Inside Dogs And Geographical Location

[Weasels]

I agree with others that for the majority of dogs the amount of time they get to spend with their humans is way more important to them than whether they can see sky or not. My dogs are mostly inside by their own choice, but I am almost certain they would be willing to trade that in for the kind of schedule that Mixeduppup described!

[megan_]

So you're saying that outside owners are inside 22 hours a day?

What if I said that I was outside from 6am until 8am back inside for breakfast and study for 2 hours back out side for a 2 hours walk, then back home for some training until lunch. Then back outside a couple of hours later (dogs have eaten and are sleeping) grab a leash and off we walk again for another 2 hours then homes, fun and food. My dogs are my life, apart from working on fridays they're all I have and all i do. Yes they're not allowed inside (apart from my JRT) but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed outside.

Cowanbee's post was referring to people who work full time.

Do you do this even if it is raining or hailing?

[mixeduppup]

If it's light rain and i and the dog have coats yes, but if it's heavy or hailing no I don't. They get lots of time on the back veranda but my dogs are pretty lazy in the heavy rain and like to sleep all day mainly, or if you're the Maremma and Gordon go out and roll around in the mud...

[TheCheekyMonster]

Dogs need a balance... human interaction, k9 interaction and alone time... if you are satisfying your dogs needs then there is no reason why a dog couldn’t be outside 24/7 as long as all needs were met..... having a dog is about adding another member to the family, sure... but IMO I think its more of a human emotion thing than dogs actually giving two hoots, if you have a happy healthy dog, mentally and physically thats all that should matter... humans mix up their emotions with the basics of dogs needs.

[Decadence]

Back a long time ago when I lived in the Northern Territory in a little mining town 45 kms from Tennant Creek every household had a dog. We didn't have yards, we lived in transportable homes in the desert. It was great for us kids and we ran wild out there, not caring about snakes or giant goanas in our town. It was the cattle which wandered through our town which was the most dangerous thing.

Anyway our dogs slept, ate and played inside at night, but would do their own thing during the day, including running around with the neighbours' dogs, following us to school and forcing mum to come and look for them. My dog never had a collar on until we moved to Adelaide. When we lived in "civilization" our dog had to learn that she could be inside with us, but there was no more roaming wherever she wanted. There was no more hooking up with the neighbourhood dogs. This created a lot of issues with her and as she did not understand traffic, she escaped from me one day and got hit by a car. Luckily it was minor and she recovered very quickly.

A part of me still wishes I could be a kid again with the dogs running free, so my dogs in suburbia always have doggy doors to go in and out as they please. I know I hate the feeling of being confined anywhere and though my dogs have a huge pen to sleep in at night, they can come in and out whenever they are not put to bed.

[rusty&biscuit]

Very interesting thread. My 3 dogs have different routines, but I'd say they're all mostly outside.

Cherry sleeps inside at night as I don't appreciate her killing wildlife. Besides she is much comfier in 'her' (my!) bed. Rusty is outside a lot of the time as he annoys the cat too much, and like Biscuit, eats her food. As the cat is a confused old girl who must stay inside at all times, I must take into account her well-being as Rusty is very annoying to her. Biscuit is also outside a lot of the time, and sleeps in a soft crate outside at night. I don't want him in as I feel bad for Rusty being outside alone, and if he's not in his crate he could easily get taken by a snake. I would much rather them all be inside more often, but dad doesn't like that as he grew up with keneled dogs and has a short temper, so gets easily frustrated by the boys' annoying habits :laugh: However lately they have all been inside more often, when they are clean and not smelly, Rusty and Biscuit get to sleep in my room some nights. As they are settling down I let them in when dad's not home. I plan on training them to stay on a mat when inside, so they still get to be close to us, but without Rusty's hair going all over the house. I spend a lot of time with them during the day, training and exercising them. So they are certainly not neglected. But I wouldn't crate them during the day, or at night when inside...I feel much safer with them to protect me :)

[BlaznHotAussies]

I have an outside dog, a Border Collie. He's partly working dog (goes on the ute to "help" my husband out/keep him company during the day) and partly pet (so he's useless with sheep :p but he's good company). I actually don't really like having him outside all the time - as soon as it warms up a bit I want to wash him (at the moment he's rather muddy and dusty from general dam swimming, running in mud, sitting on the ute, exploring under the house, other dog stuff...) and give him a 'mat' that he can sleep on inside on the lino.

I'm rather stingy with where dogs can go in the house :p definitely not on carpet and definitely NOT on the bed or couch ever. Probably a case of how I was bought up more than anything. We (oh, as in my family...before I was married) had a little dog who's now 14 who has always been an outside dog. Only ever was allowed inside for about 10 minutes when we washed her, after that she was back to "dog" status and had to stay outside :p still got plenty of fun - she loves going on the ute with dad, sunbathing, being bossed around by my little brother (or by me when I was younger and still at home)... Oh yeah and used to come along with me on my horse-rides :)

I think, on a farm, it's hard to have dogs inside - they go out and play in mud/dirt/dust and get covered in crap and dead sheep smell and ew. So unless you want to wash a dog every single day, hell to the no to having them inside

Edited July 11, 2012 by Scootaloo

[kayla1]

Mine are inside dogs but can go in or out through the doggy door, same for any fosters. They all follow me around - if I'm in the kitchen they'll all sit and watch, if I'm the lounge room they'll all be on the couch/beds, if I go outside they'll all come outside too etc. There are dog beds in nearly every room so they just make themselves comfortable wherever I happen to be. It's great because I love spending time with my dogs, even if it's just listening to their snoring while I'm working at the computer, and I love it when we are all together. :)

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

In Europe dogs live inside too. I'm from Europe so my dogs are inside.

While I get the logic of keeping dogs outside while you're at work, I really don't see the point in getting a dog and then keeping it outside full time. Where's the enjoyment in that? Around here there are several houses where they have SWF, and they are left outside at night, even in the cold spell we've had lately. Fair enough for dogs that get too hot inside, but SWF are lap dogs, they're supposed to be with their families.

Also, I would never keep mine outside, they might bark, we might get complaints, someone could poison them, someone could steal them, kids might open the gate for them. Plus, because my dogs live inside, they are much more comfy inside than outside. When left outside if we go out somewhere they usually stress and run from door to door wondering when they will be let in, while if they're inside they just go to sleep until we get back.

And when we walk through the neighbourhood at night, nearly every house has a dog in the yard that barks at us as we walk past, which sets off the other dogs on the street. I personally wouldn't appreciate being woken up late at night by barking dogs.

I agree with all of the above. Whilst I understand some dogs definitely like to be outside, usually all dogs like to be inside with their owners and when it's cold, they definitely prefer the warmth of the house to being outside. Outside animals are more prone to arthritis and can get plagued by insects, not much fun.

[mixeduppup]

In Europe dogs live inside too. I'm from Europe so my dogs are inside.

While I get the logic of keeping dogs outside while you're at work, I really don't see the point in getting a dog and then keeping it outside full time. Where's the enjoyment in that? Around here there are several houses where they have SWF, and they are left outside at night, even in the cold spell we've had lately. Fair enough for dogs that get too hot inside, but SWF are lap dogs, they're supposed to be with their families.

Also, I would never keep mine outside, they might bark, we might get complaints, someone could poison them, someone could steal them, kids might open the gate for them. Plus, because my dogs live inside, they are much more comfy inside than outside. When left outside if we go out somewhere they usually stress and run from door to door wondering when they will be let in, while if they're inside they just go to sleep until we get back.

And when we walk through the neighbourhood at night, nearly every house has a dog in the yard that barks at us as we walk past, which sets off the other dogs on the street. I personally wouldn't appreciate being woken up late at night by barking dogs.

I agree with all of the above. Whilst I understand some dogs definitely like to be outside, usually all dogs like to be inside with their owners and when it's cold, they definitely prefer the warmth of the house to being outside. Outside animals are more prone to arthritis and can get plagued by insects, not much fun.

I disagree, my dogs are on a strict flea control spot on treatment and have never had a flea. It's all about the level of care you provide.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

I agree with all of the above. Whilst I understand some dogs definitely like to be outside, usually all dogs like to be inside with their owners and when it's cold, they definitely prefer the warmth of the house to being outside. Outside animals are more prone to arthritis and can get plagued by insects, not much fun.

I disagree, my dogs are on a strict flea control spot on treatment and have never had a flea. It's all about the level of care you provide.

I suspect dogmad is also talking about flies and mosquitos. They are easier to control indoors than outdoors.

[mixeduppup]

I agree with all of the above. Whilst I understand some dogs definitely like to be outside, usually all dogs like to be inside with their owners and when it's cold, they definitely prefer the warmth of the house to being outside. Outside animals are more prone to arthritis and can get plagued by insects, not much fun.

I disagree, my dogs are on a strict flea control spot on treatment and have never had a flea. It's all about the level of care you provide.

I suspect dogmad is also talking about flies and mosquitos. They are easier to control indoors than outdoors.

This is true, we don't really have a problem with either here, if your yard is really kept clean then flies don't get very bad and we have mosquito coils going on the back veranda (out of reach of canids) 24/7 during summer. We've never really been prone to either. Too far inland for ticks as well. We're in a good area for low amounts of creepy crawlies, a lot of my friends are closer to the coast and aren't so lucky with ticks and mozzies though. they use a spray to keep the mozzies off their old kelpie dog.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I agree with all of the above. Whilst I understand some dogs definitely like to be outside, usually all dogs like to be inside with their owners and when it's cold, they definitely prefer the warmth of the house to being outside. Outside animals are more prone to arthritis and can get plagued by insects, not much fun.

I disagree, my dogs are on a strict flea control spot on treatment and have never had a flea. It's all about the level of care you provide.

I suspect dogmad is also talking about flies and mosquitos. They are easier to control indoors than outdoors.

This is true, we don't really have a problem with either here, if your yard is really kept clean then flies don't get very bad and we have mosquito coils going on the back veranda (out of reach of canids) 24/7 during summer. We've never really been prone to either. Too far inland for ticks as well. We're in a good area for low amounts of creepy crawlies, a lot of my friends are closer to the coast and aren't so lucky with ticks and mozzies though. they use a spray to keep the mozzies off their old kelpie dog.

Not everyone is so diligent and even if you keep your backyard clean, you may be in an area like me which is plagued by flies. I cannot spend any time in the yard without covering myself in Aeroguard or I get bitten by them. I spray the dogs too but my neighbours had a dog whose ears were almost eaten away, it was horrific. I've also seen two Huskies at separate times, in a Sydney pound, with half their ears missing due to fly bite.

Anyhow, my dogs are like my family so they are with me, not outside.

Edited July 11, 2012 by dogmad

[mixeduppup]

Fair enough! I would keep them inside if I had issues with fly bite. Luckily where we live we're very lucky so far.

[Rozzie]

Don't know why, my Belgian would never come inside. May have had something to do with the horrors he endured in his first 6 months. He would sleep right at the backdoor but never put a paw inside.

[Tia]

I've always grown up with the dogs living outdoors. They were walked and trained by my father daily and back then as kids we were also outside most the day playing with dogs.

I continued on with what I'd grown up with until we got our rescue cats a couple of years ago. Living on national Park it's safer for the wildlife and themselves to stay inside luckily we have a large house for them to play in.

Having just got Honey she is to be our first indoor dog (please God hurry with this toilet training) . Where I live now our yard is limited and needs to be re-fenced before she becomes fully grown so she needs constant supervision. (Hopefully I'll have moved by then). When I take Honey to my mums I love that she has a large safe yard to play in.

To me having Honey inside is great but I also want her to have a safe yard to spend a couple of hours in playing and sunning herself, so in that sense eventually she'll be an indoor/ outdoor dog decided by what she wants.

As long as the dog has protection from the elements and plenty of attention from humans I think it's a personal choice for the owner.

[BJean]

I am not a fan of outside dogs and as a breeder if there is any hint of it the home would be automatically turned down. Even in the best of homes with owners working full time I don't see how the dog gets the time, attention and company it should. Allowing perhaps an hour for walks even if you sit outside with them for another hour that still means the dog is alone for 22hrs a day. Obviously there are some exceptions to this but I know a number of people with outside dogs and I am not a big fan.

This.

Except I would write it from the point of view that I am not a fan of inside dogs, and any hint from the potential home that they would be keeping their dog inside for most of the time would be automatically turned down.

What I do find odd is when some owners believe they are better owners for having their dogs inside all the time, allowing them outside to eliminate only, when this fashion of dog ownership does not offer the dogs enough vitamin D nor enough free stretched out movement of their joints. Many of these same people would rubbish owners for having a small backyard for their dogs, yet they feel it is OK to keep their dogs inside their home in the same amount of space or less. Puzzles me.

I think dogs should be able to exhibit normal dog behaviours by fossicking, digging, eating grass etc for at least some part of each day and absorb as much of the suns' rays as they require.

Exactly.

Edited July 11, 2012 by lilli

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I should just say that my dogs have a doggie door and are often found sunbaking outside during the warmer weather.

Given the choice - especially at this time of year - they much prefer to be inside.

I've rescued many a dog that has obviously never been in a house - i've housetrained many, many dogs but in some cases I've also had to overcome the traumas they've obviously gone through as punishment for even attempting to go inside a house. Usually it takes up to a week to overcome their fear and to learn that I won't hurt them. A sad indictment.

Edited July 11, 2012 by dogmad

[Dame Aussie]

My 45kg Anatolian slept on the bed with me last night

Having said that he spends a lot of time in the yard aswell, patrolling :)

Edited July 11, 2012 by Aussie3

[cowanbree]

My ideal home has a dog door into a fully fenced yard so they have the choice. I find my oldies prefer being inside with me the majority of the time but my younger dogs make full use of the acre I have and spend a lot of time outside being dogs before they come inside to snuggle on the couch. They are also outside in their kennel area while I am not home so they have the best of both worlds.

There are lifestyles that are suited to outside dogs. Farmers for instance, the dog spend all day with their owners and are quite content to sit on the porch alone at night but the average pet owner with an outside dog spends very little time with them from my observation especially over winter.