Bringing an outdoor dog in.

[Emily]

I am looking for advice or stories of experience on bringing a dog that's been outdoors it's whole life into an apartment. She will be losing her older sister shortly and we are taking her into our apartment, where she'll be living with her little brother again. Bring up anything that we may look past because we want to make the transition as easy as possible on her.

[Hedgewitch]

What kinds of dog is she, how old is she, how long has she been outside and what were the conditions she lived in outside?

[Emily]

she's an 8 y.o. sheltie/border collie. she's lived in the garage with access a small outside fenced area for potty her whole life.

[Lisbeth Mønsted Larsen]

My hands on rescue Tristan is an ex-racing greyhound and he has been kept in kennels all his life till I got him last year he had never been inside before. It is very much like getting a puppy in the house. As for potty training them that is not as difficult as some might think it is bascially a question of taking them outside every time they have slept played and eaten and because it is an adul dog they catch up very quickly. Getting them used to a life inside is a matter of making them feel safe and happy. If you are calm the dog will catch on to that. No quick movements or loud voices as that can cause a set back. Be prepared for set backs as it will take time before the dog settels in. Patience and kindness are key words in making the dog feel safe. Tristan was five years old when I picked him up. He had lived in one of the worst racing kennels here. He had slept in his own faecalmatter urine soaked blankets ect. He had been starved his teeth were blakish grey with tartar and he had a belly full of intestinel parasites. He has long since been dewormed his teeth are clean and white without tartar of any kind he has put on weight and has settled in very nicely. It has taken almost a year but the progress he has made is a far cry from the sad wraith of a greyhound I picked up in December of last year. So best wishes and good luck with your new familymember.

[Lani]

I have a dog that spends the summers outside and comes in as the weather gets cooler. The first couple days is always the most difficult as she's grown accustom to going whenever she wants. I crate her when I can't watch her like a hawk and treat her a bit like you would when getting a new puppy. I put her on a schedule right away, food comes at a specific time followed by potty time in about 15 mins. When she wakes from sleep it's directly outside for potty, and when it's family time or immediately after letting her out of her crate its potty time...that is what has worked well for me anyway.

[Wendy C. Fries]

I'm not sure if this is a "duh" response but: Make sure you take her for walks. This way she gets out to check all the smells every day. We rescued a 10 year old outside-only dog and he's so very happy to have people who want to hang out with him that he never cares to go outside unless he has to go to the bathroom or we're taking a morning or evening walk.

Good luck and you're very sweet for rescuing this pup!

Wendy