Chris
Premium Member
Layla learned the bells, which we used until she began to ring them for fun. 
For Whom the Bell Tolls
- Thread starter blackguppy
- Start date
take4roll10
Moderator
She gets angry. She literally will pounce at the door and smash into the bells and then turn around and give you the sheltie glare "Hello?!?! don't you see I'm ringing the bells!"
Justicemom
Forums Celebrity
Somedays I think Ember and Bailey were seperated at birth. The sound so alike.
Ember wasn't need the bells,she just smashes the door.Somedays I think Ember and Bailey were seperated at birth. The sound so alike.
My name is Phebe and I'm a door smasher. It's not my fault. I live with slow people.
RetiredProf
Forums Enthusiast
I was going to do the bell thing until I realized I'm "d"eaf. Wouldn't be much help unless Gus and Dee can set off a strobe light. Picture that!
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
Congrats! I know alot of you use the bell technique and it works great for you!
I went another direction and use the poop routine. With some training and mostly luck of the draw, my pups have a schedule down pat. I pretty much know when they need to pee and poo - it's more than clockwork because its so much around time of day, but around what activities I do.
I'm pretty regimented in my daily routines and the boys have adapted to them, each in their own way. Doesn't matter if its weekday or weekend (same routine, just later). I get up, get my first cup of coffee. Bacca sleeps on and Indy goes out for pee and poo. I go back to bed to read. 15 minutes later, I go down for my second cup of coffee. Bacca now awake, and he pees and poos. Indy sniffs the kitchen looking for anything that might have miraculously dropped on the floor overnight.
Read another 15 minutes, then in the shower, dressed, hair dryer turns off...and yippee! The boys know that food is next.
Then its playtime.
Coming home is pretty much the same, day in day out. In between if they need/want to go out, I get the snout push on my leg and the doggy eyes stare.
The only problem with the routine is when we are outside of the routine for some reason (e.g. staying over at my parent's house). Then I just have to make sure I don't wait for their signals and take them out regularly.
That's the only drawback with the bell signal, in my view. If that is the only cue that your dog uses to let you know, than you have to have a bell wherever you go!
I went another direction and use the poop routine. With some training and mostly luck of the draw, my pups have a schedule down pat. I pretty much know when they need to pee and poo - it's more than clockwork because its so much around time of day, but around what activities I do.
I'm pretty regimented in my daily routines and the boys have adapted to them, each in their own way. Doesn't matter if its weekday or weekend (same routine, just later). I get up, get my first cup of coffee. Bacca sleeps on and Indy goes out for pee and poo. I go back to bed to read. 15 minutes later, I go down for my second cup of coffee. Bacca now awake, and he pees and poos. Indy sniffs the kitchen looking for anything that might have miraculously dropped on the floor overnight.
Read another 15 minutes, then in the shower, dressed, hair dryer turns off...and yippee! The boys know that food is next.
Then its playtime.
Coming home is pretty much the same, day in day out. In between if they need/want to go out, I get the snout push on my leg and the doggy eyes stare.
The only problem with the routine is when we are outside of the routine for some reason (e.g. staying over at my parent's house). Then I just have to make sure I don't wait for their signals and take them out regularly.
That's the only drawback with the bell signal, in my view. If that is the only cue that your dog uses to let you know, than you have to have a bell wherever you go!
I tried the bell thing with Meggie. She never got it at all.
I wish she'd throw herself against the door. She doesn't go anywhere near it as a sign. Her signal for everything is to groan and whine at me. I have to figure out what the heck she wants. Out, food, water, etc. or just, Play with me mom! She "talks" so much I swear she's only a groan away from actually speaking to me.
I wish she'd throw herself against the door. She doesn't go anywhere near it as a sign. Her signal for everything is to groan and whine at me. I have to figure out what the heck she wants. Out, food, water, etc. or just, Play with me mom! She "talks" so much I swear she's only a groan away from actually speaking to me.
This is very true. I started really watching Kai'a and she will sort of rub up against the door before she rings the bell, and I also taught her that with the ringing of the bell, she needs to sit down and wait there. Between watching for the signal of her rubbing on the door and her sitting down by the door, we have worked out a way for her to give me cues when not at home.
We have had success at family and friends homes which is wonderful. I have to admit, I really didn't do anything. The first 3 days we had her I just took her out every 1 - 2 hours. I would ring the bell, make her sit, treat, then out the door, to the "potty place", a "hurry up, go potty" and then a treat when she did it. She got it by the end of day 2 and I have not had to do a thing since. So I have to give the credit to her, she was just that quick on the up take. Mommy gets no props for that one.