Our place is not as remote as your friend's.

The people who live there now have lived there for over 30 years. Their dog is really old and always off leash. The neighbors have a dog that's so old he can't really leave the house anymore, but when he was younger he was off leash. Then of course there are the working dogs on the farms.

That's why I was wondering if maybe running loose was not as dangerous as I had thought.

There is a very nice dog who comes over and visits the place we're buying. He's a big shepherd/collie mix. I know that when he comes in the yard, Max is going to be just going crazy, wanting to play with him.

Maybe instead of letting Max run loose, I can build a big kennel and let that dog come in and play with him. That would be the best of both worlds.

The road is so full of potholes that cars can't really go very fast on it, so I'm not really worried about anybody getting hit by a car - I am worried that, like your friend's dog, one of the dogs might get shot.

So - I guess there's really not much of a decision to be made. I will feel so terrible keeping them penned up, though, when there's so much fun for them to do out there. You'd think country dogs could have more fun than city dogs, but I guess they really can't do so safely.

I'm just thinking aloud here. Decisions, decisions.