Loki is not totally an outside dog.
She comes in the house to hang out everyday when I am home. I enjoy her company and after a while in the house, she finally settles down and then naps at my feet-she on one side and Foxy on the other. She has learned though that she must use her "house manners" (no roughhousing!) which are different than her outside manners.
We do like to sit in the porch swing in the evenings. Loki and Red Dog, the border collie, race to see who gets to sit in the swing with me. Sometimes I have all 3 dogs in it with me! Talk about a load!
She does spend the nights outside and when I am at work, she is outside. We built a doggy duplex several years ago that has 3" of insulation in the top, sides, and back, so it is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. In the winter, when it is super cold, I still bring them in to sleep on the back porch.
Red dog is teaching her "the ropes" which consists on watching out for "Mama" and don't let anyone get too close. If they touch the fence, they are fair game. We live in the country, so that is acceptable. The dogs know who is OK and anyone that they don't know - and some that they do! - are not OK. My Border collie is VERY protective of me.
Red dog has also taught her that skunks, coons and badgers are bad and need to be assassinated. Stray cats also fit into this category. Fortunately, I keep a LOT of Febreeze and tomato juice on hand!
The more I think about this, the more reasons I find to be glad that I chose to not let her go to my daughter's in Missouri. Not to mention that she found out that she would loose her house insurance if she had a Rottweiler. Her town does not have BSL, but her insurance company said that they would cancel her.
I'm so glad she is still here!
