Outside dogs

Outdoor dogs are fine if fenced, trained, & educated..
I truly hate to see a dog on a chain or cable. I'd love to shackle their owner outside for the equivalent of 'human years'.
Outdoor cats are a pest. Witness Wisconsin. (I have three indoor cats.)
Cats are the perfect terrestrial predator, decimating young rabbits and pre-flight quail, not to mention other ground nesters like meadow larks & kildeer.
When I was a kid we had a cat that regularly brought home GROWN rabbits.
Small dogs of the terrier type aren't much different. Very efficient at reducing the local fauna.
Lots of folks are already reading me as a troll. On this subject I suppose I could be.
I think of all the micro fauna that could have fed a hawk, an owl, fox, bobcat, coyote... the list is endless, it is truly a circle of life; not to mention whole coveys of huntable birds gone, before first flight.
Farm cats? Sure they take a few mice, but so will a few snakes. And snakes don't normally carry as a matter of course up to four diseases that can cause miscarriages in equines!
More people need to think...
I've also had my flea infestation thanks to a pet door. lol

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whoever made the screen fat gee thanks a lot.

working dogs that live on a farm with other dogs and a house dog or dogs that are PETS are different.

i doubt at all, if my little rat terrier had 30 acres and a barn to patrol for vermin he would take kindly to ever being inside....
I rasied my old one from a pup as an indoor child and she would BURST before she wizzed or poped inside... its not normal for her and if she has an old age accident shes noticeably upset over it.

the little rat-boy... he hides turds if he gets desperate inthe night and then acts guilty.
my fault for not letting him out, rather not asking him if he needs out, he wont ask himself untill you assk him, then he has a fit to go out.

sheep dogs have a pack.. the sheep and the other dogs they dont need people....
if you dont have a farm and its one or 2 dogs tied outside... i dont thin the dogs enjoy it much.
my dogs always ran loose outside back when no progress was around, and they had free run of miles of space and freedom.
now ive had 3 run over and to many new parasites er, i mean neighbors who hate having their space violated.... so they are house dogs.

BTW i always welcome their dogs and wayward goats and talk to them or take them home.

I do shoot their cats... they all deny owning cats and I dont need any more cats.... besides a cat who shreeks and runs isnt a pet.. lost pet cats come up to the door and meow and i feed theose and take them home.

oh you have fleas because your rugs and apolstry have fleas.... dont blame the dogs.

fleas are easy to get rid of, people dont stick to the cure.

Our dogs live outside year-round. That might be a problem where the winters are really cold, but here the weather doesn't really get that bad. The dogs have a good coat in the winter, and they have shelter. As far as the heat, I grew up here without air conditioning, so I don't have issues with the dogs being outside in the summer. It's nicer outside than in if it's hot and the air's not on.
Most people around here clip their dogs for the summer, too.
(And, yes, the cat lives outside, too. He comes in twice a day to eat, then right back out.)

Two live outdoors ... they have a fenced dog run that goes the length of the barn. There is an door that goes into the barn, and inside is another run with 2 insulated doghouses.

I put straw in the doghouses and on the floor of the inside run in the winter. They're a lab/shepherd and an Aussie, they don't seem to mind it outside.

My other dog, a rat terrier cross, is old and lives indoors, although she spends quite a bit of time outside in the summer.

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"I love all of this mud," said no one, ever.

We have a little short coated Staffy Bull mix that is a full-time house pet; we also have flock guards (Anatolians) that are bonded to the sheep, & live out with them full time (they have good dog houses w/straw in them to sleep in, but generally bed down out in the pasture with the sheep anyhow.) It depends on if the dogs are pets, or working dogs; working dogs you spend a lot of time outside with anyhow (or are bonded to livestock) whereas the pets depend on people for company. Pets should be with their people, working dogs should be outside.

4 dogs, yes I know! thats a lot, we got the number down to two for
all of a week, then a stray showed up, and we are suckers for strays
two jack russels, one shnauzer, one black lab, we think dane or
beetoven (cant think of breed!) They are all inside, we got a great
deal on three kennals put together for 100$ best thing we ever
bought.
the mix and one of the jack russels love the outdoors, wether doesnt
matter. the other overwieght nuetered, self obsessed, fanatic, bark
at anything woose of a jack russel goes out n comes back in. same with shnauzerwho is blind.
Big rockpile you mentioned having a jack russel that was a mean little
brat, I have to agree, they are great with family, but FORGET guests,
nioses, and a lot of times other animals. They are nasty little dogs.
dont get me wrong I love my russels, but I will never!! buy another.

Good luck convincing the hubby, I agree with one of the other
posters, he'd be outside before my dogs! lol

3 Labs in the house all the time unless they want to lay out in the sun. One Pyrenees outside all of the time except for the occasional visit indoors. He's love to be inside more just for the people contact but the hair is too much. He gets too hot and tracks in too much dirt. I love my dogs to pieces but there are plenty of days where the dirt and hair drive me nuts. If your DH doesn't want them on the furniture or rugs, how about confining them to certain rooms? We have an inexpensive area rug in a room where the dogs are allowed.

30 years ago when I was a kid I don't recall hardly anyone having inside dogs or cats. Maybe a few widows in town but certainly not country people. Farm dogs usually stayed with the farm if it was sold to someone else. Since then the concept of petowning has changed and grown huge thanks to the industry it supports and the need it fills for humans. To me, it seems that most people who have dogs shouldn't have them. Maybe some live a comfortable life but the concept of petowning is directly responsible for the suffering and deaths of millions of dogs and cats every year. All petowners play at least some part in that whether they acknowledge it or not.

Many cats and dogs live a life of confinement. Would a human be happy with that life? Some cats never venture outside their entire lives. I've seen large breed dogs built to run locked inside of small apartments and maybe if they're lucky get to go outside for 30 minutes a day. I think it's very disrespectful to the animal. I wonder why people have such a need to humanize a dog. Are they doing for the dog, or for themselves? Dogs do just fine being outside their whole lives. That's natural for them. Dogs that live nearly human lives usually have medical problems because they're not allowed to live naturally. Fleas and ticks usually aren't a problem for a dog living a natural life. Nature has a way of taking care of those things. Why even have a cat or dog if it needs to be confined? Can anyone honestly answer that?

I wouldn't have a dog if it couldn't live outside and run free. That doesn't mean running around and killing livestock. A good dog knows where the property line ends.

I won't have dogs inside the house for other reasons too. A dog doesn't know it shouldn't drag its behind on the carpet or tear stuff up. Dogs don't wipe their feet when they go in a house. They could care less about slobbering all over everything or shedding its hair around the house, or worse. Fleas are about the last thing I want in my home. Dogs often make a home smell bad though the petowner is usually so used to it they don't notice. It's not the dogs fault. Houses are for humans. I'm sure this opinion won't sit well with those who have a need to humanize animals.

My dogs want to be where I am -- if I am out, they want to be out. If I am in, they want to be in. They are only allowed on the main floor, not upstairs. If I leave the property, they walk with me, and if I'm driving, they stay outside at home -- I never really take them anywhere in the truck (except to the vet or the doggie day spa.) Right now one is peering in the window at me mournfully, because I am in and he is out. Sometimes it is a burden to be so popular...
Next time, I am not going to have longhaired dogs, I can tell you!

:haha:

Amen!

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Thanks for your perspectives. I do not feel so bad now that
my dogs live out most of the time. I do get out to be with them
and they come in from time to time to keep me company when
hubby is not home. I understand that it is hard to keep the house
clean if they track in dirt and hair, too. Also fleas are rampant here
in Houston, so I have to use a good flea deterrant.

Sorry but!!!! If God meant for dogs and cats to be inside he wouldn't have supplied them with all that hair. So all of mine stay outside no matter how hot it gets or how cold it gets. They are what you call "Homestead doggies""! They also have to play a vital role on the homestead in order to justify their expense. They can't be just pets!

I don't agree with Zeal about dogs not knowing what to do and what not to do. Maybe an ignorant pound inbred mutt, but a good dog will learn.
I have Corgis, and I think they are great, I have posted that fact many times. They are outside anytime the weather is to their liking, or when the older one has done something he shouldn't. He lives in the basement about 1 week a month because he will not be nice to the baby. This is ok, though, because he doesn't really mind, corgis are like big cats, they could care less, and the baby was a big suprise. I agree about the whole apartment thing, but there are breeds that like that sort of thing, my Mom's chiuaua wants to be held all the time. My dogs have it great, no leashes around here, big neighborhood to roam, and I have 10 acres full of squirrels to chase besides. They get fed twice a day, a chair to sleep under at nite, or an old couch in the basement when they are wet. I am glad I live far away from you guys, or I might see some new dogs in my yard!
Mine are good chicken guarding dogs, too, there is a new dog that is peeking at my hens, and my boys chase her away everytime. Ok I'll stop gushing....
But for RH, mine don't get to devolop the hair they need, I can't leave them out, they would bark all night. One of them I wish I could.......but then they just don't get 100% of the hair they need. Also one was run over when he was little, then he fell down a flight of stairs, so he would ache outside all winter. I'm just saying that not all hearty dogs could live outside.

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A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

Okay all you hairy men out there with back rugs, get outside.

I have two dogs - a basset hound and a springer/lab mix. They have a dog door and a 1/4 acre fenced yard. Some day when I get my place completely fenced they will have access to the entire 4.5 acres. Two cats use the same door, although one prefers to stay outside all of the time.

So my dogs come and go whenever they want and yes, one does once in a while get into a digging mood and track all kinds of mud into the house, she also has a bad habit of dragging stuff outside too.... But they make alot of noise if someone comes by, enough to deter people with bad intentions and they keep me company so that is how they will live until they are gone. After that I may not have any dogs, or an outdoor only dog that sleeps in the barn and comes to the house only to visit, not really sure. More likely I will fall for yet another cute fluffball somewhere along the way. HEHE

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I'm with Dave on his entire opinion. I have a German Shepard and an Aussie/Lab mix and they live strictly outside. They are penned up around noon so the chickens can run and are let out when the birds go to roost. They own the night around my place and have never been tied up. They know where the boundarys are by instinct and get their share of ticks which we either pick off on a regular basis or try some of the latest treatments. They eat Green Diamond dog food and any critter of the night who made the top ten Darwin's list of stupid animals. And probably humans too if tested. The flowers and garden grow and the pesky deer who eat the above have found new fodder somewhere else.

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We have now officially entered the twilight zone.

I am trying the Diamond dog food too. Don't hear too much about it; I am using the chicken variety (I think the maintenance diet). Do you like the Diamond? It is inexpensive..so I did not know the quality...I was told it was good by a Feed store owner that sells it. In comparison to other dog foods, i.e. Science Diet, Eukanuba, etc. how do you rate it?

You don't hear much about Diamond because they don't bother to advertise as much as the others. They do well because they have a quality food at a reasonable price. When dogs try it, they and their owners are often very pleased. I think it is better quality than Iams or Eukanuba having done side by side comparisons (look, smell and letting the dogs pick from a bunch thrown on the floor). My labs have lived to 12, 14 and one is now 13 on Diamond all their lives. Those are pretty good ages for labs. All of them have maintained very good health to the end.

"Fleas and ticks usually aren't a problem for a dog living a natural life."


"A dog doesn't know it shouldn't drag its behind on the carpet or tear stuff up. Dogs don't wipe their feet when they go in a house. They could care less about slobbering all over everything or shedding its hair around the house, or worse. Fleas are about the last thing I want in my home"

now I dont have a problem with anyone keeping a dog outside.. or inside so dont take this the wrong way, but Dave, if fleas arent an issue with dogs running rampant than why/how would they carry the little buggers into your home?