Teaching your Basenji to ring a bell

[luvdogs]

Ok, so there might alredy be a thread like this, but i just need to know…

i recently taught my basenji that when he rings a bell on the door, someone will take him outside and he will be praised.

the only problem is that he loves being outside, so he
will ring the bell when he just wants to be outside,
not to... do his buisness...

i dont want to un-train him from using the bell, and saying "no" for ringing it when he just wants to be outside, but i really dont have the time or patients to take him out evry 10 minutes...

any suggestions??

Thank you!!:)

[JazzysMom]

Sorry, can't help. Keoki rings the bell whenever he wants outside, but we have a fenced yard and just open the door for him. We don't have to go out w/him.

[tasha]

I have no suggestions either other than to remove the bell of course. Corky and his brother Buddy also ring the bell every time they want to go out whether it be to go potty or just play. We have a fenced in back yard as well. So, basically unless he's playing the 'inside/outside/inside/outside…" game, we just let him out.

[dash]

Our dogs do the same thing. I have a tendency to leave them out there even when they want to come in since I know they will want to go back out in 2 minutes. We have a fenced in yard though. Dash likes to lay in the sun for a few hours and then come in for 2 minutes and cool off. Our beagle is just in and out, in and out.

[JazzysMom]

@tasha:

. So, basically unless he's playing the 'inside/outside/inside/outside…" game, we just let him out.

ha ha Keoki plays that game also. Usually ends with him being left outside and me pretending I can't hear him jumping on the door outside {bells are only on the inside}. Eventually he'll go sun bathe with Jazz.

[Duke]

@JazzysMom:

ha ha Keoki plays that game also. Usually ends with him being left outside and me pretending I can't hear him jumping on the door outside {bells are only on the inside}. Eventually he'll go sun bathe with Jazz.

Though mine don't have a bell to ring, they like the in/out games too. Drives me nuts. So I do this too . When I'm good and ready to either go out with them or bring them inside, they are always sunning on the deck or patio. What a good life they have! :rolleyes:

[luvdogs]

thanks for the help, im glad im not the only one whose dog just love to play
the in/out game

[Mucky]

Mine likes the in/out game too. Once he really got a handle on the fact that ringing the bell means going out. I started ignoring him if I knew he didn't have to go out to go potty. He seems to respect this pretty well. He now has a "Mom, I really really really have to go to pee" ring and a "Mom, can i go out to play now?" ring. I think it may help that my room mate's dog is lazy and likes to just nap inside for most of the day.

[BasenjiDiva]

Cory and Jayden just want to play the "in" game….forget the "out" game unless there is a squirrel to chase!

Pat

[foschatt]

We trained Rye to use the bell as a puppy. If he rang the bell out we went. If he didn't go the bathroom within set time limit(few minutes) back in we went. I did take a while but he learned that the bell meant going the bathroom. We have since removed the bell. He never really goes to the door. He just waits untill we take him out throughout the day. Now if Rye runs around a little panicked and then you know he has to go!:D

[Chien_Rouge]

I trained Zenu to use the bell as well, but I dont have a fenced yard so it means me getting her leash and taking her out for a walk. I can usually tell if she needs to go pee or poo or just wants to go for a walk and look under parked cars for cats, and if she's being silly about it I just tell her, "no you already went out" and she'll give up after a few rings. If she can be distracted from the bell with a ball or rawhide stick its a pretty clear indication that she doesnt really need to go to the bathroom, she's just bored and wants to do stuff.
Usually she doesnt even need to ring it since we're on a good routine of walks throughout the day, but this morning she had a bit of diarrhea and she woke me up at 5:00am and ran right to the back door and rang the bell several times to let me know it was Very Serious and Can We Please Hurry.
So, even if you ignore him sometimes when he rings the bell, he'll probably still ring it to let you know if its a real emergency.