Just looking to see what others do.

I am gone from the house from 9 to 2, 3 days a week. I have a dear sweet puppy golden retriever (okay she is 2, but very much a puppy). Would you leave her inside the house (in her gated area) or outside? I know on bad weather days it is a no brainer, she has to be inside. But I do live in Houston, the weather is mostly nice here (or raining..lol). We have a large back yard, with a large covered porch if that makes a difference.

I was just curious.

By Kateg on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 09:57 am:

When our golden retriever was little (puppy to about 2 years old) he stayed in the house & was let out to enjoy a nature break when DH would come home from work. He started wanting to be outside more & more. Plus, well, he stinks. We've tried everything known to get the dog to not stink & he stinks.

He has been an outside dog since with indoor privileges. He has a large fenced area now to play in & rest in with a large doghouse. His doghouse has a window & infrared heat. He's got it easy.

He prefers his time outside.

By Amecmom on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 09:58 am:

I never left my dog out if I wasn't home. Just too many things could go wrong. So - my 2 cents say no, but I'm sure there will be other opinions.
Ame

By Happynerdmom on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 10:00 am:

We always crated our dogs from the time they were puppies, so whenever we left the house they were in their crate. Only after they got older and we could trust them, (about two years, I guess) would they be allowed to be out of their crate when we left. We never had a fenced yard, so that was never an option, but I guess I'd feel more comfortable if he was inside.

By Ginny~moderator on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 10:01 am:

If you are 100% certain that the dog will be completely safe - no sudden bad weather, no getting out of the yard by digging or because someone opened the gate, not being stolen, not being teased or worse by passersby - maybe.

I am a firm believer that dogs are not outside unless I am home and then only in a fenced yard, and cats are never outside.

By Heaventree on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 10:06 am:

Ditto about not leaving the dog outside, you never know what could happen. I remember when we were kids we used to tease two German Shepards that were fenced. The dogs used to go nuts and of course we were little and didn't know any better. Also your dog could hurt it self or be stung by an instect and you would never know what happend.

I would leave a puppy in the house crated until they were trustworthy.

By Tayjar on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 10:10 am:

We have always left out dogs out when it is nice. We have always had 3 dogs at a time, though. But, with that said, they also have a fenced in yard and a fenced in dog run with a large, insulated dog house.

When we lived in town, our neighbors, all retired, would take them for walks during the day and give them snacks. They loved going out.

Now that we live in the country, they are still outside when we are at work. They have a very large dog run area.

If it is cold or stormy out, we leave them in. Honestly, I think they like to go out. But, we have a nice safe place for them. I wouldn't leave them tied to a tree or anything. Their set up now allows them to run and play.

Besides, their best friends are the cats and they have to be outside to see them. The 4 farm cats join the 3 dogs in the dog run area and they all nap and play together. It's a riot.

But, you know your set up and dog better than anyone. I might try leaving her out when you are home to see what she does. Will she dig under a fence or jump over it? Maybe put her outside and then drive away and watch what she does.

By Kittycat_26 on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 10:37 am:

I could never ever ever ever leave our dog outside or inside without being crated.

Now before anyone gets upset, I have a 2 year old boxer that would destroy my house, yard, or anything else she could get her teeth or paws on.

I'd probably try it for short amounts of time and see if it works. I know alot of people who do this and we always did when we lived at home with our other dogs. Just never ever with this one.

By Reds9298 on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 10:39 am:

Haven't read all the posts but for our dogs (terriers) we always TRIED leaving them out during the day. They always failed that test so they were both crated when DH and I both worked full time. They've been crated during the day since they were about a year or so. Now that I'm home all the time and they are always out of their crates, they still go there for naps and such during the day. I think they've grown to see it as a safe and comfortable place.

That was long winded...sorry! If he will stay in a gated area, go for it. Our Jacks jump gates like they're nothing, so that was never an option for us. Maybe just try and see what happens. Riff did great loose in the house for about 2 weeks before he started having one pee accident each day. Then he went back to the crate.

By Crystal915 on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 12:59 pm:

Kaye, if you decide to leave him outdoors, make sure he has water with a frozen core of ice, and a nice shaded area. We know how insane TX weather can get, and the heat can kill him quickly.

By Tayjar on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 02:11 pm:

To add to what Crystal says, we leave a big baby pool outside in the summer. They love it. Plus, we know that they have plenty of water even if it isn't as clean as we would prefer it. We just have to towel dry them well before we let them in.

By Kaye on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 02:55 pm:

Well we typically leave her out. We are in a culdesac with 6 ft privacy fences, So I know my three neighbors well and don't really get traffic.

We crated her as a puppy (and still do when we have company), but it never dawned on me once she got big enough to not get in trouble in the backyard not to leave her there until a friend ask what we did. So mostly I was curious as to why, and what things might I be missing.

She is inside when we are home, outside when we are not and weather permits.
I don't worry about her being stolen, luckly I live in a safe hood, being that i left my front door open the whole time i was gone today (not unlocked, literally open!). The heat is covered, she has a great place to hang out if it gets hot, plus we have a very shaded back yard. We do leave plenty of water out that gets changed daily cause she is picky. Never really thought about insects, but I guess that could happen anyway (snakes are probably a bigger concern).

Thanks for the info ladies.

By Yjja123 on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 03:45 pm:

We have a pet door. The animals can go outside (fenced in) as they please. I do not believe in having an outdoor dog. Our animals are part of the family---sometimes too much

By Tayjar on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 03:53 pm:

Yvonne, I totally agree. Our dogs have their own air mattress with their own pillows in my daughter's room. It's so pathetic.

By Karen~moderator on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 04:03 pm:

Yvonne, how air/watertight are the pet doors? We have to get one.

By Yjja123 on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 04:41 pm:

We actually need to get a new one as Cosmo's butt is already getting too big to fit through. 6 months old and he is weighing in at 70 pounds!
Ours is in a laundry room so there is more limited air flow. I love having it. It gives the animals freedom to go outside as needed and we often go away for a weekend and have a friend check the house/animals. It allows them the chance to stop by once a day instead of several times to let animals go potty.

By Conni on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 05:50 pm:

Mine are outside. I come and go all day so its not a problem. If the weather changes (which we always watch TV at night and catch the weather so we know ahead of time) I just let them in if needed. They have beds in the garage and they have a rug in front of the fireplace they can lay on if I am home and its freezing outside. They also have these great inventions called dog houses and we fill them with cedar chips for the dogs too lay on... Keeps them out of the weather too. ;) In the summer they have trees in the yard that put off shade, a deck with pea gravel under it that is cool to lay under, and they have a baby pool.

Just use common sense. Which it sounds like you are doing.

But mine dont have the run of the house.

By Conni on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 05:51 pm:

Oh and I should add, because it will get mentioned... no I wont put a 100 lb lab in crate all day. ;)

By Jackie on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 06:45 pm:

Sometimes I hate to answer these questions, it always ends in a "heated discussion".. I dont leave my dogs outside when we are not home. I would worry too much about them. With my 2 dogs that I actually own, they stay inside when nobody is home. I usually gate the upstairs off and the playroom, simply because my yellow lab is like a big kid, always looking for toys to chew and tear up. I could leave my Golden retrieve the run of the house she would not do a thing. I think they sleep on the sofa when we are gone.
With our foster dog, we do crate her. The rescue group wants the foster dogs to get use to being in a crate, so she goes in there when we are not home and at night.

By Annie2 on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 06:52 pm:

Sometimes I'll leave our sheperd out in our back fenced yard, if it's a nice day. I'm never gone for more than four or five hours at a time so I don't see it as a problem. He sleeps out in the sun and half the time doesn't want to come in when I do get home.

By Kaye on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 07:05 pm:

We talked about getting a pet door, but having to have one big enough for the golden means a person could get through it and that stresses me. My dog had a bed outside for a long time, and picked the top of the picnic table for napping instead. She typically sleeps at the foot of my bed (on the floor). Although we have had a bed for her she won't use it because I won't put it right next to the bed (i need to be able to step out). We crated her a lot when she was little and moved to gate for the breakfast room because she just got so big. She loves to sleep very sprawled out and can't do that in the crate. I just don't trust her with full run of the house when we aren't home.

On a different note...she has not been right the past few days, I wonder if dogs can get colds. We have all had the crud here. She doesn't seem warm (but heck how do I know). But she has been mopy, not overly active, like normal. Goes out to pee and then back in, unlike the normal run around the yard, drag a kid around. She is eating, but not fast. Typically we feed her at 7 am and by 7:15 I always ask did ya feed the dog, cause the food is gone. And the past two days she didn't eat until we left (which is around 8:30) but she did eat her whole meal. At night she is eating like normal. Anyway, seems like she is just a touch off. I am home all day tomorrow so that will be better for her. She has a vet appointment next Friday for shots.

By Shellyg on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 07:06 pm:

O.K., how much do you trust her? My Boxer is indoors all day. She only goes outside to do her business. Now, my BUllmastiff is another story. I would never leave him alone in the house. I would come home to half a house. He is a HUGE chewer. My huband made him a secure dog run that runs along the side of the house. He is only out there when I am gone. At 130 lbs he is mostly an indoor dog. I don't really have to worry about the weather here in So. Ca. I see no problem crateing your dog for the few hours you are gone. You know that you dog is safe!

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, January 19, 2006 - 07:59 pm:

Jasmine is fine in the house, when we aren't home. We just have to make sure we didn't leave any garbage out! She gets herself into trouble, if we do, but that is all she bothers.

We crated her, at night and when we were gone, when we first got her, but after about a year, we let her out at night and a little while longer, let her have the run of the house.

She doesn't like to be left outside, by herself, but she does love to be outside. I don't think I could tie her up and just leave her out there. I would be too worried about stuff happening.

Some people who live near us, have a dog, that is outside tied up all day, when it is nice out, but someone is home all day, since she does daycare. Sheba has a picnic table that she can lie under, to stay out of the sun. She seems content and happy out there. She is not outside, in the cold, other than to do her business. She also is away from the street, so it would be harder for people to harass her.