NAPR ? about dogs and leaving them in the yard

KateLouise · September 2010

So I was asking on the pet board about training our dogs to toilet in one part of the yard.

I mentioned that they spend most of their time outside.

I got told off for leaving my dogs in the yard. Here in NZ, this is pretty normal.

So just wondered if it just happened to be the people who responded or if it's an American/NZ thing?

[Poll]

Baby Snowflake · September 2010

I voted other. My dogs are inside dogs, but we have a doggie door that they are free to use whenever they want to go out.

kwinters87 · September 2010

I don't currently have a dog, but always had several growing up and if we left certain ones in the house when we left they would eat the couch, and they were normally very well trained dogs, they just liked the taste of furniture and I think it would have been more cruel to leave them in a tiny cage all day while we were gone. But these were 100+lb hunting dogs, the little lap dogs got crate trained.

brideofaussie · September 2010

Generally in the US it's considered poor dog ownership to leave a dog outside for a majority of the time. This is due to a multitude of reasons- the biggest of which is the danger this can pose to a dog whether it be from accdiental choking/strangulation, to running away, to poisioning, exposure to the elements etc. But also b/c dogs are pack animals, so it's cruel to separate them from their pack (you- their family).

Most Americans see their dogs at the very least as companions, some as actual family members so the idea of leaving a loved companion/family member outside all day just doesn't make sense.

norman25 · September 2010

My childhood dog spent the majority of her life outside. She would simply come to the door when she wanted to come in. I feel bad for our current dog (we live in town) who doesn't have the luxury of running free. We, of course checked on the dog often.

KateLouise · September 2010

brideofaussie:
Generally in the US it's considered poor dog ownership to leave a dog outside for a majority of the time. This is due to a multitude of reasons- the biggest of which is the danger this can pose to a dog whether it be from accdiental choking/strangulation, to running away, to poisioning, exposure to the elements etc. But also b/c dogs are pack animals, so it's cruel to separate them from their pack (you- their family).
Most Americans see their dogs at the very least as companions, some as actual family members so the idea of leaving a loved companion/family member outside all day just doesn't make sense.

I agree with this, if you're at home too, but what about when you're at work. the idea of leaving a dog in a small confined space or a crate seems cruel to me.

I agree with the idea of dogs being a pack animal, and our dogs are indoors in the evening and sleep indoors at night.

**sunny** · September 2010

The pets board is of the opinion that a dog should be crated inside - or left inside the house all day long if no humans are around for supervision.

I used to do that with my 1 dog, but then we got a rescued greyhound who for the life of him can't hold his pee. It's ridiculous. If I forget to open the doggy door or my bedroom door somehow closes and I'm gone only 4 hours, he has an accident in the house. And he's a boy so it's not a basic little puddle. It's a friggin' mess.

So obviously we have to have a doggy door. This means they have access to the outside all day long. Granted it's usually too hot for them to stay too long out there, but they do enjoy it. Sometimes they sun out there or the greyhound will get excited and do a few laps and then go back to sleeping.

It's what works for us.

I wouldn't personally leave a dog outside without access to the indoors. It wouldn't work in our climate and wouldn't make for a happy dog anyway. Other dogs might be perfectly content with that situation.

brideofaussie · September 2010

KateLouise:
I agree with this, if you're at home too, but what about when you're at work. the idea of leaving a dog in a small confined space or a crate seems cruel to me.

First of all, it's not as though the choice is either leave your dog unattended in the yard all day or crated. But it's not cruel.

My DH used to think the same thing as well. I don't think crating is a popular practice in Oz either.

He really fought crating our dog as a puppy when used as a house training technique. But once he saw my sister and BIL's dog who would surely kill himself if allowed to roam a yard or house all day, he realized that it really does have a purpose even beyond house training and that it's not cruel at all when used correctly.

A crate is a safe place for a dog, and it's generally a place to which they choose to go if they want a comfortable quiet place in which to lie. It's big enough so that he can stretch out, turn around, lie down, etc. When locked in a dog cannot harm your home or himself, and no one can harm him. And of course if properly exercised, crating a dog during the day does no harm b/c let's face it, unless you (general) live on farmland, if left in the backyard (or to roam the house) your dog isn't getting any exercise there either.

It's funny b/c my Aussie SIL used to make comments about crating to me sometimes and how she doesn't see how it does any good (that was her polite way of saying that it's cruel). All the while her dogs are left to run amok her yard. And I'm sure she thinks she's a good dog owner for doing this but she isn't. The dogs aren't trained (house or otherwise) so she doesn't even want them in the house. They never get exercised and are rarely paid attention to. But b/c they're allowed to roam around like banshees, it's all okay. Sorry, it's not. But I'm a bad dog owner b/c I chose to actually train my dog using a crate? I don't think so. Our dog can generally be trusted to roam our house and not destroy it or kill himself. Our dog enjoys our company when we're home and enjoys the comforts of our house when we're not. All b/c we were so terribly cruel in crate-training him.

Now having said all this, I think there are better ways than others to keep your dog in the yard all day. However I still think it's a big risk to take compared to keeping your dog in your home whether in a crate or not.

Ruby_Soho · September 2010

Ooh, where in NZ are you? We're in Wanaka.

We crate trained our dog when she was a puppy but now that we're in a house with a dog door and a fully fenced garden, we don't crate her anymore when we're out. She's perfectly happy to cruise about. If it's nice weather she'll lie in the sun, chew her bone etc, if it's crappy weather, she'll be inside curled up on her couch and she'll do the fastest trips outside you've ever seen to do wees when absolutely necessary!

We trained our dog to behave in the house and the garden, she an area to toilet in, she doesn't dig or go in the veggie beds and she doesn't try to escape or jump the fence so we can totally trust her both inside and out which is awesome.

Kelly-renee · September 2010

If we had a fenced in area I would leave her out there while I was home. I'd bring her in before I left though, she's crafty, and would probably figure out how to escape the fence to come look for us.

BelhurstBride · September 2010

I won't leave our dogs outside if we're not home. I worry that something could happen, and honestly, they're pure breds. I worry that someone would try to snatch them.

Both of our dogs are crate trained. We trained our female when she was about a year and it changed her dramatically. She's a much nicer animal now. Our male has always known a crate and loves it. If we stay up past our normal bedtime he puts himself in his crate.

webMistress0609 · September 2010

I would never leave my greyhound outside all day, especially in the SC heat. In the fall & spring when it's cooler, he may spend 30-60 minutes outside laying around in the grass while I'm here. That's about the longest he'll go w/o asking to come back in.

A lot of my neighbors leave their dogs tied out all day. I don't agree with it, honestly.

lolagrinnin · September 2010

We don't leave our dog out when we're not home, but she is an impressive escape artist and a hanging out on the couch kind of dog. She often stays out for hours if we are home, but if she comes to the door we let her in.

I know people who leave their dogs out in well fenced areas with access to shelter (a dog house, garage, doggy door, etc.) when the weather is appropriate, and I don't have any problem with it. I know people with dogs that it would be cruel to coop up in the house all day. (BIL has two massive malamutes. In the winter he would occasionally have to leash them to get them to come in the house. They'd dig little shelters in the snow and curl up together. As they've gotten older, though, they prefer to be inside.)

I do have a problem with people who are neglecting the needs of their particular dog by leaving it outside, or who don't have appropriate space/shelter/food/water outside for the dog as necessary. Our neighbors have a pit bull that stands at their door and woofs these little "hey let me in" woofs for an hour at a time. She's not neglected, per se, but is certainly not getting the attention she needs.

missjade21 · September 2010

lolagrinnin:
I know people who leave their dogs out in well fenced areas with access to shelter (a dog house, garage, doggy door, etc.) when the weather is appropriate, and I don't have any problem with it. I know people with dogs that it would be cruel to coop up in the house all day. (BIL has two massive malamutes. In the winter he would occasionally have to leash them to get them to come in the house. They'd dig little shelters in the snow and curl up together. As they've gotten older, though, they prefer to be inside.)
I do have a problem with people who are neglecting the needs of their particular dog by leaving it outside, or who don't have appropriate space/shelter/food/water outside for the dog as necessary. Our neighbors have a pit bull that stands at their door and woofs these little "hey let me in" woofs for an hour at a time. She's not neglected, per se, but is certainly not getting the attention she needs.

I agree with a lot of what you said. We have 2 dogs- a Boston Terrier and a Rottie. The Rottie was bred in Alaska and cannot handle the VA heat in the summer and wants to be let in immediately after she does her business. The Boston, on the other hand, will lay in the sun for an hour at at a time and enjoy every minute of it. And it's the opposite in the winter. The Rottie loves the cold and the Boston cannot stand it. We don't leave either of them out when we're not home, but they will sometimes be out for extended periods while we are home, if they want to be. We do let them in when they come to the door though.

And as far as crate training goes... both of my dogs love their crates. It's their safe place and they go their of their own free will if the house is ever over-crowded or anything like that.

EcoBaby · September 2010

I only let my dog outside when I'm home. I don't watch him really closely, but I am definitely aware of what he's doing when he's outside. My dog is an escape artist and would definitely find a way out of the yard if he were out there for long periods of time. He also gets nervous if he's outside for too long. He feels safer inside. He can also only handle certain weather conditions - not too hot or too cold, so I like to keep him in a controlled climate.

He's also my "first born" and I would be devastated if anything happened to him, especially if it was because I wasn't watching him.

Jen&Len · September 2010

Growing up, my family always left our dog outside during the day unless the weather was bad (rain, snow, too cold/hot etc). We had a fenced in yard and he had food, water and toys. My dad was born and raised in Taiwan where this was normal. It was considered cruel to keep a dog inside all day instead of letting them out to run around and do what they naturally do outside.

After my dog passed, we went to the ASPCA to adopt and we were denied because we told them we left our dog outside without one of us being outside with him.

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