Customer Reviews

Tell Bell - (red)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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 ;-)

The concept is great, but I think this product misses on execution and value. In the box are two bells and a DVD. The bells are just what you'd find on a customer service counter and are mostly plastic OK quality; nothing heavy duty. I'd say the bells should retail for about $5.00 each.

The first 20 minutes of the DVD is inanely annoying. Basically twenty minutes of scripted testimonials on how great the product is. All I thought of was I already bought it stop wasting my time. The second half of the DVD can be summed up in a few points which you can find in most any housebreaking books.

* Put the bell next to your door and make the dog ring it with his paw every time you take him outside on a leash to eliminate.
* Be consistent
* Ring the bell only when going out to eliminate, not when going for a long walk or to play.
* Try to use another door when going out to walk or play.
* Praise and reward the dog lavishly after he eliminates outside do not praise him for ringing the bell.

That's pretty much it as far as directions go.

I have a Border Collie puppy which is a smart bread by any standard. After a month I'm not having much luck with the tell bell. But he does paws at the door when he needs to go out. I think a better solution is a bell from the craft section of your local big box discount store hanging from a string on the door.

I'll give it two stars for concept, but don't think it's worth $25.00

I bought this for my 3-month-old Sheltie and I'll tell you one thing - completely ignore the instructions. The day I got it, I pushed the bell myself to ring it a few times and then I put his paw on it a few times (like the instructions said), which freaked him out and made him avoid it. The next day, I got out my clicker, rubbed a treat on the pawprint, and told him to target the bell. Bingo! In just one training session, he went from being afraid of the bell to ringing it himself. If you haven't used the clicker method before, I recommend Karen Pryor's book and the i-Click.

The construction of the bell seems a little flimsy for a dog so watch that they don't chew it or get overly playful with it. The bottom and some interior parts are made of plastic.

As for the actual association of the bell with going outside, we're working on that. I ring it myself every time I take him out. Next, I plan on having him target it before we go out. We've only had the bell for three days, but I'm happy with the results so far.

My little cocker spaniel puppy was just 3 months old when the bells arrived. She mastered the concept in one morning! She quickly chose to change from hitting it with her paw to tapping it with her nose which is very funny to watch. Moreover, within just a day or two, she grasped the concept of tapping it more than once if we are not immediately available to open the door, - all on her own. When she wants to go out for a swim, she hits it repeatedly until we give in! I know it has saved us from many accidents in the house and it has given us great peace of mind.

We just returned from a trip to California and had her in a hotel and at my daughter's. We took our bells and people were so surprised that Molly, now 5 months old, had transferred the ringing concept to every door we put it in front off.

Two things I would change: 1) the video is really useless. How great it would have been to see an actual dog being trained. Essentially just reading the instruction book was rather pointless. 2) I'd love for the bell to have more weight in the base. She does accidentally knock it over at times and we don't realize it.

All in all, great concept!

Just started to use the Tell Bell. At first my little dog was growling at it, but after repeating the command to touch the bell every time he wanted to go out he started to get it. It's been a process and we are still in the training stages, but I'm going to stick with it and will get back to you on our success. I am really excited to get him to do it and when I do, I'll post a video review.

I bought this to use with my dog. I watched the DVD and followed the training directions but after about 2 weeks (the extent of my Christmas vacation), nothing had changed. I left the bell by the door and gave up. About 4-5 months later, my dog walked over to the bell and rang it. I jumped up, put her leash on her and went outside. Just like Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" she got the connection. Now she rings the bell when she needs to go out. Don't give up. It's up to your dog!

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,

I had this dastardly idea when I was waiting to receive my new puppy from the breeder. I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if I could teach her to ring a bell or honk a horn when she has to go out?" So after doing a little internet searching I arrived back at my old pal/nemesis Amazon.com looking at the Tell Bell. The reviews posted thus far have been kind of brief so I'll try to elaborate on it a bit.

First onto the actual product itself. The Tell Bell comes with two bells and a dvd. You may as well toss the dvd because it is the pretty useless. They could have just included a sheet a paper with the directions and maybe they could have brought the cost down (I still don't know why its twenty five bucks). The bells are pretty small and do the job effectively. The only problem that may come up is that your dog has to strike the bell fairly quickly in order to make it ring. If they only touch it with their nose it may not go off. I didn't really have that problem considering if my dog had to go bad enough and I wasn't fast enough, she would take the bell in her mouth and body slam it back on the floor.

I followed the directions and my puppy eventually got the hang of it so it is working as advertised. I'm a bit worried how well the bell will hold up if Sheva keeps body slamming the bell when she really has to go but I guess that's why they have two (I live in an apartment so there is only one exit). All in all, its a really good product I'm just not too sure why they charge so much for the bells. I would say just get a cheaper bell but the button that the dog has to strike at the type will probably be smaller and be harder for your dog to strike depending on their paw-eye coordination.

This is a great, great product! It's not only a fast, easy and fun way to house-break a dog, it's the ultimate dog trick! Whenever people see my dog ringing the bell they are amazed!

Training my dog was easy. Tell Bell comes with a training manual and DVD. The DVD is great because the family can watch the DVD together, and then share in the responsibility of training the dog. The kids also like helping... because it feels like they're teaching the dog a cute trick! (Which they are.)

It also makes traveling with your dog easy -- just take the bell with you! Once your dog is trained -- it's trained everywhere! Also makes it easy to find a dog-sitter. The dog-sitter doesn't need to know your dog's "signals" -- all they have to do is open the door when the dog rings the bell.

Fantastic product. I recommend it to everyone who has a dog. Gets rid of the guessing game as to when your dog's gotta go.