How Relevant Is Yard Size?

[ravenau1]

Interested to get others takes on this.

Our dog (when we get one!) will spend most of it's time inside, and will get 2 long walks per day plus 'play time' at the park. We will also be doing obedience training etc. I work part time and my Husband works shifts, we are rarely at work at the same time so pretty much the only time the dog would be in the yard is if we go out together, so perhaps a total of five hours in a week. It will no doubt end up being less than that as we will incorporate the dog into most of our activities that we do together on our weekend day together. We plan to have plenty of things to keep the dog occupied while we are gone.

We have very small yard, though we have brick fencing and colourbond fencing and it is very secure. However, the size of our yard seems to be a hurdle for us. Am I right in thinking that a dog only needs a large yard if it isn't being regularly walked? Our dog would be spending the same amount of time outside whether we had a small yard or a big yard.

[Aidan]

5 hours per week can be done in a crate! Big yards are good for tossing a ball around or doing a bit of heeling or agility work, and you don't have to pick up the poo as often. Proximity to neighbours can be a concern if the dog is prone to barking.

[W Sibs]

I don't think yard size matters... as long as you give them regularly exercise and walk them, they should be content.

Because it's cold lately, my dogs only go outside when I'm outside, or when they need to do their business. But they are definitely indoor dogs... they will think the world is ending if we ever locked them outside.

Edited June 7, 2010 by CW EW

[Kelza]

Well I guess it also depends on the breed of dog that will be joining your family. Most would be happy with what you have suggested - regular walks will help simulate your dogs mind & 5 hours it's much in a week.

[julesluvscavs]

Ours have a huge backyard, and hardly ever want to go out and play in it anyway LOL

I think it generally depends on what breed of dog you have (some prefer heaps of room, other's don't so much), and how much time you put into them with exercise etc..

What type of dog are you getting just out of interest?

[megan_]

I think it depends on the breed.

I have a tiny yard and I think it is great because it "forces" me to walk them twice a day. You do need to make sure that you get them out-and-about even when the weather is terrible though!

[julesluvscavs]

I don't think yard size matters... as long as you give them regularly exercise and walk them, they should be content.

Because it's cold lately, my dogs only go outside when I'm outside, or when they need to do their business. But they are definitely indoor dogs... they will think the world is ending if we ever locked them outside.

Same here !

[Tiggy]

I have a smallish yard and yes would love to have more land but the dogs cope fine and they spend most of the day sleeping anyway and only seem to use the yard if we go outside .

[dee lee]

I don't think yard size matters... as long as you give them regularly exercise and walk them, they should be content.

Because it's cold lately, my dogs only go outside when I'm outside, or when they need to do their business. But they are definitely indoor dogs... they will think the world is ending if we ever locked them outside.

Same here !

And here and I have a Golden Retriever!!

My dog gets an hours intense exercise session in the mornings, then she is walked to school with the kids, to coffee with me, home again via a pitstop in a little park and I go off to work for the day and she is inside alone til the kids get home from school. She very rarely goes into our TINY yard (its a courtyard really) other than when we are all home and she needs to go to the toilet.

My last dog was more destructive so she was left outside instead but still would sleep most of the day.

You just have to make sure they get enough exercise.

Edited June 7, 2010 by ✽deelee

[sas]

Yard size isn't that relevant to me.

My dogs only go in the yard to toilet so it's not needed for them. Dogs also do not self-exercise.

If you have a dog that loves playing activities in the yard with you then you'll probably want to have a yard that's of a decent size for that.

[ravenau1]

Thanks for your replies everyone :D

The dog will be getting plenty of exercise, the plan (eventually) is for two 1 hour walks per day, plus extra time in the park - how much extra park time will depend on the dog, and the conditions of the day, I expect. One of the initial reasons for looking for a dog was for a walking and exercise companion as well as company/added security while I am home alone. The walks will be rain, hail or shine even in summer with my Husbands shifts we can walk in the coolest parts of the day/night, And winter is good because you can walk pretty much any time. I live in Perth so we don't have to worry about rain very much Ideally it would be great to leave the dog inside while we were out, but my Husband isn't keen on this, even the cats go into their 'room' (spare bedroom with a cat door in window to outside enclosure) when we leave the house

We are looking at a Bull Terrier, breed wise, but am curious about other dogs in this situation too, say, for instance, a Dobermann.

[dancinbcs]

It depends on the breed and the age. Most adult dogs would cope fine with that arrangement but some puppies need more room. I won't sell a Border Collie puppy to anyone without a yard at least 10m x 20m because BC puppies need access to that much running space from about 5 weeks old.They prefer an acre or two but most cope ok with a suburban yard. As puppies they do self exercise and need enough space for several zoomies sessions a day.

Other breeds can be much more placid so the need for space is not as great.

[conztruct]

Interested to get others takes on this.

Our dog (when we get one!) will spend most of it's time inside, and will get 2 long walks per day plus 'play time' at the park. We will also be doing obedience training etc. I work part time and my Husband works shifts, we are rarely at work at the same time so pretty much the only time the dog would be in the yard is if we go out together, so perhaps a total of five hours in a week. It will no doubt end up being less than that as we will incorporate the dog into most of our activities that we do together on our weekend day together. We plan to have plenty of things to keep the dog occupied while we are gone.

We have very small yard, though we have brick fencing and colourbond fencing and it is very secure. However, the size of our yard seems to be a hurdle for us. Am I right in thinking that a dog only needs a large yard if it isn't being regularly walked? Our dog would be spending the same amount of time outside whether we had a small yard or a big yard.

I don't think the size of your yard matters one bit. As you've mentioned it's about what you're prepared to do with your dog.....and what you've got planned seems fine to me.

[lanabanana]

I think that much excercise sounds pretty good, a tiny yard will be fine.

We have quite a big yard and I am pretty sure while we are at work all day the dogs sleep.

The do occasionally do Zoomies round the back yard together (without any encouragement from me) but this is always very short lived so they don't use the yard that much. Though having a big yard means there is always plenty of room for new poop LOL.

My dogs usually wait to run round like maniacs for us to come home and let them inside - not really sure why they don't do it while they are in the back yard - aparently there aren't enough obstacles out there.

[Beth.]

We have about half an acre and our dogs hardly ever run around by themselves (sometimes Lottie makes the older border collie do zoomies with her, haha!!), but it's mainly when we go out and kick the ball with them they run in the yard, but we take our dogs out pretty much everyday - lots of places to explore out there, haha, most of the time they just sleep!!!

[TerraNik]

Our yard is just one big toilet to the dogs... They live inside and they're only out in the yard for toilet time! My girl will do zoomies in the backyard, but the majority of their exercise is done off our property.

[macka]

I don't think it's that important if you're committed to exercise out and about.

When I only had one dog it definitely wasn't important. Now that I have two, they do go and play with each other out there and do zoomies, so it's kinda nice that they can do that.

And very occasionally if I come home absolutely dead tired, we go out there and play fetch and other games instead of a walk. Not that often though.

Basically, it's nice to have but if you don't have it, it's not the end of the world.

[Meea]

I have had huge yards and tiny inner city yards and the dogs have treated them the same. Sleepies until walkies!

[indigirl]

I have a yard thats considered small here in a rural town, but would probably be considered average in suberbia. I think my block is approx 600 sq m. The house is right at the front of the block though which makes the yard seem a little larger. The yard is fenced into seperate areas. One third of the yard is for the two larger dogs - a golden and a kelpie cross, and the other two thirds of the yard is for my 4 iggies. My iggies self exercise in thier yard and are forever doing zoomies and racing around. None of them are keen on going on 'walks' as such so I play with them in the yard and they are happy to race around madly on and off all day. The 2 larger dogs use thier part of the yard as a loo and somewhere to pass the time while Im at work. They have a stock watering trough as a pool, loads of toys etc but really they mostly jsut lay around.

The 2 larger dogs are exercised with walks. They also love running around and playing fetch with me before dark out the back, when i open up the gate between the two yards (after the iggies are safely indoors). I try to take the golden to obedience but I confess I am a little slack.

All my dogs are inside the house with me when Im home. They all sleep inside and if its super cold/wet/really hot they are all inside 24/7. I wouldnt like to have my dogs in a yard thats any smaller than they have. The iggies need the space to run and play, and the bigger dogs need to be able to move around a little. If i could afford it I would love to live on acreage, mainly because i have neighbour issues.

I have had 3 shade sails installed in the backyard, plus a small carport for shelter from the elemenents. They also have the back verandah of the house, along with an assortment of kennels etc. The bigger dogs yard is all concrete as my golden has a digging fetsih. The iggies yard is a mixture of lawn and paving. I also have a long small side yard - approx 2m x 10m, that is half roofed. This yard is connected to the hosue via a doggy door, and this is the yard my elderly sheltie has access to while Im at work, its also concreted. This yard was designed for when I have a bitch with pups so she can get outside to relieve herself without having to go near the other dogs.

My yard although not perferct works for me. However I have spent a lot of money installing fencing, gates, concrete and shade sails to make the yard work for me and my dogs. When I can afford it I plan to add a room onto the back of the house which will be a dog room. At the moment the dog room is the enclosed verandah, and while it works ok I would love more space. Once this room is built all the dogs will be able to access the aircon/heated house during the day without me having to come home from work and bring them indoors.

I dont think a large yard is needed so much as a planned yard, especially for multidog households. If my yard was just a large open space theres no way it would work for me.

[ESCS]

We have a large yard. We got this house specifically for the size of the yard as we had always wanted a dog. Our dog spends less than 30 minutes a day running around in it (many days not at all). He much prefers to be inside or in one of the garden beds digging a path through the mulch. Perhaps we should have got a larger house with a smaller yard?!!!!

He gets most of his exercise from his daily walks and sleeps or rests for much of the day. We bring him along as much as possible when we go out and he seems to enjoy these outings more than being on his own in the yard.