How do you feel about outside only pets?

[petslover]

Ziggy is a full time outside dog. She loves it. When she is inside she hates it. She goes to the door and just sits there until we let her out. She don't even like to sleep at night indoors. Also another reason Ziggy doesn't get along with our other dogs so we can't trust her inside with our dogs. I have a dog that stays outside full time, but that doesn't make me a bad owner. My dogs are spoiled rotten and are happy as can be. Ziggy is in a fenced in backyard of about 2 acres.

Also, There's a difference in an outside dog and you going outside to play with it, feed it, etc. and with you getting an outside dog going outside to feed it, come back in and never spending anytime with it.

[wolfsoul]

I think it depends on the dog and the situation.

I see dogs outside without their owners and it makes me sad. Every day on the way to school and on the way back from school I see the cutest little BC pup outside all alone and it makes me sad. I have to wonder what kind of situation would make it alright for a puppy to be left outside all day. Judging from the lack of stimulation in his environment and the breed (and the herding characterstics are written all over this pup!), I'd say that the owner never did the research and when the pup is indoors he's nipping people's heels and chewing on everything. So they leave him outside in rain, snow, or hail (I've seen him in all).

Then again, I also know people whose dogs just don't like to be indoors. My aunt's RB Australian shepherd didn't like the indoors. She liked to lay out in the shade. Plus the indoors was a scary place for her -- she was old and had gone deaf, and the children would often pop out of places and scare her unintentionally. She liked to bury her biscuits in the dirt, and had a hard time doing that indoors.

So I think it is fine as long as the dog gets lots of love and attention and actually enjoys being outside. If the dog is lonely and sad and feels seperated from the family, I just don't think it's right.

[K9soul]

I agree with others who feel it depends on the situation. Overall and the majority of the time, I feel the dog should be inside, but there are certain situations where it is understandable if he/she lives outside. I'm mostly thinking about dogs here, although we have a family friend who is a farmer and keeps barn cats to keep rodents under control, I do not feel that is wrong as long as they are well cared for and spayed/neutered. They also have 2 pet indoor cats.

I also know that some working dogs, especially dogs that guard livestock, actually live with the livestock because they are to form their main bond with them, that is what makes them so efficient and loyal to "their" herd. These dogs are, I think, generally well cared for, they need to be to do their job.

All of the situations others described I can understand as well. If a dog prefers to be outside, truly loves the outdoors and is unhappy indoors, wouldn't it be rather selfish of me to force it to be indoors? I'd not like it but it but it would be for my own personal wish to have the dog inside with me, I'm glad my two prefer most to be where ever I am at, whether it is indoors or outdoors, and I think a lot of dogs are that way but some are more independent. I'm definitely all for the dog having the OPTION to able to come in, but understand in the case of some working dogs as I mentioned above. Like everyone else here, I absolutely detest seeing a dog live on the end of a chain and forced to be alone with no attention. There is a neighbor near me with a little American Eskimo dog that does this and it breaks my heart.

[Miranda_Rae]

Originally posted by K9soul
I agree with others who feel it depends on the situation. Overall and the majority of the time, I feel the dog should be inside, but there are certain situations where it is understandable if he/she lives outside. I'm mostly thinking about dogs here, although we have a family friend who is a farmer and keeps barn cats to keep rodents under control, I do not feel that is wrong as long as they are well cared for and spayed/neutered. They also have 2 pet indoor cats.

Both of our outside cats are spayed and neutered. Again, I would LOVE to have them inside, 100%, but I have no control over that situation.

[sammy101]

I agree with everyone else.If the dog loves being outside,then i dont really mind,as long as they have shelter,food,and they are fixed( and they get lots of love)
It depends on the situation and the dogs.
i wouldnt keep them out in the winter time,especally somewhere where it gets really cold,and where it snows.

[MariaM]

Hmmm I don't know where to start. Major is an outside dog. I don't think there's that many here who know the whole, entire story. I do not agree with him being outside, and I'd rather not go into details as I could be here for quite some time.

I take the best care of Major that I can. He's had his shots, is neutered, gets walks regularly, and he gets to go to the farm and run a couple times a week. He gets played with, and he's trained for the most part. He has good shelter and is healthy.

Of course, I'm dying to have him inside. I'm sure he really wants to come in as well. I'm trying my hardest to make that possible, but at the moment, this is how it is going.

I agree it depends on the situation.

However, I'm not saying that keeping Major outside is the right decision. That is out of my control right now, but like I said, I am trying me best.

[Uabassoon]

I think in certain situations it's ok to have outdoor dogs, but it's not something I would ever do. Growing up my family always had outdoor dogs, I know they were happy but I still wish my family had at least tried to bring them inside. We grew up on a ranch so all of our dogs were strays that people would dump out in the country. They got lots of attention because someone was always outside working on stuff. Overall I think my familys dogs have a good and happy life, much better than where they could have ended up seeing as how most of them were strays. If a dog doesn't seem happy my dad will take it to the shelter so it will have a change at a life it will love. Right now they are down to only 1 dog who we found in a ditch outside of our house. I think my parents have actually tried bringing her in a few times and she's wanted nothing to do with it.

[CamCamPup33]

I do not agree with it. At all. Of course, letting the dog's out here and there for a few minutes, or for an hour or something is perfectly fine. If the weather is okay, and their's shelter/water and the works. But honestly, if the dog is going to be out their ALL the time, it bothers me.

It bother's me more, when someone's dog is an inside dog ALL the time, then all of a sudden turns into an outside dog overnight, to me it's like your throwing a child out of your house for no apparent reason. Sure some people do have good reasons and good intentions, but then their's some people who dont have good intentions, and they just leave the dog out for the heck of it.

In my opinion, leaving a dog outside says "I have a dog for a watchdog, not really because i love it" IF their's no water/food etc.. But of course like i said before, if theirs food/water/shelter and it is absolutley necessary then you have to do what you have to do.

Recently the house behind me, has been leaving their dog outside. The last time, it was all day, and all night plus all of the next day, and when i came home from school he was already inside. Now as i look out my window, i notice he's out their again, and will probably be there till tomorrow evening. I don't know their story, but i feel bad for him.. It just was pouring rain and still they haven't brought him in. And i have looked for food/water bowls but found nothing. The only shelter they have is a tiny little deck that holds about 3 chairs.

I think some people may say that i shouldn't be saying anything, because Cali (My cat) is an outdoor cat. But thats a different story because she sleeps in the garage at night, she has shelter, food and water, and she roams around as she pleases outside during the day. Of course, it's all up to her whether she wants in or out, but normally she's inside when we leave for school and work.

So back to the original question, im totally against it.

[chocolatepuppy]

I keep my dogs and cats inside. I believe there are pets kept outside that are well cared for and loved, as well as pets kept inside that aren't cared for and loved. I prefer indoors.

[ParNone]

I think a certain amount of Outside time is really healthy for dogs. I actually have the opposite issue right now of feeling guility that Oz and Gully are spending too much time Inside.

Murph and Maddie use to get to spend time Outside, while I was at work. I always felt that was much more beneficial to them to get to be Outside watching nature, then cooped up Inside all day. Then when I got home, they were happy, happy to spend time Inside with me. They weren't big barkers at all, so it was never an issue.

With Oz and Gully though, they will bark at people milling around the neighborhood and when they bark it's earth shattering loud. Since I'm too afraid of it annoying the neighbors, they only get to be Outside when I'm home and even then if they start barking, they've gotta come back Inside. I go Outside with them and play everyday and some nights we go for a walk around the neighborhood, but there's only so much Outside time I wanna do, especially if the skeeters are bad. So I know they don't get as much as they'd prefer, but I haven't figured out a way around the issue yet.

Par...

[Cincy'sMom]

In general, I am against it. However, I do feel that it can be the right situation for some dogs...and if the choice to to have an dog that gets love and attention, but lives outside, I think that is much better then living indoors, in a tiny kennel and being ignored, or worse, being PTS.

[dogs_4_me]

It really depends, if the dog enjoys been outside then I see no harm in it!

[Tonya]

Originally posted by Glacier

Generally, I think dogs should be part of the family. But I know lots of sled dogs who have never seen the inside of building who get more interaction with their owners than some inside dogs. It's just as easy to ignore a dog inside as it is to ignore one outside. I know inside dogs who spend long hours in their crates, even when someone is home.

I agree. I think it depends greatly on the owner's lifestyle. My dad's boxer, Joe, is outside only. But my dad and the family are outside all the time. When I go to visit my dad, 99.9% of the time he's outside. He's got a big tent awning thingy with outdoor heaters, so even in the cold, we're hanging out there. Joe has a nice bed in the garage and a heater, so he's set up nice for the night. I don't think that Joe is mistreated in any way or that he's missing out on anything.

Alot of ranchers love their dogs and spend tons of time with them. At the end of the day, the rancher comes in and goes to bed and the dog stays outside. I suppose the reasoning is because farm dogs are always dirty...I don't know.

But, on the same line, my friend Kim's American Bulldog, Jimmy is neglected in my opinion. He's outside only and she's not much of an outdoor person. She doesn't even have a chair or anything in her backyard, so obviously she doesn't spend much time back there. She walks him daily, but that's not enough interaction in my opinion.

[jcsperson]

Originally posted by greysandmoregreys
I'm sure this question has been asked many times but I hadn't seen any threads on it so figure I would ask

I'm kinda in a toss up about outside only pets. That being dogs, cats, you know the normal house pets.

Heather,

As you probably know I adopted Pumpkin off Kristin's farm. We were a little worried about what kind of pet she'd make because she spent little time in the whelping barn and preferred to stay out in her run in all kinds of weather. Only a heavy downpour would drive her into her stall. We were wondering how she would adapt in the house, but happily she discovered the couch and she was a goner---spoiled instantly. Now I have to lure her outside to get her to relieve herself. She is one funny little greyhound.

(I'll save the Orange County Coursing Society story for another day. Pumpkin's new nickname is "mighty huntress.")

[Glacier]

Originally posted by jcsperson
Heather,

happily she discovered the couch and she was a goner---spoiled instantly. Now I have to lure her outside to get her to relieve herself. She is one funny little greyhound.

Giggle, my main lead dog is like that. She recently discovered the couch and now I have to harness her up in the house! She still loves to pull once she gets out there, but Pingo is loving life in the house.