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Potty training is often the most frustrating part of having a dog. Sadly, many dogs are surrendered to shelters due to potty training issues, but those dogs just need more training sessions and patience. One of the best ways to avoid accidents is to teach your dog to let you know when they need to do their business. So, how do you do that?
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Schedule
First, you need to put your dog on a schedule. This means feeding them, walking them, and giving them bathroom breaks at the same time each day. Dogs are creatures of habit, so if you have them on a schedule, it will help avoid accidents. Yet, it also sets up the “stage” so you can start teaching them to let you know when they need out.
Choosing a Cue
What do you want your dog to do when they need to go outside? Some common choices are:
- Bark at the door
- Sit/lie down at the door (only choose this if the door is regularly visible to you)
- Bark “at” you (in other words, come find you and bark at you)
- Ring a bell
You need to decide on the cue before moving forward with training. Once you decide, you shouldn’t change it because changing it could confuse your dog.
While sitting or lying by the door is quiet, it can be harder for you to notice. On the other hand, if your dog is already a “barker,” you may not want to encourage that behavior by rewarding them for barking sometimes. Also, it might be confusing at times why your dog is barking – does your dog really need out, or are they barking at you because the mailman is outside?
Having bells on the door is one of the easiest and best ways to teach a dog to alert you when they need to go out because it’s a completely separate behavior from anything else your dog does. It’s a unique sound so you won’t miss your dog’s request.
Because of these reasons, I am going to explain how to teach your dog to alert you using bells. However, if you decide on another cue, the training follows similar steps.
Related: Our Top 11 Picks For The Best Indoor Dog Potty
Training
First, of course, you will need a set of bells. You can buy bells from anywhere and tie them to your door, but if you would like a cute stylish set that is made for dogs, then there are dog-specific bells at some pet supply stores.
This is where the schedule comes in. Since your dog is already used to going out at the same time each day, they may already be going to the door on their own. If not, that’s okay, but more training will be needed.
Here are the steps you can take:
#1 – Shaping the behavior
To teach your dog to use the bells, you are going to use “shaping.” This means you will gradually get to the end behavior by rewarding your dog for anything that’s close to what you want.
So, hang the bells on the door you want your dog to use.
- Bring your dog to the door and wait for them to do anything with the bells. Most dogs will at least look at the new object on the door – some may even sniff it.
- As soon as your dog looks at, sniffs, or touches the bells, mark the behavior with your clicker or a word like “yes” and then reward them by opening the door and letting them outside. If going outside is not exciting for your dog, you should open the door, lead your dog outside, and then reward them with food or a toy.
- After a few minutes of sniffing the yard, take your dog back inside and reset.
The rest will depend on how quickly your dog learns. Some may immediately go to the bells after that while others may need ten repetitions before they do something more than look at the bells.
#2 – When to move ahead
You’ll want your dog to do something above and beyond what they were doing before. So, if your dog was just looking, wait a few seconds before rewarding to see if they will take a step toward the bells, and then reward that. This is how you gradually encourage your dog to touch the bells. The goal is to get your dog to interact with the bells so they make a sound.
#3 – Potty Time
Once your dog knows to run to the bells and ring them on their own, they may take advantage of it at first by going over there every few minutes or every hour. At first, this is okay! You want your dog to understand that ringing the bells means “go outside,” so go ahead and praise them and let them out.
When your dog has it “down cold,” you can start distinguishing between ringing the bells to go potty and just wanting to go out to play. Make sure when they do it at potty time (this is why your schedule is so important) you make a huge deal (lots of praise, treats, etc.) when they go potty. If your dog rings it and just goes in the backyard, say nothing and take them back inside. They will learn the real reward is when they ring the bell to go potty.
In addition to training, installing a dog door could help avoid accidents in your home.
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