Originally posted by primabella
once he's out he just sits on the balcony and looks around
We call this *surveying our territory*. Hannah likes to do this as well. So much so that she often forgets the other reason one goes outside. When she is ready to come in I ask her *Did you go potty*, and if she didn't she will turn around and go. It never fails to amaze me since my previous dogs would always squat first thing whenever they went outside. As Mickey is still a pup at heart, I would periodically check on him when he is outside alone. As long as he isn't getting into stuff and is not barking, I don't see any harm in letting him enjoy the outside. As for barking, dogs will start barking at who knows what, but they should learn *no bark* or *that's enough*. A dog should feel that once he has alerted you to whatever, his job is finished. One, two, three, four barks...fine..but to keep it up is not fair to the neighbors.