# My GSD Doesn't Want to Be Inside...



## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

Hello...My beautiful long coat GSD absolutely LOVES being outside...all the time! I have to bribe him to come inside at night but I'm not usually successful. He lays at the back door and when I open it, he runs the other way. He has a contained one acre back yard to run around in but I worry with the frigid temps. The colder it is, the more he loves it. He is 2 years old...anyone have this problem? I love him to pieces but I had longed for a much more affectionate dog. Should I try to discourage this or is it "normal"?
Thanks!


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I have no advice for you, but your dog is gorgeous! I'm a sucker for the coaties.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

What happens when he comes inside? For example, does he immediately have to go to his crate ect? Is there a cat inside he does not like?

Just asking to see if there is something he doesn't like when coming inside, or that he really just likes it outside that much? Or is he trying to play a game with you? Get you to go out and chase him and play?!?!? It would seem there has to be either 1. something positive about staying outside (that he will enjoy/gain) or 2. something negative about coming in, dogs pretty much operate in a way that they will always do what gets a reward/and not do what causes something negative.

It is odd for a German Shepherd unless he is wanting to play, the breed is known for wanting to be with their people all the time, inside or out! There is also the chance he just really likes it out there.....?

He is gorgeous


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

*Jack*

Hi..thanks for the compliments! I agree, he is a beautiful dog .
No, there is absolutely nothing that would prevent him from being inside. No cats, etc. He just loves to be outside. He IS like a little kid...he will jump on the door or scratch at the window and when I go to the door, he runs away. He continues this game for a long time. He definitely wants me to come out and play. He even rings the doorbell . Unfortunately, there is almost a foot of snow outside and I am going in for knee surgery this week so I can't go out and risk falling. Here is a photo of him actually "grinning" while galloping in the snow.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

It's definitely not normal for a gsd but some do love being outside and they definitely have the right coat for it! I would absolutely not let him sleep outside in these temperatures unless he's got a very well insulated dog house.


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

Can you come catch him for me??


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Where do you feed him? Start feeding him inside. Feed him in the evening when you want him to come in.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

How much time do you and he spend together? Do you do any training with him? Your post sounds like he's outside all day long plus trying to stay out at night. So I'm wondering if he doesn't see you as a family member or his place as being inside.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Sure he loves the outside but maybe you can 'train' him or get him used to staying inside like you would do for crate training. Do you have a crate inside? My last dog had a covered crate in our enclosed breezeway with a pet door to the outside so she could choose for herself when to go outside. Do you have a covered crate or a dog house where he can be cozy? How is he in the warm weather? Does he want to come in where it is cooler? At 2 he is still a teenager and may be asserting some independence.
Sorry, no answers here and good luck with the knee!


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Our last female gsd was the same way--but we live in TX so the weather wasn't an issue. She had access to the garage and laundry room so I had a bed for here in each spot plus one on the deck. When she did come in she'd stay a little while but always ended up back outside. With your dangerously low temps I would make him stay in until the weather improves and have a party while he's inside so he'll have some fun


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## DharmasMom (Jul 4, 2010)

My girl is the same way. She LOVES to be outside. There are many times I have to bribe her to come in. And when I feed her,I leave the door open ( I hate to do that when it is so cold out but oh well) and she will stick her head in to see when it is ready and only when it is on the floor will she come in to eat. Then I can shut the door. I don't let her back out after she is done until it is time to go potty because then she will want to be outside for another half hour or so- until I bribe her to come in again.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

Pyrate does love to be outside in the winter months here - around 60-70 degrees. The temperatures are not cold enough to be dangerous and he loves the air conditioner during the summer. I do make him come in at night. If he won't come I go out and get him. He is well behaved and I can leave the sliding door open during the day for him to come and go inside our fenced yard but he really prefers it outside. When he is inside he is comfortable and loves scratches and attention but if nothing is happening inside he would rather be outside. I don't have a problem with it unless it rains or something. Then I make him come in. If your weather is potentially dangerous then I would make him come in. You can bribe him with favorite toys, stuffed kongs, etc to come in and be comfortable maybe.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

My LH GSD loves to be outside as well. He is 16 months and he thinks his job is to 'patrol'. We have a large back yard and live in the country, so we get a lot of critters coming around. He wants to be where the action is. I make sure that when he is in, I let him out when ever he wants. Even if it's in the middle of the night. Some times he lasts all night, but mostly he'll wake me up to go out.


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Lilie said:


> My LH GSD loves to be outside as well. He is 16 months and he thinks his job is to 'patrol'.


Same here! Our longcoat female wants to go out much more than our male. (short coat) She'll come in with no problem but two minutes later wants to go back out. She walks the property line, lays down for a few minutes, gets back up, walks the line again. 
Harley on the other hand goes outside, does his thing, waits for a few minutes to see if we're going to play and if we aren't, comes right back inside.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Whiteshepherds said:


> Same here! Our longcoat female wants to go out much more than our male. (short coat) She'll come in with no problem but two minutes later wants to go back out. She walks the property line, lays down for a few minutes, gets back up, walks the line again.
> Harley on the other hand goes outside, does his thing, waits for a few minutes to see if we're going to play and if we aren't, comes right back inside.


We have a large oak tree that the trunk is on the other side of the fence, but the brances etc. extend over into the yard (great shade for those hot summer days!). So Hondo will patrol the fence line and then walk under the tree staring up into the branches watching for those killer squirrels!


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

*Update...*

Hi everyone..thanks for the thoughts and advice. No, Jack doesn't have a crate in the house. He has free run and when he does sleep inside (BTW, I finally got him in last night) he sleeps in our bedroom, on the bed for part of the night and on the floor for the remainder. When he is in the bed, he is very cozy (and while I know it's not good training to let him do it, I'll take what I can get). Just for clarification, when he is in the house, he is usually by my side. But the minute I say the word 'outside', he is at the door. The summer is the same.

What I did last night was to bring in his favorite toy in the world...his heavy plastic food bowl. Jack has a serious plastic fetish and whether it's our solar lighting posts in the ground, the plastic pool I have for him during the summer to keep him cool (it was not an unusual sight to see him running around the yard with the pool over his head) , or his dog bowl (s) he is totally obsessed!. I bought a Jolly Ball for him and he was so obsessed that I had to take it away. He coveted it like it was a baby. Needless to say, Jack DOES give us many laughs and smiles.



Sooo...I think I will keep his plastic bowl in the house (he is sleeping on it now, by my feet) and see if that works. Luckily, he won't go for the glass bowl I have substituted for it and I will now feed him inside rather than out.

Any other GSD's out there with a plastic fetish?

Thanks again...this forum is great!!


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

*p.s.*

Everyone's dog is BEAUTIFUL!!! Jack is my 5th shepherd and the first with these "quirks". I'd love to share/see more photos..is there another forum where I should do that?


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Lorric said:


> the plastic pool I have for him during the summer to keep him cool (it was not an unusual sight to see him running around the yard with the pool over his head) ,http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/nn63/Lorric_2008/?action=view&current=DSC_6975.jpg


:rofl:


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

I found a very short video my daughter took this summer of Jack romping with his pool. Please note that there WAS water in it but he drained it first.  Not on top of his head in this one but maybe I can find that one too...


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

( it doesn't look like I could post the video


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

This might work...
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid301.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fnn63%2FLorric_2008%2F0501101913a.mp4">


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

guess not. It is a pretty funny video!


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## Sigurd's Mom (May 12, 2009)

I have no advice, my Mom has a black long coat German Shepherd (possible mix I think, he's kind of large), that will not come in the house! They have to trick him into coming in for the night, course him in with kibbles, hot dogs, you name it! He will just lay there, he is so content just being out in the snow, sleeping.


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Try putting it on YouTube and then you can just embed it in your post.


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

That is SO funny. He looks like Jack!! Glad to hear there are others with this "problem"> Thanks for sharing!


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## Dejavu (Nov 11, 2010)

Hehe! That's so cute! Playing with the pool! :wild:

All my dogs are and want to be outside, only my Poodle sleeps inside. But then again, this is Mexico the weather is hot all the time, and for those few days when it's cold (nothing that compares to the cold most of you get though!) they have access to areas with roof and walls, and their doghouses are there, with pads and blankets. Sometimes when we _think_ it's cold, I see them sleeping happily in the middle of the backyard though.

So I guess for them it's not really cold, lol.


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## DnP (Jul 10, 2008)

I'm not so sure that it is a plastic fetish as it is a play with anything available fetish... We buy several kiddie plastic pools at the beginning of each summer...By the end of winter, he's finally destroyed the last one. I know my neighbors thought we were the nuts on the road with a dog running around the yard with a kiddie pool in his mouth.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

He is gorgous! 
We have no heat in my sunroom, Apache is always looking to go in there. I nick named it Apache's room. Whenever we are comming back into the house, he will lay down in the sunroom. I let him stay for a while. Sometimes he will knock (paw the door) to come in, sometimes I have to make him come in. I guess just like people, some like the colder temps more than others. I don't keep it too hot in my house 66 unless hubby turned it up to 68.
As the snow piles begin to melt, I always find the dogs laying on the snow piles.


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## Lorric (Feb 19, 2010)

DnP said:


> I'm not so sure that it is a plastic fetish as it is a play with anything available fetish... We buy several kiddie plastic pools at the beginning of each summer...By the end of winter, he's finally destroyed the last one. I know my neighbors thought we were the nuts on the road with a dog running around the yard with a kiddie pool in his mouth.


 That is sooo funny!!! Thanks..it made me feel much better.


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## EMarie59 (Jan 22, 2011)

OMG! Thanks for the laughs!!!


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## DellaDog (Jan 16, 2011)

*Not the only one*

I have had Della four months now and she does the same thing, which I thought had to do with part of her abuse/neglect, as she was left outside with nothing all the time. I have tried treats, worked twice. I also leave her out, trying to call her every 15 mins or so, nothing. She will eventually come in, but it is after 30-45 min, sometimes longer depending on the weather. The main thing is don't feed into the "chase me game" and only call him in once or twice, no more. What finally worked for me is her leash. She loves to go for walks/rides and so always comes to be leashed when I show it to her. She then walks calmly into the house and I just unclip her and move on like nothing was wrong. Anyway, good luck with yours, but know you're not alone at least.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

The problem isn't that your dog loves to be outdoors. My dogs also love to be outdoors.

The problem is you haven't got enough bonding with your dog that he would PREFER to be indoors with you if given a choice.

This is one of the many many many many many many many many many many many reasons we mostly recommend DOG TRAINING and SOCIALIZATION with us for our puppies/dogs from the day they hit our house until the end of their lives. To make 'us' a part of their life and pack. 

The 'work' we have to put into this is what gets us the bonding and love we want in the end. And it does involve planning and TIME. Manageing them to have them learn to be with us. 

This is the stuff we should be doing WITH our pups:





 




 




 
Relationship building!


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

BowWowMeow said:


> It's definitely not normal for a gsd but some do love being outside and they definitely have the right coat for it! I would absolutely not let him sleep outside in these temperatures unless he's got a very well insulated dog house.


Not normal? If there is one breed that hasn't a problem to live outside and loves being in cold temperatures it's a GSD. However, with the temperatures I've encountered in Upstate NY, even they would probably freeze to death. 

However, normal cold temps should and are most definitely not a problem for GSD's. If mine could, they'd live outside as well.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> The problem is you haven't got enough bonding with your dog that he would PREFER to be indoors with you if given a choice.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i-L3-gqWic


That was my thought as well. All of my dogs have loved outdoors. If I'm outdoors with them, they would play and play and play and have a ball. If I lived with them outdoors, they wouldn't care if they never went indoors. But the key is me, they want to be with me. They get incredibly excited just to be let outside to potty, but if I close the door behind them, turn around to use the restroom myself and come back, they are waiting at the door for me. Last year I had a privacy fence where I was living, and on nice days in the spring I left the back door open for the dogs to come in and out as they please. But they were always with me. At that time I'd only had Emma for a few months, and she preferred to sleep in the living room or bathroom over the bedroom, but she still wanted to be in the house with me and know where I was at all times. 

GSDs are such a velcro breed, and love their people deeply. I think some work on developing a stronger bond, with play and training would go a long way.


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## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

I called my girl Molly The Turtle for a while as she would carry her paddling pool around the yard on her back too....that is until she murdered it one day....and then the next! Now we have a bathtub in the yard for her!


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## EMarie59 (Jan 22, 2011)

I was concerned with Chance, my newly adopted GSD, that he would want to only be outdoors and not in the house with us.
He was removed from an abusive home where he was kept outside 24/7 during his 2-3 yrs of life. This guy freaked out a little when I turned on the TV. We could tell that he had no idea what the heck it was.

Lord knows, my boy LOVES the snow out there, but after doing his business, he is right back at the door to be let back in. How does he act when I have been actually out there with him? Oh it is a ..
Heck no! "Momma, let's play in the snow!" 
He actually started tugging on me a little while ago cause I am guessing I was going back into the house a little too quickly for his liking. Sorry, but it is COLD outside!


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## JSKI (Apr 26, 2020)

Lorric said:


> Hello...My beautiful long coat GSD absolutely LOVES being outside...all the time! I have to bribe him to come inside at night but I'm not usually successful. He lays at the back door and when I open it, he runs the other way. He has a contained one acre back yard to run around in but I worry with the frigid temps. The colder it is, the more he loves it. He is 2 years old...anyone have this problem? I love him to pieces but I had longed for a much more affectionate dog. Should I try to discourage this or is it "normal"?
> Thanks!


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## JSKI (Apr 26, 2020)

Lorric said:


> Hello...My beautiful long coat GSD absolutely LOVES being outside...all the time! I have to bribe him to come inside at night but I'm not usually successful. He lays at the back door and when I open it, he runs the other way. He has a contained one acre back yard to run around in but I worry with the frigid temps. The colder it is, the more he loves it. He is 2 years old...anyone have this problem? I love him to pieces but I had longed for a much more affectionate dog. Should I try to discourage this or is it "normal"?
> Thanks!


Hello! It sounds like my Bear Bear to a tee! He loves me and has the house to himself. A temperpedic bed, treats, fresh water, toys. I even leave my bedroom window open all year until summer so it's cool. However, he wants outside all day EVERYDAY. He sits on the front lawn with a lead so he can wander in or out of the sun. He loves looking over his plain. Especially when it's cool out. In the winter, I worry too. Some days its 11 degrees and he doesnt want any part of coming in. I make him come in for a treat and try to get him to stay with me, but no deal. He wont stay out if it's hot. He cannot take the heat. Hes a loving, well balanced dog with great intelligence. He just loves being a real dog and barking only when he sees someone that "doesnt belong" on our street. By far the smartest animal I've ever owned.


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