# Bell Training for potty



## FrancoD13 (Aug 9, 2012)

Just curious if any of you have tried bell training with your Vizsla? We have been bell training and it has worked real well. Our 8 month old now rings the bell every time he needs to go outside, which is helpful since we are on the 3rd floor in the city. However he has been a little too smart for us and now rings the bell every 5 minutes because he knows he is getting a treat and going outside. We have started to take him outside but only for 5 minutes and back in. No playing, nothing, just taking him to his potty spot and back inside. But he still rings the bell all day. He just wants to be outside.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Hilarious!  I just love how a smart Vizsla works. They have a great ability to take a 5 step process and go straight to step 5  

Regardless of which method you use, be it a bell or whatever, it's always important to make sure that not too much fun is had in reward terms, otherwise, they will be ringing bells, tapping glass, whining or roo roo rooing at the door all day.......  Once the pattern is established, relief should be the reward.....  

Have fun altering the behaviour.  I bet it's harder to train that bit out, than it was to bell train firstly!!


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## Kdwyer915 (Oct 23, 2012)

We also use the bell training to go outside. Milo also rings the bell every 5 mins just so he can go outside and play. Our cat actually rings the bell to go outside, too


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## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

Ours also uses bells to let us know when he wants to munch on the landscaping or take a nap in the sun. Luckily we have a enclosed back yard and not a 3 floor trip. Sounds like you have the right idea to try to train him back. (Good luck with that! ;D )


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

We also used bell training with our pup. It works really well...until they figure it out and ring it because they know they will get a treat. My advice to you is- take them out when they ring it. It will be a haul for you up/down 3 flights but this reinforces the fact that by ringing the bell they go outside. Take them out, say potty potty potty and if they don't go then bring them in immediately so they know it's for business, not for play. However, as we learned in our dog training, sometimes give them a treat and sometimes don't. Same goes for when you're reinforcing sit/stay/down after they initially learn it. This teaches them that they won't always know if they will be rewarded but they will still do what you ask of them. Eventually your pup will learn that ringing the bell means they go out but it doesn't mean that they will always get rewarded for it. This should help break them asking to go out in hopes of treats. At least it did for our boy.


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Oso's another bell ringer. He went through a phase where he rang the bell to go outside and play (not potty). We took him out said potty, then brought him back in, just as you're doing. It worked. He now only rings for potty. I would think about fading out the treats though. I feel like we were done treating for potty by 4-5months. Eventually, just the fact that he gets to relieve himself is reward enough. 

Our cat rings the bell all the time (despite never having been reinforced). He also picked up the command for "leave it" and "ven" (although we trained him with 'come').


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Never trained any bell ringing because I was afraid he might just ring it for the **** of it... but noticed that the boy will come to us and guide us to the door when he needs to go. 

I read somewhere they only need to know WHOA, WHOA and WHOA. 
So, I worked on it a little every day without any positive or negative enforcement. Got be not bad, not bad at all.


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## candi30 (Jan 2, 2013)

How long did it take to train your V's to ring the bell consistently on their own?


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

I believe it was only a week or week and a half with consistent training for us. Once they know what you would like them to do they are quick to please you.


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## Darcy1311 (May 27, 2012)

candi30 said:


> How long did it take to train your V's to ring the bell consistently on their own?




Campanology... ;D...Now that rings a bell....


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

We use the bell as well. Ruby only goes out the back door for potty. Her signal to us when she was a puppy was to circle around the room when she needed to go out. When she got older and we let her in more parts of the house - that wouldn't work so we got the bells. I can work upstairs and and when she has to go she will ring them. AND she will continue to ring them until you let her out :

In the beginning, she played that game of ringing them to go outside. I think she finally grew out of it. Now she only rings them if she has to go. She learned them very fast. She still does her little circle around the room and then rings the bell.


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## KB87 (Jan 30, 2012)

I have to laugh at our boy because he bats at the bells like a cat repeatedly until we take him out. He'll smack the bell and it goes flying up, then pops him in the face but he always has his eyes closed like he's ready for it. He isn't the smartest little creature but he's my favorite 

He's also recently started to bring us his leash and our jacket if he's rung the bell a few times and we aren't moving. When he drops them at our feet he gives us this look like "OK, lazy, here's the leash and jacket- what more do you need?! I gotta go!!"


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## candi30 (Jan 2, 2013)

KB87, sounds like your boy is a pretty smart cookie to me!
I can't wait for the day our girl brings us her leash and our jackets. I will lose it laughing!


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## Denaligirl (Aug 28, 2012)

Denali also uses bells. And she is still in the phase of hitting the bells just to go out and play, however, if she realizes that we are not coming with her outside, she will scratch at the door to come back in almost immediately. The bells have come in especially handy when going to a friends or unfamiliar house. We show her where the bells are on the door and she will use them. We actually have friends who keep their own set of bells by the door for when we all come over, which is often. Denali is good friends with their lab.


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