Outside Chow

[Sylvia]

I'm curious, how many of you have outdoor chows? And I'm not talking about people who never let their dogs inside or just keep them locked in the backyard all the time. Sweetie, just absolutely loves to be outside. She has a dog door and she can freely choose to be inside the house or outside in the backyard whenever she pleases, but 90% of the time she prefers to be outside. And her breeder said that Sweetie's Chow dad was the same way, but her Chow mom was about half and half.

I usually have to call Sweetie in or go out there with a leash to get her inside. I'll go to bed even at midnight and she is still outside. Sometime between when I go to bed and when I wake up she finally comes in and I'll find her in the morning sleeping on her blanket. But as soon as she hears me getting up, she is back outside again. I'm hoping she just likes the Spring weather. I expect/hope this behavior will change once summer comes; we get 100+ degree heat here in the summer, and I think she will prefer the air conditioning during that time.

[KathrynH]

We fostered Annie, and she was one hundred percent an outside dog, not by our choosing, but by hers. We think she may have been beaten for going inside, and maybe that's why she is afraid of being inside? Or maybe she just really likes her freedom. Her new family has tried so hard to get her to be comfortable inside, and she just won't do it. She'll come in for about 10 minutes, but she will rarely enjoy it. I used to worry incessantly about it.

[Auddymay]

Lil would LOVE to be outside most of the time, but I am greedy, and insist she come inside. If she were allowed to be outside at night, no one would sleep for her barking at critters. Pip wants to just mostly be where ever the family is.

[Sylvia]

I hate hearing about people beating their animals, so I hope that didn't happen to Annie. For Sweetie, I know it's nothing like that. She's not afraid of the inside, but just absolutely loves the outside. Just a nature girl I guess...

I'm fortunate in that Sweetie isn't much of a barker. The one time I heard her barking at night, there was some strange person walking along the street on the other side of the wall separating my backyard and the street. This person was just talking away at 1:30 in morning. Sweetie definitely didn't like him.

Sweetie actually seems to be pretty close to the equivalent of an outdoor couch potato chow. She goes out , finds the best shady spot in yard and just plops down. When I was planting my vegetable garden this past weekend, she came around to check what I was doing, then found the best shady spot nearby, and just plopped herself down.

[kingalls]

Shiloh loves being outside. In her early years, you would find me with a flashlight running around in the back trying to get her to come into the house for the night. Both of them know when it's time for bed - inside. All year long, I do leave the sliding glass door open for the fresh air. Even though we are in Central California it will get really cold at night - 30's. In the morning, I have to "dress-up" with a few layers because I will be going downstairs into a very cold room.

[nean007]

I honestly think Dargo would be perfectly happy being an outside dog, especially during the winter. My husband insists on keeping the house way too hot, even for me. The only way I get to touch the thermostat is when i say, "Even the dogs are panting!" They sleep in the bedroom with me at night and now I have a window open. It has to be around 60 for me to sleep well. My husband stays up at night so this works best for everyone.

[chowpups]

Oh, yes, Nikki loves being outside and I have to lure her back in with really good treats when its nature time (early morning and late afternoon Bunnies appear more interesting).. I too like to keep her more of a indoor pet but that is a struggle with her little monkey calls when she looks out the windows and see's the birds and squirrels and bunnies..and her nudging my leg or arm if Iam sitting .. she is a real begger to go out when she wants.. she does what my husband calls a HeadPlant.. She pushes her chin down to make sure she is being noticed in your lap.. Then after she gets out and does her hot laps we call them she lies on the patio to sun bathing..

[nean007]

OMG, Dargo does the Head Plant, too!!

[chowpups]

thats funny cause my little shar pei/pug and my chows did it but I don't recall any of my other breed dogs do the head plant .. lol heres a pic trying to headplant over the arm of a chair (couldn't quite get there).l

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[Piff Poff]

HEADPLANT! That is sooo the right word

Just earlier today,I said to my husband, I need to video you doing that! What was he doing? Well we were about to go out, I'm paranoid that Henry will either Bark too much or get stolen so I hate leaving him outside when we are about to go out. Just after a walk, now it's warmed up a little, Henry expects to be tied up outside in the front yard - usually while I get ready for work, the as he is still attached I can bring him in and leave with no worries. So today, after our walk, I tied him up outside. Hubby brings him in, then lets him out in the back yard. 20 mins later after a cup of tea (usually takes me 20-30 mins to get ready for work). Hubby tries to get Henry inside. You all know the look - the Fred and Milly photos spring to mind So hubby tries to get Henry - You know the bounce As we were only going to be an hour or so, we let Henry have his head - after being told to be a good boy and no barking Right now he is laying in the sun by the back door, later he will move to the bushes and then he'l probably go under the deck. If I go into the garage where hubby is, he may join us for a bit - it's COLD in there.

[CHowgal]

Tippsy and Jasper both prefer to be outside... sadly, right now, they don't get to spend much of thier time out there... My dad had to tear down most of the fence so he could build the retaining walls. So the time they do spend out there is either on leash or VERY supervised. They'd go after a squirrel, cat or another dog in a heartbeat.