Dog wants to go outside all the time

[FabiolaMoronari]

Hello again

My dog is 6 months now, totally house trained ( thank God). The way she shows to me that he needs to go is sitting next to the door and look at me. A month ago every time he did that it was to release himself but now he does that all the time. He wants to go for a walk and stay outside many times during the day.

My husband runs with him every morning , my daughter plays with him many times during the day, I take him outside for walks. He is very active but keeps want to go outside ( not to pee or poop).

What should I do?

Ignore him when is not time to go outside?

Thank you again

Fabiola

[Adrienne]

Hi Fabiola,

Is your puppy neutered by any chance?

What does he do right away, first thing as soon as he's let out?

 

[FabiolaMoronari]

Hello Adrienne

No he is not, he will be neuter in January.

First thing he does is to pull me to go to the street and sniffles around.

Thank you 

[Adrienne]

Thanks for the additional details, very helpful!

At six months, your puppy is now an adolescent and this is an age where pups start getting sexually active and they tend to be more interested in sniffing and possibly urine marking. You can read about the dog adolescent stage here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/

This alone may cause a renewed interest in investigating outdoor smells. On top of this, just like human teenagers, adolescent dogs start desiring more independence.

To answer your question, I wouldn't suggest ignoring him since that may initially lead to an extinction burst (which will lead to more insistent and annoying going-to-the-door-behavior) and then, if you keep ignoring, potential weakening of the behavior (which may lead to a dog no longer asking to go out and having an accident).

Instead, every time he goes to the door, I would suggest taking your dog out on leash to one spot to potty. Don't talk to your dog, just make the task pretty matter-of-fact and boooring (yawn!). If he doesn't pee within a few set of minutes, it's time to go back inside. If he does potty, then he can be allowed to enjoy some free time to sniff and explore and walk, so therefore make outdoor fun exclusively contingent upon going potty.

Here's the thing: If your dog is let out our dog out to potty and he's allowed to sniff, play/ walk and explore each time before he potties, he'll start associating getting out of the door with fun. This way, by accompanying him on leash and taking him always to the same boring spot, he'll learn that fake signals lead only to boring outings, while productive outings lead to some fun. This may also help in shaping faster elimination. A Win-Win!

At the same time,  I would also aim to reduce the instances of  him asking to go out by providing some indoor enrichment. While it would be difficult to compete against tempting outdoors things (such as the scent of a female dog in heat or the pee of other animals), you can make being indoors more interesting in case he may be a little bored.

I know he's walked and played with a lot, but dogs also need to be allowed to be "dogs" allowing them to sniff and search for things and keeping their minds active through food puzzles and brain games.  Treasure hunt games, Muffin Games and Bottle Games (described in the Brain Training section) may keep him busy and happier to be indoors. Training  through short and fun sessions spread throughout the day can help too in keeping that adolescent mind busy. 

If this new and recent interest in the outdoors is hormone-based and triggered by some female dog in heat nearby, then you may see a reduced interest in the outdoors some time after he is neutered. 

Hope this helps!

Let me know if you have other questions,

Best,

Adrienne 

[FabiolaMoronari]

Thank you so much again for your help!!!

[Adrienne]

You are very welcome, keep me posted on how things work out!

Best,

Adrienne