I have a 2 yr old GSD/Pit Bull mix that has never, ever liked to go outside for extended periods of time, unlike my Chow mix who would stay out all day if you'd let her.

The issue is that when he is let out to do his business, he does his thing and then quickly grows tired of being out. Then he either a) jumps on the window sill "looking" for me or b) jumps against our screen door. The first behavior is messing up the window sill pretty badly. I think I've got that one pretty much under control now that I closed the blinds on that window so he can't see in. The door behavior continues, though. I live in the city, so I can't have him out there barking and making a huge ruckus. I always make him sit before coming in and now that it's sloppy, he has to run down the basement stairs to "wipe his feet" as well. So he knows there's a order to things. I can train him on a variety of other things, but this one really has me stumped.

Do I just keep him out there whining, barking and making a scene until I'm ready, or is there something else I can do? He's just always been this way, but after a year and a half I need a change.

Well the short simple answer is stop letting him decide when he goes in or out and take him in or out on a leash.

It's sounds to me like your dog is being a dog. If you supply him no direction he will make it for himself, happily at this point it's simply being a pest at the door. Trust me, he can have far more destructive and annoying problems to show you. My personal fave in my past dog history was my lab attempting to make a doggie door through the siding, chewing the head off of a water spigot, digging up the septic system, dismantling a kennel, and killing a 30 foot doug fir. Oh... memories

His game is clearly winning at this point. Why not simply change the game and behavior to something that you'd like it to be?

Sounds true. Just sucks in Wisconsin (freakin' cold!). :-) At least he isn't eating the siding! I'll give him that one. Heck, he wouldn't want to be out there long enough TO eat the siding. Too much work. LOL. Thanks though!

I can relate to the lab chewing on the "outside" of the house. When he started on the gas line we took drastic measures. We have an invisible fence running around our house and the only entrance the dogs can use to get in/out are our interior garage door and our patio doors.

Wish I had a good suggestion for the OP, but other than some kind of barrier/gate, I'm not sure how to help?
Lisa

How is his coat? More like a pitty or a gsd? A chow has a THICK coat and can handle being outside for long periods of time. A pitty mix not so much as there's nothing there. How would you like to be outside without a coat

What does your instincts tell you? Do you feel that he's "owned" some parts of your household and having tantrums when you put him out? Maybe you should show him through exercise that you "own" the house and that he doesn't get in until you want him to. You will only let him in when he is calm and submissive. My small dog used to do this sort of behaviour. She would yap all day and night if you don't let her in. My wife would simply give up and let her in after a while.
What I did to curve this was I opened the door and block her from coming in. When she cries out, I correct her. I wait til she calms down and be submissive before I let her in. I did this over and over til she gets the message.
Also, I never let her stay anywhere inside the house except in her "spot"- a little bed near the wall. Anyway, after a while, when I open the door to let her in she goes to her calm submissive state and heads straight to her bed inside. You see I have shown her that I "own" the house and I decide where she goes or whether she goes in or not. Hope this helps. Goodluck.

well i would say leave him out until he is showing calm behaviour. He has obvioulsy learned that acting like a mexican jumping bean gets him in the house.
Although he may make a ruckus for a few minutes, and it might be a bit of an inconvenience noise wise. I would just ignore him when he pulls the obnixous behaviour. If you're worried about the screen and having to replace it put something in front of the screen door outside (sturdy box of some sort, like the big plastic storage bins) so he has to stand to either side of the door and can't get to the screen. And just have patience.

I'm assuming he doesn't do this in the summer, when it's NOT freezing outside?? If the issue is irrelevant of season/weather, well, then I'd agree that it's more of an obedience issue...

Does this dog do anything remotely similar INSIDE the house, when left alone? Is he ever destructive when he's bored, does he jump to the windows if he hears sounds outside, does he whine, bark or nudge you if he wants attention? If the answers are "no", and he's otherwise a calm, obedient dog who knows his place and respects your leadership, I'm going to side with Jennifer on this and say - don't leave him out there so long! I don't blame any dog without an undercoat for not wanting to be outside in Wisconsin winter weather for any longer than they're comfortable. He shouldn't be destroying your house, but there's a middle ground here and you'll need to meet him halfway.

Either go out in the yard and hang out with him till he's done his business, take him for an actual walk, or just watch him out the window and let him in as soon as he comes to the door (it doesn't sound like he's out there too long). If you like the last choice, you could teach him to bark once to notify you, then calmly stand and wait - feet OFF the door - until you open the door and let him in. Maybe you could even enlist another person to help - one outside to correct for jumping at the door and reward for calm standing, and one inside to open the door.

You're lucky you have a yard to let your dog out into - I've only ever lived with my dog in urban apartments with no yard, and I've only ever lived in the chilly northeast. It doesn't matter if it's -10 with a windchill, I still suit up (and suit the dog up in HIS coat) for 3 walks a day, at least one of which is an hour long.

~Natalya

I agree. Simon, my little Pit does this. He is almost bald, and as soon as he's finished outside, he acts like a pogo stick, jumping literally 6-7 feet in the air. When he's ascending, I can only see his bottom half; that's how high he jumps, lol. I don't love the muddy footprints on my doors, but I don't really say anything to him about it; he's freezing. I do signal for him to sit before I will open the door, though. If I leave him out there too long, he just jumps the fence and comes to the front door and uses the doorbell. He knows I don't waste any time if he's out front. Smart little devil.

If this is the worst thing this dog does, and he only does it when it's cold, then I would largely ignore it as long as the behavior doesn't continue in the house or bleed into other areas. JMO. I tend to pick my battles, though.

I gee I didn't realize the fact that some of you live in a different weather environment. I live in a the state of Queenland where its sunshine all year round. Fantastic inputs.