Hello!

We have a rescued a female GSD mix and a chihuahua pup (6 months) who are both indoor dogs. When I leave the house for work I usually put the GSD in the garage. If my husband and I will only be gone a short time, we sometimes leave her in the house uncrated - or crated. We are not 100% consistant.. and wondering what your thoughts are?
Our GSD's crate is inside the living room. The chihuahua has an x-pen we set up in the kitchen for him. He goes in there anytime we are not supervising him. We recently got the crate for the GSD because she sometimes will get into the garbage, or steal things from the counter we never *think* she can reach. We keep a trash can in the garage too, and sometimes she can't resist it either.

In the morning before I go to work, the normal routine has been to put the GSD in the garage. I usually tell her to go "Outside" and then give her treats or praise her for doing so. I don't usually show her I feel guilty for putting her outside. However, I noticed when my husband tells her to go outside, she will go to her pillow-bed we keep in our bedroom closet or to her crate in the living room. She sulks all the way to the garage and moves painstakingly slow, clearly communicating her thoughts on going outside. I don't want her to think she is being punished! She did this with me a few times, but I would gently take her by the collar and talk happily and say "come on, let's go outside" and after getting to the garage heap on the praise, give a few treats and play with her a few minutes. My husband still feels guilty for putting her outside - he's such a softy <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The crate for the GSD was a recent purchase. Now I notice about 20 minutes before I leave for work, she will go to her crate and wait patiently. I feel bad, because I know she doesn't want to go outside. There is only 2 hours between the time I leave for work and that my husband comes home. Should I continue to leave her crated, if she is asking for her crate instead of the garage? At this point in the morning, I haven't given her any command to disobey -

I know she is communicating that she would rather stay inside. My questions are:

1. Are we upsetting any pack order by putting one dog in the garage, and leaving the other inside?
2. She sulks, and I feel bad about that.. Is it better to keep the routine I have, or is modifying it to make the GSD happy okay?

Thanks for your help!

Here are their pics!

Pictures of Xena and Pepe

Hi Shauna,

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, Do you leave the gsd free, and the chi in the xpen in the kitchen? That could get uggly, it would only take a minute for a determined dog to get thru an xpen, well good luck, AL

Sorry, i was trying to quote the first paragraph in shaunas' post, it didn't work, Al

I would not leave my dog in the garage if you ever put cars in it. A few licks of antifreeze is all it takes to cause kidney failure. Dogs like it because it is sweet. I leave my dogs in their crates sometimes for as long as five hours. If it's cold out they would rather stay in than out. Of course, half of them think it's "cold" at fifty degrees! LOL <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for your replies!
We never put our cars in the garage. It is strictly a laundry and storage area. Our garage would only hold one car, space in california is too darn expensive! *giggle* well, we got a regular size height for the chihuahua's x-pen (I think about 3 feet high or just shy of 3ft). I doubt all four pounds of him could break through it <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. Xena (the GSD mix) could probably find a way inside the pen, but we make the area very small (maybe 2 square feet) so I don't think she would go for it. -but you're right it's always a possibility. I will start crating her from now on.

Does anyone think in terms of *dog psychology* that she feels excluded when she's in the garage and the chi is inside?
Should I crate both of them?

I think the GSD has come to see the chi as an alpha, because she will give up her food to him - which amazes me.. she's a real chow hound. We don't feed them together, but if we give them treats and he shows interest - sometimes she will drop hers. Or if he drops his treat - she won't try to steal it unless he clearly walks away from it.

"2 dogs are more fun than 1!"

hahahah - 50 degrees IS cold here in california! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> At least in San Jose <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I'm sure Xena would agree with you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

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hahahah - 50 degrees IS cold here in california! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> At least in San Jose <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I'm sure Xena would agree with you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I agree with you too. And I may be only about 40 miles away from you, but here on the ocean we have had some nights in the 30s lately. Yikes!