outside dogs?

**lute** · 05-11-2005, 05:42 PM

what does everyone think about keeping dogs outside, but bringing him in at night? i have a friend that lives in a very small town and lets her dog out in the morning and he stays outside all day hangin around town or in her yard. she doesn't hook him up or fence him in or anything.

i'm afraid he's gonna get hit by a car, although there aren't many that go through her area. there are no leash laws in her town.

**CagneyDog** · 05-11-2005, 06:08 PM

I think it is incredibly cruel

So many things could happen to the dog while she is gone!!

**LKPike** · 05-11-2005, 06:17 PM

he shouldnt be roaming free around town, she should be aware of animal control, other dogs that get loose who arent so friendly, cars, someone taking him [even though he probably has a collar on? doesnt matter to some people looking for a "FREE" animal]

Les and I let Frankie run free at a "trail" in town, away from streets and in the country. He loves it, he wouldnt dare ever run away from us but Jillie will never be allowed off-leash. She just gets too confused too quickly...

**KYS** · 05-11-2005, 06:18 PM

Letting the dog roam around town is very unsafe.

**Muddy4paws** · 05-11-2005, 06:34 PM

Personally, I think its irresponsible and cruel, If you buy a dog you are responsible for their safety and letting them roam around like that is careless to be honest! anything could happen to the poor dog

I dont know about anyone else but I dont let my dogs out of my sight when they are out at the park or out walking

**Vette** · 05-11-2005, 07:10 PM

If people were 'responsible' enough to at least fence in their yard to keep their dog in a kennle.. there woudlnt be so many issues with Pit Bulls and dogs in general...

besides,, i dont see the point in having a dog in the first place if your just going to let it outside and forget about till you want to see it.. whether its fenced in or not.

**bckrazy** · 05-11-2005, 09:32 PM

You should definitely tell your friend to stop that. Now. She's putting her dog in huge danger of cars, cruel kids, vicious dogs, poisoners, and sooo much more! How does she know for sure that her dog will come back to her every night? He might be dognapped as a bait dog for pit fighting. . or brought into a shelter and euthanized before they can find him. There are also leash laws and stray dog laws. Allowing your dog to roam is a felony in the U.S., if he strays onto a highway or endangers people! I'm guessing her dog is not spayed/neutered also? Thats another huge issue with allowing him/her to roam.

I would never ever ever ever do that. Maybe 100 years ago it was decent to allow your dog to roam. . people had tons of property, no cars, no (or waay less) crazy cruel people running around. Now, its just not fair to the dog or to the public. Gonzo is kept inside when we leave, he has a dog door that he uses to go in and out during the day and he stays inside at night. He only has access to our 7 ft-fenced yard during the day, and he's ONLY off-leash in fenced areas or dog parks/trails. There are an amazing number of sickos in the world that go out searching for strays/backyard dogs to poison

**jesse_3** · 05-11-2005, 09:38 PM

That is totally irresponsible and cruel! No one should EVER leave their pets to roam free. It is dangerous. I've had two pets now die from cars, someone let Pepper loose, and he was runover, and Jewel, got away from me and got runover. It is a horrible experiance! Warn her/him that pain and sorrow will enter their house if they keep this up too long.

**lute** · 05-11-2005, 11:12 PM

bckrazy- the dog os neutered. he's up to date on all his shots and has a colar. they don't enforce leash laws and things like that where she lives. they don't have animal control or a shelter. i'v told her multiple times that she needs to keep him inside durring the day, but he gets really distructive. i told her to get a crate and she said she doesn't have the room for one. i siad what about a kennel to put up in the back yard. of course she had a reason not to get one. she didn't want to have something like that in her yard. she says they look "junky". he does come home every night. she's been doin this for like 8 years, but still, something could happen at any time.

i'd hate for the dog to loose his life just to teach her a lesson.

**cyber-sibes** · 05-11-2005, 11:25 PM

I can't imagine ever being ok with my dog having the run of the town. I would be sick with worry every minute. Loosing a dog to a car is an awful experience (I know). I had friends whose two beautiful golden retrievers eventually got nabbed on one of their runs about town. It's as bad as loosing one, because you don't ever really know what happened to them.
Sadly, your friend sounds like she's got all the answers. But at least you've tried to talk some sense into her. Bravo for your effort.

**lute** · 05-11-2005, 11:44 PM

Originally posted by cyber-sibes
I can't imagine ever being ok with my dog having the run of the town. I would be sick with worry every minute. Loosing a dog to a car is an awful experience (I know). I had friends whose two beautiful golden retrievers eventually got nabbed on one of their runs about town. It's as bad as loosing one, because you don't ever really know what happened to them.
Sadly, your friend sounds like she's got all the answers. But at least you've tried to talk some sense into her. Bravo for your effort.

thank you. i've tried. i still bring it up about every time i see her.

i know the feeling of loosing a pet and having no idea what happened.

**BitsyNaceyDog** · 05-12-2005, 06:32 AM

My grandparent's lab was a "free roaming" dog. They had no fence and he stayed outside all day without being tied up. The difference was they live on a farm. He stayed with my grandpa most of the day but walked across the road to see my sister and me and play in the fields. He was never in any danger. All the dogs around there were free roaming farm dogs. We lived miles out of town and there wasn't anywhere for him to wander to, (okay so he could've wondered several miles into town had he wanted to, but he never did). There was always someone there to look out for him, if my grandparents weren't home there was my parents, my uncle, my great uncle, my great aunt, my cousin, the list goes on. It was a big dairy farm and the whole family lived right in a row. He always came in at night. I personally think it was an awesome life for him, he lived to be 14 years old and he was one of the happiest dogs in the world.