Dog will not use Kennel!

ZiabR

Has anyone ever had an issues trying to get their dogs to use their kennel? For as long as I have had my Lab she has never used her kennel when it rains or snows. She would rather sit out in the garden on the grass in the rain getting soaked. Dosent seem to bother her.

She has a lovely kennel with bedding in it but seems to pull her bedding into the garden and makes a bed to sit on, in the rain!!! As a result, her bedding is destroyed with mud and rain. She loves the water, as soon as she sees some she is in for a swim, gun dogs being gun dogs and all that.

Some days I need to leave the house for 2-3 hours and I just want her to use the kennel to stay dry and warm when I am gone, but nope, she is not interested.

Anyone have this problem, or solved this problem

beazee

Same here. Would love to see a solution.

FoxyVixen

Why does there need to be a solution?

If she's more comfortable out in the elements than leave her to it. A dogs coat/skin is thicker and more insulating than most people would think. My Akita does the same and only uses her bed to sleep or under the more serious downpours more likely to drench her coat.

cocker5

OP

Ok firstly what size is her kennel?
Is it raised up from the ground?

Reason I ask is lots of people buy kennels that are too small for their dog (thinking its big enough) – myself included.

When I first got my cocker I bought him a kennel, lady in the pet store told me it would be too small for a cocker when fully grown and showed me another kennel that would suit him better, but to me it was MASSIVE,so I went ahead and bought the smaller one… result was he wouldn’t use it.

SSo kinda morto but I went back a purchased the kennel shehad originally recommended and then he used it (albeit it was only for an hour a day when he was younger – he is indoors all the time now)


There a rule when picking out a kennel…. If your dog when FULLY grown cannot go down the bag of the kennel and comfortably turn around then it’s too small… and for them not comfortable.


Also you need to get proper bedding, not normal blankets as they get wet and stay wet… vet bed is excellent:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_beds_baskets/dog_blankets/vetbed/251997


You also need to raise it slightly off ther ground ie on small bricks, this stops the rain and cold form making it uncomfortable.

One last thing you need to make the kennel inviting to your dog… at the moment she may see it as punishment etc… you head out for a few hours and she left outside.. give her a stuffed Kong when you leave pop it inside her kennel… stuff it with pate and freeze it, then pop it in the back ofher kennel…. She will love it and it will keep her happy for ages.

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/kongs/kong/139215

ZiabR

cocker5 wrote: »

OP

Ok firstly what size is her kennel?
Is it raised up from the ground?

Reason I ask is lots of people buy kennels that are too small for their dog (thinking its big enough) – myself included.

When I first got my cocker I bought him a kennel, lady in the pet store told me it would be too small for a cocker when fully grown and showed me another kennel that would suit him better, but to me it was MASSIVE,so I went ahead and bought the smaller one… result was he wouldn’t use it.

SSo kinda morto but I went back a purchased the kennel shehad originally recommended and then he used it (albeit it was only for an hour a day when he was younger – he is indoors all the time now)


There a rule when picking out a kennel…. If your dog when FULLY grown cannot go down the bag of the kennel and comfortably turn around then it’s too small… and for them not comfortable.


Also you need to get proper bedding, not normal blankets as they get wet and stay wet… vet bed is excellent:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_beds_baskets/dog_blankets/vetbed/251997


You also need to raise it slightly off ther ground ie on small bricks, this stops the rain and cold form making it uncomfortable.

One last thing you need to make the kennel inviting to your dog… at the moment she may see it as punishment etc… you head out for a few hours and she left outside.. give her a stuffed Kong when you leave pop it inside her kennel… stuff it with pate and freeze it, then pop it in the back ofher kennel…. She will love it and it will keep her happy for ages.

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dog_toys_dog_training/kongs/kong/139215

Thanks for taking the time with that post. I have kept dogs for years. The kennel is more than big enough for 2 Labs. It is actually big enough that I can crawl in myself . I have it raised off the ground on wooden planks so the air and water can move under it. It just dosent seem to bother her. She is a house dog normally anyway, sleeps in the kitchen at night etc. I am not worried about her, just would like her to be comfortable when she is in the garden.

anniehoo

I'm no help here, but my last dog of 14 years never ever used her kennel no matter what we did. She was predominantly an indoor dog but if we left her out while washing the floors for example she had a hiding place under the shed she'd go to. She literally dug a hole barely enough for her to squeeze through,tunnelling under the shed and that's where we'd find her...with her gorgeous cosy kennel sitting there empty right beside it.

boomerang

Consider which way the kennel is facing (wind-wise) and how close it is to the house?

syklops

This thread reminds me of the old yellow pages advert that had the parents who bought the very expensive rocking horse and the child only wants to play in the box the rocking horse came in.

Most posters so far have said their dogs are mostly indoor dogs and want them to be comfortable when outside. Maybe the dogs are thinking this is their chance to be outside properly. You know what dogs are like. "Wahey! Walkies! Wahey! Its raining!"

aonb

syklops wrote: »

This thread reminds me of the old yellow pages advert that had the parents who bought the very expensive rocking horse and the child only wants to play in the box the rocking horse came in.

Most posters so far have said their dogs are mostly indoor dogs and want them to be comfortable when outside. Maybe the dogs are thinking this is their chance to be outside properly. You know what dogs are like. "Wahey! Walkies! Wahey! Its raining!"

I think you have a point here syklops - Ive had three different kennels (raised, well positioned/wind etc). If we are going out for a day, and its a lovely day, we leave the dogs out (dog-safe garden). Blankets in kennel, treats in kennel - with 'practising' putting the dogs in to the kennel saying stupid things like 'Peppers bed' etc etc (to let them know its their temp bed - sheesh!!) the dogs look at us like we're daft, eat the treat, sit on the blanket, then IGNORE the bloody kennel til we come home. We've come home to wet dogs, and unused dry bed in kennel - maybe they're trying to make us feel guilty for not leaving them in the house?!? (we do feel guilty then!)

irish_goat

My gf's dog didn't like her kennel either and it was more than big enough. A trick she used was to get a tshirt she had slept in a few nights and put it in the kennel so that the dog would smell her and feel a bit more at ease. In OP’s case you might need to tie it down in the kennel or your dog might just drag it out.

cocker5

logik wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time with that post. I have kept dogs for years. The kennel is more than big enough for 2 Labs. It is actually big enough that I can crawl in myself . I have it raised off the ground on wooden planks so the air and water can move under it. It just dosent seem to bother her. She is a house dog normally anyway, sleeps in the kitchen at night etc. I am not worried about her, just would like her to be comfortable when she is in the garden.

Sorry OP... I didnt mean to appear patronising etc
Its just lots of people (myslef included) buy incorrect size kennels..or position it in the wrong place in the garden etc :P

Maybe try the stuffed kong for her? my guy adores pate.....make it a nice "fun" place to be??

Otherwise maybe she's just happy out in the elements for the few hours you are away strange i know... but then again dogs can be strange (my guy is very odd at times) - its what makes them special

ZiabR

cocker5 wrote: »

Sorry OP... I didnt mean to appear patronising etc
Its just lots of people (myslef included) buy incorrect size kennels..or position it in the wrong place in the garden etc :P

Maybe try the stuffed kong for her? my guy adores pate.....make it a nice "fun" place to be??

Otherwise maybe she's just happy out in the elements for the few hours you are away strange i know... but then again dogs can be strange (my guy is very odd at times) - its what makes them special

No need to be sorry I know where you were coming from. She has everything she could want, spoilt, like most of our pets huh I think she just likes the garden more than the kennel. So I will just have to wait and see will she start to use it when she gets older and lazy.

syklops

aonb wrote: »

I think you have a point here syklops - Ive had three different kennels (raised, well positioned/wind etc). If we are going out for a day, and its a lovely day, we leave the dogs out (dog-safe garden). Blankets in kennel, treats in kennel - with 'practising' putting the dogs in to the kennel saying stupid things like 'Peppers bed' etc etc (to let them know its their temp bed - sheesh!!) the dogs look at us like we're daft, eat the treat, sit on the blanket, then IGNORE the bloody kennel til we come home. We've come home to wet dogs, and unused dry bed in kennel - maybe they're trying to make us feel guilty for not leaving them in the house?!? (we do feel guilty then!)

I grew up with gun dogs and the best day out for them was a cold November morning when they were going through brambles looking for pheasants, swimming in freezing cold rivers, ear-deep in mud. I remember one of them after a days hunting, panting and tired and wet covered in thorns and mud, and she looked like she was grinning because she had had a really good day.

I think most dogs are happier outside than we give them credit for. That said, I wouldn't leave one out if it got arctic cold like the last couple of winters.

ZiabR

syklops wrote: »

I grew up with gun dogs and the best day out for them was a cold November morning when they were going through brambles looking for pheasants, swimming in freezing cold rivers, ear-deep in mud. I remember one of them after a days hunting, panting and tired and wet covered in thorns and mud, and she looked like she was grinning because she had had a really good day.

I think most dogs are happier outside than we give them credit for. That said, I wouldn't leave one out if it got arctic cold like the last couple of winters.

So true, she is the same, even in icy water she is in for a swim. She must just be happy to sit there. I will leave her to it