[Crystalburns87]

My husband and I have a 12 week old puppy. He's a pomeranian yorkie. We've done reasearch on both breeds and how hard it is to potty train them. We bought the bell system to teach him to tell us when he has to go outside.

Recently, He has caught on to the idea of ringing the bell but for the wrong reason. He will ring the bell constently but only to go outside to play. He will then come in and go in the house. We've tried everything from giving him special treats when he goes potty outside, to punishing him when we catch him pottying in the house. He will go outside in the morning but then its all play time.

What I do to make him understand outside is for potty and not play?

[Lara's mom]

Your puppy is only 12 weeks old. It really isn't realistic to expect perfect toilet habits at that age. I think it's amazing that the little thing has learned to associate the bell with going outside at such a young age.

[DoggieVogue]

Yeah I agree with Lara's mom, at such a young age its amazing your puppy is even retaining that information about the bell! I would suggest maybe when he rings the bell to take him outside on the leash, let him sniff around for a few, and if he doesn't go, then take him inside. Don't engage him in any type of play at all but simply say "go potty" or whatever you typically use. If he doesn't go, you take him inside. That's what I did for my mini dachshund/rat terrier mix. She learned to stand by the door whenever she needs to go outside, but still even at 3 years old sometimes she still stands there just to go out and play! But she caught on when it's potty time, and when it's play time pretty quickly. Hope that helps!

[angiesample]

Originally Posted by DoggieVogue

Yeah I agree with Lara's mom, at such a young age its amazing your puppy is even retaining that information about the bell! I would suggest maybe when he rings the bell to take him outside on the leash, let him sniff around for a few, and if he doesn't go, then take him inside. Don't engage him in any type of play at all but simply say "go potty" or whatever you typically use. If he doesn't go, you take him inside. That's what I did for my mini dachshund/rat terrier mix. She learned to stand by the door whenever she needs to go outside, but still even at 3 years old sometimes she still stands there just to go out and play! But she caught on when it's potty time, and when it's play time pretty quickly. Hope that helps!

This is really good advice. I choose to bell train my dog too. I started at 5 weeks, which i know is young. I would just ring the bell before we went out potty. By ten weeks she would rang the bell to go outside. But it took a while for her to realize its only for potty time. I started by taking her to the same place outside and saying "its potty time" id give her some time and if she didnt go we would go right back inside, no play time or anything. When she did go, i would make a huge deal out of it and give her a treat. After a while she caught on.. im thinking she was about 12 weeks and she had the concept down. Its just about persistence. Good luck!