Bringing My Baby Inside

[Tealsmom]

Hey! I am the proud mama of a 2yr old chocolate lab - Teal. She has lived happily outside with us and we are considering a switch to inside. Our 9yr old son is having MAJOR sleeping issues (anxiety, night terrors...) and we are weighing our options using an indoor dog to help in this area. We believe having a sleeping companion (other than a parent will greatly diminish his anxiety. We are not entirely against getting a little indoor dog; however, we have such an active lifestyle that I'm not sure we have the time.

Anyway (sorry for the life history), my questions are:

#1: What are your thoughts on trying to house train a 2yr old lab who has only lived outside in a raised kennel? She will potty in the kennel and outside in the woods - so I worry about the difficulty of house training.

#2: Could we just train her to sleep in at night and then let her stay outside during the day like she is used to? Or will that be too confusing on the potty training end?

I am open to any ideas you may have about this issue and really appreciate your feedback.

Thankful (and sleepless) Lab Lover

[POPTOP]

Hello and Welcome!

Labs are people dogs, they love being with their family and should be inside dogs. I'm sure others will comment on that.

We home senior labs, some who lived in kennel situations. From Potion who was 9, Melody who was 10, Bandit who was 7, Mardi who is 8, and Archie (who lived in not a very nice situation) who is 5 (the ages stated where when they joined our family), they all were very easy to housetrain. I use puppy training 101. Watch them carefully, outside frequently and super praise when they go outside. We make it a potty party. Unlike puppies, they do have the muscle capacity to hold it. They just need to be taught where it is appropriate to go-outside. Remember, your pup is used to when she needs to go, she goes. With your help, she can modify that. Watch for signs, circling, sniffing, squatting.

I remember the first day with Melody. She was in the kitchen and started to squat. I just told her, Melody lets out outside, and she did her thing outside. All of them have trained within days to at the most a week. Crating was important at night. Up early in the morning and straight outside. Always a positive experience, never scolding or they might trying to hide and go inside. Labs want nothing better than to please and Teal will catch on fast.

Can you put a crate in your son's room close to his bed?

[Tealsmom]

Yes, we have a large crate that will fit nicely beside his bed. Thank you so much for your hopeful advice. I have been worried I guess more about my ability to train her than her ability to do it. Your experience sounds so positive that I almost have confidence in myself to do it! Teal is such a great dog and has shown signs of "nannying" our son when we are outside together. She stays with him everywhere he goes and will go check on him. Those type of behaviors (and the fact that we already know and love her bunches) makes me lean toward bringing her in instead of getting a "little" dog.

What are your thoughts about in and out? We are a working family and will be away during business hours during school months. I would feel bad crating her for that time. (even though I guess it's not much different than the kennel - other than the amount of space)

Also, how do you attack the problem of shedding?

Thanks so much!

[Labradorks]

She should be fairly simple to house train. Most you adult labs are, especially females and dogs without a marking habit. Just remember the first few days up to a week will be weird for her as it will be out of routine and she might be anxious. This might include panting, pacing, being needy, excessive drinking, and even potty accidents due to anxiety and too much water. If things are like this just remember it's in no way indicative of how she's going to be going forward. In fostering I have transitioned many outdoor dogs. They don't know what to do with themselves but once they settle in they are sure happy!

As far as the shedding, well, you chose a Lab and they are indoor dogs that shed. She should in no way be punished for that by being kept outside alone away from her family. You can brush her daily, twice a day when she is blowing her coat, and vacuum and sweep regularly. My dogs, as much as I love them, are not allowed on the furniture or the bed. They have dog beds with removable covers that I wash usually weekly and vacuum between washes. Feeding a good diet sometimes helps certain dogs with constant shedding. You do get used to it.

[KenZ71]

Great advice above. Is your son ok with a dog in his room? My boys want a dog in their room but leave too much junk on the floor that is tempting to chew on. So dogs are in our room.

As for the shedding would your son be interested in helping? Brushing a few times a week or more helps a lot and creates an excellent bond.

[Snowshoe]

I doubt you will have any potty issues as she knows already to go outside. You will have to learn to watch for her signal that she needs out, those signals can be very subtle. But she should be good overnight.

When I was a kid the family dog was an outside dog. He only came inside if it got below zero F at night. Never had a potty issue. With his thick, heavy, long coat it was way too hot inside for him even with the night heat turned down to 60F. The dog next door was litter mate brother to ours and we used to feel so sorry for Tippy because he was out during the day and in at night. Tippy didn't have nearly the coat Teddy did but he had a good warm house and snuggled in it during the day. Couldn't have hurt him much in the long run, he outlived Teddy by a year. 17 and a half to Teddy's 16 and a half.

I wouldn't have an outside dog now, I just want my dog with me all the time. And inside when I'm not home as we did have trouble with stupid neighbour kids teasing Teddy. I wanted Teddy in too but little kids had no say back then.

Shedding: Brushing the dog, vacuuming and the newest thing for combating inside hair, the squeegee , and you will have a house probably well set up to combat asthma and allergies in kids. Leaving a bit of dog hair and dander should do the trick.

Research Shows How Household Dogs Protect Against Asthma, Infection | ucsf.edu

Good luck, I hope your son is helped by having the dog inside.

[bett]

bring the pooch in. crate train. and good luck with your son.

[Bamps]

Another thing that may help with your son's anxiety you may want to try. When I was a kid I remember having issues similar to that you describe. My mother brought me a little flashlight and told me if I wake up and get scared, shine the light so I can see its nothing. I also did this with my own kids too.

I wouldn't worry about the lab being house trained. Just watch and it will tell you when it needs to go out, just pay attention.

[Tanya]

I am glad to hear you are considering bringing the dog indoors. You really really should, labs are not at their happiest as outdoors dogs, they are very social and want to be with their family (and busy families generally only have a few hours at most a day to spend outside with an outside dog).

For house training, it will likely go quickly but you need to be on top of things the first few days/weeks. Limit his movements (i.e. don't give him freedom to randomly leave the room and pee where eyou cannot see) and take him out often.

If you have a safe secure yard and she doesn't bark during the day you could consider leaving her outside when you are away.

For the crate training - if the dog has never been crated before please go slow. introduce the crate, make it a good happy place and research crate training. If you just put the dog in the crate they will likely not take to it well.

OVerall - depending how much training you have done with this dog it can go smoothly or it can be more work. If you haven't worked on manners at all in the first two years you are going to have to address that now, no matter how busy you are. If you have concerns about YOUR abilities, sign up for training classes or have a trainer come over and help you find your confidence. Dogs don't train themselves, it's our job when we bring them home to train them. So you may find at first when the dog is indoors they are a little more hyper and don't know what to do with themselves. you can leave them on a hands free leash and have them by your side so you are more able to correct and redirect. Depending how it goes you will want to confine him to the area of the house where you are until they are reliable.

As a foster I am sure many of my past fosters may have been outdoor dogs. Some show a little more anxiety indoors at first (just because - it's totally new to them) but they all adapt quickly as long as you set boundaries and SHOW THEM what you expect of them. The dog may pant and be restless at first, that will pass with time and patience. The dog may want to be near you (on you) all the time because they have gotten used to having to soak in your presence when they had it.

I am trying to keep my post positive but I am not sure what you mean by you are not sure your active lifestyle permits time to have an indoor dog? A dog no matter where they live requires your time daily.

[4Thelove]

just want to say hi and welcome to the board!