House Dogs Questions

[woodbyne]

Hi

I have always had big dogs and my husband doesn't like them in the house. They come in one at a time in the nights rotating. I haven't had an inside dog ever and next year i'm looking thinking of getting a smaller breed to show.

If i have it inside in the day ("it " cause i don't care if its male or female at this stage i'm still in the thinking stage) when i'm at work let it out whn i get home how long do people leave them outside for do they need a certain amount of sunlight to ensure they grow properly we don't get any directsun inside our place as we have a verandah right the way around. The dog would be confined to the hard surface areas until it was at least toilet trainined amd not going to destroy the whole house Would it get enough exercise being inside/ My big dogs are in runs when we are at work and play with toys and run around etc but was worried that an inside dog wouldn't get enought attention. Oh i'm looking at a jack as i want to show and do obedience and agility. Also does the dog thats inside all the time become a bit blarzay about its owners if its with them all the time and then not want to do things like obedience and agility? Like i said i haven't commited to anything actually haven't even looked at breeders etc just sorting out some thing in my head.

[poodlefan]

Oh i'm looking at a jack as i want to show and do obedience and agility.

How seriously do you want to do obedience and agility. Are you are novice handler?

To answer the other questions, most pups should have one hours access to unfiltered sunlight every day. No pup will develop fully confined inside and a JRT - such an active breed - would probably go spare.

Could the pup be in a run during the day and inside at night?

[woodbyne]

I have trialled my old dog (now passed away)to UD standard but that was now 9 years ago far out i had to work it out time has certainly flown.....

It certainly could go in a run in the day or when evercould be in the run in the day that certainly wouldn't be a problem

i would like it inside more than my current LARGE dogs. I want to compete in trials but don't care about winning just want to get back into it wiht like minded people:)

Oh i'm looking at a jack as i want to show and do obedience and agility.

How seriously do you want to do obedience and agility. Are you are novice handler?

To answer the other questions, most pups should have one hours access to unfiltered sunlight every day. No pup will develop fully confined inside and a JRT - such an active breed - would probably go spare.

Could the pup be in a run during the day and inside at night?

[persephone]

The dog would be confined to the hard surface areas until it was at least toilet trainined amd not going to destroy the whole house

and this could be 2 months or 12, depending on your training

I don't think a pup/dog should be indoors all the time IF an outdoor area is available.

You also need to consider your big dogs' reaction to a smaller dog!! If they are unused to puppies and small dogs ,and other dogs at their house- you could have some work to do

..and small dogs are often MUCH more energetic and noisy than larger dogs ;)

[becks]

The pup will be fine inside, it isn't a plant and won't die from lack of sunshine lol lol!! That's not to say that you shouldn't take the dog outside and spend time with them to play, exercise and train along with socialising.

of course indoor dogs will work for you, i have never had a problem with that, you may even find you have a better bond with this dog then the 2 you have outside who spend all the time playing with each other - how much time do you spend with them as individuals with training etc??

The only issues I can see is how you will house train a dog when you are out all day and the pup getting bored on their own all day

[raineth]

Would it cause any issues to have a pup come and for it to have more access to inside and to the humans than the outside dogs?

I mean would it foster jealousy and bad relations between the established outside dogs and the new comer because its kind of like treating the pup as higher in the order of things than the other two dogs?

[felix]

The pup will be fine inside, it isn't a plant and won't die from lack of sunshine lol lol!!

I am sorry, but this is not quite correct. Sun light is essential for Vitamin D production in the body, and Vitamin D is essential for bone growth, calcium absorption and some other things.

If there is not enough exposure to sun light, you would have to give the dog Vitamin D supplement. BTW, this also applies to humans as well.

[tikira]

Is there any chance you can add a small dog/cat door? Will your big dogs get on with a pup? My Jack Russell's best friends were a german shepherd, a white shepherd, 2 Golden retrievers, a bernese mountain dog and a huski. They played rough, and more often than not Tip would end up half way down a sheppie mouth as they tried to lick him to death, but he loved every moment.

He loved agility, but obedience was a struggle if there were birds or rabbits around. He could have done okay in agility, he was fast and focused, and he loved it, but things changed and we stopped going.

I was home with mine, and he toilet trained quickly, as he had access to outdoors, but the destructiveness took a couple of years to sort out, (and only got better when we got our Border Collie). Our house smelled of vicks vapor-rub for years, but he never touches anything that doesn't belong to him now- but then he is seven.

Di

[fuzzy82]

The pup will be fine inside, it isn't a plant and won't die from lack of sunshine lol lol!!

I am sorry, but this is not quite correct. Sun light is essential for Vitamin D production in the body, and Vitamin D is essential for bone growth, calcium absorption and some other things.

If there is not enough exposure to sun light, you would have to give the dog Vitamin D supplement. BTW, this also applies to humans as well.

I find this very hard to believe. There are countries where it's cloudy and rains for weeks at a time, yet breeders still successfully raise puppies without giving them supplements, and wolves also manage to breed in these countries.

Plus, the only parts on a dog exposed to the sun are the nose and the top of the bottom eye lids, and possibly the inside of the ears if the dog has upright ears, so even if you do take them out every day they get very little exposure to sunlight.

Also, in many parts of the world it's too hot to take a dog out in the sun, and yet there are healthy dogs all over the world.

My 4 month old puppy doesn't get regular walks, and he's an indoor dog and we only go out for toilet breaks during the day, because it's too hot to be in the sun, and he seems to be growing just fine and is perfectly healthy, and I don't give him supplements.

[poodlefan]

The pup will be fine inside, it isn't a plant and won't die from lack of sunshine lol lol!!

I am sorry, but this is not quite correct. Sun light is essential for Vitamin D production in the body, and Vitamin D is essential for bone growth, calcium absorption and some other things.

If there is not enough exposure to sun light, you would have to give the dog Vitamin D supplement. BTW, this also applies to humans as well.

I find this very hard to believe. There are countries where it's cloudy and rains for weeks at a time, yet breeders still successfully raise puppies without giving them supplements, and wolves also manage to breed in these countries.

Plus, the only parts on a dog exposed to the sun are the nose and the top of the bottom eye lids, and possibly the inside of the ears if the dog has upright ears, so even if you do take them out every day they get very little exposure to sunlight.

Also, in many parts of the world it's too hot to take a dog out in the sun, and yet there are healthy dogs all over the world.

My 4 month old puppy doesn't get regular walks, and he's an indoor dog and we only go out for toilet breaks during the day, because it's too hot to be in the sun, and he seems to be growing just fine and is perfectly healthy, and I don't give him supplements.

Lets see how his teething goes.

Ever heard of rickets? That's Vitamin D deficiency in action. Used to be pretty common in pups once upon a time. The fact that you don't give your puppy supplements doesn't mean he's not getting in in his food - its a common additive to processed foods. Or do you feed an all raw diet?

Sunshine, dairy products and Cod liver oil are sources of Vitamin D. Cod liver oil has been given to dogs and kids for decades. You don't need actually bright sunshine to get Vitamin D - you do need to be outside or receive it via supplementation or diet.

Edited November 25, 2010 by poodlefan

[Max#1]

And its fat-soluble - along with vitamin A, E and K - so the body can store excess. Unlike the water-soluble vitamins, which need to be consumed regularly.

[DaisyDog]

a lack of sunshine also causes depression.

[dee lee]

I think everyone is being overly dramatic.

The OP said they would be allowing the new dog outside time- just will be having it inside during the day when no-one is home.

My dog is in this situation and gets plenty of sunlight when her humans aren't out or working.

Edited November 25, 2010 by ✽deelee

[Jennt]

Our Charlie is an inside dog. He's a llasa x bichon and he is what I would class as between a small dog and a medium dog and although he LOVES a walk he does not suffer for not having one - particularly since he is very good at persuading someone to play with him and his squeaky toys inside (or outside) quite frequently. He has a never-ending supply of toys to play with each day so he doesn't get bored (he loves loves loves his FuzzYard toys and they just last and last and last where the other toys get mauled and unstuffed.

He's inside when we're all at work/university/school and then when someone is home the back door is left open. Generally though he only chooses to go outside by himself for toileting otherwise he is "glue" to whoever is home. I'm very happy with this because although we live in Sydney we live right near the bush and we know that there are snakes lurking (pretty obvious when you find brown snakes in your pool filter box...) and I don't want to leave him outside for a day and come home to a dead dog...

When everyone is at work/university/school he spends from 7.30am to 3.30pm at home with no door open to the outside. He is 1.5 years old and very well trained (although it probably took 8 months to be this good) and will hold on until he can go outside. We do still have a puppy pad on the floor of the laundry "just in case" he has a problem and I do remember to show it to him every now and then to remind him :-)

PS: Charlie definitely is not a depressed dog due to lack of light - we live in a very light, open plan house...

Edited November 25, 2010 by Jennt

[raineth]

actually i was under the impression that dogs don't get vitamin D the same way we do.

besides we here in Australia only need 5 minutes of sunshine to get our daily dose of vit D.

So when she takes him out before and after work he would probably get that much anyway.

[Aidan3]

As I understand it, dogs make Vit D on their fur through exposure to UV-B from the sun, which they then ingest through grooming. We are exposed to UV-B in the middle of the day.

Current recommendations for humans are being challenged by science, and it could be that the recommended 10-15 mins per day sun exposure for dogs is not nearly enough. See: http://lewrockwell.com/miller/miller25.html for an opinion (make of it what you will).