Potty training with a bell at the door

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

Hi! I'm new to the group.  My little Kona is growing quickly and I'm fairly well trained at taking him out often enough to avoid accidents, but he isn't trained and will quickly pee without even sniffing or showing signs that he needs to go.  I thought he was brilliant that he didn't have a single accident the first 4 days he was in my house, but now I'm not so lucky

I've heard that a good method of training is to hang a bell by the back door and get them to associate the bell with potty time, and that they learn to ring the bell themselves to let you know they are ready. 

Does anyone have any experience with this?

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

I have always used bells to potty train our dogs over the years but Meg is also a "play" ringer.  She does it so much we picked them up, an absolute nuisance with them.  I am giving it a bit of time and then putting them back out. 

[BRADY GOOSE MOORE (Mini Doodle]

Yes..puppy bells are the best!   I didn't try them until Brady was about 4 mos. old but when I thought I needed help (as he wouldn't give me any sign of need) I tried them.   Amazingly, I hung them and the first morning trip outside I did not 'engage' him but just took him to the door, brushed them saying 'pee-pee' and right outside, then waited for him to do his business.   I continued this every time I wanted him to go out and before I knew it he was ringing them himself.   He learned all about it with alarming speed!   I'd say within a few days he was trained!!   Get them...for sure.  Good luck! 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I have 2 labradoodles, one 3 yrs old, the other 12-1/2 weeks. The older one learned to use the bells within 5 days, and hasn't stopped using them. It really is great. There was a short period of time when she rang them to go out to play, but we just set the bells aside for a few hours, making them inaccessible. That seemed to do the trick.

The puppy, Oscar, has been very slow in learning the bells. We've rung them and said, "ring the bells, go potty", every single time we've gone out for potty breaks. He's not completely potty trained yet, and we're fairly well trained to avoid accidents now, so catching Oscar 'needing' to go pee, and giving us some indication of it before we take him out isn't always easy. He will sometimes wander over to the patio door which is always a cue for us, but other than that there's nothing. I hope he gets the bells eventually (its been over a month now). They sure do help make a loud and obvious signal for potty.