Does anyone use the dog training bells? For dogs to go outside for the toilet?

[MrsTumbletap]

Our kitchen door isn't next to the lounge and every time our pup walks out of the lounge I'm following her thinking she wants the toilet.

Sometimes she does, sometimes she is just having a wander or having a drink.

It would be nice for her to tell us she needs to go outside by ringing a bell, but not sure if they work as a training tool?

Has anyone successfully had any luck with them?

[SilentShadows]

Yes, mine uses one. If it's not there or I'm not quick enough she does bark to get my attention too. She's a beagle so sneakily clever, and has on occasion has used it just so I get up out of a chair and pay attention to her!

I started training her with it by ringing the bell myself every time I took her outside. Then teaching her to ring it by touching her nose to it for a treat, then progressing the treat to bring given once she was outside.

[BiteyShark]

I didn't use them at first but as he got older I realised I was missing his very subtle indicator.

I trained him to use them in under two days but when he was fully toilet trained I stopped using them.

[CMOTDibbler]

Yes, I always use them for my foster pups, and they are brilliant. But it is them training you to respond to their command really!

[M0nstermunch]

We trained our whippet as a pup, she picked it up very quickly. She never barks to go out so would just stand at the back door. She still uses it 4 years on.

[3teens2cats]

We used them. I didn't want him to scratch the door which was what our previous dog did. Pup learnt very quickly that ringing the bell made us get up and open the door and he used ir a lot! Trouble was sometimes he just wanted to go out and play or worse he would use it to make you get up so he could jump in your seat!! We took it away once he was 100% reliable with toilet training and could hold it for several hours. Didn't want to be at his beck and call with him ringing the bell all the time. We had a good daily routine by this time too so toilet breaks were predictable, I gave him the opportunity to go every 3/4 hrs. These days he will go and sit by the back door if he wants to go out.

[MrsTumbletap]

Ah this is great news.

Which ones do you have? Either of these ones?

[MrsTumbletap]

The one that goes on the floor looks like a tiny pad/button for her to actually ring.
I would have thought the pad bit on the top would be bigger. Maybe there are better ones?

[JacobReesMogadishu]

I tried, she never got the hang of it. She’s a bit dim bless her.

[CMOTDibbler]

I have the ones on a strip - your first photo. I like that they are directly associated with the door, and its so easy for them to get a noise by nudging with their nose or paw, and for us to make them ring every time the door is opened

[MrsTumbletap]

That's true the hanging ones would be easier to ring.

[M0nstermunch]

Yes we have the hanging strip as well, easy for her to nudge with her nose.

[MissShapesMissStakes]

Yes. We use the ones that hang from the door handle. Didn't really teach it. He soon learnt that the bells rang when we opened the door. Within a couple of days he had worked out that if he rings them with his paw he gets to go out and change pigeons, leaves, the wind.

He's almost two now and we still use it as we can get him from upstairs.

He can be very insistent when there is a pigeon out there!

[Opoly54]

We tried, it was a disaster. Pup just saw it as the most exciting toy and would pounce on them, fling them around the room, bury them.

[PollyPolson]

I've never used them or seen the point of them.

Puppies need to be taken out regularly anyway bells or no bells

When the dogs are older they hold the wee until they are taken out.My dogs are never left for hours at a time without going out so no need to ask to go out.

I also have 6 collies who would quickly cotton on that bells get attention. Between them one of them would be ringing then all day long

Interesting to hear how they work for others though.

[SimonJT]

I’m attempting this with our puppy, I shall report back in six months as to whether or not it has been a disaster!

[MissShapesMissStakes]

@PollyPolsen I use ours because I like that he can ask to go out without a need to bark and learn that barking is a way to get what he wants. (It's also cute to see him ringing the bells). He does bark to come in if the door is shut.

He doesn't just ask to go out to toilet. Sometimes he's wants to have a wander, sniff etc. Or he can see pigeons. My parents have separate access to the garden and sometimes he likes to go and say hello so will ring the bells to go and see them.

As a puppy he couldn't hold it for as long and if we were slightly out of timings (we used to take him out very regularly) and he needed to go then he rang the bells and we avoided an accident.

I like that he has his own way to communicate with us what he wants. And it does no harm, I can't see a negative to him using the bells.

[PollyPolson]

MissShapesMissStakes thank you it is interesting to hear how people use them and I was not suggesting in any way it was a negative. Sounds fun to train.

So sweet ringing the bells to see your parents

It has made me think about our lifestyle and I guess as we are on a farm and they are also SAR dogs so they are out and about most of the day so when they are in we want them to chill and be in for a bit.

I reckon the collies would be ringing them all the time to get out. It may work better for us to have a bell they could ring to come back into the house

[MissShapesMissStakes]

@PollyPolsen - I can imagine they would drive you crazy with it!

Mine can be very insistent when there is a pigeon or cat on the garden. And he rings them loudly and a lot till we either let him out (the pigeons are enjoying our grass seed at the moment) or tell him to knock it off.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

We ended up with something similar by default. When our brown lab Coco was a little puppy, she taught herself to use the cat flap, when she needed to do her business (the garden was completely secure). I was a bit worried that, as she grew, she'd end up getting stuck in it, but she realised when she was getting too big so, instead of going out, she'd sit and bang the cat flap with her paw - so whenever I hear that rattle, I know she needs to go out!

[Opoly54]

Our cat does that! He’s too lazy to actually push the cat flat open so he sits next to it and pushes it just enough so that it knocks-he doesn’t stop until we open the back door for him!

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Well - as the saying goes, @Opoly54 - dogs have owners, cats have staff!

[TheletterZ]

We have the door ones for our 5 month old. Really useful as we can be in another room and hear the ding. We do take him out regularly but he doesn’t away go to the toilet then but needs one soon after!

Really like it! We can relax just a bit as he is really great with his bell.

He also uses the bell to let the cats in or out, which is very sweet.

[AnnPerkins]

We tried one of the strip ones but took it off because it was disturbing the puppy from his naps. Every time someone opened the door it would ring and he would have to go and see who it was.

He gets our attention by huffing or whimpering or just coming and staring at one of us.

[MrsTumbletap]

@TheletterZ do you have the hanging ones, or the one you put on the floor?

[spiderlight]

We used a bell on a string for years with our last two dogs and they picked it up really fast, and the cats copied them as well and would ring to go out despite having a perfectly good cat flap on the same door. Our current lad, though, just does not have a clue - we adopted him at nearly 9 years old and he's not the sharpest tool in the box, to put it mildly!