# Dogs that refuse to use their dog houses..



## Hoyt Yang (Dec 26, 2007)

I give up. 

After much research, I go out to buy what I believe to be the best dog houses (K9 Condo) for my two dogs- a 1 year old mal and 16 week dutchie. They'd rather sleep outside, even when it rains. They obviously hate the rain, since they both standing there, ears down and have that 'pathetic' look.

I believe I've done it all to coax them in their dog houses- everything from putting food, treats, bones, bedding straws, dog crate mats (which promptly get destroyed, of course) to no avail.

Anyone else have this same problem? I'm about to rescue these poor bastards by putting them in my garage in a crate..


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## Lee H Sternberg (Jan 27, 2008)

Hi Hoyt - Where do you have the dog houses located? I had the same problem years ago with a couple of GSD's I owned. 

I built a beautiful cedar dog house with a hinged roof and filled it with straw. It was in the back yard close to the house. The dogs never used it. 

They preferred to be right next to the family room slider in the rain and snow. That way the could see the activities going on inside the house.

I finally gave up one night when the temperature got down to minus 10 degrees.


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## Guest (Dec 1, 2008)

Hoyt Yang said:


> I give up.
> 
> After much research, I go out to buy what I believe to be the best dog houses (K9 Condo) for my two dogs- a 1 year old mal and 16 week dutchie. They'd rather sleep outside, even when it rains. They obviously hate the rain, since they both standing there, ears down and have that 'pathetic' look.
> 
> ...


 
Do you have the door pinned open or is it down? If it is open, I wouldn't do anything, they will figure it out. I had that problem when the door was down, I had to force them in and let them figure out the door goes both ways and now they love them.


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## Molly Graf (Jul 20, 2006)

My dogs do the same at first - just stand out in the rain, looking miserable. They do eventually go into their doghouses, if nothing is going on. But if "anything" is going on, they are out in the elements, they have to "see". I've had dogs refuse to go in the doghouse if there is a flap or door on it. Get rid of that if there is one, that will definately help.

molly


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## Candy Eggert (Oct 28, 2008)

Just for fun ;-) It was a cold winter day and my son was little, outside playing. My sister comes over and in a panic said, "Justin's outside playing without a jacket and it's cold out!" I said, "If Justin isn't smart enough to figure out it's cold, then he's not my son" :lol: =D> :-\"


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Bring them inside? You really can have Mals and Dutchies inside. With some...erm..."guidance." :lol: We have no basement unfortunately, but I think on our next house, I might try some kennel panels in an unfinished portion of the basement if the dogs (usually fosters, as my current dogs love their crates and two of the four are in there now with the doors open dozing) don't do well in crates or can't be trusted in the house yet.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Just don't breed anything that dumb would ya ??


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## Carol Boche (May 13, 2007)

All my dogs have nice insulated houses in the day yards.....when it snows the Bloodhound and the cats can be found curled up in one together and the GSD can be found in a hole in the snowdrifts.....he uses the house when it is terribly cold at night, but other than that....he likes to be flaked out in the snow. 

Rain....I move them all to the indoor outdoor kennels and they dig all the straw out of their houses in there and sleep on the concrete.....


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Hoyt Yang said:


> I give up.
> 
> After much research, I go out to buy what I believe to be the best dog houses (K9 Condo) for my two dogs- a 1 year old mal and 16 week dutchie. They'd rather sleep outside, even when it rains. They obviously hate the rain, since they both standing there, ears down and havethat 'pathetic' look.
> 
> ...


My dog spent last winter outside in WI. Never saw her in the doghouse once. Even if I put the food in there, she would carry it out and eat it on the ice. Sat on top of it a lot, getting rained on and snowed on...would take the straw out of the house and spread it around on the ice and and lay on that, I would get pissed...

I did see her use it once this winter, when she was tired after bitework she did lay down in the dog house. When she was actually kenneled outside, she never used it...even on the coldest of days. or the rainiest...

Dog also doesn't drink much water in the winter, would rather eat snow..and ice...if it is available.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

At one time I had three dogs with two houses. Every night the two would always go into the bigger house. The third dog would run the two out and they would then go into the smaller house...then he'd sleep outside the empty dog house. Didn't matter what the weather was. He never used either of them.


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## Patrick Cheatham (Apr 10, 2006)

[QUOTE=Joby: My dog spent last winter outside in WI. Never saw her in the doghouse once. Even if I put the food in there, she would carry it out and eat it on the ice. Sat on top of it a lot, getting rained on and snowed on...would take the straw out of the house and spread it around on the ice and and lay on that, I would get pissed...

I did see her use it once this winter, when she was tired after bitework she did lay down in the dog house. When she was actually kenneled outside, she never used it...even on the coldest of days. or the rainiest...

Dog also doesn't drink much water in the winter, would rather eat snow..and ice...if it is available.






And I thought I had a nut case for a dog........... Stands in the rain pulls out the straw, lays out in the cold. I finally gave up when the wheather is extreme and even at at night I just put them inside.


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

I had a presa canario that was an import from tenerife that would sit in the middle of the yard in the pouring rain staring at the sky...

She did this once in sleet. When she finally came in, she actually had ice frozen on the top of of her head, her face, and all down her back, and I'm not talking slush, I am talking a solid thick coat of ice, she waited for it to melt some, shook it off and ate it...

Kinda strange for a dog that was imported from a tropical island as an adult...


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## Michelle Reusser (Mar 29, 2008)

Candy Eggert said:


> Just for fun ;-) It was a cold winter day and my son was little, outside playing. My sister comes over and in a panic said, "Justin's outside playing without a jacket and it's cold out!" I said, "If Justin isn't smart enough to figure out it's cold, then he's not my son" :lol: =D> :-\"


I think that's about the best thing anybody has ever said.


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## Candy Eggert (Oct 28, 2008)

Michelle Kehoe said:


> I think that's about the best thing anybody has ever said.


Thanks Michelle ;-) Certainly taught him young to think for himself and be accountable for his actions :lol: Amazing isn't it?! LOL


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## Kerry Foose (Feb 20, 2010)

PA dog law changed last year and as it seems I am in violation of the dog law because my LGD is considered a pet and therefor is not supposed to be outside 24/7 exposed to the elements.
The funny thing is she has three different barns to go into but she will not actually seek "shelter" in any of them unless the stock go there...and even then she mostly sits outside and watches them.
The dog is a sarplainina and it is from the high mountians of Eastern Europe/albania etc..made for the weather.
Cracks me up to see her laying out there in a blizzard with inches of snow on her back smack dab in the middle of the pasture. But that is afterall what she is bred to do. However, the neighbors see this and make that "concerned citizen call" to the dog warden!
I told the guy go ahead and send me a fine then...she is doing her job and I am going to let her.
What are ya supposed to do about that...can't fight city hall as they say.


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## Jennifer Coulter (Sep 18, 2007)

I am personally considering putting a door on the outdoor dog kennel house I am going to make. That way when I want the dog to be in the dog house, it will not have a choice. This is not so much for reasons of keeping the dog warm or dry, but more for the reason that I don't want it stalking cats and barking at night and so on.


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## Molly Graf (Jul 20, 2006)

I don't think Pa dog law could actually do anything, if the enclosure you keep your dog in clearly has shelter available, and water. If I were you, I'd take a video, showing the dog choosing to be out in the weather, the livestock he is supposed to be guarding (livestock also must have shelter available) - and the shelter available to them - don't make any breaks in the video - walk into the shelter and video in there, including the water available and dry bedding, keep that video on file just in case you need to defend yourself.

molly


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Jennifer Coulter said:


> I am personally considering putting a door on the outdoor dog kennel house I am going to make. That way when I want the dog to be in the dog house, it will not have a choice. This is not so much for reasons of keeping the dog warm or dry, but more for the reason that I don't want it stalking cats and barking at night and so on.


I did that Jennifer. To curb the barking at deer and other animals outside, I put doors with latches on the doghouses. If they were barking to much, I put the offenders in the dog house. Geronimo was raising hell on night and I put him in lockdown. Not long after he was at it again. The whole front of the doghouse was laying on the ground but, the door was still attached to the front.LOL


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## Mike Lauer (Jul 26, 2009)

place the dog house door toward your sliding glass door so the dog can be warm dry and see you
they think they may miss something


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