I am currently in the process of housetraining my dog with a bell, and I have been doing it for about 3 days now. He is extremely bright, so when I am near the bell and he needs to go, he will ring it. And yesterday he shocked me when he rang it on his own. But since then, he has already had 2 accidents in the house. Have any of you used this method? How long did it take to train your dog? And during the process of training, did he/she seem to remember at times and forget at others?
Thanks
I have been trying for a few months, and am still trying! I have an 8 month old Miniature Pinscher. Occasionally he will ring the bell every five minutes all day. Otherwise, he ignores its existence. I am still diligently ringing it with his paw every time I take him out to potty and taking him out to potty every time he rings it himself. I am hoping eventually that he will finally get it, but so far, not a lot of progress. Good luck, I hope the process is easier for you than it has been for me!
I got my male westie when he was 16 weeks old and he was easy to train, it took about 4 weeks. When I’d had him about a week I hung the bell on the door. Every time I took him outside, which was every 2/3 hours when I was home, I’d ring the bell and say, outside, go out with him and ring the bell when he came in too. It took 3 weeks before he was ringing the bell to go outside. And yes, he did have an occasional accident while I was working on training with the bell. It’s a great way to do it, I live in a ranch and can hear that bell ringing when I’m at the other end of the house.
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You didn’t mention the age of your dog. If it is a puppy…continue to help him ring before you take him out but if he is quite young you will still need to be the one to initiate the potty process.
In other words, YOU must be the one to decide when he goes out for potty.
While they are playing around, puppies under 3 months may need to go as often as every 20 minutes. Puppies 3-4 months maybe every 30-40 minutes. As they get older they can hold it longer and longer.
The bell is just a tool for the dog to use ONCE he understands that going outside is the BEST thing and going inside is not.
Be sure to praise him and give him a yummy small treat when he goes potty outside. That way he knows outdoors is the BEST place.
Also when you cannot WATCH your dog closely keep your dog confined to a crate so it can’t potty in the house. Dogs under 3 months can often be in a crate for up to 2-3 hours during the day. As they get older they can be in the crate longer and hold their potty.
Or keep the dog near you with a leash so he can’t run around and pee when you are not looking if you don’t want to use a crate.
It’s very normal for a dog to forget sometimes. Remember if it is a puppy they forget fast and they don’t have good bladder control until they are about 4-5 months or later.
If it is an adult dog who is not house trained…then they just need time to break their old habits. You will do best if you make doggy think he won the lottery when he goes outside by praising him warmly and giving him little tasty treats (tiny chunks of cheese or hot dog works well–but make the pieces SMALL).
At first do NOT scold the dog for accidents…but after a lot of practice going outside and successful potties outside…then IF you catch your dog going inside simply say a LOUD, FIRM “NO!” and take him outside to finish. If you don’t catch him in the act, forget it…he won’t know why you are upset if you try to punish him AFTER he’s already made the mistake.
Good luck!