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Indoors, or Outdoors for my Great Pyrenees?
I recently rescued a 2 year old Great Pyrenees dog, and he is very sweet, lovable, walks great on a leash, and is good with children, and other animals. However, he wants to sleep outside at night. I wanted him as an indoor dog, and Im trying to train him to be one, but he does not like to be crated, and chews everything in my house that he can. Im considering seriously to have him as an outdoor dog. What should I do? At this age, if he used to be an outdoor dog with his last owners, can he be retrained to be indoors, or should I just leave him outside, and take him to the park twice as day for exercise as well?
1 Answer
- Nedra ELv 710 years agoFavorite Answer
Pyrs were bred to be livestock guardians and stay out in the pastures with the shepherd at night. Your dog has been outside at night, so that's the routine he is used to. You CAN retrain him, but it will take some time, and there are some questions you need to discuss in depth with other pyr owners, so I hope you join our pyr group (below).
A lot of factors need to be considered. Do you live in city, town or country? How many neighbors do you have? Do you have coyotes in your area? Is your yard fully fenced, or do you have a well fenced area for the dog that's large enough for him?
Pyrs are creatures of habit to some extent. He's used to sleeping outside at night, so he wishes to continue to do this. This is natural. Retraining just takes time and patience.
If barking at night will be a problem where you live, than you'll need to retrain him to stay inside because pyrs DO bark at night. This is how they intimidate predators and/or intruders.
My dogs have never been crated and would probably resist crating. Since he's got a strong need to chew, you need to find something that excites him and fulfills this need. I gave my first pyr one of my old cheap boots from Walmart that were leather because they hurt my feet. Till I gave her that, she drove me nuts chewing on everything. That excited her and filled her need to chew and she suddenly left everything else alone.
An unfenced pyr is lovingly called a "disapyr" and you need to have a well fenced portion of yard so he can explore and not leave your property.
My adult male pyr is now 8 1/2 and he came off a farm as a pup with a STRONG need to be outside at night, so I let him work outside at night except in thunderstorms or heavy winter weather. He's got a problem with one forepaw and on our vet's advice, I'm now training him to be an inside dog at night and outside only at the daytime. He does whine at times to go out and work at night, and I just tell him I need him inside with me to keep me safe. He's slowly adjusting to my needs.
Your dog is just now becoming an adult. Training him with a loving attitude will go far. As he realizes your home is now his forever home, he'll want to do what pleases you. Taking him to the park twice a day for exercise is a great idea. He needs to learn the joys of life with you and those trips to the park can be a good part of that. -!-
