Dog won't go in to his dog house

gagiteebo

Hi guys,

I have the most adorable 2 year old Golden Retriever and I recently bought him a dog house. I'd been looking around for the right one and eventually got one made, it's very large, I can get into it and I've put a dog memory foam mattress and blankets and pillows in there (I'd love to sleep in there :P), basically I wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for him. He has never been in one before, he has always slept in the utility but it's not possible anymore, he is inside in the evening but out to the dog house for bed. The problem is he won't get in to it, he shakes at the door of it. We have gotten into it and then he comes in but he won't get in alone. Yesterday it was raining and he just lay beside it, it broke my heart and I had to bring him in. I'm worried about him when we are at work and it's raining etc....any advice?

Thank you (sorry it's so long-winded :P)

tipseymcT

some dogs just dont like confined spaces.you could try letting him sleep in the utility for a while longer on his new bed so that he gets used to it & it has his smell,them move it out to the dog house.
Give him his dinner at the door of the dog house,then every day move it in a little bit more.Eg day one,food bowl at the door.day 2,bowl just inside door.day 3 food bowl in far enough that he has to put his two front paws in.keep going until he is fully in to get his food.Just leave bowl down,walk away & let him go at his own pace.this worked with our border collie who was afraid to get into the car.

Senna

I thought our dogs never went into their kennel, instead laying under the trees when it rained. But if found out (by chance) that they do go into the kennel when we are away from the house, but wont when they know we are inside.

Graces7

Senna wrote: »

I thought our dogs never went into their kennel, instead laying under the trees when it rained. But if found out (by chance) that they do go into the kennel when we are away from the house, but wont when they know we are inside.

Canny creatures!

Please take care if they are left where anyone can steal them. We would never leave the house unless the dogs are inside our house.

Ms Tootsie

Our guy loves his house but it took a while. We had a mat that we let him use in the house and then we eventually put it outside into his house. We also had the house indoors for a week beside where he slept and we kept leaving treats in it so he smelt the treats and would lean inside the door to get them.

We then moved the house outside. For about 6 weeks anytime we fed him it was when he was in the house. We called it 'home' told him to go into 'home' and once he was in we put the food in front of him. We always placed his treat filled kong in there as well. For a few weeks a few times a day we would go out and put him in and as soon as he was inside we praised him and gave him a treat and then let him back out. Just as with crate training we kept extending the lenght of time he was in the house before we gave him a treat. He loves the house now. While he doesnt sleep in it (he sleeps indoors with us) he will happily lie in it chewing his bone or just chilling out. Basically the best advice I can give is use the same methods you would use to crate train a dog. He will eventually see the house as his own space, his own den.

However, the main reason we got the house was to provide him with shelter if it rained so we could leave him outside in our contained back garden when we were gone. We felt this would be better than crating him when we were away. He will use the house if he wants to sleep on chill out but we cannot get him to understand this is where he needs to go when it is raining. I will come home and (thanks to our glorious summer) he will be soaked but inside his house is bone dry. Any suggestions on how we can get him to know when it rains he should go in the house? As I have said we know he isnt afraid of the house as we spent weeks training him and now he will go in of his own accord, just not when it is raining.