Inside or outside?

by Sherri
(Edmonton)

I adopted a 5 year old male GP from the local shelter. He was a stray. I have had him for a week and one half.

Judging by his reactions, I do not believe he had ever been in a house before. My guess is he was a farm dog in an abusive home. He is very fearful, submissive etc, however I thought he was responding very well to his new home. But now in the last two days, he has not wanted to come in the house anymore. I don't know if he feels that it is too warm for him, although we are keeping the heat set at 19.5 during the day, and at night it goes down to 17 c.

I would rather have him inside, but I am wondering if I am asking too much, and that he would actually prefer to be an outside dog only. I live in Edmonton, and our winters are very severe, I don't feel comfortable leaving him outside.

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Nov 10, 2014
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Inside
by: Nancy

I, too, adopted a Pyr that had lived totally outside for the first 4 years of his life. Then I got him and have had him for a year and a half now. He was very leery at first to come in the house. For the first 3 or 4 months, we didn't leave him inside when we went anywhere because he would tear the blinds off the front windows trying to get outside. However, he is now very comfortable being inside and going out when he wants to. He loves to stay out and bark, and just lay in the driveway guarding his territory. have let him stay outside all night before because he wears a shock collar and he won't go outside his boundaries but when he starts barking very late, we have to make him come in so he won't wake neighbors for miles around. These dogs absolutely love cold weather, so don't worry about it getting too cold for him outside. But if you want him to be an inside member of the family, I say go for it. Give him some time to adjust, letting him stay in for longer periods of time as time goes by. I think he will adjust wonderfully to inside after a while. Anyhow, that's my opinion.

Nov 13, 2014
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Thanks
by: sherri

Thanks Nancy, for the encouragement. I also had a follow up Spca training/meeting and she said the same thing as you. He has a really sweet temperament and not to give up on him, it will take time. And, as of today, he actually ran back into the house after doing his business. Don't know if it was the large financial contribution to the Oscar Meyer wiener company, but I am feeling a lot more confident.
I also ordered a gel cooling mat off the internet, not sure if he will use it, but thought it was worth a try.
It was really good to know that some one else had faced the same concerns. Thanks again.

Nov 14, 2014
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Inside or Out
by: Donna

You haven't had your Pyr for long. He's doing what, as you say, he is using to doing. It takes at least three weeks for him to start to become comfortable and trust you.

As Nancy says, take your time with him. Ocar Meyer is a great way to start, too!

When he does start barking, it can be managed with some patient training. He will bark for his own 'reason' so when he does, you go over and look at what he is barking, tell him it's okay, and 'shhhh' and 'go lie down'. Stay there until he does as you have asked him. It takes time but it will happen.

Barking is part of their instinct as that is what they use to guard their territory. Work with it.

Nov 19, 2014
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Comfort Zone
by: Katy

They tend to gravitate to what they're used to before they accept a new routine. When they go through a big change, they seek out their comfort zone. Buddy was a guard dog at a junk yard for most of his life before we got him. Though he had apparently had some experience with being inside, he very much preferred to be outside, and still does. He's outside during the day when we're not home because he's gotten himself into trouble eating carpet and we can't risk another incident, but he always comes inside at night. He whines a bit on occasion but he's gotten used to it. We've had him for almost a year now.

Your boy will get there as well. Just give him a lot of time, patience and understanding and soon enough he'll get used to being an indoor dog instead.

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