Anyone have dogs that live outside?

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EquestrianFairy

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My two collies have always lived outside, by 'lived' I mean they are out when I'm out and in when I am in.

When I moved in with my partner two years ago the garden wasn't suitable for them to be kept outside so instead they were in the kitchen but the back door would be left open during the day (unless it was Baltic weather then it would be closed).

They now have a massive kennel built, fencing complete and it's all temperature controlled for them.. However they are obviously now used to be inside with outside available if they wish rather than it being a 'norm'.
I've started the transition slowly, few hours at a time, making sure I am in the house so I can keep an eye but the older of the two is being very persistent with the barking.. Have I lost the ability to retrain them to sleep outside now it's been broken for the last two years or am I doing something wrong?

They spend all day outside anyway sunbathing or sleeping so I had hoped it would have gone better than it has done so far.
 
How long has it been and how do you respond to the barking?

Most dogs revert to: 'I'm out all day, hunting, doing my thing, then at night I curl up in the cave with the pack'. Separation or isolation from the pack can cause anxiety.

You need to create a good association with them being outside. Where the food is, the fun is, the bones or Kongs are, that kind of thing, not 'oh my gawd, I'm being sent away from the pack'.
 
It's only been a few days, the barking has now gone from 45 mins to around 15 mins.
Initially i was telling him to be quiet and putting him to bed then I decided to try and adopt an 'ignore' response which seems to have worked better as the barking has decreased.
I haven't actually left them out the back and left the house yet as I want to make sure he doesn't bark at all before I'm happy doing that. He will bark in general at the neighbours faffing etc and that's normal for him but its the yelping/anxious type bark I want to settle before I am happy to physically leave the house.

They have their food/water in the kennel (it's massive) plus toys and I have started to give a treat for them to go to bed to eat it before closing the back door.. Is this the right thing to do? Hoping to associate the treat with them being outside for a few hours etc.
 
I would give all feeds in the kennels. Do you just leave food down?

Where do you give the treat? Before they go in? After they have gone in?
If they don't scrap over food or toys I would give something like a stuffed frozen Kong or a raw bone as the treat as that will keep them busy/be of higher value than something like biscuit, swallow it, oh where's Mum gone?

With the barking, it depends on the dog, some dogs will be silenced with a vocal correction, others see it as a reaction/attention and keep barking, yours sounds like the latter.
 
Sorry for delay:

Yes they have 24/7 access to food rather than being fed at set times as I've always done it this way so never changed it.

I give it to them then send them to their 'bed' to eat it, they will both then run into the kennel and sit in their beds (the beds are seperate with a divide) to eat it.

Originally I was giving a small peice of ham but it was pointless as they were coming straight back out so I went and bought a few maxi bones which take about 10 mins for them to eat and means they spend time eating it while I'm leaving the garden and closing the door etc. (it's costly though)

They will play nicely with toys but scrap over anything that takes longer than a few mins to eat, mainly the big one takes it off the smaller one and will sit with two bones in his bed gaurding them- I only give these type of bones when I am around to make sure he doesn't do it. Massive shame as these are the types of treats I would prefer to leave them munch for a few hours.
 
Can you give them separate kennels and runs so each one has their own space, my five collies each have their own space and know which one is theirs.
 
The kennels are like a house with one entrance but two rooms (and a divide so they have their own space) unfortunately the garden isn't big enough to split in two and they've always been together so I think splitting them with seperate runs might upset them more.

Today was better again so hopefully we are getting there..
 
My collie lives outside. She has the run of the garden and has a dog flap in her kennel so she can be in and warm if she wants. We found that we had to put a curtain over the window in her kennel because she thought the moonlight or in summer, late sun meant she should be out and about. She has never barked at night. She does'nt like being in the house. In the winter I bring her in for a warm up and a cuddle, but she soon sits at he door waiting to go out again. The garden and her kennel are her territory and thats where she wants to be. She is walked just before bedtime so she knows her routine and I think this is why she settles at night. We did have problem with the kids next door a few weeks ago. They were causing her to bark when they were screaming and shouting, but we have put another fence up so she does'nt see them anymore and this seems to have sorted this out. I know some people don't see why we would want a dog that lives out, but we spend a lot of time in our garden and workshop so we aren't in the house much ourselves. I also have horses at a livery yard and take her with me some of the time. Not while the weather is hot though because she has to spend some of the time in the car and this could be detrimental to her wellbeing.
 
Vinney mine are similar and always have been, it was only the two year break that changed it as it wasn't my house and I couldn't adapt the garden, now things have changed and I have been able to secure fencing, get a kennel built to the spec i wanted etc and finally, it's ready.
They've always been able to go outside as and when they pleased even when I was out the house as I would leave the door open.
 
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