Doggy Door Adjustment

[Lowriders in Ohio]

Hi everyone!  My husband and I are in the process of adopting Sammy, a rescue currently in foster care through Dachshund Rescue of North America.  In fact, his foster dad is a member of this forum.  Our home study is tomorrow evening, and I am getting very excited to actually meet Sammy, pending approval after the home study.   

Sammy's foster home has a doggy door, but our home does not.  We do have a fenced backyard, and our boys go to the back door when they want to go out.  They also get a treat when they come back in, unless I see that they did not even leave the deck.  That is a sneaky trick of theirs.  Does anyone have any tips for transitioning Sammy from the flexibility of a doggy door to our routine?

Thanks!
Jennifer

[Dee Dee and Hallie]

Welcome Jennifer and congrats on the new little one joining your family. Wonderful of you to take Sammy in!

My Hallie has a doggie door but it only goes out to the utility room so to go outside the back door has to also be open...and I never let her have access to outside unless I am home with her. (too many possibilities fill my mind...someone could jump in and snatch her, poison over the fence, eagle or alien ship could swoop down and take her away, mutant rat boy could dig up from underneath... ). But like your guys, I have caught her, especially if it's raining and cold, she will go out and start down her ramp then she will stop, leaning up against the house and wait motionless...then she'll suddenly turn and bolt back into the house looking for her cookie! I tell her funny how it's pouring out and you are dry as a bone.  you have to love how their smart little minds work.

I don't know what to tell you about changing Sammy's routine but I imagine the other doxies will show him the ropes pretty fast. I hope you'll post pictures of them all when he arrives. You must be so excited.

[Roberta]

Hello and congratulations on your new kid, be it four legged.
We have had varying doggy doors. We have just recently moved into the country and our door is slider so we have one of the pigs in mud ones that we take in when we go to bed etc. Our backyard is about 5 acres of which they have about two house blocks fenced of.
I'd let him be for a few days as he will probably tag along and catch on with what the others do. Sometimes they sniff the carpet etc so you may get an idea  or he might go to the back door.
Amy is our kid who hates the cold or wet so we ususaly have to watch her like a hawk at bed time, but mind you that girlie can hold it in for 12 hours rather than go out in the middle of the night.
Good luck
roberta

[JetEd73]

I'd let him be for a few days as he will probably tag along and catch on with what the others do.

BINGO!

Dogs are pack animals and they catch on to what the pack does fairly quickly.

Sammy is fairly reliable as far as using the doggie door is concerned. Once in a blue moon he will mark his territory but this is happening less and less. I would expect that he'll mark over the areas that your crew has already marked, thats really kinda of natural for them to do so. I'd suggest getting a gallon/spray bottle of Natures Miracle for cleaning up those areas.

***I say keep him on a regular schedule for going out.*** I'm not around enough to be able to teach him to "go" on cue but he does know what "you tee tee you poo poo" means. Walk him around the back yard and say "you tee tee you poo poo" and he'll start sniffing around and kind of get ready to "go".

I usually walk the yard with them in the morning right after wake up at 7:00am. If I go home for lunch I walk the yard with them. Again at dinner time and before bed time.

so yeah just keeping a regular schedule will help greatly.

and right behind that I'm wondering what your objection to getting a doggie door is. If you don't have a doggie door, your a slave to the dog. They make life so much easier for you. Have you looked at doggie doors lately?

http://www.moorepet-petdoors.com/Electronic-and-Automatic-Pet-Doors-s/24.htm?gclid=CIOH6bmC2poCFRJhnAodvmo33w

http://www.hitecpet.com/powerpetdoors.html

http://www.petdoors.com/electronic_pet_doors.htm?gclid=CLL5ob6C2poCFRSfnAod4mjm2w

http://www.thepetstoreonline.com/petsafe-premium-wall-entry-wall-mount-pet-doors-dog-doors-doggie-doors.html

As for me, my back door was all glass and I could not put a doggie door into the door itself so I installed a simple doggie door into the wall leading onto my back deck. I have only dachshunds in the house so I could get away with using a very small door, in fact it's so small you can't stick your head in it but you have a larger dog as well so I don't think you could use one that small.

Yeah, just keeping him on a regular outdoor schedule will be your biggest challenge.

On thing to remember is that Sammy went from being a stray starving and cold on the streets to my clean comfortable home with lots of good food and a warm comfortable bed. ( he's been sleeping with Wilson and I in the big bed) When I deliver him to you he's going to be in shock for awhile. Trasitioning homes is very traumatic for them, take them from everything they know and putting them in an unfamiliar situation is going to be hard for him. However, they quickly get used to it. My personal expeirence is that it will take up to a week for the other dogs to accept him so keep a warry eye on your current pack. Sammy is a submissive dog in my house so if the other dogs give him a hard time he'll pretty much lay down and scream. Remember your the big dog in the house and all the others have to fall in line. I suspect that he'll get attached to Oscar and the Basenji pretty quickly.

You'll have your work cut out for you for about a week or so before you see Sammy's true personality. (remember his nickname is Joe Cool) He's a very sweet dog and I wouldn't mind keeping him but I didn't rescue him to keep him. I rescued him to nurse him back to health, turn him into a companion, and then find him a good home.

[Lowriders in Ohio]

I think our pack will show Sammy the ropes.  Now that our home study is complete, we are getting very excited for Sammy to arrive.  June 5 is less than a week away! 

We have a very sweet pack.  Of all our boys, our tweenie, Oscar, is actually the sassiest.  If Sammy buddies up with Oscar, he won't let anyone mess with him.  He used to protect our senior dachshund by charging any dog who bothered him.  Cyrus the basenji loves to play and sometimes annoys his brothers trying to initiate play all the time.  Since Sammy is the same age as Cyrus, he might actually appreciate Cyrus' antics.  Hemi, the big mixed-breed, is just a love.  He looks way tougher than he is, but he is the top dog because he was here first.  Even though the others follow Hemi's lead, he is not aggressive or bossy with them.  I think Sammy will fit in just fine.  Ed will get to meet all the boys when he brings Sammy to Ohio.

I will post pictures next weekend after Sammy arrives.  Wish us luck transitioning him into our home.  I hope this is exactly the kind of home that Sammy wants and deserves.  He's had a rough start.

[JetEd73]

Sammy is a play monster...he lives to play

I'm thinking this will go really well.

[Brekkesmom]

 :apls: Ooh, what fun!  I have many dachsie friends who train their dogs to ring a bell attached to the doorknob, when they want out.  However, I am a firm believer in scheduling, so I think that is a good plan.  I take mine out in the backyard when I am with them, three or four times a day, and I tell them, "Go potty"!  or "Go poop!"    Brekke learned this as part of a three-dachsie pack, and when I added Sorcha, she picked it up in three days.  When I adopted Robinton last year, it only took him two days to adjust and he was neutered, and uses the dog door like a pro.  It only opens into a side yard that is about 20' x 6', and there is 6' fence on two sides, and the house on a third, and the 4' wire gate on the north end.  They really don't stay out there - only long enough to do their business and right back in- too many doggie beds to choose from in the house!

Congratulations and a hearty paw wave to Sammy and his new family!