Crying When Outside- Are We Doing The Right Thing?

[rar]

I have just located this forum- What a wonderful source of information! Hopefully I can become a regular

I was hoping I could get some advice please.

We have a 4.5 year old Gordon Setter x, and the weekend just gone, we adopted an 8 month GSP from the shelter. Things are going very well- the two of them are getting along fine, and he is settling in well.

It's been a long time since we had a puppy, so I wanted to confirm if we are doing the right thing in terms of getting him used to being outside- We picked him up on Saturday, and have made sure he is inside and outside when we are home- so he gets used to being outside when we are at work, and so he doesn't expect to be inside whenever we are home - he certainly will be with us when we are home, as our current dog has the run of the yard and the house, but we decided to make sure he wasn't in the habit of always being around us - so have being making a point of making sure he spends time outside by himself and with the other dog. We want him to feel confident and happy being inside and out

He is very attached to people- and cries for 10-15 minutes when he is left outside- We have being ignoring it, and he stops. Then we go outside and spend time with him when he is being quiet. It is difficult hearing him so upset, particularly as he has already had a pretty rough start to life, but it seems to be working. Does anyone else have any tips on making this easier? We have asked our neighbours to let us know if they notice any issues (barking etc), and he has water and toys. Yesterday he started jumping on the wirescreen door- I am not sure what to do about this- someone suggested ignoring it, while someone else suggested using a water spray bottle and spraying him when he does this... any thoughts from someone who has dealt with this would be appreciated.

We will be taking him to weekly training sessions at the dog club we went to with our other dog - starting next week, so hopefully that will help him gain confidence and experience with the world- he has had pretty much no training, and has been at the shelter for a while, so he has a lot to learn- but even more love to give- he is such a beautiful boy

Thanks in advance,

R

[shoemonster]

Congrats on your new pup

Sounds like you are doing the right thing, leaving him out, ignoring the crying, etc

I don't know what to do about the screen door though, is it because the screen door is closed but the normal door is open, and he can hear you more? Maybe try only having the solid door closed when he is outside?

[Cosmolo]

Which shelter did you get the dog from? Only reason i ask is because we train dogs at one of the Melbourne shelters and may know the dog you have if it is from the same place? Feel free to email me if you don't want to post. [email protected]

[BrunoBella]

Congrats on your new GSP pup. I have one a month younger than yours. He has jumped on the screen door a few times. I stopped him very quickly by using one squirt of the water bottle once. Now he doesn't do it any more. I also ask him to sit everytime he is near the door and spend a lot of time going in and out of the door with treats. He has picked this up very quickly

Sounds like you're doing the right thing with ignoring crying. A really unhappy GSP howls when they're upset. If he's not doing that then he's doing fine. My three year old still whines for a few minutes but is quiet as soon as I go.

Have fun

GSP's rule

[Dogsfevr]

GSP are notoriuos whinners when there owners are out of site so its important to stick with the lifestyle you want the dog to live.

You need to be patient but you cant accept behaviour that now just to help it settle then not allow later on so i would gently discourage door jumping.You will find the GSP will be much harder to live with than what you have but the GSP are very intelligient so make sure you are smarter & all will be great

[rar]

Thanks for the responses guys- much appreciated.

Shoemonster- We tried it with the door open and shut today- we seem to get the same reaction with either both doors closed, or just one door closed. I guess it is something that will go over time- It's only been 4 days after all, and he is still settling. He is starting to sit before he comes in though, which is a good start, and he is starting to get happier when we tell him to go outside- he realises that he gets treats, and lots of praise

Cosmolo- not a problem at all. We got him from the Keysborough shelter, and for the record, they were absolutely fantastic to deal with. We spent heaps of time with pup, and heaps of time observing our older dog with him. The staff we dealt with were fantastic. They actually had a girl GSP there around the same time- we didn't see her though, apparently she was adopted very quickly.

Bellaperson- Yep, they are beautiful dogs He really is a sweetheart. I will try the water spray again- I tried it earlier today, and he got a bit of a shock, so that may be the way to go to stop him jumping up on the screen door- I would hate for him to catch a claw in the wire netting. No, he's not howling- more of a sooky cry.

Thanks for the tip showdog - We are trying to get him into the routine that will be the routine moving forward- so we are trying not to baby him, but at the same time making sure he settles in.

R

[rugerfly]

I'd disagree that they are notorious whingers, or hard to live with. Each case is different, unfortunatly, some people give up on them to easily when they outsmart their owners as puppies :D

Firstly, thankyou for adopting this boy, you sound like you are on the right track. A firm no, growl or similar when he jumps at the door will soon curb his habbits, but be consistent. Hes at that real juvenile age, so time to remind him whos who in the zoo!

Wish you all the best of luck.