My girlfriend’s dog is not 100% housetrained. He poops or pees in the house at least three times a week when he is left indoors for a few hours. She is going out of town from Thursday to Sunday and has asked me to look after him.
This dog stays in the house 100% of the time except for three to five minute jaunts to the fenced backyard. After he bores of his natural surroundings, he scratches at the back door until he is let in. This behavior is pretty well set based on how my GF has train
If I leave this dog outside for extended periods of time–two to four hours, for example, which he is completely unused to, is it plausible that he will gain a new love of the outdoors and want to spend more time in the backyard and less crapping in the house?
Or put another way–anyone see a problem with doing this?
edit: I live in central Texas and the daytime weather is going to be 55+ degrees, so we’re not talking dangerous exposure to the elements here.
I don’t see a problem with this. Three to five minutes often isn’t enough time for a dog to do his business. Depending on how quiet he is, the more time he spends outside, the better. Depending on how much time you can spend at home to supervise him. (A glance out the window every 20 minutes or so to make sure he’s OK.) I routinely put my dogs out for at least an hour and a half or two hours when they first wake in the morning. I have a very secure fenced yard. And I am also right inside, so I can look out the window and check on them every so often. They are both quiet and bark very little, and seem to enjoy the fresh air. I also leave them out during the day for periods running from a half hour to an hour. I’d say, go for it. If he gets bored and wants to come in right away, try to go outside with him and play with him or spend time with him so he sees being outside as a positive thing.
Also, do you leave food down all the time for the dog, or does he have set mealtimes? If you leave food down all the time, the dog will drink water every time he eats. This will lead to his bladder becoming full more often. If you feed the dog only at set times, he will want less water. Of course, always leave plenty of water for your dog at all times. I’m just saying, don’t make him want to drink so often. But he should always have access to water. If you have set feeding times for your dog, he will also want to poop at more predictable times, and you can plan for him to be outside right after eating.
YMMV of course, but I can’t remember the last time either of my dogs has had an accident inside the house. They’re both completely trustworthy when left alone, so this may work for you.
I was going to suggest this. Controlling access to food/water, etc. I’ve heard of people putting in ice cubes at times when they want their dogs to have water but don’t want them having it all at once.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I’m not sure if crate training is viable right now because it’s not my dog, and it’s not my house. The problem is moderately annoying but I don’t think the requisite commitment for crate training exists on my GF’s part and I don’t feel strongly enough about it yet to force the issue. It sure would be nice if he could be left alone for 4 or 5 hours though.
How old is the dog? What’s he eating? If he’s not a puppy and if he’s not having digestive issues, he should be able to go more than “a few hours” without peeing and pooping.
If the yard isn’t fenced, he shouldn’t be outdoors unsupervised, if that’s not what he’s accustomed to.
IMO people who can’t do better than this by their dogs should not have dogs. If your GF wants a 100% contained house pet she should get a cat and learn to change the litterbox. Or, better, get a goldfish. A dog needs daily exercise and that need is not met by 3-5 minutes at a time in the yard. Sorry to be so critical of your GF but I feel very strongly about this.
But that is unrelated to the issue of unsupervised yard time. If the dog has been psychologically damaged – so unused to being outside alone that it strongly prefers the house – then no, it’s not a great idea to leave it in the yard. But if it is a young normal dog, it won’t have a preference to be in the boring house rather than out in the open air, even in the very familiar back yard. So, sure – put it in the yard more, provided that the yard is secure (fenced) and you are checking on the dog frequently to make sure it isn’t digging itself an escape route or hasn’t found a way out. By “frequently,” I mean every few minutes at first. If you lose her dog, your GF will be seriously pissed at you.
Back the truck up there, sister. I have a basset hound who is outside a lot. I’ve had another dog that was outside varying degrees. Both dogs whined and cried to get inside whenever they see someone inside. Separation anxiety isn’t caused by being “psychologically damaged” – it’s extremely common, especially in younger dogs.
I mean, where would you be - outside, all by yourself, or inside with the people who give you food, treats, toys, and bellyrubs?
In my experience, though, the dog adjusts pretty darn fast to being outside if you’re not around (or he thinks you’re not around). I have, many times, pretended not to be at home and all of a sudden the whiny dog who is desperate to come inside is transformed into a content little beast who will romp around the yard, sniff things, chew bones, lay in the sun and have a good time.
Our dog still cries and whines to be let in all the time if we’re there, any time we pass by the door or are visible, even though, for the majority of her life, she’s spent 8 hours or more a day outside in our reasonably large fenced in yard. And even through periods where we took her to the dog park 3-4 times a week. And even though I come home over lunches to give her social time, and play with her every day. If all that still psychologically damages a dog, I don’t know what won’t.
If you have multiple dogs, this is probably less of an issue, but single dogs are usually pretty dependent on their owners for love and affection.
There’s no need for your to make my arguments for me, “brother,” though I guess I appreciate it. What would you call “separation anxiety” if not a form of psychological damage?
As a dog? I’d prefer to be outside. But then, a dog in my world does not have access to constant uninterrupted food or treats or bellyrubs since I tend to be sort of busy having my own life, and my dogs can pick their toys out of the basket all by themselves. IOW, this is not an all-or-nothing proposition such that the dog is left shivering alone in the yard all day, or the dog is inside being fanned and fed the doggie-equivalent of peeled grapes.
So we’re back to dogs that don’t actually have “separation anxiety” and who are perfectly content to be left in the yard. So are you agreeing with me or disagreeing with me or what?
There’s a difference between a dog that is spoiled and a dog that have separation anxiety or other pyschological problems. The latter dog does not become “a content little beast” the minute it thinks you’re gone; instead, it suffers when you’re gone. If you let your dog act like a brat (crying and whining at the door everytime you’re home and she’s outside) then that’s on you; personally, I wouldn’t put up with it. But that is NOT the type of dog I was talking about when advising that psychologically damaged dogs not just be tossed in the yard. I’m talking about dogs that are acutely anxious when left alone outside, and/or destructive if left alone outside. I can’t tell whether you agree with that point or not.
And food. And exercise. And discipline. They can get all they need of all of that without being glued to their owner’s side 24/7, which is not healthy for the dog.
She usually walks him twice a day at least a few blocks. And the dog almost always pees or poops. He does seem to have food available when its not necessary though.
He does not have separation anxiety–he’ll stare longingly out the window and get excited when we arrive back, but he’s somewhat well adjusted. Definitely overly devoted to his mistress though, who treats him like more of a person than a dog. He gets the peeled grape treatment but maybe not the fans.
The problem is that if he hasn’t been on a walk lately, and is then left alone for 2-4 hours, he’ll often turn the floor into his toilet. (And one time he peed on my backpack! :mad: )
So I think I’ll just run some experiments this weekend and leave him out alone for awhile. There is not always time to take the dog on a walk before leaving the house. If he stayed outside for 30 minutes instead of 3 and used that time to do his dirty work, we’d be better off. But he basically doesn’t go outside except when he needs to poop/pee RIGHT away. I think he COULD pee or poop a lot of the time he goes outside, since he does so on his walks, but not when he’s put in the backyard by himself.
Also, the backyard is secure and pretty good sized especially for a 20 pound dog.
Pack instinct? It’s particularly notable in puppies and tends to go down as they age. Have you gotten a brand new puppy? They cry all night when you crate them.
What I’m saying is that admonishing someone over the internet that a dog is psychologically damaged based on a vague description is perhaps not wholly accurate. Someone who came over and spent a few minutes here and saw the dog outside whimpering to come in is going to have a very different assessment than I do, when I monitor my dog’s behavior all the time. A dog will naturally want to come in when you’re home and puttering around, because the dog wants to spend time with you. That doesn’t mean the dog is abused.
Dogs aren’t people. It’s difficult to communicate not to do something. We don’t encourage the crying by letting her in or responding to her cries (based on expert advice) but she still does it. Perhaps not as often, but it still happens. I don’t think we’ve psychologically damaged her any more than any pet owner who takes a puppy away from its litter, and assuming that a dog that isn’t 100% happy all the time is neglected or damaged by its owner is a bit silly.
I did not see such information in the OP. What we have is a third party, not the dog’s owner, saying that the dog scratches to be let in after a few minutes. We don’t know if the dog is freaking out or not. Your description of psychologically damaged was that the dog is “so unused to being outside alone that it strongly prefers the house”, not anxiety or destructiveness. I’m saying that every dog I’ve ever seen seems to prefer being inside – because, when observed by people, they tend to also be inside the house, and the dog may want to come in for socialization time, play, treats, sitting on the couch, or a hundred other reasons that don’t include fear or hatred of being outside. You in turn accused the OP’s girlfriend of being a bad pet owner. I think, frankly, you’re jumping to conclusions.
I didn’t suggest that it was necessary to cave and spoil the dog, but cite? What’s the appropriate “healthy” level of alone time for a dog?
I never said his dog or any dog was in fact psychologically damages. I said if the dog is psychologically damaged, that might be a reason not to just leave it in the yard. Again, I can’t tell if you agree with this or not. I certainly never said the dog was being abused, though I do think it is a great deal less than ideal to limit a dog to 5 minute trips to the yard as all its outside/exercise time. Neuroman now says their are also multi-block, multi-day walks, but that’s not what he said initially.
Suffice to say our mileage varies. It has never been difficult for me to communicate NO! to a dog, nor have I ever had a dog that did not come to grasp what behavior was tolerated and what was not. That certainly includes barking, whining, and crying. And, again, I never said anything about the mental health of either your specific dog or neuroman’s girlfriend’s dog.
Good thing I never said anything like this, then. But IMO a dog that is never let out of the house beyond 5 minute trips to the yard and that is never given meaningful exercise IS neglected – not gravely neglected like “never given enough food” or “never given affection,” but some level of neglected nonetheless. “Happiness” is another matter; I imagine the dog can’t really miss what it never had. That doesn’t make it ideal.
Well, obviously I don’t think you should leave an animal in distress. I can’t render a true opinion as I’m not a vet, but as long as the dog is supervised - hopefully, supervised stealthily - then I can’t see the harm.
Well, sure. But what if the dog is outside, and can’t hear you well? Are you going to go outside and tell it no, then go back inside? We were instructed by the vet that you shouldn’t approach the dog when in a crate to respond to it barking, you’re supposed to ignore it. If the dog is acting inappropriately to give attention, do you give it attention to correct it or ignore it? It’s not an easy answer.
Thank you for the clarification, as that wasn’t clear in your original response.
Youre assuming the dog is okay, when I limited my disapproval of the practice to dogs that are not okay. So again I don’t think we are actually disagreeing.
Yes. If the dog is barking its ass off or otherwise acting inappropriately, I go outside and correct it (or open the door and holler at it, if that works). I’ve never heard that it is effective to ignore bad behavior in the hopes the dog will give up. YMMV.
That wasn’t clear in the original post, the one I was responding to, which to the contrary said " This dog stays in the house 100% of the time except for three to five minute jaunts to the fenced backyard." That was what I responded to with disapproval.
I live in Austin, and I have a doggy door for Goliath to use. He goes out 2 or 3 times a day, usually to wizz. He hates pooping in the back yard and only uses the yard in desperate times (I walk him everyday, and that is usually when he poops).
In the cooler weather, Goliath spends more and more time outside. Of course, I had to give him a curfew for a few days as he was going out at 2:00 am to try and chase away the armadillo that has been tearing up lawns in the area.
Yes. If the dog is barking its ass off or otherwise acting inappropriately, I go outside and correct it (or open the door and holler at it, if that works). I’ve never heard that it is effective to ignore bad behavior in the hopes the dog will give up. YMMV.