# Bell Training



## KaMu (May 17, 2010)

I have Joyce. They actually sell those bells at a store called "Jakes Dog House". I tried the bell idea and stopped because Roxy was so darn frightened of the bell sound I couldn't continue. I hope others here will be able to give some insight


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## Adriennelane (Feb 13, 2008)

We did it with Dory. It stopped her from thinking that our fireplace was a doggy door, like she had at her foster home. If something has upset her tummy, she bangs the crap out of them.

The other day she rang the bells so Lucy could go potty. Their daddy was quite impressed.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

I have trained pups to use the bells - actually they more or less trained themselves. I hang a set of bells on the doorknob and jingle it when I open the door. It doesn't them long to make the connection when you go out with them and reward like crazy!!


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

We shall see, hopefully it will work.


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## Belle's Mom (Jan 24, 2007)

We used the bell for Belle and it worked for us. We started it by ringing it ourselves when we would take her out to pottie. We would give her treats when rung to give happy positive reinforcements. Then she would ring it herself.

She is 4 years old and still uses it.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Last winter we trained Hank on bells. It became a toy and he was ringing them for fun. I finally took them down.


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## GramercyLily (Aug 19, 2008)

We have Lily bell-trained and it has been great. We started as soon as we began housebreaking her and she caught on very fast. When she was an obnoxious "teen", and rang the bells without having to actually "go", we would take her back inside and give her a time-out in her crate for 10 minutes. She quickly learned that bell-ringing without a potty break did not lead to play time. Now she only rings when she really has to go. Its very very useful.


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## mygoldenkids (Oct 4, 2010)

I started using the bells right away with my puppy Molly. Each time I took her outside (which is literally every hour or so when they're 8 weeks old) I would say "OUT!" and jingle the bells. Once she would relieve herself, I praised her like crazy and made a big deal out of it. She caught on pretty quick because about a week or so into it, I had my back turned to her, and I heard the bells--she had nudged them w/ her nose! I said "OUT!" and took her outside. She's been doing it ever since. She's now 4 1/2 months old. Sometimes she rings them because she just wants to go outside and sniff, but I take all requests seriously.  It's definitely worked in our house, since you can hear the bells from another room.

My last golden, Maggie, would just sit and stare at me until I figured out what she wanted. Her stare meant anything from "Out" to "Fresh water, please" to "Give me a treat" to "I'm just staring at you."  I would have to go through all the options until she got excited about one of them. She was a funny girl...


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

mygoldenkids said:


> I started using the bells right away with my puppy Molly. Each time I took her outside (which is literally every hour or so when they're 8 weeks old) I would say "OUT!" and jingle the bells. Once she would relieve herself, I praised her like crazy and made a big deal out of it. She caught on pretty quick because about a week or so into it, I had my back turned to her, and I heard the bells--she had nudged them w/ her nose! I said "OUT!" and took her outside. She's been doing it ever since. She's now 4 1/2 months old. Sometimes she rings them because she just wants to go outside and sniff, but I take all requests seriously.  It's definitely worked in our house, since you can hear the bells from another room.
> 
> My last golden, Maggie, would just sit and stare at me until I figured out what she wanted. Her stare meant anything from "Out" to "Fresh water, please" to "Give me a treat" to "I'm just staring at you."  I would have to go through all the options until she got excited about one of them. She was a funny girl...


izzy either stands at the top of the stairs or does go to the door and just kind of look at it without any sounds, so if we are not looking, we don't know she is there.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Honestly, I've just found it easiest to take the dogs out on a regular basis, making it my responsibility to get them out...not the dog's.

For people who want to do bell ringing, we make up a training plan.

Part 1: Teach the dog to like the bell sound. Ring the bell. Pause (one second). Feed a treat. For a dog that is worried, ring it SO quietly you see NO reaction. Being just a little scared means you rang too much. Repeat. Repeat. repeat. Repeat until your dog comes running to the sound of the bells.
Part 2: Teach the dog to ring the bells. We use a process called "Shaping" and clicker training. Do a google search and/or if you have questions let me know and I can elaborate. DO NOT pick up the dog's foot and ring the bell... this works occasionally, but more often backfires.... 
Part 3: Have the bells out, ask for a ring, take your dog out. Feed a treat for eliminating. Do this every time you take your dog out. If your dog happens to ring the bells, take your dog out on leash. If your dog does NOT eliminate, calmly walk back in. 

The length for each part varies by dog...some get to part 3 in a day, some dogs it takes a couple weeks.


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

that does seem like a lot of work red dogs, i think i agree with you that ultimately it is thlare them out on a regue human's responsibility to take them out on a regular basis


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