I remember the first time we went to see our puppy, Zoey. She was just a few weeks old when we went to our breeders house to meet and choose the newest addition to our family.
As I sat on the floor amid a pile of a puppies, I suddenly heard the tinkle of a bell. Frowning, I looked around – everyone was centered in the living room.
Cindy, our breeder, explained that her dog was letting her know that he wanted out by ringing the bell attached to the door. What kind of genius sorcery was this?!
No scratching, no barking, no whining and pacing around the living room?
I HAD to the know the secret. It turns out it wasn’t as magical as it seemed, just the effort of a two part trick.
The first thing you’re going to want to do is have a supply of your favorite dog treats to use as a training aid. It’s important to use a treat your pet enjoys!
If you’re like us, and you enjoy making Homemade Dog Training Treats then get to cooking up a solid stash to use for this exercise. Maybe you still have some from the list of Awesome DIY Halloween Dog Treats You Can Make Yourself?
Okay, once you have those and you’re at home in a quiet, distraction free area, it’s time to work on the first trick: touch.
Dog Training Trick #1 Touch
Step 1: Sandwich a small treat between your thumb and palm, hand outstretched.
Step 2: You pet is going to smell the treat and of course, come looking. As soon as your dog touches your hand with his nose or mouth reward with the treat and some loving.
Step 3: Next time she touches your hand, reward her and give the command “touch” at the same time.
Step 4: Once your dog can touch on command, you’re ready for the next trick.
Dog Training Trick #2 Ring The Bell
Step 1: Place your hand behind the bell and command touch.
Step 2: When she touches the bell, treat.
Step 3: When she touches the bell on her own, make a big deal and reward.
Step 4: Now, whenever you take your pet outside, have her touch the bell first. Instead of treating, the reward is to open the door (but of course you can treat as well).
Step 5: Within a few days your dog will learn that she will be let out whenever she rings the bell.
This process sounds so simple now! It would be really nice to have a signal they can activate when they want to go outside.
Teaching your dog to ring a bell is a great idea. I will have to pick up some treats for my sisters dogs.
Wow–wish I had thought of that one back when I had dogs! Dogs are extremely intelligent and they pick up really quickly when treats or going out is involved!!
Treats were the only way we could train our dog when we first got her. She learned several tricks but never caught on to ringing a bell.
Our dog rings the bell to go out, too. We were able to teach her by ringing the bell each time before we opened the door and let her out. She soon started ringing it on her own. But every now and then she’ll ring the bell because she wants us to come play with her and she knows the bell will get us to her :)