NWR - How to get a dog to stay outside by himself

It only took him a few minutes to figure it out. Basically I just snuck outside and then called him to me. He stood at the door really confused for a minute and then I stuck my hand through the doggy door really quickly and he followed them out. Did the same thing to show him that he could get inside and he's pretty much had it down since then.

I honestly think that that is the best option because I wouldn't want him to be stuck outside all day, and it's made him more comfortable going out on his own because he knows he can come back in whenever he wants. I swear without the doggy door he just always assumed that if I went in without him, he would never see me again.

eta: spelling things.

My dog loves to be outside. When it's nice out (or even when it's not) she will gladly sit out there for hours. That being said, I still check on her to make sure she's not getting into anything/hasn't escaped, etc. I would never leave her outside if I wasn't home to occasionally "supervise." I understand wanting the dog to go outside by itself just to go potty, but to leave him for 9-10 hours alone? No. Our neighbor has one of those gigantic kennels outside that he puts his dog in when he leaves. The dog cries ALL DAY. You may think there's no separation anxiety, but you don't really know because you're not home to see it. I know you think it'd be good for him to have the option to go potty while you're away, but there are just too many variables at play. Maybe look into getting him an indoor potty pad for those long days.

We had a cockapoo that ate grass all the time too.

as for being ok to have a dog alone, people look at it differently. My mom's sister never left their dogs alone at all, so they always had to bring it with them everywhere. Our dogs were indoor and outdoor dogs.We'd put them in the back yard for yard time, and they were alone during the day or in the yard, but there was lots of family time.

In my town people take dogs everywhere in their purses, so everyone is different, and dogs are different. Would your dog like it outside better if he had some toys out there maybe? I'm not sure, we never had this situation with our dogs. But we never lived in a area with wolves or anything like that either. Most our dogs would run into was squirrels and things. Edit for add on.

My dogs are my everything. They do not go outside w/ out one of us w/ them. We go for walks, or I let them run in the grassy area supervised or dog park visits for their outside activity. They also love to lounge outside w/ DH in the afternoons. When we are not home they are in their room and crates.

I am in agreement with O&S. I don't think it's a great idea to leave your dog alone outside, especially for extended periods of time. I'm afraid to leave my dog in her crate even with a bone out of fear that she'll choke on it when I'm not home. Maybe I'm a little overprotective though... Also, in my area, there have been an increase in dogs going missing, they think people are stealing them.

I think you guys are right about not leaving him outside for 9-10 hours while we're at work, even on nice days. I don't know what I was thinking.

I hope I didn't give anyone the impression that we're bad pet owners or like I'm trying to dump him off and ignore him. I just don't like going outside in below freezing weather with him to go to the bathroom when I could just stand at the door and watch at least.

"Then this: when we're home, he wants to constantly be at someone's side

But of course! He is home alone all day. I love snuggling with my dog. I look forward to it since I leave the house. How can that bother you or be an issue?"

That's not an issue at all to me, that was just stating how he is. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression - I love how affectionate and social he is. And I don't mind walking him when it's cold, he does need that! But I don't think a dog should NEED to have someone by their side just to go outside and use the bathroom, I wouldn't think that's healthy.

You should NEVER use the crate as a punishment.

Tia - agreed on the crating.

This thread irks me. A lot. Fh and I have trained our dog where the boundaries of our yard are, where she can and cant go, and she is trained to heal without having to be on a leash. Even with the amount of trust I have in my dog not to run off, I would never leave her outside unattended for a long period of time. The longest period of time she is outside without me being able to see her is about 15 minutes when I get home from work and she does business and patrols the yard.

I agree with O&S. If it annoys you to have to take a dog out when its cold or raining, you should reevaluate having a dog. Of course your dog wants attention when you get home. You are all the company your dog has and when you go away to work for the day, it gets lonely for them.

@Rebecca, my dog is exactly like this. She's a Red Heeler, and extremely people-oriented. Our other dog will just ask to be let out whenever she feels like it, so the back dor is open a lot. But the heeler will not leave our side; she'll hold it all day into the evening, without acting antsy or going out the door, if we forget to go specifically out with her. She also rushes back inside as soon as she does her business, like she's terrified she'll miss something.

That said, when we stayed at my parents' house for a week, she did start to learn to use the doggy door, once she was confident that she wouldn't get trapped outside.

When the weather is nice here, we'll leave the back door open all day and she'll eventually start spending time outside messing about by herself. But not if she suspects she'll get trapped out there without us.

I think hiding treats out back is a great idea, and it may just take some time to make him comfortable with the idea. Also, once he learns to use the doggy door when she gets the urge, he may be able to use it when you're gone, even though it wouldn't be his preference to leave you guys inside when you are home.

ETA: clarity.

@Rebecca You're not a bad pet owner but glad you changed your mind

To add some context to my suggestion (I didn't realize you meant to get the dog to be outside all day): The suggestion I gave is only for when we're home. I can see my backyard from my kitchen. So I only leave her out there while I'm in the kitchen. Once she barks to come in, I let her in. But giving her something to do out there usually gets her wanting to go out there versus just opening the door for her. Then she just looks up at us with a confused face.

During the day and when we're not on the main level of the house, she stays inside. She's not allowed out back when no one is in the kitchen to be able to see what she's up to.

Thanks, Snarky. DH raised him and he's really an amazing dog - very friendly, very obedient, great with all ages and all other animals. I'm only a few months into being a full-time pet owner so I'm still learning but I absolutely want to do what's best for him and I'm sad I didn't convey that well.

I'm glad you clarified that, Rebecca. I was a new dog owner too when we got our dog Mia last year and there are a lot of things I learned as I went along. I thought I knew it all since I grew up with a family dog but that definitely was not the case. No one is perfect right off the bat, just like parenting children, the important part is that you're open to learning and adjusting!

Not to add any sadness to this post, lol but I just read a story on dogs in my city and surrounding towns are being kidnapped and then found killed in a horrible way. I don't wanna go into detail cause it's truly disturbing. ALL DOGS ARE INSIDE DOGS NOW. lol, I do make it a point to go check on them 3-4 times a day but still people are FREAKIN SICK!!!!

Ugh I have a terrible time getting my pibble to come inside! She would be out there all day if I let her, I don't trust her out there when we aren't home. She can jump pretty high and she's a digger. A 6ft fence doesn't give me enough peace of mind. Wishing the city would have allowed an 8ft.

@Leona- We take her to see a dermatologist about every 1.5-2 months (very costly), but she's currently on an Allergenic Extract given every 12 hrs (specifically mixed for her and all the 27 things she's allergic to), and Apaqel once a day (It helps her not be so itchy). We also give her medicated baths and we have a topical antibiotic for when she breaks out in hives and scratches herself into a open sore mess. None of that is "cheap" but I feel like her outbreaks are not near as bad as they use to be. When we first started having problems with her and took her to our local vet they would always go with steroids and I hated it. I know her dermatologist gave us the option of shots too but said in the long run the extract was easier and a little cheaper ( $254 for 2 bottles that last about 3-4 months) I hope this helps and you can get some relief for your pit, I know how heart breaking this all can be!

I would never leave my dog outside for that long. We have a fenced back yard, and she will bark to go out and then back in, but that's it.

A dog should never be left outside when you are not home. It's just dangerous is a lot of ways.

View Quoted Comment If your dog is allergic to things outside and NOT food (people food) meaning your dog has NO food allergies I can tell you what worked for us. Let me start by saying if you think the idea is crazy at first, so did I! It took me getting so fed up with nothing working to CURE the problem or expensive treatments that were VERY temporary, and my mom constantly in my ear telling me how she has a solution but I just won’t listen to her, that I finally gave in and said I would try it. Needless to say I was desperate and VERY skeptical to say the least. Over a short period of time as things got better, I still made excuses for the improvement NOT BEING my mom’s solution, but after some research and more positive progression in the allergic reactions, I had no other choice but to accept that my mom was right, once again and had completely cured the allergy problem in my dog! Ok here it is... it’s called Juice Plus and it’s really made for humans. They used to make a dog and cat formula however they discontinued it because they found that giving the animals the same product designed for humans, only in a lower dose, was just as successful! The product is REAL FOOD (fruit, veggies, and berries,) vine ripened, (not picked too early like grocery store produce due to having to have a shelf life, yet not letting the produce completely ripen to its full potential) dried without heat and having all the sugars and salts extracted again with out heat not to damage the nutrients in the food, and powdered into a capsule. It works because dogs and cats and humans need certain nutrients for our bodies to function virus and infection free and only give our body and bones the nutrients they NEED and not make them work harder by introducing preservatives and harsh chemicals and man made foreign ingredients to them. You can find more information on my mom’s website (garden4wellness [dot] {com}) and if you are interested I just ask that you order it thru her on her site because she does get credit for new customers. Thanks