I was reading elsewhere on the internet about teaching a puppy to ring a bell to let the owner know it needed to go outside. They did a long drawn out pick up bell, give command, put puppy out etc. etc. etc.  Mine have been trained using a different method and one which doesn't rely on the owner picking up the bell and ringing it.

I have sleigh bells on my doorknobs, so everytime the dogs go out, it automatically rings or jingles.  I am not actively ringing the bells and prompting them, they are picking up on the sound whenever the door is opened or the doorknob is used.  This is an easier method, although either method works, the end result is the same, the Dog has the owner trained to open the door to go out. This has led to some interesting scenarios in my house.  Like a dog grabbing the doorbells off the knob and running around the house jingling the bell to wake me up to go outside.  Or just to go outside and take a look at what's happening on the street without any real need to go potty.  They pick this up all by themselves, so owners can truly say they are owned by their dogs, not the other way around. So who is getting conditioned here the owner or the dog, why the owner of course!

They also have pulled on the larger bells that are hanging on other doorknobs if I didn't hear the slight jingle.