15 year old dog

Question
our dog is half german shepperd and half rhodesian ridgeback. for the last 4 or 5 months now when I go in the kitchen to prepare a meal she will get up from a sound sleep and insist on going outside. when the weather was warmer it did not concern us too much but now it is winter and she has advanced arthritis. she will want to go out there to her favorite spot even if it is raining. the more i try to be firm and tell her she has to stay inside the more she just goes right to the patio door. My roommate has tried to convince her to stay indoors but she will not settle down. she used to come into the kitchen with me and lay down. but we can no longer let her into the kitchen as she has fallen several times and the last few times she even walked in there she either fell or i caught her just in time. she weighs about 75 lbs. she started this behavior though while she was still able to come in the kitchen. it is just worse now. it does not matter how cold it is or even if it is raining. and then when she gets out there she will not come in until she wants to. one day when it was raining i had to take her leash out there and tug on it and be very firm with her that she was to come in. we have a nice bed on the covered patio that is next to our enclosed patio that last year she laid on all the time. now she won't use it. I should also tell you that most of her behavior issues surround me more than my roommate. she is technically her dog. We moved in together 4 years ago. She also decided a long time ago she can not stay in my room if i use my computer. I think this came about though because i used to like to stay up late and Farley likes to sleep in my room. after awhile she decided i should go to bed when my room mate went to bed so she would do things to make me quit and go to bed like getting under the desk and sitting on my feet and trying to push me out. I have to admit i got angry with her and made her leave my room. that was 4 years ago and now that i do not stay up anymore she still thinks she can not be in here when i use my computer no matter what time of day. i have tried just sitting in my chair and petting her before while the computer is on. but as soon as i stop petting her and turn to the computer she disappears. At least now she just goes in the front room and lays down. Initially she would bannish herself to the enclosed patio. One time when the patio door was closed because it was winter she actually made herself go through the cat door which is 8 x 10.  I hope you might be able to help us help her or at least ease our minds. we do not want her to suffer any more than she already is with her arthritis. i hate to see her wobble out to behind our studio building in this cold weather. the ground is very uneven due to gopher holes and mounds. we have a vet here that has prescribed pain medication and arthritis medication. this problem started before she started on either of these meds. we were also having a problem with her sensing when she needed to go poop but since then we have found a combination of two foods that make her stool firmer and she now seems to have more feeling. but she still has some accidents now and then. but we figure that is our job to help her and we now take her out side when she gets this look on her face. she used to resist going when we wanted her to fearing we were going to go somewhere and leave her behind. we came up with the idea to treat it as more of a reward situation so i buy some small treats that are healthy for her and she gets one for going outside when we want her to and one for doing her "job". that seems to be working well. thank you for any insight you might be able to give us. as i write this she is out there in her spot and it is dark now. but fortunately she loves her arthritis chews we get from her vet and she has been out there since i fixed lunch so she will probably come in on her own. i call her name and tell her it is time for her treats. thank you,
nora winn and viki george

Answer
Your dog is demonstrating behavior similar to my (then) 16 year old Whippet.  This is a loss of cognitive function due to old age.  My Whippet used to stagger up out of her bed and insist on being allowed out into the fenced area behind my house, even though she may have been out there only minutes earlier.  Simply because a dog WANTS something, doesn't mean the dog GETS it.

You've done a wonderful job of retraining her to eliminate outdoors when you know it is time, and you've certainly figured out what happened with the conditioned response regarding the computer (actually a charming story.)  This is a hurdle you can easily manage.  Instead of letting her outdoors when she demonstrates this behavior (regardless of how compelling her demeanor might be), use this as the first step of a three step trained behavior to 'go to' someplace for large reward and affection.  This is called chaining behavior: train 'go to' using a special toy or object the dog is very attracted to (something with a squeak or bells or jingles); you begin with the dog in the position by the patio door, toss the special toy (or special treat) to a spot nearby with a "go to" command and make a big deal out of it when the dog gets there; then you take the toy and toss it to a third spot further from the patio door, the spot you prefer the dog to be; she may not respond to the "go to" this second time (to the third spot) as happily (and possibly not at all for the  first few trials) but eventually she will get it and follow the 'go to' command.  Always start this chain of behavior from the patio door so she begins to associate her standing there (voluntarily, not when you lead her outdoors to do her business) with the "go to" exercise and will begin to anticipate your command for reward/treat.  Eventually, you can extinguish the first 'go to' location and concentrate on getting her across the room to her final location.  What will happen is the impulse to the patio door should self extinguish and the dog may actually begin going 'to' the intended destination by herself; this will then become a self rewarding behavior.

Other than the above (which is time consuming, I'll grant you, and may be frustrating with an older dog), simply ignoring her silent demand at the patio door is the only answer.  it's kinder to ignore her (or redirect her attention without training exercises) than to allow her outdoors in cold and damp weather.  When she's out there, it's apparent that her cognitive function is not working well.  I doubt she's intentionally choosing the cold and damp to the comfort of indoors, there's something not working in her thought process.  You might bring this behavior to the attention of the veterinarian.