| Hello, and thanks to everyone who replied to my previous message. My 10-month old Pyr Bacchus has developed an issue lately. ***All*** he wants to do is sleep in a hole he has excavated under a large rhododendron beside the front door. Despite the 92+ degree heat and horrible humidity, and a nice air-conditioned living room, he is so unhappy inside that I have let him stay out there and checked on him frequently. He has been fine but it doesn't seem to me he drinks enough water for his size (guessing 85 lb.) He has now decided that he wants to sleep out there at night too! This has become a real problem in the last few days. He paces, whines and scratches at the door and just won't settle down. I did let him sleep out there one cool night but I think that made it worse. I realize this is an instinctual thing and this breed is very independent, but I do want him to enjoy spending time with his human family so we can enjoy his company, too! I don't want him to become too "wild." :-) I am also not comfortable leaving him out there at night, although it is a suburban community I don't want to risk him being stolen. I have been letting him get into his hole in the morning around 6-7AM. I'm wondering if this behavior is related more to his age- and/or the season (although I wouldn't have thought being outdoors would be really attractive to him until the snow flies) or is it just a breed thing? How can I correct him to make him realize sometimes he just has to settle down inside without making him think I am correcting against his guardian behavior? On the plus side, he went swimming in a river in Maine last week and really enjoyed it! We have been working on getting him used to water so he can enjoy it with our Lab and other dogs. Thanks in advance for your help - Laurie (who would like to get a little more sleep one of these nights) & Bacchus (who is lying comfortably in his hole outside) |