How To Bell Train Your Dog To Go Outside
by dogtoyadvisor | Last updated on November 18, 2020
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Some people will tell you that, in order to bell train your dog, all you need to do is ring the bell every time you take him out and, eventually, he’ll begin to do it on his own.
While this may work for dogs who are already used to scratching the door or barking at the door to let you know they’re ready to go out, it won’t work for all dogs.
What’ll You Need
For our dogs, it took a little bit more effort, even because the last thing we wanted was for our dogs to ring the bell every time they want us to take them outside (that bell would be ringing all day long).
We wanted to teach them to ring the bell only when they need to go outside for a potty break. And that’s the real challenge.
Get A Bell
First things first, you can’t train your dog to ring a bell without having one.
While any bell will do, we do recommend this particular model.
For the price in question, we figured it was better to have something ready to use than getting some bell and making it work.
You just need to pick the color that works for your décor and place it on your door knob.
Then you have the more modern versions like this one.
This is what we use, for several reasons.
The first being you can control the sound and the volume of the sound it makes when the dog presses the button.
This is important because of Dobby. Being afraid of loud noises and things that move a lot, bells ringing each time the door moves or each time one of the dogs needs to go out just wasn’t working.
Not only that, but it made it impossible for Dobby to be trained, he was just too scared of the bells.
It needs no batteries or wires and you can put the receiver anywhere in the house.
Just perfect for us!
Have Some Treats In Hand
Nothing gives your dog positive reinforcement quite like tasty treats.
Each time your dog advances in your training efforts, reward him with some love, some motivational words and, of course, some goodies.
If you’re worried about the calorie intake, so are we!
These are the low-calorie training treats we use:
If your dog is used to clicker training, you can use that too on each step we mention to give your dog a treat.
How to Bell Train Your Dog
Ok, let’s begin! It may seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually quite simple.
Four easy steps to teach your dog to ring the bell to go ouside for a potty break.
Step 1 – Touch Training
In order to train your dog to ring the bell, you’ll need to teach him to touch the bell.
Command your dog to touch the bell using the word “touch” or whatever works for you.
Being naturally curious, most dogs will touch the bell with their noses as soon as you place it in front of them.
If your dog isn’t as adventurous, you may try rubbing something on it to make it more appealing, like peanut butter or whatever draws his attention to it.
As soon as your dog’s nose touches the bell, praise him and reward him with a treat.
This creates the marker your dog needs to understand what you expect of him.
Repeat this exercise until your dog is touching the bell every time you command him to do it.
This training session shouldn’t last longer than 10 minutes, even if your dog doesn’t get it at first.
Once he does it every time, repeat this training for 4 or 5 days until you’re ready to move on to the next step.
Step 2 – Touching The Bell On The Door
Now, you’ll want to teach him to touch the bell when it’s already on the door knob (or, in case of an electronic bell, when it’s glued on the door or the place you want it to be)
This step should go faster. You need to show your dog what you want him to touch, command him to touch it and reward him once he does it.
Again, practice during 10 to 15 minutes and for a couple of days.
Step 3 – Touching The Bell On The Door Without You Near It
The idea is for your dog to ring the bell (touching it) without having you anywhere near it. Step away from the door and command your door to touch it.
If you see he’s struggling with it, maybe you need to take a step back and work on the prior step with him for longer. Do it for a couple more days before moving on to this step.
Once you’re away from the door and command your dog to touch the bell and he does it, reward him accordingly.
Repeat it for the regular amount of time and for a few days.
Step 4 – Ringing The Bell To Go Outside
We’re almost there!
By now your dog is ringing the bell at any time you request it, regardless of where you are.
The next step is teaching your dog to only ring it when he needs to go outside for his potty break (and for nothing else).
Each time you’re about to take your dog out for a potty break, command him to ring the bell and reward him when he does.
Basically, just before you open the door to take your dog out, you’ll make him ring the bell.
Do this every single time you go outside with your dog for potty breaks (remember, consistency is key).
In time, your dog will learn that he needs to ring the bell to go outside,
Then, of course, will come the day when he does it by himself.
Needless to say, that’s when you will praise him like crazy, pet him, feed him treats, dance, jump around, everything you can think of that will make him realize he’s done the most incredible thing possible.
But take him out immediately, of course. Then, as he goes potty outside, reward him.
This should create the perfect connection between ringing the bell, going outside and going potty.
Do this consistently every time and see how he gets used to doing it like he’s done it all his life.
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