Teaching your dog to ring a bell

1. Hang your bell on (or near) the door that you use to bring your dog outside to go potty. Be sure your dog can reach the bells easily. Choose a command that will mean "go outside." We use "outside". (If you are training an adult dog, you probably already have a word that you use with your dog for "outside".)

2. Hold a treat in your right hand behind the bells.  When the dog sniffs the treat hand his nose will contact the bells. When the bells ring, use your bridge word and give the treat.

Bridge Word - a word or sound that means "You are right!" The Bridge is used at the exact second your dog does what you want. By teaching your dog a bridge word you can communicate to your pup more precisely what you are asking him to do. Some examples of good Bridges are the words "Yes", "Good" or a clicker.

When your dog is reliably touching the bells with his nose to get the treat, move on to the next step.

3. Repeat the above exercise (#2) and add your "outside" command. When your dog's nose rings the bell, say your bridge word, open the door and take the dog outside and give the treat. You can practice each time you want to take your dog out to potty. Ask him to ring the bell before you open the door to outside. Very soon you will hear the jingle of the bells when your dog wants to go outside.

(Thanks for sharing this tutorial www.littlebeasts.com a very cool Boston Terrier site we like a lot.)