Ring a Bell
If you have ever wished that your dog would give you a clear signal when they need to go outside, this is the lesson for you! In this lesson you will teach your dog to ring a bell to go outside. This is a great way to avoid accidents in the house because your dog will be able to clearly tell you when they need to go potty.
Process
To start, you need to teach your dog to touch or ring the bells.
- Hold a string of bells in your hand and ask your dog to touch. Ring the bells and reward when your dog touches.
- Once your dog consistently touches the bells in your hand, place the bells on the door knob, hold a bell, and ask your dog to touch. Again, ring the bells and reward when your dog touches. Slowly fade the use of your hand when you ask your dog to touch the bells.
Now it’s time to associate ringing the bell with going outside. Ask your dog to touch the bells, open the door, go outside, issue your potty command (“let’s go potty”), and reward your dog. It is important to associate ringing the bell with going outside to potty, otherwise, your dog may start ringing the bell just to get a treat.
Suggested Command Words:
Initially, you will need to use your command for Touch to teach your dog to ring the bells. You will also need to use your command for going potty (let’s go potty, do your business, etc.) to associate ringing the bells with going potty. However, once your dog learns this trick you will not need to issue a command as it will be an automatic behavior when he or she needs to go out.
Tips
Making a string of bells: You will need 3-4 brass bells and a grosgrain ribbon about 24” long (the length of ribbon depends on the height of your dog). On one end of the ribbon tie a loop to hang over the doorknob and sew the bells onto the ribbon a few inches apart.- If you don’t want to make a string of bells, you can purchase The Potty Bell for around $25.
- Teach this at a time your dog typically needs to go to the bathroom. This will minimize your dog ringing the bells to go out to play.
- As you are training your dog touch, you can condition your dog to associate bells ringing with going outside by ringing the bells every time you go out.