House Training a Dog – How to Teach Your Dog to Ring a Bell to Go Out
Do you think that house training a dog can be easy? Well, I do. House training a dog is fine when the dog simply tells you that he needs to go outside. One of my favorite methods is to teach your dog to ring a bell to go out.
…All dogs love to learn tricks and play games.
The reason why the “Ring a Bell to Go Out” trick works so well is because not only does it get the dog to do what you want, but it makes him think that it was his idea in the first place! Here are the easy steps you should follow if you want to teach your dog how to ring a bell when he needs to go outside.
(By the way, if you want to see a complete step-by-step video on how this is done, check out this house training a dog entry on the Best Dog Ever blog. It’s amazing!)
*Step 1. Find a bell. Use a light-weight bell. (Don’t use a heavy metal cow bell.) Remember to consider the size of your dog when you’re choosing the size of the bell. (For example, a poodle doesn’t need a bell it’s as big as a German shepherd would need.)
*Step 2. Hang the bell from a door knob …it should be within easy reach of your dog’s nose. (Remember, nose level is different for Yorkshire Terriers and German Shepherds.)
*Step 3. It’s important to remember that you need to say “outside” before taking the dog out? Do you want to go outside?” Now, go out through the door, and manipulate the string so that the dog can’t help but bump into it and make it ring. (If you need to shake the string so the bell rings, shake it.) All you have to do is repeat these steps for a couple days. What will eventually happen is that your dog will start to associate the sound of the bell with going outside.
*Step 4. Once your dog isn’t watching, you can then place a small amount of cheese or peanut butter on the bell.
*Step 5. Wait and watch. There are a couple of things that could happen …and both of these are good! A few dogs will immediately smell the food you’ve placed on the bell, go to it, and ring it right away.. ?Perfect! Say “Outside?” …open the door, walk over to the potty area, and say “Go potty.* Remember to reward the dog with a food treat and praise when she potties.
Other dogs might need a little encouragement to find the bell. If this is something that happens to you, there’s a way around it — simply hold the bell close to your dog’s nose so that he wants to lick it, and rings the bell.
It’s possible that you may have to shake the bell at first if your dog’s touch is too light to make it actually ring.) When the bell rings, now is the time to use your happy voice to ask “Outside?” … open the door, walk over to the potty area, and say “Go potty.”
While the dog is pottying, softly repeat saying “go potty.” Now you want to praise the dog and give him a small treat to reward him.
*Step 6. As soon as the dog can ring the bell easily, without your help, that’s the time to ask your dog “Outside?”…and make sure to wait until the dog “rings” the bell by the door. Then, of course, you want to take the dog outside to have her do her business.
Knowing the right strategies for house training a dog is great for dogs of all ages! Don’t forget that older dogs will often times need more frequent bathroom trips. …However, the bell reminds us.
Rescue dogs, for example, find it fairly easy to pick up on the difference between an acceptable inside behavior and an acceptable outside behavior because they may have never lived inside of a house before.
This is a great way to eliminate accidents in your home, especially if you live in a house that doesn’t have a doggie door. Plus, puppy potty training with a door bell also works great when your dog travels with you on vacation.
Simply bring the bell with you the next time you go away and attach it to the door of your room. …you won’t have to worry about any accidents!
