How to train a dog to live outside the house?

I have a chocolate lab approx. 7 years old. My husband adopted him 41/2 yrs ago before he got married. Since then, he only live inside the house except going for walk. The dog doesn’t like to go out to the backyard nor anywhere by himself.

I need to train him to live outside the house in a kennel because I have extremely allergy to dog. Does anyone out there can share information how to train him to live outside the house?

Thanks.
Tong Yan

I’m sorry to hear that you have such a bad allergy to dogs. Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy answer to your problem.

Dogs are pack animals, and hate to be separated from their pack, or family. Your dog sounds as though he is particularly attached to your family. This is pretty common with Labs – they are family dogs, and like to be around people. He will be very lonely and confused if he has to spend all his time separated from you.

One solution would be to train him to stay outside during the day, and let him sleep inside at night, perhaps in a separate room from your bedroom. You could even close off the room with a baby gate.

To train him to stay outside, start by feeding him outside. He will begin to associate being outside with something good. After a week or so of this, give him additional time outside with some treats or a favorite toy.

At first, make these sessions short – about 15 minutes. Then gradually lengthen the time he spends outside by himself. It will take several weeks, maybe as much as a month, to get to the point where he is comfortable spending time alone outside.

He will need to have plenty of fresh water available to him at all times, and a shelter to protect him from the heat and rain. If you live in a cold climate, you will need to provide him with an insulated dog house and a heated water bowl. Also make sure your yard is securely fenced. A lonely dog will often dig under the fence, or climb over one to find people.

Another possibility (which you may already have tried) is to talk to your doctor about allergy medication. There are some medications that are particularly effective with pet allergies.

Good luck. I hope this works out for everyone.

My dog still living inside my house. I would not force him to live outside until one day he is ready. We love our dog very much and we would not give him away.

You guys are not in my shoes and would never be able to understand how much I suffer from the allergy. Let me tell you a little bit about my allergy. Everyday my eyes are swelling with pus and constantly getting infections, non stop coughing with bad asthma. Recently I cannot even breath and have to admitted to hospital to get myself breathing again. Is my life not worth then a dog?

Your situation is most certainly extreme, and though I am generally not an advocate of dogs living exclusively outside there are some things you can do to make the best of it so you and your dog can both be comfortable.

Please make sure you or someone in your family spends quality time either exercising or training your dog every day. This is especially important because your dog will be spending so much time alone.

Keep him enrolled in training classes for fun, mental stimulation, and bonding and get him out for walks as much as possible.

Also make sure he has plenty of good chewtoys and food dispensing toys such as Kongs, Squirrel Dudes, Buster Cubes, etc. Big meaty marrow bones are nice too and will keep him busy.

In fact, I would feed him all of his meals out of toys out in the yard. No food bowl. Working for his food will give him a job and keep him busy and happy.

Also, it goes without saying that he needs appropriate housing and bedding. A raised dog house with a roof and an overhang for shade is good.

I was having very bad allergy and it became worst now. I have taken so many types of allergy drug plus shot and steroid to control my allergy. Presently I am taking Zyrtec, nasonex, asmanex and zaditor.

My husband is an official dog lover, and he would not give away his beloved dog. And my children loves this big dog too. I just hope that one day, this dog is ready to live outside and be happy. If it does not work, I have to bear with