Dear Craig,

When our first Giant Schnauzer, Zulu was a puppy we noticed that she liked bumping her nose against a Christmas ornament that was hanging on the doorknob of the back door. Being a Christmas ornament, it had bells attached. We decided that this bell ringing could be used in a positive manner, so we encouraged her to ring the bell, and then we opened the door right away. She learned how to associate ringing the bell with having the door opened.

When we adopted our second Giant Schnauzer, Zippy, we noticed that even as a young puppy she learned very quickly that ringing the bell got the door opened. We now have a fancy goat bell hanging from the back doorknob. Even in the middle of the night, the bell is able to rouse us from our sleep so that the girls can go outside to relieve themselves.

The trick is to have your dog ring the bell and then immediately open the door so that the association is cemented. We have passed this idea along to a number of other dog parents with great success.

Hope that helps,

Sincerely Zena & Zippy