Anyone have a doodle that doesn't want to be outside without you?

[Joannie]

Barney has been wonderful so far......but he has a quirk....don't they all? He's fully housetrained now, but doesn't want to go outside unless my husband or I are with him.
He rings his bell and won't come out unless he thinks we're going out with him. Not a big deal right now, but we're in summer right now. When winter comes it will be another story.
He'll stay out by himself, if we sneak back into the house without him noticing. He'll bark at the door for a minute and then go exploring on his own. It's getting harder to sneak back in though......he hears the door and if he sees us going in, he's a golden streak into the house. Any suggestions?

[Joannie]

I would have replied to this sooner, but I was outside with Barney! LOL

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My adopted LD will not go outside without me...but that's okay! My current home is the first one I've had with a fenced yard...for 27 years prior to this, I had dogs who had to be taken out on a leash every time, and I had no problem with that.
Very few dogs will run or play by themselves in the yard. More often, if they are left to their own devices for long, they will start digging, barking, eating stuff they shouldn't, etc. I like to know what's going on with his potty habits, too....often the first way to monitor illness.
It may be a pain to have to go outside in the cold or rain every time,
but as I say, I've been doing it now for 31 years, and for me, it's no big deal. I am sure you will get some ideas from others; good luck
and take care.
Karen

[Penny, Comiskey & Beemer]

Quirks?...you are so right....I can't help...but I did figure something out...it only took 9 months....

We always took Comiskey out and we would stand on the deck and watch her to make sure she did her business....well as it turns out she got rather used to the "tinkling for treats" and "poopin for praise" method of potty training.....we have now eliminated (pardon the pun) the treats....so she no longer needs a witness and is willing to go out on her own....

[1yzm4utbmzy7k]

We take Saffie out or I should say she takes us out. This is fine as our yard isn't totally fenced yet and she is six months old, so not totally trustworthy. Our previous dog, she was a terrier/lab mix, wouldn't go out without us, but we eventually trained (persuaded) her to go off the deck without us being outside. It took persistence, not letting her back in until she had gone, and all of us getting older. Good luck.

[20xlhzzaoccks]

This cracks me up because I always thought our dog was strange because he is 2 and a half now and still won't go to the bathroom unless one of us goes outside with him. If he really has to go he will go on his own but he runs straight back to the house. For us it isn't too much of a problem because we live in Florida so we don't have to worry about cold weather. We do have to force him to go outside in the rain. I can only think of 2 suggestions. One is to put go potty on a command so when ever he is in the process of going potty say "go potty" with lots of praise after. We have been doing this with Steve since he was a puppy and it is especially helpful on walks and if we are traveling. The other thing is Steve loves to fetch and I found that if I throw a ball out in the backyard he will go potty a lot faster. Good Luck. They definitely have their quirks don't they!

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Jordan wont go with out me.She is 3 now. The only time she will go out is, if she cant see me or my sisters 2 dogs are over.
I know how you feel. Rain, snow, hail, I am out there with her.
When it is nasty out Payton will do his business and come right in. Not Jordi she loves to be wet and cold I guess.

[Kay and Tanner.]

Tanner doesn't want to go outside without anyone either....He always looks back to make sure that we are following him... It gets quite cold in the Winter, but I don't mind, I also like to keep an eye on his potty habits.

[Valerie]

Same thing here! Emma will sit on the deck for maybe 5 minutes on her own. Zoe wants to come right back inside. If Emma goes out to race, Zoe will go with her and then they both return inside the house after their zoomies. There is a monthly treat we give them that must be eaten outside and they enjoy it so much they forget about us for a longer period of time and work on their bones.

[2szvsb7hzygcy]

Do you think part of the reason is the 'pack mentality'? He just wants to be wherever his pack is, and you guys are his pack? Just a thought....

When we had only one doodle, she was getting walked to go potty cuz we just have pool, deck and flower beds in the backyard. Once we got the 2nd one, we put grass in the large bed behind the garage to give them a place to "go". Worked for Dooley, he goes out there and happily kills the grass with his tinkle and whatever business he needs to do. Our diva, Snickers, looks at him like he's barbaric or something and still won't go unless walked. We've used a potty command with both since early house training, but it only works for her when she's on a leash out walking.

As for staying outside without us, they hang around the door a bit if we go inside, but then engage each other with play and are happy to be out there for quite a while. I think it's because they have each other to play with....Snickers didn't care to be out there alone when she was our 'only child'. (Valri)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I definitely think it helps a lot when there two...the only time Jack will go out into the yard by himself is when he has a friend over to play with. I think it's one of the reasons you sometimes hear people say that having two dogs is actually easier in many respects than having one.

[susan kaput]

Hi, Joanie. I have a 1 yr. old mini goldendoodle (Angus) who wants to be with me all the time also. He does go outside more by himself now that he's older, so there is hope. How about getting a second dog........My son's dog is at my house a great deal during the day and he has no problem going out to play with him. Just a thought.