# Obsessive behavior



## ejordan (Aug 16, 2009)

Hi all,

We have a Maltese that is approximately 9 months old, and we have taught her to ring a bell when she needs to go to the bathroom, on potty pads on the balcony of our small condo. She's been very good about ringing the bell when she needs to go, but she's developed a somewhat obsessive compulsion to ring the bell every 10-20 minutes, all day long, despite not needing to go to the bathroom. 

She will often ring the bell, wait for us to come to the door, and if we do not come to the door, she will continue to ring it progressively louder until we are forced to come to the door. When we open the door, she either goes outside for a minute and looks around, or simply just stares at us. It's become extremely frustrating because my wife and I have to get up every 5-10 minutes all day long to let her out, and often she does not need to go to the bathroom at all.

If anyone could offer any insight as to how we can deal with this situation, we would be very grateful. Is there anything we can do to train her to only ring the bell when she feels the need to go to the bathroom?

-Eric


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## theboyz (Jan 10, 2007)

Welcome to the forum!!! I sure hope you will post some pic's of her.

Our Boyz have been bell trained also.
Ozzy has the need to ring the bell while he is in the kitchen eating!!  
"ding ding", we come running and he just stands there crunching and wagging his tail.... :huh: 

I have started to take him out whenever he "dings". If he is in the middle of eating I just pick him up and take him out and turn around and bring him back in. Seems to have changed his behavior some. Ozzy is almost 5 years old.

With a puppy I would think that doing the same thing for a few days would help. You ring, you are going out for a minute.

I am sure others will have good suggestions also.

Marsha


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## ejordan (Aug 16, 2009)

QUOTE (theboyz @ Feb 27 2010, 06:51 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=890856


> Welcome to the forum!!! I sure hope you will post some pic's of her.
> 
> Our Boyz have been bell trained also.
> Ozzy has the need to ring the bell while he is in the kitchen eating!!
> ...


Here is a picture of our little one (Yuki):










I couldn't really understand your approach, can you clarify? We're trying to avoid having to run to the door and open it every 10-15 minutes.

Thanks!


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## princessre (Dec 23, 2008)

Just guessing, I think Marsha is saying make your puppy go out every time she rings the bell. Which she may not want to do. So she might stop ringing it? 

Yuki is a cutie pie!


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## ejordan (Aug 16, 2009)

So essentially, take her outside for a minute or two when she rings the bell? And eventually she will realize that if she rings the bell, she's gonna have to deal with going outside for a minute or two?

Seems logical. She does seem to love being on the balcony though, so I am not sure if it will be a deterrent, but we'll try anything at this point.

Thank you!


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## ejordan (Aug 16, 2009)

QUOTE (princessre @ Feb 27 2010, 06:47 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=890859


> Just guessing, I think Marsha is saying make your puppy go out every time she rings the bell. Which she may not want to do. So she might stop ringing it?
> 
> Yuki is a cutie pie![/B]



We do make her go out...she seems to enjoy it. It's just tiring having to let her out every 10 minutes...it seems like we spend most of the day answering the bell.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Talk about For Whom the Bell Tolls. :new_shocked: It's like the sitcoms when I grew up (thinking I Love Lucy)...where someone was sick in bed and given a bell and the spouse had to keep running in every two minutes. They were ready to :exploding: 

This sounds like a perfect question for Jackie (JMM) so I'm hoping she chimes in ( :shocked: sorry). LOL. I can't help in that area but wanted to welcome you to the forum too. Yuki is adorable :wub: and I know you'll get some great info here. I got my little guy 4 moths ago and this forum has helped guide me before, during and after getting him. They're awesome. Good luck.


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

My last dog did something like that at one time. I put her on a schedule, no bell but she would scratch at the door etc. I think I would do something like that with the bell. Remove it, then put it back when it is a reasonable time to be able to go again.  you could probably lengthen the time in between letting Yuki out. 

Pretty funny though, they are very good at training us aren't they? :biggrin:   

I am sure JMM will have better advice than me though.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

You get up when she rings the bell...its a reward. If you don't, then you will be defeating its use as a potty cue. The most simple solution is to take her out at set times every day. This is the most common problem with bell training. Sorry.


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## jeannief (Aug 6, 2009)

Mason goes to the door and barks when he wants out, but does the same thing -- sometimes goes out on the deck and just looks around. He keeps us jumping up in the evening, but there have been times we ignore him and the little stinker will go potty in the dining room. Soooooo, he has us trained.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

QUOTE (ejordan @ Feb 27 2010, 06:37 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=890858


> QUOTE (theboyz @ Feb 27 2010, 06:51 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=890856





> Welcome to the forum!!! I sure hope you will post some pic's of her.
> 
> Our Boyz have been bell trained also.
> Ozzy has the need to ring the bell while he is in the kitchen eating!!
> ...


Here is a picture of our little one (Yuki):










I couldn't really understand your approach, can you clarify? We're trying to avoid having to run to the door and open it every 10-15 minutes.

Thanks!

[/B][/QUOTE]

First...Welcome!!! And second....WOW Yuki is adorable!!!!!!!!!! :wub: I am so sorry that I giggled when I read your post :biggrin: :blush: .

It sounds like your puppy is training YOU and not the other way around :HistericalSmiley: Guess the only way she'll quit ringing that bell is if it's raining or snowing or just not a nice day to be outside. Happy puppyhood.... :blink: :biggrin: She looks very kissable. Good luck.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

I always wanted to bell train London & Preston, but I knew it wouldn't work. Bell training teaches them to tell YOU when it's time to go out, not the other way around. You are in charge, and should take Yuki out at certain intervals throughout the day. It's okay if Yuki barks or something when they really need to go potty right away, but ultimately you should tell Yuki when it's time to go out. JMM is right, ringing the bell is a reward, and it sounds like it's being used as a toy also. It does work for some dogs, but I think some members here on SM had to remove the bells because their dogs abused them. lol


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