Putting Dogs Outside

[claireybell]

I think I need to start putting the dogs outside when we go out. It doesn't seem to matter how dog proof I make the house my beagle is still managing to destroy stuff. She only does it when no one is home.

They have always been inside dogs with access to a dog door for going outside. Is there a way to make them happy about being outside on their own? I don't want to stress them or upset them but something has to give. Any advice appreciated

[Leema]

Is there a way that you could possible fence off (puppy pen or big crate) the area immediately next to the dog door? That way they'd still have in/out access, just less house to destroy. This may work well as a soft transition, at least.

[Seita]

section off the house, I have baby gates set up so that one of the dogs only has access to one room. The other dog goes straight over them as if they don't exist so I lock her in the bathroom or laundry (decent sized rooms). Otherwise make it a gradual transition, put dogs out with a big bone for an hour or two while you're home and gradualy increase time and make it enjoyable for them to be out there - you could have special "outside" toys or things to do that your dogs will enjoy.

[Ons]

or crate them inside with the telly or radio on? large crate, toys, blankets, water, treats

I used to be so against crating for long periods of time however my coolie loves her crate and goes in there in the morning more than happily. I try to put her in an outside pen with two of my other dogs which would give her more room but she won't have a bar of it and runs away yet happily walks herself into the crate

In my old home my dogs were outside during the day when I wasn't home and inside when I was and they adapted fine.

[Clyde]

Just put them out for a bit and extend the time out each time, they will soon adjust.

[MishB]

Both my dogs (17wk old pup & adult dog) sllep outside, and are outside when Im not home. We dont have a dog door, I personally dont like my dogs having free access to the human areas, I have control over when they are allowed in. When we first got the pup, I had him in a puppy pen inside the house to keep them seperate, and I gradually increased the time they spent together outside until I was happy for the pup to be unsupervised with the older dog.

I did notice that the pup seemed to want to be inside the house constantly recently so I spent lot of time doing things outside with them, I fed them outside, etc so he got into the habit of thinking good things happen when we are outside. This works for us, I also give them both a treat for going outside, that type of thing.

If you gradually build up the time, they soon adjust.Good luck

[WeimMe]

My older dog wasn't crate trained, so is used to being outside if we are out (not at night though). Now that he's a bit older, I've been letting our beagle cross pup outside during the day if I go out as well and he seems to love it out there. He frequently goes out to play during the day for short periods while we are home now as well. I'm sure your Beagle will be fine as long as he's got respite from the weather and plenty of water and toys :)