# Does anyone else have a dog that won't "settle" in the house?



## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

My dog finds it extremely difficult to lay down and settle in the house. The only time she really does is at night when I bring her in and I say "night, night time" She comes in to eat, be brushed, will lay down a minute and then wants back outside during the day. She has no problems just laying around outside but finds it hard indoors? She has never really grasped the concept of toys or chewies to amuse herself. She has 1 squeaky chicken she plays inside the odd time and 1 squeaky ball she plays with outside. She loves it when I'm outside with her all day and when we are out and about but is restless beyond belief being inside with me. She also has no problems laying back all relaxed for truck rides (this has calmed her down since she was 10 weeks old) Is she a dog that just prefers being out most of the day or is it a training thing to teach her to settle in the house? She would stay outside all night too if I let her but I don't want her barking.


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## Namrah (Jul 15, 2008)

Elka often has a preference for outside, but she can settle inside quite easily. I don't have a problem with her spending much of her time outside (she has a dog door, so she makes that choice) even in inclement weather, which she happens to like quite a lot, it seems.

How old is your dog, and have you done fun things? Playing and the like?


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

she is 22 months old soon. I've played "find it" with her, tug and played with her with her squeaky chicken inside but as soon as we are done playing she wants out. If I'm busy running around cleaning or on the computer etc.. or laying down for a bit she will lay down but I soon hear her panting and pacing and then pawing at the door and then she will go outside and lay down! Too hot in the house maybe? When I took her with me to see my boyfriend at his work overnight one time she tried jumping on his desk to jump out the window to get outside!


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## Namrah (Jul 15, 2008)

She may grow out of it; is there a particular reason this bothers you? I doubt I'd let it bother me, but I have a dog door and don't have to deal with Elka's indecision on where to be. =)


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

The only time it really bothers me is when we're at someone elses house and they don't have a backyard and then she gets very restless, otherwise at home it isn't too much of a big deal. I thought of a doggy door but when it's wet out there's mud and the door leads straight to the kitchen


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## Namrah (Jul 15, 2008)

What about giving her something long lasting, like a frozen kong or something, so she learns that spending more time inside is a fun thing? Something that she can lay down with and work on? 

And yea, my dog door is not off the kitchen, but it is a muddy mess. I've given up on it until the Oregon rain subsides for the summer.


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

I could try freezing her kong maybe she would have more interest in it. Like right now I'm on the computer and I just brought her in from outside she is laying on the bed looking at me and I know she won't go to bed til I do and if I have to get up for something she will too or she'll want back outside unless I say "no night night" Restless, restless. I can walk her for 1 hour and then let her run off leash, she gets tired quick but not for long. I actually bought a bike to wear her out more, 2 blocks and she's done but not for long......... I thought Berners were low energy! She loves when we go bike riding. I guess I should be happy she's healthy and has good stamina but I'm not getting any younger


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

dakotajo said:


> she is 22 months old soon.


She's still young. My guy was like that. He had to be taught how to settle, and it was a while before it really stuck.


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

good to know I just gave in and let her back out since I won't be going to bed now for another half hour. I complain then give in I think I need to settle in some ways too


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## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

dakotajo said:


> good to know I just gave in and let her back out since I won't be going to bed now for another half hour. I complain then give in I think I need to settle in some ways too



You may have inadvertently taught her this by giving in..lol.
Outside is more interesting than inside, you have to teach her to settle by making it more rewarding to settle inside. The frozen kong is a good idea. So is teaching her a "go to mat" behaviour and incorporating a stay. Giving her something to occupy her while she's there is important..but she really does have to learn that you are not the doorman. Dogs do what works, it's how they learn and how they survive. If you continue to let the unsettled behaviour "WORK" then she will continue to do it. Period. We create a lot of our own training issues with our dogs and then have to figure out a way to fix it that works for the dogs AND for us. We love em, for sure, but the whole world should not be about them.


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Marsh Muppet said:


> She's still young. My guy was like that. He had to be taught how to settle, and it was a while before it really stuck.


Ditto. Our dog is now 4 and didn't learn the settle thing solidly until she was around 2.5-3 years old. We figured out that we were reinforcing her pacing, too, by letting her out, walking her, playing with her, etc. Once we stopped that and she matured, it pretty much stopped. She still walks from window to window to stare outside, but it only goes on for a few minutes before she settles down again.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Mia did not settle well. She still really doesn't (although right now she's asleep in my lap- she got really cuddly all of a sudden). But you do have to teach them you're not giving into every little thing. Mia would love it if we were outside all day, every day but that's unrealistic so I have had to teach her to entertain herself. Now if she's bored she plays toys with herself like a good girl.


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

You are all right. I reinforce her behaviour by letting her out whenever she wishes, usually. Easier to let the dog out than listen to her pant and pace plus she is young yet. I'll have to work on her lay downs with a stuffed frozen kong or some bully sticks. I wonder what she does when I'm not home sometimes for a couple of hours, I'm sure she lays down since nothing is ever out of it's place, destroyed or anything. In one training book I have it says to put a leash on them in the house, sit down for a half hour shorten the leash so they can't get up and make them stay there. This is supposed to go far in training, anyone tried that? I could do that at someone elses house to teach her to lay down quietly while visiting?


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## Squeeker (Dec 15, 2007)

We sort of have the opposite problem... Libby has a hard time settling outside! She loves the outdoors, but once she's tired wants to go back inside! I think this is because we've never had a yard so the only time we were outside was for exercise or pottying. Now that we have a house and a large yard she's going to have to get used to it!



> In one training book I have it says to put a leash on them in the house, sit down for a half hour shorten the leash so they can't get up and make them stay there. This is supposed to go far in training, anyone tried that? I could do that at someone elses house to teach her to lay down quietly while visiting?


We did tether training in our puppy kindergarden class with Libby. The tether was long enough for the dog to be able to stand up without puting pressure on their collar, but that was it. It worked well for class, and we would also tether her when at friends houses for dinner or something, and it really did work well. We never did this at home, though, as we crate trained her at home. She settles beautifully indoors, though, and has from a young age.

That said, I'm not about to tether her to solve her inability to settle outside. She'll get tired and figure it out... I'm just not going to let her inside when she asks.


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

Maybe that's what I'll do at someone elses place, if she won't settle I'll loop the leash around the doorknob so she can still see us but can't bug for attention etc... and then I'll try getting her to settle on the floor laying down and if she doesn't then repeat the method? This could work, I know she hates being tied up. When I fixing the gate she decided to take off to the neighbours so I took her leash and hooked it up to the garage door doorknob and she was so unhappy but I had to get the gate fixed. She has never taken off since when the gate is left open accidently.


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## didee (Oct 18, 2009)

I don't have a solution to offer you, but wanted you to know you're not alone. Codie can go into a coma when she naps inside, but when awake, she sometimes goes into a "pacing" mode where she wants out - desperately! She has some sort of sighthound in her and craves being outside exploring and watching everything. The pacing drives ME crazy and nothing can stop it except crating her. 

I hope she outgrows it. She's a stray from the shelter and I don't know her age, but she's young, around a year old maybe. I have a really hard time getting her to come inside. Unless of course it's raining, in which case, she won't go outside until she's desperate to go potty.


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## Marsh Muppet (Nov 29, 2008)

dakotajo said:


> Maybe that's what I'll do at someone elses place, if she won't settle I'll loop the leash around the doorknob so she can still see us but can't bug for attention etc... and then I'll try getting her to settle on the floor laying down and if she doesn't then repeat the method?


Better to just train "PLACE". Dogs pace and pant because they don't know what to do. Obeying a command takes away the dog's responsibility for deciding what to do next.


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## Namrah (Jul 15, 2008)

Might mat training along with the Relaxation Protocol help? That would give her the context (the mat) and the practice to relax wherever you went, as long as you brought the mat with you.


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## dakotajo (Jan 29, 2009)

It's more common than I realized! Mine doesn't care if it's raining, storming, thunder etc..... I will bring her in when it starts to lightning though or when it's -30 celcius she wants in and out, in and out.
She does have a bed I could as her "place" but the thing is so darn heavy and big to be lugging it around. I could bring a blanket.


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## Namrah (Jul 15, 2008)

I have two mats that roll up with a handle that I can bring with me. Elka has been trained on them extensively. If we go somewhere new, where I know she'll need to relax for a bit, I bring one of them. It gives her context, comfort, and just makes life easier.


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## NRB (Sep 19, 2009)

Cracker really hit the nail on the head. I can see how we owners can create issues that way, easily.

Anyway, I would not leash her to an object if she hates it. I would leash her to you. My dog can get restless and pace esp when we are at someone else's house. When she does I leash her and hold the leash, or slip the loop under the chair where I am sitting in or wrap the end around my waist. (My dog is also unreliable in the potty training department. So I have to keep an eye on her or crate her.) Anyways my dog would have 6' of leash. She'd settle quickly and curl up and nap at my feet. Now at 10mo she is unleashed (still pees inside about 1x every 2 weeks) and I babygate or close doors to keep her under my eye. (again for the peeing issue) So she defaults to the behavior she learned on the leash (tether) In the dining room she'll go to her mat and lie there while we are eating. And in the office she sleeps under or next to my chair. Both are places that she was previously leashed as a younger pup.

let me add for safety sake; I would never leave a tied dog alone in a room. and I never have a dog tied when my 3yo daughter is on the ground. Ever. the moment my daughter thinks about getting down from her dining room chair the dog is untethered. Leashed is a different thing. If the dog is leashed to you and you leave the room, the dog goes with you. If the toddler is on the ground and the dog is leashed you have the flexibility to drop the leash and let the dog get away from the pesky toddler if the dog wants to. So the dog never feels trapped.


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