After 6 months of consistent trying, our (admittedly a little slow) 10 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel still didn't get the hang of the Tell Bell. He knew the bell would be rung before the door would open, but he would always stand by the door and wait for us to help him ring it.
I think the main problem is it takes too much coordination for a small dog to strike the bell in the right place and with enough force to actually ring it (the button is about the size of his paw, and it doesn't make much noise unless it is pushed sharply straight down).
In the end we replaced the $25 tell bell with a $1-ish jingle bell tied from the door handle on a string, hung just above the ground. We put a treat right under the bell so he had to move (ring) it to get his treat, and one week later he is already ringing it on his own when he wants to go outside.
At least six months with the Tell Bell taught him what "Ring your bell," means, even if he couldn't actually do it ;-)
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The Tell Bell has worked extremely well for us as we have used it for almost a year now. We have been so exceedingly thrilled with our Tell Bell that we have purchased numerous Tell Bells for friends! I've been truly impressed with the quality and innovative design specifically made for dogs, which makes it comfortable to ring. A cheap bell from the store was not designed for a dog's paw and seems like it would annoy their paw when they stepped on it. Bells that hang on the door are not as effective as they scratch and ruin the door and would make noise when you open it. Additionally, we found that watching the instructional DVD as a family helped us all to get on the same page with her training, and the booklet was helpful to refer to and review the training details.
Everyone who has visited our house has been so amazed that our dog rings the Tell Bell to go potty. I've even had a repairman who noticed the paw on the bell and couldn't believe that she would ring it to go outside, and he was so impressed when she actually did it! Initially, we started another potty training method, and then switched to the Tell Bell, so it did take our dog a little longer to figure it out. We just kept being consistent knowing that it would work. It took us at least 6 weeks or more; however, once she got it, she got it. Our entire family was filled with such joy when she finally figured it out! That joy remains with us every day as it continues to be so much fun to hear her ring the bell to go outside. It always brings a smile to our faces.
We have 2 Tell Bells, one at the garage door, and the other at the back door. We've successfully trained our dog to ring the bell at the garage door when she has to go potty, and the other bell at back door when she wants to go outside and play. It's convenient that each Tell Bell comes with 2 bells. Right after she learned to ring the bell, all of my kids walked out of the garage door to go play, and she whacked at the bell over and over again because she wanted to go outside to play with them. It was too funny! Through the consistent training that they teach on the DVD, she eventually learned how to use the bells properly. Our Tell Bells have also visited several people's houses and she has used them successfully, even in strange homes.
The Tell Bell works well! We give the Tell Bell the highest recommendation possible. It's a quality product with a remarkably effective training technique that has worked well for us, as well as the numerous people we have given it to as a gift.
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We had relatives coming for a visit and their dog was coming with them. I asked if the dog was potty trained. She said yes and the dog uses a specially designed doorbell that sits by the door called Tell Bell. I have very nice doors that I did not want scratched and new carpet so I was not thrilled, but knew that the relatives were exceptionally clean people and would never let a dog stay in the house that was not "potty trained".
When the family put the Tell Bell by the door, I found it adorable! And sure enough, the dog hit the bell and went outside. No howling, no scratching!
Adorable! In fact, we offered to watch their dog while they visited elsewhere. We've bought a Tell Bell ourselves and it always makes our guests smile every time the Tell Bell rings.
We are told the people made the Tell Bell to stop sooooo many dogs from going into shelters. Many dogs go into shelters because the owners can not get the dogs potty trained. The people who made Tell Bell hope the Tell Bell would help keep the dogs out of the shelters. If you don't have a Tell Bell trained dog, then get it Tell Bell trained. You will never have a problem in finding someone to watch your dog. I wish everyone would do this so there would be less dogs at animal shelters. What a great fun way to love your dog even more.
I love this product in so many ways. How do I count the ways? This product is excellent in that you get two for the price of one, so one of the bells can travel or just stay at the sitters house, NO BATTERIES required! DVD gives instructions whereas many of the other products do not, no scratching ever on my doors, no barking or howling,
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I thought this would be fool proof, as opposed to the bells that hang from your door handle and jingle every time the door moves, along with when there's a gust of wind, a person walks by, etc. But this product has flaws too. The button for the dog's paw to hit is a little small, my puppy has a hard time knowing exactly where to hit it. She knows the sound comes from somewhere in that general area, but she's still trying to put it together in her mind. Also, when we hit the bell with her paw, it makes a brilliant "ding" sound, but when she actually does it, the sound is quiet and muffled because she doesn't pull her paw away quickly. It's just ok.
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A lot of these reviews are fake. Dig a little deeper into their username and see that they only review this item multiple times.
My small 6 month old puppy who is clicker trained at first used the bell. Then out of no where she regressed and refuses to ring the bell even after a lot of coercion (bribery). This is a dog who understands the "touch" command, closes doors, and jumps through hoops. By no means is this a dumb puppy but she seems not to get the tell bell.
