Dog sleeping outside

[Magnalux]

Hi.. looking for a bit of advice/reassurance. I’ve a 3yr old collie/cocker spaniel cross who has always slept in the house.. this last few weeks once we take her outside last thing for a wee before bed she just goes into her kennel outside and refuses to come in..so she stays out all night.. she never barks or whines to get in and she seems quite happy. I’m just concerned with it turning colder.. is it ok to leave her or should I try harder to get her indoors? Usually during the day if she wants in she’ll jump up on the windowsill and bark but at night she just stays in her kennel from 11pm till DH gets up at 6 and doesn’t make a sound. She spends her evenings curled up in front of the fire so I’m baffled as to why she then heads off to a cold kennel outside!!

How strange, a change in behaviour is always worth a word with the vet. Has anything spooked her in the house recently? She may feel more secure in her kennel, perhaps set up a cage in the house and see if she likes it, or maybe she needs to cool down from being in front of the fire? It’s a head scratcher OP.

I would be worried in case they freeze to death

My friend's two GSDs sleep outside all year round (not by choice - my friend doesn't let them inside the house which is a separate matter) but they have been fine in the winter. Their coats are very thick though

Could you get a dog flap so she can come back in if she needs to?

My dog has done this before (although we made her come back in as she doesn’t have a kennel) and it usually turns out that she is ill but if it has been a few weeks I would have thought you would have seen some symptoms by now.

It was -2 here last night - I wouldn't want my dog to be outside in that kind of weather unless they had the coat for it, and unless they had the option to find shelter if they want it.

However saying that I'd be too worried about theft to ever leave my dog unattended in the garden overnight. If something happened you'd have absolutely no idea until morning.

Please bring your dog inside.

I would also check with the vet if it's a change in behaviour

we now live in a city but got our pup when we lived rurally. Where he was trained, the dogs all lived outdoors in kennels. It's fairly common for working dogs/on farms. But I would be surprised if a pet who used to be comfortable in the house wanted to suddenly move outside.

if she persists, I would definitely put one of the warming blocks in the kennel and put some insulation on the roof. And get a dog door in case she wants to come inside. I don't think I would be comfortable for a pet to suddenly be doing this though so I'd be tempted to lure her back in with food. Would she try and get out if you did that?

My spaniel did this after the death of our other dog. So I started to let him out for his last wee about half an hour before he and we went to bed and now he whizzes out and in as he used to. When I forget I slip a lead on to get him back in.