Getting dog to speak

I had some issues with my dog, Angus, and not being clear that he wanted to go out. I realized after a while that he was telling everyone, but was confused about which door in the house signaled "outside" vs. a closet door. I decided to teach him to ring a bell whenever he would like to go out.

I bought a large cow bell and a hook. The hook I mounted by the back door and hung the bell from it by a string. From that time on, every time I took him out which I started doing on a 2-hour schedule I would say, "Angus, wanna go out?" Then I would give the bell a good, quick ring. I would then repeat the same thing for a second time. Afterwards, I would open the door and send him out.

This may seem like it would take a long time to teach the dog to use, but it doesn't and is easy. Each dog will learn at a different pace, but Angus started showing signs of trying out the bell himself by the end of the first day. By the second day, he was confidently using the bell and I would just simply praise him for it and let him out. There is one caveat in all of this, however. Candy will never associate ringing the bell with needing to "go potty." She'll ring it every time she thinks about the world outside of the house. At first it may drive you a little crazy, because it's a new game for the dog. But, the game dies off after a while and becomes just something she'll do when she truly would like to go out for a while. Just so you know, I've not had one bathroom problem in my house since and it's been a long time. I even take the bell with me when staying at others' houses.

I hope this helps.

Yes, I did mean when she needs to do bathroom duties. I live in a 55+ community with houses only 10-15 feet apart. Therefore that means that animals are not allowed to run free in the yard--no fences are allowed to be erected either. Candy is tethered on a plastic coated wire that just reaches the next door neighbor's yard. Yes, she does do that sometimes but I can't watch her every minute. However, not long after posting my message, she did alert me with a soft growl and a bark on several occassions. I had been saying Speak to her everytime I put her outside and also barking at her to try to give her the idea and then all of a sudden I was sitting at the computer and there was a bark behind me. No I need to keep reinforcing the Speak Command whenever she does bark.

Thanks for your reply,
Toni

This is great. i am definately going to some sort of bell system set up.

How do l get a dog to speak in the first place. It's not for going out, just for training. I have never been able to get any of my dogs past and present to bark on command. I have a problem with my next door neighbor and one of my dogs in particular will run back and forth under bushes so l can't get him and just bark and bark.:mad:
I have read somewhere that if a dog knows how to bark on command then it is easier to train it to cease barking on command. Any suggestionns x Mo