How to Train Your Doodle To Ring A Bell for Potty Breaks

[Adina P]

All three of our dogs have learned to ring a bell (it's actually a windchime) that hangs by the back door to signal when they want to go outside (for potty or otherwise). The teaching is actually pretty simple and straightforward:

1) Hang a bell by the door you'll use to take your dog out for potty.

2) EACH and EVERY time you take your dog out, help him ring the bell by touching it with his nose. If yours is a pup it's much easier because you can lift them and make them touch it.

3) Praise puppy and take puppy outside (helps if a puppy in the middle of potty training to keep puppy on leash for this so he knows it is a business-only outing).

Repeat each time you take puppy outside and soon he'll make the connection. When he makes the connection, he'll likely abuse this and ring RING RING more often than he needs to potty. BUT...do not break the connection by restricting outdoor access. Continue to praise him and take him outside. Eventually the novelty will wear off and only ring if he really needs to go out.

For those with big houses or multiple floors I suppose you could hang one on each floor (puppy shouldn't be floors away from where YOU are anyway) so that where you are you can hear puppy ring. There is also this big door bell button I've seen advertised that is intended to be used outside for your dog to ring to come IN--I think it rings like a doorbell.

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Suppose you could use this INSIDE and teach your dog to paw at it.

If your dog is big and you can't just lift it and help it touch the bells with its nose, then hold the bells out for him or entice him to touch them and soon he'll WANT to even though they are just hanging.

You can purchase fancy "designer" bells at www.poochie-pets.net but you can also visit a craft store and by the cord and bells and attach them together. Or buy a little windchime like we did!

Anyone else do this with their dog(s)?

[1w14sgrfac7bx]

Thanks, I just need to be patient!

[Liza, Halle and Finn]

One other tip I would add to Adina's method is: When puppy rings the bell (or you ring it for him when you are taking him outside), after you ring it, say"outside, go hurry-hurry" & take them to the same spot each time. While he or she is sniffing around that spot, gently repeat the phrase "hurry-hurry", and then after he goes-praise, praise praise. Kachi,not only was ringing the bell on his own very early on, but now we can actually tell him, "let's go outside & hurry, hurry" and he'll go on command! When you're tired or need to get the show moving, it's great. Obviously, this only works when he urinates!

[Mary Beth Sancomb-Moran]

We do - and it's just a jingle bell like they sell at Christmastime. Works great!

[2ncc1ps6pecqn]

We use the bells too and it works very well. I also say go poo poo or go pee pee every time they go. So now I can say go pee pee or poo poo and they do it!

[Park Mom]

Thank you so much Adina. I think we're going to try the bell training. Seems like a great thing once they get the hang of it.

[Oliver]

okee doke... i have a more involved question about this...we have sunken in living room which requires going up 3 stairs to get to the front door (the one we will be going out of to go potty). should i hang the bells on the door even though he may not be able to get to the bells for a few weeks (due to not being able to climb the stairs) or should i hang them on the stair banister that leads to the living room (which wouldnt require him going up the stairs?

[Margo]

I think you will get a good sense of this when Oliver gets home, depending on his uniqueness. I found the bells were kind of useless the first couple of weeks because Lily was so intent on defeating them into submission... she thought "wow, another cool toy for me!". She started giving signals on her own (barking, scratching) that then we associated with the bells. I rang them each time we went outside. Now for the most part, she uses them correctly and she makes it clear when she wants to go outside by ringing gently and then sitting and looking at me, and when she wants to play with them, she keeps going at them and doesn't look around for me. If she uses them to just get to go outside, I take them down for a little while. I have taken them upstairs with me to hang on my bedroom door, so can use them when we're there together too. Maybe just hang them on the door and ring them yourself each time you take him out for the first couple of weeks and then see how it goes?

[Tegan]

Kali loves to ring the "potty bell". She used to be so proud when we'd say "OK, let's go out". It's really amazing what animals can learn. Because of a medical problem we have had to lock our cat door (we have 2 cats that are used to being able to come and go as they please), but our younger cat who is still allowed out has figured out that if the bell rings the door gets opened so she's now ringing the bell whenever she wants outside.

[Adina P]

With Rosco (my first pup) I started right away or pretty early. With my current puppy (who is 18 weeks) I haven't started yet! But she came to us at about 16 weeks and had no accidents so I wasn't in a rush and I have an 8 month old baby now so I just haven't had a chance to teach her.

HOWEVER, although you can start teaching them right away...most pups are not reliable enough or have a long enough attention span to consider the bells useful right away. YOU still have to be the one who initiates the going outside for potty times. So...I would wait on that a few weeks and then start once you think she might be ready to 'tell you' she has to go.

[shelly]

Beenish ~ we DID start as soon as we brought Tori home... she took to it very quickly! In fact I just recently posted that she has become such a "big girl" now that she no longer rings them (makes me sad). Everytime you take her out to go potty ring the bell (be careful not to ring if you're going out to play or for a walk as she will associate the bell with "fun" and not pottying) Good luck!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Do all of the above and then REMOVE THEM once your doodle rings it incessently. LOL Peri drove us completely crazy once she figured it out. These doods are too smart. We haven't used them in probably 14 months, but my parents still do for their dogs. I have to remove them when we visit because she sees a rabbit, she rings rings rings rings rings rings.

Sorry, just saw this is an old discussion - I bet we have new members that are interested though!

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

We did this with Bandit as soon as we brought him home @ 9 weeks. He got it within a couple of weeks. He now pounces on the bells and is sooo good about telling us he needs to potty. Rosey on the other hand, who seems overall higher IQ, never did it, won't do it. She just prances around in circles when she needs to go...