sluggo

That is our other option, i guess i could put a doggy door on the laundry. I have seen insulated kennels, so this is probably the way we'll go. People are so quick to jump down one's throat at the suggestion of leaving a dog outside. It's a personal choice and should be respected accordingly. If i didn't care about the welfare of dogs, i would have bought home a pup in the middle of winter and just thrown him in the backyard. On the contrary, i am doing a lot of reading and research in preparation of bringing a pup into our family, and fitting him into our lifestyle. We, as a family don't want animals inside the house (including cats), but very much want a dog as part of our lives. All our previous dogs were rescued from shelters, so i think our hearts are in the right place. I would appreciate comments/suggestions from like minded owners who keep their dogs outside.

Obviously we wouldn't just throw a crate under the pergola with nothing else... It will be raised off the floor to avoid drafts, fully covered during the cooler months etc. Growing up, all my dogs were kept outside... it's just a personal choice. I know they can be kept clean etc, but i still want him outside. I want my children to grow up with dogs... he will be walked with the kids too and from school, played with during the day and after school.. so there is no shortage of interaction.

Sorry, i should have given more info... We are looking at a Staffy, and due to the small size of our house and the number of occupants, there is simply no room for anymore. In addition, we have 3 daughters under 5yo, so i'd prefer the dog to be outside. He will be allowed to wonder inside on occasions, but predominately outside. We have a dry covered pergola out the back where a crate/kennel will be setup with appropriate bedding etc. My first thought was to house him in the laundry for the first month or so for the reasons you state, but at some point he will have to move to the pergola, so i want to make that transition as smoothly as possible.

We plan to bring a puppy home in late spring when the weather starts to warm up, and have some questions regarding leaving the puppy outside. The plan is to have an outside dog, so the first question is, do we let the puppy sleep outside from the first night we bring him home or should we put him somewhere a little more secure like a locked laundry? If we house him in the laundry to start with, will it be more difficult to transition him outside later? If we put him outside from day one, should we leave his crate unlocked overnight so he can do his business or will he wander all over the yard and not be able to find his way back? He will gets lots of attention and play from the family during the day, but will be on his own overnight.

Thanks Erney for a very informative reply... it was kinda what i was thinking, ie. splitting the two routines. All our previous dogs were exclusively kept outdoors, and as we are considering a whippet this time round, we are just trying to get up to speed with puppy indoors techniques.

Evening All, When we eventually choose a pup in a few months we plan to house him in our internal laundry and fit a doggy door for him to go in/out and do his business. We plan to crate train him from day one as we don't want any mess inside the house. My question is, how would we incorporate the crate with the doggy door so that eventually he uses the door on his own? Should we leave the door alone until he has the going outside bit down pat first, or use the door from day one with the crate?