I hope someone on here can help me with my husky, Shelby. She is about 11 years old, is in good health and up to date on all shots, and she is an outside dog.
She acts like her usual sweet silly self with one exception - for the past month or more, she will not go in her box to sleep like she has always done. I know that she may be enjoying the cooler weather, but she is laying out in the rain, which she has always HATED. She normally does not even like to walk on the wet ground, much less sleep out in the rain.
We thought maybe her box was infested with ants or some other insect that might be biting her, so we got her a brand new big, sturdy box. She is laying out in the rain right now and I don't know what to do. The other morning, she was drenched and shivering, but still would not go in her brand new box. Any ideas?

Hi Pamela, maybe it's just me but I hate to see a message go for this long without someone at least saying "Hi!" - - So "Hi!!"

That said, though, I haven't the foggiest idea. The obvious questions, like has anything else changed that might have caused her to decide to stay outside. Do you have a neighbor brat who's decided that it's great fun to scare the dog out of her house?

Do you bring her in often, maybe she's deciding that it's time for her to have an easier life - that also infers the question "Is she asking to come in when you go in?" At 11 she might be getting to the point that maybe she wants to spend more time with her people??

I'm not being a lot of help, I have three pups here, an Alaskan Husky who let's me know when there's any bad weather in the neighborhood - *he's* not going to stay out in it; a Siberian who doesn't mind the wet (and we don't get much snow here,) so she'll often wander a bit after she's gone out but then she's ready to come back in; the third one - who knows, I'm not even sure she's really a Husky (she is, just doesn't always act like one!) But then, mine are inside dogs and want to be wherever I am; if I'm out then that's where they want to be and vice versa.

Thank you so much for responding! I knew when I posted that there might not be an answer, but I had to try. I am worried about my sweet girl and I wish she could talk to me. She seems fine, but this weird change in her behavior has me wondering . . .

Nothing else has changed. We live on 10 acres with no close neighbors. We also have security cameras and have seen nothing unusual going on. Shelby still acts like her sweet lovable self, but she does not get out of the rain like she always has in the past. This dog HATES water. If we get out the garden hose to wash our vehicles, she runs. Normally, if there are one or two raindrops, she is in her box and does not even like to come out and walk on the wet ground.

I was also thinking that maybe she wants to now be an inside dog. LOL But she is not housetrained and I do not think I could handle the crazy amount of shedding that she does at certain times of the year. We never had pets in the house growing up, so I am not used to hair being everywhere, plus I may or may not have some OCD issues. We had to take 2 indoor cats to save them from being put down, and I am really, really struggling with their hair and litter mess. Shelby is also a destroyer of things. LOL She loves to rip things into 1000 pieces - blankets, pillows, possibly the couch.
We rarely bring Shelby inside, and if we do, it's for 30 minutes or less since she is not housebroken. One of the indoor cats does not play well with others, and when Shelby tries to say hello (as she does with everyone and everything   ) that cat hisses and swipes at her. After that, Shelby is afraid of the cat. She is a lover, not a fighter.

While I have no clue why this is happening, I had a thought...

Maybe you could start from scratch like you would for crate training a new puppy (I understand her house/ box is not a crate).

Walk her near her new box and when she gets close, give her treat.  Work up to tossing a high-value treat at the front edge of her box.  Then into her box etc...

I'm doing a similar thing for tent-training our dogs.  I started letting them sniff the packaging, then laid the tent on the ground un-assembled.  Then set it up with the door open and let them do whatever they wanted as far as going in or out.  I'll slowly work up to closing the doors for longer intervals.

Max and Ginger had no problems.... Mika was less enthusiastic so I'll give her more time.

Since you didn't answer one of my questions "Is she asking to come in when you go in?" I'll just play off the cuff here.

Typically an older dog is much easier to house train than a puppy. First they've been outside so that's where they're generally comfortable doing their 'business' and secondly, they generally catch on a lot faster than a puppy.

But OCD people (how can a person be OCD, I don't understand that? [facetious]) who want their houses to be immaculate and not smell like an animal can find all kinds of reasons for the dog to belong outside. Oh, I grew up with an animal in the house so, to me, they're a natural part of life. My g-aunt & uncle had a barn dog who was allowed on the enclosed back porch when the weather was really bad, but he wasn't ever allowed to cross the threshold - so I do understand that "Different strokes ..."

I have one dog who will tear paper up if she's bored and I'm not giving her enough attention - I guess that's her way of saying "Pay attention to me!" You'll find the phrase tossed around here that "A bored dog is a destructive dog." So she might be feeling left out; do you, by chance happen to have some children who recently went back to school who were spending time with her during the day?

I had to laugh about the cats. I have three dogs and two cats. Avalanche, my Alaskan Husky will "pounce" (there's no better word for what he does) at the inside cat who looks over his shoulder with a "Oh, what was that about?" attitude. This is also the cat who will cuddle with him when the weather gets cooler. My other cat - the outside cat (two brothers who have decided they don't want to get along so one's inside and the other out - their choice) regularly walks with us when I take the dogs out on the desert, he manages to get right underfoot (dogs and mine.) In the 4+/- years I've had the cats, I don't think I've ever heard a "Yipe!" from any of the dogs because they got clawed. I've always found it interesting that Huskies and cats either get along very well or they're absolute enemies!

oops, I got sidetracked, sorry ...

dvflyer, that is an awesome idea. We will try that. Thank you.


aljones, sorry that I missed that question. LOL She sometimes wants to come in, but once she looks all through the house, she is perfectly fine with going back out. All we have to do is open the door, and she goes out by herself.
I have worried recently that she might be bored. We don't have any children. It's just us, the 2 indoor cats, and the 3 outside cats. The outdoor cats were dropped off here about 2 years ago. We took them to the vet, got their shots, and got them all fixed. Shelby loves them - as she loves everyone. She tries to play with them, but when she runs and bounces at them, they often look at her as if she is crazy. LOL They get along very well. Shelby lets them eat out of her bowl while she is eating. When we go for a walk with Shelby, the cats come along. We love it!

There is a part of me that wants to make her an inside dog. That way I know she will get the attention she needs. BUT I really think that the mess from her hair, plus mud from her feet after she goes out to potty, and any ripping up incidents will drive me insane. Plus, I have a sister who is very allergic, so she would not even be able to come into my house. I just don't think it would work.