House Training Tips Article & Summary of Teaching Your Dog to Ring the Bell At the Door to Go Out

I get a fair number of calls a year for house training advice. I give out a lot of tips for free.

Here are a list of tips that I give to owners that are seeking to housebreak their dog:

• Puppies NEED to go out more often than adults. Some can sleep through the night, and others can't. Some will need to go out about every two hours at first.
• When first bringing home a puppy, crate training and tethering when your attention can not be on them are great solutions. Let puppy or dog inside for loose play only after they have done number one and two as expected when first entering your home (and in their outside area obviously).
• Write down the times of any "accidents" and add those times to your schedule of when you let your dog or puppy out, until a reliable pattern develops.
• After an accident, immediately bring your puppy or dog outside.
• Keep separate bathroom times when your puppy or dog goes out vs play times. If the dog or puppy does not pee or poop within a reasonable time frame (usually 5 minutes), return them to their crate for about 20 minutes, and bring them out again. Repeat until they have done their business outside.
• The reason for keeping play and bathroom time separate is that dogs will naturally want to play and extend the time. If you make it clear there is a certain time for bathroom and it needs to be done soon, then you will be able to get your dog in and out and then go about your day.
• Be aware that feeding times help you determine when your dog will need to go. Most dogs need to go out before they eat. Some find that the eating moves things along after too. Note the times in your journal that your dog pees or poops after they eat.
• Dogs and puppies need frequent access to water, but at night, you can pick times (like 7 PM or so) that you put the water away, so that when your dog out later (at 9 pm for example), they won't feel the need to go out again (in general, every dog's system is different).
• Especially for puppies, after training, exercise, and play, puppies normally need to go to the bathroom. I usually break puppies in class after a half hour for a potty break. Dogs may need this too; it depends on the dog's system. After a play or training session, it's always a good thing to check if your dog or puppy needs to go out.
• Train your dog or puppy to alert when they need to go by using a bell or something else to make noise. Also, be aware of what your dog or puppy's signals may already be.
• BE SURE THAT YOU LET YOUR DOG OUT DURING SCHEDULED TIMES DURING THE DAY, ONCE YOU KNOW THEIR SCHEDULE. ALSO, SHOULD YOU HEAR THE ALERT, LET THEM OUT!!!!
• I do not recommend pad training a dog, unless you are a city dweller and really need this.
• If you work and can not get home during the day, have a pet sitter let your dog out.

SUMMARY OF HOW I TEACH A DOG TO RING THE BELL AT THE DOOR:

Some dogs do not need all these steps and will figure it out quickly.  For MOST dogs and puppies, this is how I train them to ring the bell to alert that they need to go outside. 

NOTE:  AT SOME POINT, THE DOG WILL FIGURE OUT THAT THEIR SERVANT, YOU, WILL OPEN THE DOOR AT ALL TIMES TO LET THEM OUT, WHETHER THEY NEED TO GO OR NOT.  SO WHEN THEY HAVE NOT HAD ACCIDENTS, YOU NEED TO START IGNORING THEM AND DISTRACTING THEM ONTO SOMETHING ELSE INSIDE TO BE CLEAR THAT IT IS ONLY FOR USE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM.  OTHERWISE, A SMART DOG WILL DRIVE YOU CRAZY LATER ON.

PART 1:  TEACHING TOUCH THE HAND FIRST

These sessions will be under 5 minutes.

STEP 1:   The dog or puppy is on a leash to keep them in the area while working on this.

STEP 2:  I put my hand in a fist with the treat in it.

STEP 3:  I present my hand to the dog and say "touch." NOTE: THIS MAY BE CONFUSING WHILE WORKING ON LEAVE IT, BUT MOST DOGS CAN DISCERN THE DIFFERENCE AS YOU PRACTICE.  ALSO SEE MY NOTE ON WHETHER OR NOT TO PREFER A NOSE TOUCH TO A PAW TOUCH.  IF YOU DON'T WANT A DOOR SCRATCHED, YOU MIGHT PREFER A NOSE TOUCH.

STEP 4:  When the dog touches my hand, I give the release marker word "yes" as I immediately open my hand.  

STEP 5:  I repeat this until I can get three sets of 4 in a row easily.  Meaning the dog or puppy easily understands what they are doing.  Once this is done, it is time to add the bell.

THIS VIDEO IS BAILEY [NOTE I WAS USING DIFFERENT WORDS THEN, JUST IGNORE THAT]:

PART 2: ADDING IN THE BELL [NOT ON THE DOOR YET]

STEP 1:  The dog or puppy is on a leash to keep them in the area while working this.

STEP 2: I have a food reward in one hand and the bell in the other.

STEP 3:  Now I hold the bell towards the dog and say "touch."

NOTE: SOME DOGS WILL NEED YOU TO HOLD THE TREAT BEHIND THE BELL AT FIRST.  

STEP 4:  When the dog touches the bell, I say yes as I give the food reward.  

NOTE:  WHETHER THE DOG TOUCHES WITH THEIR NOSE OR THEIR PAW, I DON'T USUALLY HAVE A PREFERENCE, AND I LET THE DOG DECIDE.  HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE A DOOR THAT YOU DO NOT WANT SCRATCHED, YOU MAY WANT TO JUST REWARD FOR A NOSE TOUCH.  

STEP 5:  I repeat this until I can get three sets of 4 in a row easily.  Meaning the dog or puppy easily understands what they are doing.  Additionally, at the end, before moving the bell to the door, I want a strong touch so that I can hear the bell easily.  NOTE: AT THE VERY BEGINNING, I DO REWARD ANY TOUCH, EVEN IF IT IS LIGHT, TO GET THE EXERCISE GOING.  AS WE MOVE ON, I START ONLY REWARDING FOR A HARDER TOUCH THAT GETS THE BELL TO RING.

THIS VIDEO IS BUDHHA, AND I AM USING A CRATE INSTEAD OF A LEASH.

THIS VIDEO IS IZZY:

PART 3:  BRINGING THE BELL TO THE DOOR

STEP 1:  Hang the bell on the door that you want your dog to alert at.

NOTE:  FOR SOME DOGS, YOU WILL NEED TO HOLD THE BELL A LITTLE AWAY FROM THE DOOR UNTIL THEY GET MORE CONFIDENT.  FOR SOME DOGS, YOU WILL NEED TO NOT PUT THE BELL ON THE DOOR AT FIRST, BUT HOLD IT NEAR THE DOOR UNTIL THEY GET MORE CONFIDENT.  ONE TRICK TO START THIS OFF QUICKLY, IS TO PUT A SMEAR OF PEANUT BUTTER OR SOMETHING ELSE YOUR DOG LIKES ON THE BELL.  THERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT STRATEGIES I USE DEPENDING ON THE DOG'S TEMPERAMENT AND STRENGTHS.

STEP 2:  Give the command "touch" as you point to the bell if it is attached to the door.  

STEP 3:  When the dog touches the bell (and you may need to do some of the options above, including maybe holding the treat behind the bell), the ideal thing to do is open up the door immediately if it is not too inconvenient.  For instance, if one hand is holding the bell away from the door or just holding the bell, opening the door might not be easy at that point.

STEP 4:  You can now give the marker word "yes" as you give the food reward.  The dog can be inside or outside the door at this point.  The dog may bypass taking the treat, which is okay too.

NOTE: WITH SOME DOGS, I USE A DIFFERENT STRATEGY.  I MIGHT HAVE THEIR FOOD BOWL OUTSIDE THE DOOR TO USE AS MOTIVATION.  I MIGHT ALSO HAVE BELLS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE DOOR TO GET TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MORE PRACTICE BY HAVING THEM RING TO GO IN AND OUT.

STEP 5: I repeat this until I can easily get three sets of 4 in a row.  Meaning the dog or puppy easily understands what they are doing. 

PART 4:  BEGINNING TO CONDITION THE BEHAVIOR TO RING THE BELL TO GO OUT

STEP 1:  At this point, I have been keeping a journal of the dog or puppies' normal bathroom times and what they do (pee and/or poop).  I also usually use my phone alarm to alert me to these times.

STEP 2:  When the alarm goes off, I encourage the dog to come with me to the door.  I will loiter there waiting for the dog or puppy to touch the bell.  If it goes on for too long, I will give the command, but I want to try to avoid that now if possible.

STEP 3:  When the dog or puppy touches the bell, I immediately open the door and usher them through.  If I have doubts about whether the dog will go out the door, I might have their food bowl on the other side.

STEP 4:  Then I close the door (unless you are having him potty on a leash walk) and wait for the dog to do their business.  In the beginning, I might wait 5 minutes before letting them in.

STEP 5A:  If they do their business as expected, I tell them they are a "good boy or girl."  If you want to you could give a food reward, but this might shorten their stay outside and keep them from going potty because they are now motivated to come inside.  If you are on a walk to potty, you could give them a food reward without that worry.

STEP 5B:  If your dog does not do their business, you may want to put them in their crate for about 20 minutes and try again.  You could also practice "sit on the dog" or "long place" in between set up visits to the bell and door.

STEP 6:  Repeat this at all potty times until your dog or puppy really understands what they are doing.

THIS VIDEO IS BUDHHA:

PART 5:  PROOFING THIS WHILE THE OWNER IS NO LONGER LOITERING NEAR THE DOOR

Before having to practice this, your dog may already have shown you that they will go to the door on their own.  In that case, you are probably already safe and will instead need to start to ignore the times you know your dog does not need to go, so you don't end up your dog's servant and butler.

Otherwise, I am alert when my housebreaking alarms go off.  However, now I may wander to a room near the door, but I am not going to loiter near the actual door.  Good times to proof this are the first thing in the morning when you know that your dog is going to need to go.  The last night time usually potty is another guess-free time to see if this is working consistently.

Now I am giving them several minutes to alert them to go to the bathroom.  If it seems they will not initiate this, I will eventually bring them to the door, so I don't ruin the house breaking by having an accident in the house if possible.  It happens sometimes.  The dog needs that space and time to decide what they are going to do.  

When they ring, immediately get to the door to open it up and let them out.

THIS IS BUDHHA.  I WAS AT THE END OF THE MUDROOM AND NOT NEAR THE DOOR.