# Riley finally has me bell trained! LOL!



## Lizzie (Jan 26, 2006)

Well today has been a day from heck, and it's all due to the silly bell training! LOL! I have been up and down the outside stairs more times than I could keep track of, as soon as we get back in the leash off, the treat finished, the bell rings again! I got smart after the first two times and his treats are now kibbles out of his food dish, but OMG! 

Has anyone else had this issue? He has no desire to potty, I think he's just thrilled with having me totally in his control. Should I only respond to his bell ringing during his usual potty times?


----------



## Guest (Mar 20, 2006)

I think the dog controls you!! He probably thinks the bell is way to getting a treat, he forgets the potty. !! This may be a habit hard to break. You are going to wear yourself and the stairs out!! Take the bell away. If he stands by the bell, take him out. If does his business, bring him in & give him a treat. Don't do this all day and night long. Take him out a few times a day if he has to do so. Reward him each time and take him out before you go to bed. Maybe this will not work for you, we do it for out "Tucker". seems to be fine. I think that bell thing is a game- and you are losing!!


----------



## Bailey Luda (Feb 14, 2006)

Bailey does this too ESPECIALLY when I am upstairs and not paying him attention. We decided we can't ignore the rings even though we _know_ he just went or something... the trick we do is he only gets a minute or so do do his business... if he doesn't head straight to his potty spot outside and starts playing around... we go back inside. Its frustrating







especially when you don't have time to constantly be at their beck and call but he has to learn that the bell is for potty time only _NOT_ play time. He's just under 6 months and gotten it down about 95% of the time

Hehehe... we laugh cause sometimes we ask him if he's ringing the potty bell or the "I need attention" bell










He's gotten so good now with the outside potty thing that it's such a pain getting him to use the potty pads when its rainy & muddy out!!!


----------



## LMJ (Feb 16, 2006)

I bell trained Jeffery too. He rings the bell pretty much all day long. Jeff likes to be outside. I hope that's it anyway and he's just not toying with me to get me to get up all the time.


----------



## wildaboutmickey (Oct 17, 2005)

When we got Beamer he learned to ring the bell within a few days, and boy did he ring and ring. He thought ringing bell meant TREAT! Wrong. I did take him out each time he rang the bells (the many trips outside in the beginning was a pain but well worth it). I wanted to be consistent so, he would learn that he would always be taken out to go potty when he rang the bells. When he didn’t go it was so cute watching him staring up at the treats on the table by the door when he came inside, and then looking at me and looking again at the treats waiting as to say give me a treat. I would say “Sorry, you didn’t make potty, you need to make potty outside for a treat.” He quickly learned he only got a treat if he made potty outside, and the excessive bell ringing lessoned a lot! It took about a month for him to only ring the bells to go potty. Hang in there

Michelle


----------



## Lizzie (Jan 26, 2006)

Well today is the first day he's actually rang the bell, so I hate to discourage him but like I said, OMG!!! He loves the outdoors but he's been going to his potty spot standing a few seconds then running for the door to come back inside. The only times he's actually pottied are his normal potty times. I wanted him bell trained for the evenings when I'm fixing dinner and distracted, since those are when he's accident prone. ( I know, they are MY accidents not his), but we both needed something to help us, I thought the bell would be a good idea. 

I suppose it doesn't help that Riley is a clown and I've been laughing all day so that only encourages him. I liked your idea Richard, of taking the bell away. Maybe the bell should only be there when I know it's near his potty time. He's so lucky today was a day I could be here all day today.


----------



## Baxter and Wally's Mom (Aug 18, 2005)

Baxter and Wally used to use a bell also, (actually a small wind chime) then they just jumped on the blinds on the backdoor and rattled them to get out. Last week we went to Lowe's and found a storm door with a built-in dog door! It fits a dog up to 100 lbs, although it doesn't seem that large, but Jack fits through it fine. Now we can leave the backdoor open when we are home, and they can't get out when we aren't! (And more importantly, no one can get IN!) What a concept!


----------



## Luvmalts<3 (Feb 12, 2006)

Like some members have said, you can give him a 'potty time limit', if you only let him play around for a certain amount of time he'll eventually catch on. Also, this may or may not help, but only treat him when he goes potty and not when he rings the bell....does that make sense? lol you furbaby is very smart!


----------



## Dutymum (Jan 3, 2006)

Madeline is bell trained, she caught on really quickly, she sometimes rings it when she wants her dinner too, as probably one time and it only takes one time, she rang it and I said do you want your dinner, or was just going to give her the dinner, they are very smart. But 99.9% its because she has to go to the bathroom, I never gave her a treat for going to the bathroom, so I never had that problem, but that is probably what you are running into, its all to do with the treat and not going potty. Just every time he rings the bell take him outside, wait for awhile to see if he does anything, then bring him back in, if you think its time for him to go outside and he doesnt ring the bell go to the bell and hit the bell with his foot and say outside, they catch on really quickly, I was quite amazed. But dont ignore him when he does ring the bell or he wont continue using it, if I were you I would forget about the treats.


----------



## Ellas Proud Mommy (Mar 4, 2006)

What a sneaky boy he is!!! Hopefully you get the kinks worked out!


----------



## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

I think Riley is a very smart little guy, he knows he is going to be rewarded for ringing the bell, he gets to go outside and play and not only that he gets a treat when he comes back in....well done Riley















I think as said above the best way to deal with this is to only treat him for going potty, not so much ringing the bell. Very cute though and I can imagine you in and out the door on the ring of that bell and I bet by the end of the day you felt like throwing that bell out or something to that effect


----------

