dog question

[natebuddy]

I have a 3 year old male black lab. He has live with me in the house forever. I am considering moving him outside. I will attatch a kennel to the heated garage and he will be able to come in and out of the garage as he pleases. My question is, how will this affect him? He is used to 24 hr attention. He sleeps next to my bed and follows me everywhere I go. Will he be the same dog that he always has been. I don't want any negative affects from him moving outside. He is so good with kids and has never shown any aggression. I am also concerned with his attitude changing towards hunting and training. He is a master hunter already and probably the best dog I will ever own. Any input would be much appreciated. If you have any experience with this please reply.
Thanks

[setterguy]

I think that someone in your situation is attempting to make the adjustment at the right time. In the summer there won't be such a shock to his system as far as dealing with the elements. Make a gradual transition, maybe leave him out there only during the day for a week or so then try one night at a time until he feels comfortable. Dogs are highly adaptable creatures and most will do just fine as long as they are still recieving one on one attention and getting plenty of excersize.

[LABS4ME]

I've seen it done both ways... moving indoor dogs out, and outdoor dogs in. I think what it boils down to, is that he still gets the same attention from you then, as he's accustomed to now. My dogs are all outdoor dogs and they do just fine socially. 1 of my dogs was a half-in, half-out fella when I got him, and the adjustment was no problem at all. I do think there is something to the bond made between Master and dog if they are house dogs. I usually have multiple dogs, so the odds of me showing favoritism towards one and moving them in the house is slim. If I had only one and I had my druthers, it'd be a 50-50 dog. Probably outside all day and in at night in specified rooms when I'm home. The heated garage will be a benefit to him and I'm sure you'll still spend plenty of time with him, so I don't see it being an issue.

Good Luck! Labs

[LMITOUT]

I'm also in a similar situation with my GSP pup (almost 4mo old). I have a kennel which will eventually be attached to the garage. Right now she's been inside but now with the nicer weather and she getting older, I'd like to be able to put her out there while I'm at work.

Yesterday I put her in there when I got home so that I could clean the garage and get my boat ready but all she would do is bark. She very attached and doesn't want to be out of eyesight let alone five feet away from me. I can't let her bark or I'm sure the neighbors will be agitated in short order. Contemplating a bark collar, but not sure what to do. I think she'd be happier out there during the day, but also can't get run out of the neighborhood either!

[danny berg]

LMITOUT
Same thing with my dog, always barking, I picked up a bark collar at the local pawn shop, the dog stopped barking all the time, but now when he barks, it it a quick bark then silence. The neighbors liked that very much.....

[LMITOUT]

What age did you use the collar? Is it too early for my pup (4 mo)? Or is using a collar the lazy way around to actually fixing the problem?

I really don't want to get into shock collars, but if a bark collar is the reasonable way to go about it, then I may have to consider.

[danny berg]

LMITOUT,
I don't remember what age I started,I am thinking somewhere around 6 months or 1 year, but since I am single, there was no one around to correct the dog while I was at work, the Collar was the only way to go. Although I did try a couple ones that make noise, the dog just ignored those. Somewhere between 6 months to one year of everyday use, then the dog didn't have to wear the collar any more. He was conditioned to bark only once, then he stopped, he thought he was going to get a buzz. Of course there are those special moments, like when another dog came by his kennel or better yet a cat. But that is dog behavior, and I didn't really correct for that, just a quick yell to shutup . Every now and then I had to put the collar back on, as a little refresher correction, but the last 2 years of his life, I bet he wore it a total of 5 times.
My neighbor was so happy after the dog was conditioned not to bark, she made me a couple of pans of ruhbarb crisp.
My mom said I was my dogs litter mate, he was at my side at all times, never even let me go to the bathroom by myself, always laid at the door of the bathroom, when I was in there. So when I got my new place, I needed to keep the dog somewhere else, besides inside, so the kennel went up, dog house was built, and the barking started. Then the complaints came in from the neighbors. I tried 3 different bark collars before the shock collar.

Hope this helps with your decision making. And No, I don't think it is the lazy way to go, for me it was the very last choice.

danny

[chelsey17]

I would hold off on using the collar right away until the pup is 6 mos. for a high octane, and 8-9 mos. for a mild tempered dog. If you just strap on a remote collar of any kind and start zappin away, the dog will know what is up, and get collar wise. Put on a dummy collar for at LEAST a month during the same type of situations that you'll later be using a hot collar in. Use the same commands you'll later be using-be it NO!, Heel, come, whatever. Use the same type of correction as well-choke chain, 30 foot check cord, leaning out the window and yelling NO!,whatever. Assuming you have had the dummy collar on during these intitial training sessions, a month or two down the line, turn on the heat on a low setting and AUGMENT your correctons (jerk on choke chain for example) with a zap on the collar. Find out what setting gets the dogs attention and stick with it. Make sure the collar fits just like the dummy.(these collars with variable settings on the transmitter are great!) You can start weaning off the manual type of correction, but maintain the same verbal commands. The collar simply becomes an extension of that check cord or choke chain. Your simply reinfocing commands the dog already knows, or has been trained on. I've used collars for 18 years and they are an essential tool for hunters in my opinion. By the time your dog 3-5 years old in the field, you will hardly ever use the collar. By that time, sell it and make most of your money back. By a good one for $250 and sell it for $185 in 5 years later.

[LMITOUT]

Thanks for the advice from both of you.

Right now I'm debating a bark collar that zaps not the regular e-collar that's used for training, but I always enjoy the advice nevertheless.

[chelsey17]

Use a dummy collar either way, and try to get some form of correction or verbal commands (NO! I'm assuming for barking)incorporated while it's not getting nicked yet. If that means watching the ballgames next to the outside door where the kennel is, so be it. If it means walking out to the the kennel and grabbing the dogs muzzle and yelling NO!,every time pup barks when it's raining, so be it. Do it over a long weekend if you work during the week. (get a shock type bark collar if that's the route you go) G-ronteed if you just strap it on and it's getting zapped, it will know what's up! Use the collar to reinforce commands you have already at the very least, introduced to the dog. Barking is the toughest one, in that you need to be vigilent to correct the dog every time it barks during that intro period. In training situations for most other commands, they are commands being taught in a short session that you control. Wean the dog off of you going out to grab his muzzle by just yelling NO! From there, it is a matter of voltage...