Potty Bells Questions

[Rebecca Chynoweth]

Hi All - my Cooper is now 4.5 months. His potty training is going okay. Some accidents have been my fault while others are puzzling. He was using his bells and going out much better a month ago but seems to have regressed (in a few areas) in the past week.

However, my main issue is his using the bells to go out to play. Today he has been ringing them non-stop. What should I do when I know he does not have to potty but just wants to go play? We do not have a fenced yard and I can not spend the day outside watching him. 

I take him for 2 walks and he goes out for short supervised play times several times a day. I take him on leash at regular intervals for potty breaks. 

Should I take the bells off the door when I know he just wants to play? I am looking at the Invisible Fence option now as I can see that he loves being outside and we are not allowed fences in our area.

Thanks for any suggestions,
Rebecca

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Meg also likes to play with the bells non stop, not a problem I ever had with previous dogs.  Unfortunately we had to take them away from Meg.  The saddest thing about it is that now every time she looks at my husband he is sure she must need to go out, really?  I struggle to convince him not to do that, she is nearly 10 months and really does not need to go out once an hour...he is teaching her this.  It has been awhile now so maybe I will put them back down one day.

[Rebecca Chynoweth]

Thanks for the reply...did you have problems with the potty training after taking the bells away? I am not sure how he would let me know if he has to go. 

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

Meg was pretty well potty trained, she does not get excited though to let us know she wants out.  She comes in and stares at us, if she does not get an immediate response she will take her nose and poke me in the belly, side or butt if I am standing up.  Her other thing is to lay her head on my lap and just roll her eyes up at me.  In the car she will whimper just a bit to let you know. I think you just have to learn their signals. Meg was actually just turned 5 months old when we had to remove the bells.

[Moe]

My dog rings the bells every time she feels like going out. She is in and out all day. We have a fenced yard so this is not a problem. If I had to leash her and take her out every time I would have to take the bells down.

[Lynette Main]

My Doodles all use the bells.Mostly to go play,but always to potty. I have a fenced in yard and if they hear another dog bark,off goes noisy bells. I don't mind it though. Sure was great when we were potty training three years ago. I think I'm going to put bells on the outside of the door this summer and see if they will ring them when they want to come INSIDE.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I would take him out on a leash and give him a couple of minutes to see if he really does have to go potty and if not, go right back inside with no play.  Maybe if you only let him out to potty after ringing the bells and let him out to play without the bells she will learn the difference?  I don't use bells so i'm not sure.  Even if you were to get an invisible fence, Cooper is too young to be left outside alone.  Puppies like to put things in their mouth and if you aren't watching him you won't know what he is getting into which could lead to some expensive vet bills.

[Kyoko]

I think consistency is important. Dog have to know that everytime he rings, he will go outside, other wise the behavior will fade..... ( I think.  I am not an expert! ) But also we need to tweak the reward "going out side" to " going to potty" by limiting the time spent outside. If he does not go to potty within reasonable amount of time, go back inside with no play. If he goes to potty, make a big deal about it. I am not sure how to diffrenciate between potty time outside and play time outside...

May be take him out for playtime when he did not ring the bell?

[Rebecca Chynoweth]

Well I think the bells may have to go. It's not even 11am and he has been outside 6 times (only had to actually potty 2x). Not to mention I was gone to the gym from 9-10:30! It is a bright sunny day here so maybe he is just restless these days.

I guess I could consider a tie out but I had read that doing that can cause them to be over protective of the property. He does love to be outside. 

Rebecca

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

don't tie him out.  he is still a puppy.  he needs to be around you and learning and can get in to too much outside if left unattended.