So we are suppose to get our dog this week.

he is two years old (as I have stated in my previous posts) Im treating it like he is a puppy and is NOT house trained.

I have a friend who bell trained their dog. Each time they took her out, they had a bell hanging on the door, took her paw and "rang" it and said "lets go potty". Before to long she was doing it on her own.

Im going to take this approuch, along with taking him out every hour.

Has anyone ever bell trained a dog and how did it work for you? 

My sister trained her dog to use the bell, too. He caught on GREAT! But, he eventually started abusing the bell to just go outside & play instead of having to go potty. :-P He'd literally hit the bell (with his nose) & look around the corner @ her & if she didn't move, he'd ring the bell again. All this after only 10 minutes from coming back inside from a previous potty break.

When I potty trained our dog, we did the every hour trick, too. It worked great! She was 6 months old when we got her & she only had 2 accidents in the house. 

would it be "wrong" to keep him in the kitchen so I can see how he does at potty training, that way if he does have an accident, it can be easily cleaned up?

I hope he catches on fast, like I said he is 2 years old but I was told I could still train him to do it :) I just am going to use an old Christmas bell I found in my Christmas decor :) 

would it be "wrong" to keep him in the kitchen so I can see how he does at potty training, that way if he does have an accident, it can be easily cleaned up?

I don't think it'd be wrong. I kept my dog in my eyesight every second of the day when we were working on potty training. & when I wasn't home, she was crated. Although, make sure to train him to the crate, too.

I'd recommend setting an alarm to remind you when your pup needs to go out. I most definitely think you can still potty train him (if he's not already). 

Yep, we have a crate just the right size for him already :) He will be in there at night, and when we are not home until we see how well, or not he does on potty training. Hes coming from the shelter on base, so Im hopeing he already has the concept. I also home he changes and becomes more playful, although I have only seen him bark a couple of times when we vistied him (they even said he is not much of a barker) he did not seem the least bit interested in a toy. My daughter tried so hard to get him to play ball but he could have cared less lol 

Ball drive is often something a dog just has or doesn't have. You might still be able to find other ways to play with him. 

Ball drive is often something a dog just has or doesn't have. You might still be able to find other ways to play with him.


We bought him other toys too, and a bully stick to chew on. Maybe once he is out of the shelter and away from all the otehr doggie smells he can focus on playing lol 

I don't think it's wrong to keep a dog in the kitchen as long as you spend time in there too so he doesn't feel like he is being punished. Also don't forget to take the dog out the same door everytime you take him outside to go pottys.

Both my dogs were ball trained at our old house, great thing, loved it. The older dog was about a year and half and it took him a few days to learn it. The puppy took a little longer (a week). But both learned it. When we moved we never put a bell up since we don't have a fenced yard anymore, I'm hoping it wont be to hard to retrain them when we move again. 

I don't think it's wrong to keep a dog in the kitchen as long as you spend time in there too so he doesn't feel like he is being punished. Also don't forget to take the dog out the same door everytime you take him outside to go pottys.

Both my dogs were ball trained at our old house, great thing, loved it. The older dog was about a year and half and it took him a few days to learn it. The puppy took a little longer (a week). But both learned it. When we moved we never put a bell up since we don't have a fenced yard anymore, I'm hoping it wont be to hard to retrain them when we move again.


Oh yeahh I told the kids what to do when taking him out as far as the bell and teh same door. Im pretty much in the kitchen ALL the time (cookin or not!) :) 

Another idea that I always used when bringing home a foster that no one had seen in a home before (and had no idea what to expect) was to always keep them on a leash with me when not going outside to potty/play. I gave me the opportunity to observe their behavior closely, maintain full control on house-training, and to implement obedience training consistently. I would take them off the leash once I felt comfortable with their behavior. With some dogs it was just a matter of a hour or so, with a couple it lasted a few days. It was honestly a great training tool all around and I was able to know them much better. 

a home before (and had no idea what to expect) was to always keep them on a leash with me when not going outside to potty/play. I gave me the opportunity to observe their behavior closely, maintain full control on house-training, and to implement obedience training consistently. I would take them off the leash once I felt comfortable with their behavior. With some dogs it was just a matter of a hour or so, with a couple it lasted a few days. It was honestly a great training tool all around and I was able to know them much better.


LIke around the house? We have went to visit him a few times already. Held him, talked to him etc so he hopeflly already knows who we are when he comes home with us. He's getting gixed today and will probably get ot come home to us Thursday 

Yes around the house. I didn't do it so the dog would get to know me, but so I could have complete control over house and obedience training to assess where we were at as there was no history on the dog. As soon as I was happy with where the dog was at, he or she would have full reign of the house. I was dealing with a working breed though who have a very strong desire to be with their people working for them so it worked well. When you have the dog by your side all day they get consistant training on the same things over and over again so you quickly move from sit to down and beyond. They learn how you want them to behave in the house and you learn how they will react to everything. Accidents also just don't happen and you learn your dog's cues on when he/she needs to go out.

Good luck, and I think it's great that you are adopting and have asked so many questions to learn before bringing the dog home!! 

Good luck, and I think it's great that you are adopting and have asked so many questions to learn before bringing the dog home!!


Thanks :) My kids are so excited and they are teenages :) we have never had a dog and we all want to make sure we do it all right :)

I have a friend and my husband is going to show me how to clip his nailsand give him a bath...lol 

how to clip his nails
I have grown up with dogs and when I got my own I just take them to petco or the vet because mine move a lot so I'm afraid I"ll cut to much off. But bath time is easy for my dogs at least, we do it inside in our extra bathroom. 

I have one wiggler and one who rolls over on command and lays still until I'm done. I wrap the wiggler up in a blanket with only the paw I'm working on sticking out. So far so good!