months old and she has two accidents (one at work and one at home) in two days time.  I was with her both times and caught her in the act, startled her, and took her outside to finish.   I honestly do not believe she gave me any signs that she needed to go.   She hadn't had an accident since just over 3 months old so I knew something was up.  Took her in and she had another UTI.  Cleared up right away with antibiotics and no accidents since.  I also recommitted to the bell training.  This time I trained her to ring the bells herself which she does about 95% of the time I take her out.  But I can't for the life of me get her to ring those bells on her own without prompting. 

Am I missing something somewhere with the training?  Maybe I just let her out often enough that she doesn't have to let me know?  I boarded her through DogVacay right before Christmas for 4 days and she had no accidents there.  The lady who watched her said the only sign she ever gave her was that she kind of paced in front of the patio doors but mostly she just wanted to go out and play with another dog. 

I've tried tethering her to me and furniture for several weeks so I am always close enough to see her signs - and nothing!

Would love any advice you might have.  Thank you!!!!!!

[Debbie and Bentley]

I can't remember exactly when Bentley "got it", but he was slow to catch on. Maybe 6 or 7 months? I was frustrated reading about all the pups who took to it right away. I don't have any answers, other than keep it up, or keep watching for her signals. I think the uti's are the reason maybe she hasn't gotten it yet. You may be surprised when all of a sudden that light bulb moment comes on. Bentley started just walking up against them & ringing them with his body. Kinda smashing against them as he walked by the door. We don't use them anymore. He was ringing them to go out to play, but they were very helpful for several months. Good luck!

[Cammy Todd]

Thanks for the encouragement! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've lived with dogs for 57 years, had my own dogs since 1977 and never used bells. All of the dogs throughout those 57 years were reliably housebroken before they were 6 months old. To be honest, I have never understood the popularity of the bell training; it doesn't really help the dog to understand where it is okay to eliminate and where it is not okay, which is the key to housebreaking; all it does is give you a way to have the dog let you know that she needs to go outside. Somehow, all of my dogs managed to do that without bells, and I grew up in a 5000 square ft home with four levels. To sum up, I truly do not think bells are a necessary or even very helpful tool for housebreaking a dog. 

The signs my dogs have given me that they need to go out is simply to stand or sit in front of the back door, (or run to the back door if it's urgent!), and if I am not in view of the back door, to come and stand in front of me with an expectant look on their faces, lol. 

That said, it sounds like your dog's issues are not really with housebreaking but with UTIs. It sounds like the only time she has had accidents is when she has a UTI and you got through 3 months successfully without bells, by watching her and  reading her signals. I personally would forget the bells. I'd be sure to use an odor neutralizer like Nature's Miracle on the areas where she has had accidents, if you aren't already. I'd always let her in and out the same door when she goes outside. I'd stick to a routine: outside first thing in the a.m., outside after mealtimes (free-feeding works against potty training, BTW), outside when you get home from work or several hours away, outside before and after play times or training sessions, outside before bed. A consistent schedule for meals, training, play, etc. even though that may not always be convenient. I really think that's all that is needed. 

[Cammy Todd]

Karen you are probably right that this is a UTI issue since we went nearly 6 months with no accidents.  I am just tired of being hyper-vigilant with watching for the signals - I was just hoping that the bells would "take" so I would have a clear signal:)   I know it all comes with owning a puppy...a learning curve for me for sure.  As always, thank you for taking the time to write out a response.  Your wisdom and advice on this site are invaluable.  I hope you know you are appreciated!!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you, Cammy, very kind of you to say that. :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Some other thoughts: 

A dog who is reliably housebroken does not want to soil her living area and will do anything to avoid that. They will let you know that they need to go out, whatever it takes. In case of illness, UTIs, etc., they can't hold it and can't help it, and that doesn't count. So if a healthy dog is having accidents and doesn;t seem to "get" it, it probably is not so much that a step was missed in bell training as that the dog hasn't really grasped the basic concepts of housebreaking, i.e., "potty is for outside, period".

I notice that you have some beautiful children in your profile photo. One thing I have learned over the years is that kids are not good at reading a dog's signals, lol. If kids sometimes let the dog out, the dog will then naturally assume that she can "tell" the kids when she has to go and you are not around. So as much as we would like to involve children in the dog's training, housebreaking is one area where I feel that an adult must be the one who always takes the dog out, rewards the dog, etc. and never the kids alone. You want the dog to come to you when she needs to go, and not to the children, who may be involved in playing or whatever and will not notice.  Does that make sense?

[Cammy Todd]

Makes complete sense.  I am fairly certain that Izzy has grasped the concept of housebreaking.  She only soiled her crate one time (when a dogsitter gave her a 12 inch bully stick and she consumed the entire thing and got diarrhea).  My fault for not giving more explicit directions on that - geez!  Two weeks later, the accidents and discovery of the 2nd UTI.  Who knows how long she sat it in in her crate?  

The kids never take her out on her own.  I do 90% of the time and my husband does the other 10%.  I still take her out on leash in the morning and when it is dark out.  We have all kinds of wildlife (bunnies, squirrels, fox) in our neighborhood and her recall is not reliable enough yet (especially in the dark) for me to trust her.  The other times she is off leash (in our fenced area) but I stay outside with her until she has done her business.  To be perfectly honest, my husband isn't great at reading any kind of sign from her either.  Ha! 

Thanks again for the advice. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It really sounds to me like you are doing everything right with Izzy's housebreaking and I honestly don;t think you have much to worry about. I understand being tired of having to be constantly vigilant, believe me. You will have to watch for signs of a UTI because it does sound like Izzy is prone to them, and maybe there are some steps you can take to try to avoid her getting another one. (Cranberry supplements have helped some dogs here with this issue, there is info in the Health Group about that). I think that if you could be certain that she didn't have any health issues causing the accidents, you would be able to relax a little and trust that she will tell you when she needs to go. I hope that can happen soon. 

[Susan and Bentley]

We were lucky with Bentley because he house trained very quickly, I think a lot in part due to my breeder.  I work from home so I took him out constantly.  Once he got the concept of where he had to go, I added the bell so I could hear it f rom anywhere in the house.  The only thing I did differently with Bentley is I would hold his paw and have him tap the bell and say "potty" and take him right outside and treat for him for going.  But I did that with him when he was probably 3 months old?  It took a couple of days, I really didn't think he was getting it and then finally one day, he rang the bell on his own and has used it ever since.  We also only had it on the back door as that was where he went potty as a puppy.  I'm not sure if that would make a difference or not, having the bell in only one place? 

[Tracey & Spike]

We did the bells. Our house is awkward and we can't see any doors from any living space so for us it was a good option. I never rang the bells. In the beginning I used his paw to ring them. He caught on in no time. With minimal bell abuse. In training he went outside with one of us. On a leash. On a side note we put a verbal cue to his deed... "Hurry hurry". Let me tell you. It sounds dumb but it's amazing. I don't have to stand outside for 10 mins in -30 weather. I say it. He does it. And we are back inside. It was something our dog training school told us.
With that said he hardly uses them at home now. He will just come and sit in front of me and bark. Usually with a paw on my leg. When I'm not home I'm told he uses them.
We also use them for travelling to my aunts in the summer.
For us they have been a helpful resource. But like Karen said. They aren't necessary if you know your dogs signals.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree that this really seems to be a UTI related "slip".  It seems clear that she fully understands where she's supposed to go....but with the UTI there may be an urgency that she just can't help.  I have bells on both doors and one of my Doodles uses them but the other just stands and stares out the door.  If I'm not in the room he'll come to where I am and just stare at me and I know what he wants.  Most of the time now they just go on a schedule....they go out at the same time four times each day.  Other than those four times they would only want to go out if they were sick.....they both have stomach issues and vomit quite often and they know to go to the door to tell us they have to go out and be sick.  They are six and almost seven now....so it wasn't always like this.  The advantage of the bells if the dog will use them is that I can hear them all through the house.

[Emery & Watson]

We used bells to try to train Watson to let us know when he needed to go out.  As soon as he caught on he was a heavy bell abuser.  Any time he wanted to go out and play, or wanted to throw a tantrum or attention, he would ring the bell.  We still keep a bell by the door but its not only his indicator that he needs to potty

His sign that he needs to use the bathroom is sitting or pacing by the door in conjunction with lots of staring.

He will ring the bells as well but, again, its not always a great indicator of what he really needs.  

If she is pretty much housetrained (except for the UTI instances), I wouldn't bother with the bells