leaving a dog outside

[croys]

We have a 1/4 acre lot, with the backyard fenced in by a 6ft privacy fence (plenty of running room). Once it warms up (we live in northern VA), we are thinking of leaving our 2 dogs (4 years and 4 months) outside during the day while at work. (with plenty of water and a few toys)

Any suggestions for doing/not doing this?

thanks in advance!

Chris

[Leader]

Hi,
I live in France and have a 5 year old rott and a 10 year old Boxer bitch. They are always outside except when it's too cold for the boxer, Nelly. Then I eaither take the rott to work with me or leave him at hom. They have two dog houses, and shade for the summer (a rott needs shade in hot weather). They can stand the cold pretty well if you get them used to it slowly if they've been house dogs. Just make sure you don't have any mean poisoning neighbors or anything outside they might get hurt on;
Good luck

[Teena]

That is up to you, HOWEVER, MANY rotties have been stolen out of people's yards. At Petco the other day i was chatting with the cashier about Rotts & she told me her boyfriend's Rott was stolen out of his yard while out on a potty break. Owner's back turned just a few minutes & dog was gone.
Personally, I myself don't think it's worth the risk.

[winniecnm]

I wouldn't recommend it. Too much opportunity for harm to come to the dogs, theft, poisoning, teasing by people passing by, heat stroke etc...

Perhaps you could look into a pet sitter or doggie daycare?? :)

[Chantal]

Also, you don't want to leave the puppy alone with the older dog for that long of a period. THe puppy will bond with the older dog, and not you. At the obedience school we went to, they said that until the pup is 6 months old, they should not be together more than 1 hour a day, and that should be supervised. Personally, I can't see how that is really possible, but I definately wouldn't leave them together all day. We are planning on getting our second one in 8 weeks, we have a 1 year old right now. It should be fun!!

[Judy Chrusch]

Chris, what is the sex of your two dogs? I still wouldn't recommend leaving them unsupervised and putting a pup with an older one for a whole day IMO is not a good or safe idea. Unless your yard is completely free of danger, you may have that to deal with too and what if someone threw something in your yard, such as poison. I think of everything. Our yard is fenced in too but I wouldn't even let mine in the yard unattended even if I just went to the store. Just not a good idea. The pup may get the older one angry and who knows what could happen. I also agree that the pup could be stolen, it does happen and waaay to often. Hope this helps, I'd hate to see something happen.

Judy

[Anja Bear]

I don't recomend leaving dogs out all day in a yard with out supervision. To many bad thing can happen and you will not know when or what. Better off leaving them inside or at a doggie daycare.

[frau]

Hello croys-

From west central VA (but I am a native Arlingtonian).

My Gypsy, 14 mo., suffers so in the heat that I would never leave her out all day. Doesn't matter if she is under a big tree, she pants and drools. We often leave a kiddie pool for her, which she enjoys, but I can't leave her with it while I'm gone.

She always scratches to come in after about 15 minutes.

Frau :D

[Chloesmom]

Hi Chris,

I'm a fellow NOVA resident. We live in Herndon. Another thing to consider is the noise ordinance. In Fairfax County your dog is not allowed to bark incessantly. If you're not home, they can ticket you (call the cops, make your life miserable). So if something got your rotts upset, it could cause problems.

Chloe is only in the backyard when we're home although she does enjoy sunbathing!

It gets kind of hot in the summer around here and she doesn't do very well in the heat. As a matter of fact, she can usually be found laying on top of the AC vent sucking up all the cold air! I'd leave them inside. It stays light so long in the evening, they'll have enough fun playtime when you get home IMHO. :)

[DiscoDoggy]

Wow,
I love my dog dearly, and would never want her stolen, but the idea that someone could jump my privacy fence and heave my 100 pound dog over it, all without her making a noise or biting the assailant is unbelievalble to me. Im not criticizing any of you for keeping your dog inside, certainly, and I do agree that in the summer, its just plain too hot for them, but Im always faced with the torment of keeping her kenneled for 5 hours (I cannot let her loose in the house, too many times she has chewed everything up) or leave her outside with lots of shade and water?

[love2rotts]

I'm with Discodoggy. I leave my two outside. They are in a fence with locked gates. I have a friend that adopted her first dog recently. She keeps that poor thing in a crate the entire time she is at work. 9 hours!!! They don't have a fence and personally, I hate dog run lines, they are way more dangerous than a fence, that is what they are planning for warmer weather, I just hate to hear it.

I'm not arguing for or against leaving a dog in a fence. It's just that some people don't have the luxury of staying home or the excess money to hire a dog walker/sitter. Again, it is something at the discretion of the owner. I leave my dogs in my yard for several hours at a time. I'm not saying something can't happen to them, but so far (5 years), nothing has.

Char

[LucyJ]

Is it possible to install a doggie door somewhere so they can come back in the house where it's much cooler if they want to? Maybe you could gate a small area or room of the house and install a doggie door there. We do this in our pantry.

Also, you know what kind of neighbors you have and what goes on in your area. You probably know better than anyone else if it's safe for your dogs to be outside for long periods. Our boy Chief has access to the yard at all times except overnight. Our girl Mojo has only been with us for a week so she gets crated when we're out. We don't yet trust the two alone together as they are still having some struggles over pack order. Also, she's still in destructo mode so we have to keep a close eye that she's not getting into stuff she's not supposed to.

Anyway, I'd say go for it as long as you trust them to be alone together, trust that they truly are safe in your yard, and they have somewhere to retreat from the weather when it's raining or too hot.

[Lora Lee]

Well, before we domesticated dogs, they lived outside, even after so, they lived outside. Mine are outside quite often, even when I'm not home. I don't have problems, but during the hot weather they will be inside. They can not be seen or even heard by my nearest neighbor, so that may of helped in my decision.

I'm unaware if you are afraid of them being stolen, destructive, or getting out??

I think where you live, the condition of your fencing, the weather and things of that nature should help you make a proper decision. You may not rightfully compare Joe's dog in the country to Lisa in the city....so take your considerations into account, and the benefit of letting the dog be a dog outside instead of crated. They can't play in the crate with each other, and what IS the benefit of play for a few hours mean to you??

You are right, lots to consider...being too protective should be on that list too. Good luck in your decision.

[DiscoDoggy]

LucyJ,

When I read your suggestion for the doggy door, I thought..what a great idea..I forgot about doggy doors. Im having a new house built, and I could have that installed..but then thinking about it a while longer..WOW..WHAT a doogy door that would have to be..I can see my big ole lug squeezing through that energy wasting hole..lol..but Im not sure if it works or not? Anyone have a doggy door for their rotties? Im interested to know if that WOULD work?

[KatMc]

I have a doggy door. Have used it consistently for the past 4 years. I had to get the biggest door made to allow for my Rottie to get through. Consequently I can go through (won't see me on TV with the fire department cutting me out :D ). I have 2 actually, the one from the garage to the backyard doesn't lock and would be considered more of an energy waster, the one from the garage to the house has very strong magnets that latch it, it also has a metal door to lock it when we are away from home. Everyone's first concern was a dog door that size would allow someone to come into my house. True, but how long are they going to stay when they are face to face with a Rottie? I haven't locked my back door in the last 14 years, regardless of where I have lived.

So basically my dogs can come and go at their own pleasure, but I do gate across where they are not allowed when I'm nothome. So they can be in the back yard unattended when they want to. Maybe I've been lucky no one has ever messed with any of my dogs. I would never leave them only outside without a way to get in the house.

But I wouldn't leave dogs that different in age unattended for very long. You never know when the older one is going to forget to stop when they are tired of the young one being a puppy.

I have a 10 pound Pookie (yorkie/poodle) and my 70 pound Rottie X and my 100 lb Rottie X, they are NOT allowed alone without me in attendance. They get along fine, but the big one's get to playing too hard and forget that she is so small.

good luck with your choices!

[ April 04, 2001: Message edited by: KatMc ]