Dog won't use kennel when raining/cold

Titus Andronicus

We had a medium sized dog for years who sadly passed away last year of old age.
We took in a lab-retriever cross who is obviously quite large in comparison.
I checked to see if she fitted the existing kennel & she does but she just wont use it.
We have a kids playhouse into which I put her bed & she's no interest in that either.
She will just stretch out on the grass in the pouring rain, snow, wind etc.
Once we let her in she'll shake off all the water & mud in the kitchen then go looking for her bed in the living room (that I since put out in the playhouse).

She's a great girl besides that, well except for the industrial sized poops but we have to stay on top of that with the kids using the garden too.
Is it possible she has some phobia of tight spaces or can dogs just be oblivious to the elements ?.

borderlinemeath

Titus Andronicus wrote: »

We had a medium sized dog for years who sadly passed away last year of old age.
We took in a lab-retriever cross who is obviously quite large in comparison.
I checked to see if she fitted the existing kennel & she does but she just wont use it.
We have a kids playhouse into which I put her bed & she's no interest in that either.
She will just stretch out on the grass in the pouring rain, snow, wind etc.
Once we let her in she'll shake off all the water & mud in the kitchen then go looking for her bed in the living room (that I since put out in the playhouse).

She's a great girl besides that, well except for the industrial sized poops but we have to stay on top of that with the kids using the garden too.
Is it possible she has some phobia of tight spaces or can dogs just be oblivious to the elements ?.

She's probably never had a kennel, and while it's not necessarily a phobia, she probably is slightly wary of it. Why can't she just stay inside? If she's obviously more comfortable inside why does she have to be put out? Particularly in inclement weather?

You'll find you get "industrial sized poos" from cheap food that is full of fillers as it has no nutritional value and just goes through dogs. What are you feeding her, and you may be feeding too much?

bb12

i had a collie exactly like that. would sit in the kennel no problem except for when it was lashing rain. it got to the point where i had to lock him into a shed on wet days to avoid him getting drenched through.

tk123

Was the dog kept in a kennel/outside before you took her in?

Just to add one of my retrievers sometimes likes to go out and sit in the rain! Try to wash her and its a different story lol!!

Knine

Have a separate play area for the kids. They should not be playing in an area the dogs use as a toilet.

Is the dog used to being outside? Normally if mine are muddy I dry them off with a towel or stick them in a crate until they dry if really bad.

Titus Andronicus

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Why can't she just stay inside? If she's obviously more comfortable inside why does she have to be put out? Particularly in inclement weather?

We put her out to eat or if there's to be nobody at home for a few hours.
She's never had an accident in the house but whines like mad when she really needs to get out to go.
Weather might change while she's outside.

borderlinemeath wrote: »

You'll find you get "industrial sized poos" from cheap food that is full of fillers as it has no nutritional value and just goes through dogs. What are you feeding her, and you may be feeding too much?

We're giving her complete nuts like what she was reared on, previous owners never gave her wet food.
She gets 2 mug sized cups of nuts a day but seems to produce about twice that out the back end.

Titus Andronicus

Knine wrote: »

Have a separate play area for the kids. They should not be playing in an area the dogs use as a toilet.

Is the dog used to being outside? Normally if mine are muddy I dry them off with a towel or stick them in a crate until they dry if really bad.

Unfortunately we've only a postage stamp size garden & half the grass was removed already fora patio.
The dog will only go on the grass so I'll have to keep it.

Titus Andronicus

tk123 wrote: »

Was the dog kept in a kennel/outside before you took her in?

For 7 years she lived indoors with a family but then she got sent out to stay with an aunt in the country who never let her indoors.
She had grown tired of her & never walked her so we offered to take her in.

tk123 wrote: »

Just to add one of my retrievers sometimes likes to go out and sit in the rain! Try to wash her and its a different story lol!!

Same thing with this girl, mad for swimming in streams & lakes but try & hose her & she goes mad, I have to tie her to the washing line to get the job done.

borderlinemeath

Titus Andronicus wrote: »

We put her out to eat or if there's to be nobody at home for a few hours.
She's never had an accident in the house but whines like mad when she really needs to get out to go.
Weather might change while she's outside.

I'd be wary of leaving a dog alone in a garden, there's always the chance she could be stolen. If she's never toileted inside I'd leave her in when you go out, or perhaps look at crate training.

We're giving her complete nuts like what she was reared on, previous owners never gave her wet food.
She gets 2 mug sized cups of nuts a day but seems to produce about twice that out the back end.

What brand though? Most supermarket brands are full of fillers, minimum amount of meat and sometimes colourants which are completely unnecessary. Contrary to popular belief there's plenty of good nutritious wet foods, but again, not the typical brands you get in the supermarket.

tk123

Titus Andronicus wrote: »

Same thing with this girl, mad for swimming in streams & lakes but try & hose her & she goes mad, I have to tie her to the washing line to get the job done.

:pac::pac::pac:We have a hose on the wall out the back and a loop thing that holds the nozzle/gun - that's where I clip mine to! I have 2 retrievers and they're both indoors. They sleep all day!

kylith

Titus Andronicus wrote: »

We're giving her complete nuts like what she was reared on, previous owners never gave her wet food.
She gets 2 mug sized cups of nuts a day but seems to produce about twice that out the back end.

What brand are they? Stuff like Bakers and Pedigree, and own-brand ones, tend to be full of cereals and fillers that go in one end and out the other. Better foods (meat as first ingredient, cereal free) will make for smaller poos, better skin and hair, and fewer manic episodes.

Titus Andronicus wrote: »

Unfortunately we've only a postage stamp size garden & half the grass was removed already fora patio.
The dog will only go on the grass so I'll have to keep it.

If you can fence off a bit of the grass you should be able to train the dog to just use that part.

Titus Andronicus

kylith wrote: »

What brand are they? Stuff like Bakers and Pedigree, and own-brand ones, tend to be full of cereals and fillers that go in one end and out the other.

Yes, it's Bakers he is on, he also gets leftovers from our table, loves spag bol but hates curry for some reason.

kylith wrote: »

If you can fence off a bit of the grass you should be able to train the dog to just use that part.

That's a good idea & she is very smart/obedient.

kylith

Yeah, get her off the Bakers. Go to a largish petshop and look for something that lists meat as the first ingredient. I like James Wellbeloved or Symply. Change the food over the course of a couple of weeks to avoid an upset stomach. You'll find that the poos improve drastically.