This comment reminded me of the dog I bought a few months ago, who is a part-trained sheepdog. He had been owned by a shepherd who had kept all the working dogs outside on kennels with chains. When I brought him home, I was also offered a kennel for him to live in, which I declined. Considering he had always lived outside, I decided he would probably be happiest outdoors in a kennel, but didn't like the idea of the chain (have since changed my mind about that) so spent nearly £400 on a lovely brand spanking, all singing all dancing, kennel with integral run. He hated it! The first morning I left him in it, he howled the place down and chewed his fancy new run!

He now lives in the house with the other dogs and has been nothing short of an angel

Now I wonder whether this dog either didn't like the fact he was penned in by the run (rather than free to wander about a little with his chain) or whether he missed the company of other dogs, but I have been told by a number of others who keep their dogs outdoors on a chain that these dogs don't do as well in a kennel/run situation.

Could it be that even though he had been kept outside for most of his life, he was still craving to be indoors?

Could be he wanted to be where the other dogs were. I had a bitch who had lived in a kennel most of her life & seemed to settle happily into the house with the family & other dog, but when my famuly died & then my other dog, she stopped coming in the living room & was only happy in the kitchen under the table or if it wasn't wet out in the garden digging holes.I felt sorry for her as my circumstances at the time meant I couldn't take on another dog & she only seemed happy when other dogs came to visit or she was across the fields playing with other dogs. Humans she only saw as feeding machines.

i think dogs get so attached to each other in kennel situations that when one dies or moves on,they get lost and need some body else,its the pack instinct,installed in them,bred in them through thousands of years of evoulation from wolf to pet dogs,they all need a top dog be it human or cainine and if there top dog goes,there lost,untill they built up another pack(top dog)or form a tight relationship with a human,i dont think she saw you as a food source gsd sue i think she missed the other dogs and as there had always been them,she needed to get that relationship back,or start with you,(i might be wrong this is through my experience from years of owning kenneled dogs)

I think he definitely wanted to have company, that of the other dogs while I am out, and mine when I am in ... wherever I am he isn't far away I bet if I lived in the kennel, he would want to be out there with me

:smt001 Bless him :smt049

Both mine have pretty much destroyed the front of their kennels, but luckily my dads a qualified joiner & knocked up their kennels & run for the price of the wood. He said he`d use wood chip board for the kennels because they`d destroy it & it would work out a lot cheaper than pine board. Personaly I thought he was talking a load of b****, but he was right. Two runs & two kennels for £100, I was well chuffed.

China is most definately a house dog, unless its hot and then she likes to sunbathe!!!!

I personally have always had dogs indoors, but i am always paranoid that they may be stolen or injured or upset being outside, so for me it is peace of mind.....
And china likes the duvet too much!!!!!

Alex
xx

wev had to re-place the felf on the two larger kennels as the puppies like to chew on this rather than the toys,so we fibre glassed them and theyve left them alone

to spot thanks for the pm and im glad we had the chance to air and iron out our problems,great talking to you x