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Signal to go outside

7K views 52 replies 21 participants last post by  swaye 
#1 ·
Hi there,

I'm almost certain this has been covered in a previous post somewhere, but I'm not sure how to find it specifically, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask again.

My little Freddie is doing fairly well at housebreaking. He #2's 99% of the time outside (we've only had 2 accidents in the 3 weeks that he's been home), but he continues to sniff out spots to pee if I'm not proactive to take him outside when I see he's getting restless.

Is there a way to train him to give me some kind of signal to go outside? He does whine sometimes to tell me it's time to go, but it's not consistent.

Thanks!
 
#41 ·
I would love to try the bells now that I have 2. Piper will tap my leg to let me know she needs to go but Riley is a mystery. My problem is that the door to the backyard is in the basement and I would not hear the bells upstairs. Would it be effective to put them at the side door which is at the top of the stairs to the basement?
 
#43 ·
Do they always have access to the basement? You could definitely put the bells on the door to the basement if going down to the basement always means going outside...tricky situation. Not the best workaround, but what about hooking up a monitor close to the bells and having the other end somewhere you would be able to hear?
 
#42 ·
Glad to hear some of you had success with the bells. We got poochie bells when Cora was 10 weeks old and still waiting for him to ring them. He is 6.5 months old now :-/ every time before potty we ring the bells for him and sing our go potty song. From that respect, I guess it is working. He knows bells have to be followed by potty. :cool:
 
#47 ·
I think it would work, Julie. As long as you always take him outside when those bells are rung, my guess is it probably doesn't matter where they are hung. Although I would assume you'd want to go directly downstairs and outside so that the association becomes clear. You could have another set by the basement door for when you are hanging out down there. Maybe have him ring those ones as well before he goes outside. That way there's always a bell before outside.
 
#50 ·
My story on the bells....since the boys are older. When Dexter rings the bells, he means business. When Jack rings the bells.....hmmmmmmmm......he just wants to either go outside, get a cat, bark at something, pee, poo, smell something dead and roll in it.

I have been making him "Wait" then I see how persistent he is.....If I can tell him "Down" and he goes down, lots of times he forgets he wanted to go outside. If he rings the bells within 5 - 10 seconds of the first ring, he usually means business....but, when outside, he has to smell everything first, then at the last minute he will do his business. If I had a doggy door, I think Jack would want to stay outside all the time.

In the very beginning of training your dog with the bells, you are getting up to go outside a lot!

Another thing that Jack does, he paces quickly, means take me outside now or it goes down in the kitchen.

The look in their eyes can tell you they need to potty. This one takes lots of practice to learn.
 
#51 ·
Bells have worked almost TOO well for Indy. Last night he rang the bell so I stopped what I was doing to let him out. He walked over to pick up a stick, turned around and came right back inside. ... I really wish we weren't renting so we could install a doggie door ;)
 
#52 ·
ring my bell

My first havanese (who sadly died two weeks ago) was trained to ring a bell when he wanted to go out. I put a sleigh bell (large enough that he could not swallow it) on a ribbon and tied it to a small hook by the front door. I started ringing it every time we were going out and he quickly learned to ring it when he wanted to go out.

About 5 months before Bree died we got a Havanese puppy (same wonderful breeder in Sask - Jomarans) to keep him company. This second dog, Quincy, I am training to both pee pads and to go out. It is taking a bit longer (all pees are on the pads but not poops) but at least we no longer have to go outside early in the mornings etc.
 
#53 ·
Tried the bells twice for our now 14 week old. Weather was nasty and she just constantly played with them. Going out every 5 minutes was a bit unrealistic with the weather being so nasty, so we tabled that idea till she was "older" :) We did get a great surprise yesterday and today. She barked to be let out to potty. She hasn't done it but once yesterday and once today. We are usually in viewing of her sitting in front of the door. The times she did bark, we weren't. I hope she continues, because I am anxious to get out of my kitchen! :)
 
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