Going out at night.

[trry]

Hello,
I was hoping someone can shed some light on this and offer suggestions as my chow (2 years and 5months) has been wanting to go outside after midnight these past couple nights. We usually let him out in the backyard an hour after he eats to do any business he needs to do before going to bed for the night but lately he has been acting weird.

Night 1.
9PM: I let him out and I had to retrieve him around 10PM, I had to catch him (sometimes I do this as it gets late and he thinks we are playing a game) when I was holding him he goes a nipping fest trying to nip me to drop him but I didn't allow it and continue to hold him until we got inside.
2AM: He whines profusely until I let him out which I caved in after 30minutes of whining which I thought it was my fault as maybe that 1 hour before was not enough time for him to complete his business. I leave him outside expecting him to come in when he is done.
4AM: I checked if he came in yet... Nope I see him on the deck looking into the yard. I try to approach him and he sprints off, which I gave up as I was half asleep.
6AM: I see him inside the living room sleeping.

Night 2.
9PM: let him out after dinner but he comes in on his own will at 1030PM so I assumed he was good for the night.
11PM: let him out again does not come back in
3AM: I woke up to see if he is in the living room but he isn't so this time I am determine to grab him. Again on deck looking into yard, he sees me coming and runs to this area where he can hid and for me to reach him is VERY VERY difficult. Basically he is shielded by tons of branches as its like a mini hut for him. I grab and him and pick him up and he goes nipping crazy again. Once he is in the house he just sleeps its seems very weird.

Also he is very good in informing us when he wants to go potty For example if its raining he wouldn't want to go outside unless its an emergency and he will do his thing and come back in. I think its due to the cold weather as he enjoys it which is why he wants to stay outside but some nights gets very cold in the Northeast and I don't want him to get sick or harm himself as I cannot monitor him.

I am writing this during the night 2 as I am getting very concern of my chow's behavior since this is out of the norm. Anyone have suggestions or comments on what I should do? He is fine for walks, dog parks and everywhere else so this doesn't seem like a whole personality change. I want to try to stop this behavior before it gets worse.

Thanks.

[Pinoy51]

I will try to explain again the underlying problem of all these behavior issues and the apparent inability of the owner to address them. Chows have an independent mind, more than any other dog I had the opportunity to work with or who lived with me. But a Chow is a dog and therefore a pack animal with an instinct about hierachy. The alpha dog is leading, others have to follow. Unwillingness to follow of a pack member will be addressed, by blocking, growling, nipping and finally biting.
In order to change behavior the chow needs to accept the one who wants to change the behavior as a leader. Nipping and hiding clearly shows there is miscommunication between you and your Chow about who is leading whom.
What qualifies a human as a leader for a dog? The leader owns the food, the space and is calm assertive. If the Chow accepts you as a leader a single command like 'inside" will make him stand-up and move in your direction. At least after a while, as chows like to do things in their own time. But ignoring, hiding and specially nipping as reaction to a command are absolutely unacceptable and this needs to change.
1st order of priority if behavioral change is required: establish alpha position without punishment of the dog for misbehavior. Only then the real issue can be addressed.
Any type of behavior can be addressed: aggression, fear, excessive barking, pulling on leash etc. after the dog accepts you as leader.
There are lots and lots of literature how to lead a pack. Please mind that you and your dog are already a pack.
In my case I'm leading a pack of seven dogs with three Chow members and four mixed breeds.
But none of them ignores me for more than a few moments. And no one even thinks of nipping me, when I correct unwanted behaviors.

[DrewBear]

I want to try to stop this behavior before it gets worse.

Absolutely! Can you think of anything that may have changed in the past few days from his viewpoint? I know it's hard to ignore whining, but I think you must.

I had to catch him (sometimes I do this as it gets late and he thinks we are playing a game)

It sounds like this part of his behavior is already habitual. I'm not sure how you would best begin changing this habit. My first thought would be to either fence off or otherwise limit access to his hiding spots. Maybe tether him until he learns to consistently come when called? If this late night come-catch-me "game" has been part of his routine for over 2 yrs., it's going to take some time to train him away from that. Nipping/biting when you carry him should definitely be stopped.

[Rory's Dad]

I agree with Pinoy, you have a challenge issue. At 2 and 1/2 he is fully into adulthood and is trying to assert himself. It definitely seems like a game to you, but he is trying to determine who really is in charge.

You can try to control this behavior with baiting. Back to the controlling the food. But to me is seems he has free reign on whether he is in or out. If you put him 'to bed' at 10pm, them that should be it. He shouldn't have access to go back out at 2am. Set boundaries on when he can wander back out.

I am experiencing a similar problem with my male. He is the same age. I call him back inside (our dogs must be let in and out, but have a trolley run in the yard). He decides it's time to play and runs back and forth, similar issues where he wants to jump up and nip if we go out after him. If he knows its dinner time, he comes back without any prompting.

I would recommend limiting his access after normal out time. Be consistent with how you call him back in. If you use treat rewards, make sure it's every time. I have difficulty due to multiple dogs and they dont go out in the same order every time, so i wait until they have both gone out and come back in. I think that is one source of my issue.

[Cindy J]

Something else to ponder: Is there a female in heat in the neighborhood? My male wants out at all hours of the night when the neighbor's pittie is in heat. I ignore him for the most part. If he becomes insistent I put him on a leash, even though our yard is fenced, and walk him around the yard. As soon as he has peed, I march him back in, rub his head and send him back to bed.

[chow4life]

Keep him inside at night. Matilda (3 yrs) goes out for the last pottying time around 9:00-9:30. When she comes in I tell her night night time. She usually follows me upstairs and plops down in her favorite spot. She will of course move to different spots through out the night. There is no doubt if I were to take her out in the middle of the night she would take longer to get her to come in. She actually tried that for awhile untill I caught on to her little game. There are possums, rabbits, foxes and lord only knows what else out there. She feels it's her duty to find them. She would lay out there for hours if I let her. Usually in the morning (6:00) she will then either jump in bed and give me kisses, or come to the side of the bed and give me a bump with her nose. This is her way of saying good morning i've got to go out and do my business. She will then sometimes lay outside for a longer period of time. But i see no reason why your chow should have to go out in the middle of the night. He's definately old enough to hold it and I would nip this in the bud asap. The longer he does this behavior the harder it will be to break. He may fuss at first but he'll soon settle down. It's kind of like a little kid not getting his way. Let him know you call the shots not him. Good luck.

[Ursa's daddy]

Rory's dad has a good description of the situation and some action. Let's face it, you control the resources. Cindy J has a point. You can put him on a lead and control the action. After reading your post, I realized it is like my male and my wife. He will not come in for her at night. He will go out into the yard and lie down. Later I have to go call him in. Usually he will come when I call, but he knows I will walk out in the yard and lead him in. I am aware this is all a game between Malachi and my wife. He wants to show that he does not want to take orders from her. She is not going to be persistent with wanting to make him follow a command, and he know if he waits, she will give up. Using training logic, it sounds like I need to train my wife, but I know better.