Why do people in the pet/dog section always expect for owners to let their dogs live in their house?
I see people in my neighborhood all the time have a dog house and their dogs are always outside in their dog house.
My friends all have dog houses in their backyard and let them sleep their.
I mean if it was a pup baby dog, I might understand or a small dog over all. But what if the are big, and you see they need to go outside?
LIVING outside 24/7 is not ok. Dogs want to be indoors with their family. As they should – They are not lawn ornaments. Most people who ban their dogs to the outdoors do not properly care for them, and should not have had them in the first place.
LIVING outside 24/7 is not ok. Dogs want to be indoors with their family. As they should – They are not lawn ornaments. Most people who ban their dogs to the outdoors do not properly care for them, and should not have had them in the first place.
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Dogs have a pack mentality. They want to be with the family. To be honest, leaving them alone all the time, for a dog, is like punishment. It’s one thing to have them outside for a SHORT TIME if you won’t be home, but all day is just cruel.
If someone’s worried about the dog being "too big" to be inside the home, then why would they get a dog in the first place? Doesn’t make much sense to me…
EDIT;;
I see the point in a WORKING or HERDING dog being outside, but a dog that does nothing? My dogs are both companions (though the larger wolf mix is used sometimes for sledding when it snows), so they are both inside dogs. We have a dog door that allows them to go inside or outside, and they both choose to remain inside.
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I have FAMILY, not ‘dogs’
It is much better to have the dog living indoors with the family. They love company and they are part of the family. My dog stays indoors while I go to work but I get up at 0500 hours to take him for a 30 minute walk before I go to work and he goes to the toilet then. He has another walk as soon as I get home. He has never had an accident indoors while I have been at work. He would be too cold in the winter outside. He sleeps on my bed at night. It is important that owners select the right type of dog for their lifestyle, size of house, budget and most of all their COMMITMENT. A dog is a huge responsibility and you have to have their needs sorted out for 24 hours a day.
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Very experienced dog owner
If those same people visit my part of the country they are going to be sorely disappointed. I live in a small village in farming country and the majority of dogs (and cats) here have never seen the inside of a house, and never will.
Of what use is a herding dog or a watch dog in a house. Their duties demand that they be outdoors 24/7. That’s why these people got the dog in the first place. My own dog only comes in at night. He cannot tolerate the heat of the house during the day. And my cats are out hunting all day; we gather them up at night and place them inside the house too.
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I agree with one trick pony. I live in rural australia where 80 per cent of the dogs here are working dogs & are kept outside every day & night!! our heelers were ALWAYS outside and they lived happy lives they had no interest being inside.. i’d love to see a st bernard living in a house.. would be pure gold! some people clearly don’t realise that pack animals belong outside!! what do you think the wolves aare doing?? having a tea party in a nice cozy house by the fire?? I think not dogs belong outside!
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lots of people asking questions on here about leaving there dog outside 24/7 are just seeking confirmation to leave their dog outside without family, social interaction and want solace for their own guilt from doing this.
Let’s face it, most loving dog owners don’t ask..Is it ok to leave my dog outside? Do they!!
What it boils down to is whether we love our dogs enough to allow them social interaction inside under our terms, whether we enjoy their company inside and whether or not we really want the dog to be a part of OUR lives or part OF our lives.
Dogs are not statements for ownership they are companions that should be treated as such. They are a valuable asset to the human race in many ways, leaving them in a back yard to their own devices 24/7 is a waste of it’s life and capabilities.
My dogs stay outside in a kennel some times but they also come inside because I value their company.
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Better question would be why do people get dogs if they are going to live outside 24/7? Dogs are social creatures and require more than a yard and dog house. They need family and companionship..regardless of size.
I have always had large/giant dogs (Doberman, St. Bernard, now Great Danes). They live in my house, sleep in my bed.
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Leaving a dog outside 24/7 is no better than animal cruelty in my opinion.
My granny’s neighbour had a beautifully oversized German Shepard (totally naturally big, and I mean tall, not fat.), that they deemed too big to be in their house. If your house is too small, do not buy a big dog. A dog is not meant to be outside 24/7 like a pretty ornament. Because of this mistreatment, the dog suffered major frostbite in the winter, which they didn’t notice for a good year before they found out he was suffering. He lost his entire leg because of that. On top of that, because he was in a small area in their backyard, he basically had nowhere to use the bathroom, and lived in his own feces. His water came from rain, and they put gave him no contact besides feeding him. He was lucky if in the summer his water came from a hose. His only shelter was an undersized doghouse made of old wood.
I own a large dog myself. If I see he has to go outside, then I do what a smart owner would do. TAKE THE DOG OUTSIDE. I would never put my dog outside in a dog house. Think, would you like to be put in a dog house? No. They like it as much as you do.
They deserve a nice home, not stuck outside in the raging weather. Hell, if my bed was big enough, my retriever would be in here with me right now.
I mean, I can understand if it was nice weather, and the dog owner was outside with them or something, but they should be inside at least at night, and during the coldest of times. Never all the time.
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Owning dogs for 19 years.
Most people throw their dogs out 24/7 without thinking about what KIND of dog they have. Most dogs do not have the right coat or temperament to live outside where they are exposed to all types of weather and essentially isolated from the family. I personally don’t sell pups to people who intend to leave them outside all the time because the temperament of the breed lends itself to being aloof and territorial. Chaining a dog outside exacerbates those qualities.
ADD: There is a huge difference between having working dogs that spend all their time outside with the flock (and probably other dogs) doing what they are bred to do and having a dog chained up to a dog house all day long. They are bred to have the right coat and temperament for the job, otherwise they would not be doing it? Right? That is very different.
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If a dog is big I’d advise to have the dog outside unless the dog is properly trained inside the house and will destroy the house.Personally,I’d never own a big dog & even if I did the dog would have never been allowed inside
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dog owner
Different countries have different ideas about dogs. I remember back when hunters said you can not keep a hunting dog in the house and expect it to perform in the field…..how wrong they were.
Herding breeds do need to work, but they do not need to spend the whole night outside when their flocks are back in the barn. Great Pyrenees are bred for guarding, and one of the few breeds that still seem to have that instinct. When the flocks are outside , that dog needs to be there with them, but if they go in a barn, the dog can come in the house.
I love the answer that dogs are not "lawn ornaments"……..so true regardless of what some think.
The majority of dogs in our country (America) are not working dogs anymore, most of that instinct has been bred out, and they need to be with family, not outside alone.
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Breeder, retired
Competition obedience trainer and handler for 40 years…..I think I’ve seen and heard it all……LOL
You must live in a rural area because where I live (suburbs of Chicago) all the dogs are indoor dogs.
As it should be. Dogs are pack animals and you are their pack.
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Your question is assuming that all breeds are the same, which is incorrect.
Many breeds do not do well outside, and could die from exposure, even in warmer climates. Many of those breeds were not bred to live outside, they were bred as companion dogs.
"But what if the are big, and you see they need to go outside?"
This question actually makes me laugh. If your dog needs to go outside, you take the dog outside. Basic house training, which people who don’t bother to teach their dogs any house manners would not understand.
Working dogs are working dogs. They need to be out working. However, many of the herding breeds are very loyal and attached to their owners-which by the way, they are bred to be!, so leaving them outside 24/7 creates some pretty unhappy and potentially dangerous dogs. I have seen some.
I do not understand the reference to puppies vs adult dogs. Your dog either lives in the house or not. There should be no difference.
I feel sorry for your friend’s dogs. They will never get enough attention and training living outside 24/7. And I am going to make an assumption that they are not working dogs, because you sound young.
And as for the reference to "tea parties", my 8 dogs have been to many "tea parties", and are always well-behaved. That is the difference between putting time and effort into your dog, or just letting the poor thing live outside wild.
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8 dogs in the house. No worries. Live in an area that has both working dogs and house pets. Most of the working dogs live inside at night-they are also part of the family.
I don’t expect to have a say & nor would I volunteer an opinion unless expressly asked in the choices anyone else makes on behalf of their dog, just for me & mine.
That said, dogs are pack not solitary animals & I cannot see the point in purchasing one pet/hobby dog then kennelling or leaving it outside for a prolonged length of time & my pack orientated Dobermanns live inside the house with me & it has never caused a problem.
What I do not agree with is purchasing one or more dogs [typically with little thought given to the amount of time required to meet its basic needs to be fair to it] & kennel outside, then provide food, water & exercise, but little or no interaction with its owner/s beyond that.
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I have no problem with people who PROPERLY care for their dogs that live outside. I have a friend with two golden retrievers that live outside during the day, and sleep in kennels in the garage at night. However, they are well socialized, and are taken for daily walks
Most people who have dogs in their yards throw them out in the backyard, build them a dog house, put food out for them every night, and forget about them. Most outside only dogs are severely underdeveloped socially, because they are not properly socialized, let alone trained.
Also, anyone that does not have a 6 foot privacy fence with a padlocked gate is just asking for their dog to get stolen if they leave it outside unsupervised. And anyone that stores chemicals in a place that the dogs could even barely get to should not let their dogs outside unsupervised either. A lot of people have come home to dead dogs in the backyard because of this.
There are SO many things that could go wrong: poisoning, theft, escaping, being attacked by another dog, etc. if you leave your dog outside.
NO dog, no matter how big, is too big to live inside. If you don’t have a big enough house for a big dog, get a smaller dog.
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they don’t need to live outside 24/7. If it’s a working dog, that’s different story. They must be outdoors to do their job.But dogs left in the yard are typically left to rot. They’re pack animals, they belong with their pack.
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Well, I have an outside/inside dog. He is house-trained, socialized, walked, groomed, etc. everyday. He gets to come into the house about 4 days a week and will sit by the door when he wants to go back outside for the day. He’s not completely outside or inside dog. Kind of half and half. People think when dogs are outside, they aren’t taken care of. That’s not true about them all! Taylor eats twice a day (summer,fall and spring), gets lots of pats, training, etc. Yes, he has a cage to sleep in the shed at night or when he wants to chill. I make sure in the summer, he isn’t too hot. If it’s "sticky" outside, I spray him down with cool water, ice cubes in water and let him into the small house out back with a ceiling fan to lay down and completely relax. He gets extra brushing because he sheds in summer and gets his rabies shot every 3 years. His nails are trimmed IF they get long at all.
Ears are kept clean. Bones to chew to keep tartar build-up off. Bathed every month during summer. In the winter, his cage is covered with heavy duty plastic and a thick blanket; I stuff his cage full with warm hay and prop bricks against the shed door to keep the winter wind from blowing it open. In the winter, his meals are upped to 3 times a day. 1 warm meal and 2 dry. The water is heated also to keep it from freezing and he won’t be licking solid ice. I check on him 3 times a day in winter, plus playing with him in the cold until he decides he is cold and retreats to his shed. I have no problem with dogs living inside or outside as long as they are taken care of. It’s none of my business if people let dogs live out/in, everyone has Personal choices. I have an inside dog and inside/outside dog.
EDIT: The fence is privacy fence and chain link fence, 6ft and the gate is padlocked at all times. I just take Taylor through the house to get to the front door for a walk.
ADD: Thank you mr. curtis. Well said. Now we just need mr. greekman’s opinion (they would REALLY hate what he has to say. lol!)
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owns 2 dogs and a red eared slider named Pitbull
Dogs living outside is 100% OKAY. They are animals. They aren’t human children. This is why nearly every law in the United States of America regarding pet dogs says that they may be kept outdoors if food, water, and shelter are provided.
Now small dogs, dogs too young to fend the elements, dogs of the wrong…let’s say physiology ie a Malamute or Husky in Arizona outside or a short haired dog like a Mastiff or Pitbull in Alaska in the winter.
Dogs do NOT need human interaction 100% of the time.
Dogs are not children and can do fine if sheltered, watered, fed, and given attention. Now the argument of whether or not individuals who have outside dogs spend time with their dogs. Some do, some don’t. The ones who don’t shouldn’t have a dog at all, what’s the purpose? But legally it’s fine, and that’s the way it is.
That said, 98% of police dogs either stay at their department, alone, for the majority of their life, or go home with officers where they are kenneled outside of the home or crated. These dogs have fulfilling lives, and enjoy themselves more than almost any house pet and it’s not because police officers are magic or police dogs were "designed" some magical way to not need humans around 24/7, it’s because they’re given attention, exercise, food, water, shelter and good training. If you can do those things and keep your dog outdoors, you are a better dog owner than half of the people complaining about dogs living indoors who’s dogs are out of control, untrained, and overweight. This notion it’s okay for working dogs but not for "pets" is as ridiculous (and inherently unintelligent) as me saying the discrimination of one race of people is okay but not for another.
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Why have a dog if it’s just going to spend it’s life tied to a doghouse? What purpose does it serve other than to make the dog miserable? Would you have a child and keep him or her in a playpen constantly? Dogs are meant to be a part of the family and should be allowed indoors at least for part of the day and should be allowed to sleep inside. If they "have" to stay outside,they should have a fenced yard and plenty of toys and better yet,another dog as a companion, and the dogs should be walked and played with daily and allowed "house time" every day.
Edit: Working dogs are different. They are busy all day,doing a "job" that they love. They also interact with their owners quite a bit. A lot of them are allowed inside at night or during cold weather,and the ones that stay out all the time usually have heavy coats ( Great Pyrenees, Huskies,etc.). These dogs are not tied to a doghouse 24/7 so they do not get bored or lonely.
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I have always had big dogs inside. I have a German Shepherd, a large mutt, and a Chihuahua and they all live indoors.