Try to borrow a dog house and see if TJ will use it! :) Many Pyrs won't, especially in the winter Ombre has a really nice, carpeted, big roomy, doghouse with her name over the door. I kept insisting Ron build a really nice house because she looked pitiful and neglected out in all kinds of weather. She'll curl up in the snow, or lay in a mudhole when it's hot. :) She has voluntarily entered that nice doghouse 2 or 3 times in a year.
Hubby keeps a big pile of lumber way in the back corner of the yard that has a cover over it. If she wants to get in out of the rain or is uneasy, (she's afraid of thunder and gunshots) she crawls under the ends of the boards, or under the deck by the back door.
There's a small (too small for HER!) 3-sided open "summer house" (box-like thing) at the end of the deck, near the back door of the house which she will squeeze into on a comfortable day when nothing is going on. If it's hot, she "rearranges" one of her many shady excavations and stretches out in the dirt.
I didn't note where you live, to know what kind of weather TJ might be exposed to, but Midwest winters certainly are not a challenge for Ombre. The big fancy doghouse was a pure waste of time (and money) for all practical purposes. If we had it to do over, a simple 3-sided, A-frame-type with some straw bedding would certainly give her the option to get in out of the rain/snow/wind, IF she's in the mood. It would at least satisfy the "Animal Cops" that the dog has shelter, should they visit you for any reason. :)
Just another stray thought. I've watched where she picks to lay. Perimeter location or near the back door seems to be a real key. The lumbar pile is at the far back limits of her territory. One favorite dirt pile is by the front gate in the shade, another is behind the garage at the west side of the property near the henhouse (she's the official chicken guard). The nice doghouse is in a sheltered, central location and near no perimeters.
We're learning about Pyrs. Ombre is our teacher. :)
Nancy
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