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If you’re working on potty training your dog, then dog bell training—teaching a puppy or adult dog to ring a “potty bell”—can be a real lifesaver. Teaching your dog to ring a potty bell to let you know when she needs to go outside is simple, convenient, and can eliminate accidents (or, in the case of my stoic pups, the dreaded, silent potty stare).

So, how does it work? Some people swear that all you have to do is hang a bell from the door and ring it every time you take your dog outside until they eventually start ringing it themselves. However, professional behaviorists, dog trainers, and experts at the AKC recommend a more intentional approach to training your dog to ring a potty bell.

Outlined in further detail below, this three-step training process is the best approach according to the experts at the AKC:

1. Train your dog to touch the bell with their nose and reward with a treat
2. Encourage your dog to ring the bell at the door(s) and reward with a treat
3. Train your dog when to ring the bell (you want her to ring it when she needs to go potty, not all the time!)

You can brush up on basic dog training info here and then continue reading to learn more about each step in the dog bell training process.

And if you have any concerns about your pet’s potty habits, check with your vet. You know your dog best.

1. Bell Training Starts With Touch Training

Getting started, keep in mind that specially-made dog training bells such as the Mighty Paw Bell or Caldwell’s Potty Bells are available for purchase, but you can actually make your own strand of bells at home using simple craft store supplies. In my house, it’s an old holiday ornament jingle bell strung on a shoelace!

Caldwell’s Potty Bells Original Dog Doorbell

Charming and sturdy, these potty bells easily snap around door handles, levers, and more so your dog can jingle instead of barking or scratching.

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Once you’ve chosen your bell, you’re ready to start dog training. Be sure to have plenty of treats on hand. If you do clicker training, you’ll want to have your clicker handy, too.

Start by introducing your dog to the bell. Animal behaviorist Mikkel Becker at Vetstreet suggests using a food lure to encourage them: “For bells that hang from a hook or doorknob, a small dab of spreadable cheese, dog-safe peanut butter, or some other soft treat can be spread on the bell to encourage your dog to approach the bell and touch it with his muzzle.”

Once the bell is nice and enticing, it’s time to get to work:

• Say the command “touch” and show your dog the bell, holding it a couple inches away from her nose
• As soon as your dog’s nose hits the bell, click your clicker or say “yes!” and give her a treat right away. The clicker or “yes” serves as a marker to tell the dog she’s done the right thing, and the treat is her reward. Repeat these first two steps 10-15 times, or until your dog is reliably touching the bell every time you say “touch”
• Next, start moving the bells a bit further away from your dog, or off to the side, each time you cue her to “touch” them. You’re gradually increasing the distance and duration of your dog’s response to the “touch” command

Dog training works best in short, consistent bursts, so try this “touch” exercise in daily, 10-15 minute sessions. Here’s an example of a dog learning to “touch” a service bell:

2. Put The Doggy Bell Next to the Door

Within a week of practicing, you should be ready to move on to the next step!

This step will take your dog from touching the bell to ringing it next to the door. To start, hang your dog potty bells from the doorknob of the door you most often use to take your pet outside. You can also hang or mount the bell next to the doorframe.

Some families have an electronic doggy doorbell, a fine option for dogs who don’t like jingle sounds. Whatever kind of bell you’re using, it should be placed at nose or paw level for your dog.

Wireless Dog Doorbell

This electronic potty bell solution works with just a touch of a nose or paw. Use this doorbell inside or out.

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With treats in hand, call your dog over and resume training. These steps are recommended by ASPCA pet behaviorists at WebMD:

• With the bell hanging from its knob or hook, take it in your hand and say “Touch,” holding it out toward your dog as close as the string or hanger will allow
• As soon as your dog touches the bell with her nose, click or say “yes!” and give her a treat reward
• Repeat this step until your dog touches the bell right away when you say “touch.” Some dogs won’t need much time at all, as they’ve already mastered the art of touching the bell

After your dog has mastered touching the bell when you hold it in your hands, you can transition to simply pointing at the bell and saying “touch.” Follow the same steps to mark and reward them. Chance are, they’ll pick it up in no time.

3. Ringing Bells to Go Outside (and Not for Anything Else!)

Now that your dog is an expert bell-ringer on command, it’s time to help her understand that she can ring the bell herself whenever she wants to go out. But you also need to show her that potty time is the only time to ring the bell. After all, you don’t want her ringing it nonstop.

To train your dog when to ring the bell, follow these steps any time you go to take your dog outside for a potty break:

• As you approach the door with your dog, say “touch,” and point to the bell
• As soon as your dog touches the bell with her nose, click or say “yes!” and give her a treat reward
• Do this every single time you take your dog outside

As behaviorist Mikkel Bekker points out, consistency is key: “All members of the family and caretakers need to encourage the new signal, all the time.” With enough repetition and consistency, your dog will learn that in order to go outside, she has to touch the bell with her nose.

The first time your dog rings the bell on her own, throw a party: praise her enthusiastically, give her a treat, and take out outside right away. Then, as soon as she goes potty, give her another treat. This will help make the connection between ringing the bell, going outside, and eliminating in the appropriate place.

Wall Mounted Doggy Doorbell

This cheery potty bell mounts to the doorframe or wall so you can custom-install for your dog’s height.

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Potty training bells are for all dogs

Bell training dogs is fun and straightforward, and it’s not limited to certain types of dog. Pooches of all sizes, ages, and breeds can master the potty bell in a few weeks of consistent training. Just look at this adorable compilation of dogs of all types ringing bells:

Bell training is a great way to potty train your pooch, and it’s also a cute trick. One training process for two great purposes? Now, that’s something worth ringing about.

Further Reading

For more informational articles about puppy and dog training, check out Rover‘s extensive training archive of stories about positive reinforcement, loose leash walking, crate training, and more.