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I am just wondering, How many people think it is ok to leave a dog outside whether you are home or not?
Of course with shelter and water. Why is this better or not better than keeping them crated all day inside?
It is not okay.
What is up with the crating? I never crated a dog. After about eight months they were trained enough to have run of the house when I was away.
I do not leave mine outside unsupervised for their safety and also so that they don't bark and disturb the neighbors. I won't go into what sort of things could happen to them because that has already been covered by other posters.
When nobody is home to keep an eye on them, the two youngest dogs are crated because they still try to chew on things that are dangerous (like power cords). I take them for a nice walk before crating and give them special chew/stuffed toys that they ONLY get in the crate to keep them busy. If nobody will be home for more than 4 hours straight, then I send them to daycare (which they LOVE and it wears them out to the point that they come home and sleep for the rest of the night).
What is up with the crating? I never crated a dog. After about eight months they were trained enough to have run of the house when I was away.
Crating can be very good for dogs, if done correctly (as in it's their safe place and should never be used for punishment). It's their den. My dog has a bit of separation anxiety and frantically chews things and claws at the door if we leave her out when not at home. She stays calm and relaxed when in her crate. She often naps in there when we are home too.
If I'm going to be gone for more than 6 hours; I'll leave the back door propped open so they can come and go as they please (the backyard is fenced). Otherwise, they have free run inside the house when I'm gone. This depends on the dog involved too; their age, energy level, do they get into things, ect. I had to keep my great Pyrenees mix in a crate for a good year because he'd chew up the house and he'd dig massive holes in the yard. So glad he's outgrown that!
I think it depends on your housing situation. I leave my 2 dogs outside in a large kennel while I am gone (unless it is storming or really cold) and one either inside or out depends on him. He is older and never leaves the yard but generally prefers to stay inside. When I am home the dogs are inside with me or outside running around, they sleep with me at night. I live in the country and have just a few neighbors at a distance so no worry about them being messed with or annoying anyone. We all keep an eye out for anyones dog that "escapes" or wanders too far.
I have never crated a dog. I realize it is necessary for some people but I just feel being active social animals it unnatural to cruel to keep them cramped in a cage. My dogs have their respective "dens" one gets the couch, the other my chair or the footstool when im in my chair and the newbie gets the dog bed on the floor. He is kind of skiddish and likes getting behind my chair, under the table or behind the wood stove.
I think it all just depends on your dog(s), your lifestyle and living arrangements.
That being said mine are in outside kennels (weather permitting) when I'm gone. The kennels of course have shelter, water an outdoor dog bed and have wooden decking for flooring. I can't leave them loose in the house while I'm gone because they'll tear stuff up. I could care less if they're on the couch, beds etc but I wouldn't put it past them to try and eat the couch. I use crates when the weather is bad but IMO it's wrong to crate a dog all day 5 days a week while someone is at work.
I grew up with my father's hunting dogs in the backyard. A bunch of his pups were stolen one day (including my own), and the nature of the theft led us to believe they were stolen to be donated to laboratories. I still think about my missing pup some 25 years later and it is agony not knowing what happened to him. I also worry he was taken as a bait dog and that tears me up.
They can harm themselves in ways you wouldn't expect - one time came outside to one of the kennels and a dog had impaled the webbing between her toes on some fencing wire that had come loose and could not get it free. I have no idea how long she was standing there before I found her, no doubt in agony. It was a very strange injury, but not one I had seen before.
Other animals can get at them. Sick, disturbed people can toss poison over the fence (trust me, it happens) or let them out or harm them in other ways.
And they don't always have to be crated in the house. I let my dogs roam my house when I'm out. I know them. My border collie lays down by the door to wait for me, and my Catahoula sleeps on my bed. There's nothing that could harm them in my house - no poisons, no things they could catch on (I take their collars off), no food within reach, etc. They've proven time and time again that they are nondestructive, so I have no concerns.
All of our dogs have always been inside when we were away. We have lived in a town where dogs were being taken from yards. Our dogs have crates in the house with open doors and each has a bed also so they can pick and choose.
I once called the police on someone that left their beagle tied under a tree. It had wrapped its tieout around the tree and couldn't reach the water. There were probably 3 calls, once it had no shade and it was 100 degrees, another there was a bad storm and it had no shelter and the final one was when they moved out and left it in the yard. It had been there a week, we took it water and food and the police finally found a family friend to pick it up.
Also, keeping a dog in a crate outside doesn't provide adequate shelter. A crate is for inside or travel and a doghouse/fence/pen is for outside. I cannot believe the number of people who throw a crate in the backyard and consider it shelter.
Crates work really well. Ours have their doors open unless someone comes to the house. They work great for transporting the dogs safely when we travel or camp.
I see no issue with a dog being left outside IF the dog's needs are being taken care of which is most generally not the case anymore. I have seen dogs in unspeakable situations and I have had to demand that something be done.
If people would give more thought to getting a pet................
Oh wait, one more awesome story. My father HATES owls. But there's a reason.
Back in the 60s or 70s, he ended up with a pair of young pups during the winter. At the time, he was on a remote country road and his house was set well-back from the road. So he left the pups out to play in the snow for a few minutes while he went in to make himself some coffee. It was dusk. He came out and there was only one pup in the yard. The other pup's tracks went off in the snow and stopped quite suddenly.
Yep, an owl had taken it.
When you leave a dog or puppy outside, you leave it at the mercy of a thousand variables you cannot anticipate, even with a fenced yard. There are always risks, but at least if you leave a dog inside, you can control those risk factors much better.
I have a fenced-in backyard, but my and my roommate's dogs are only loose unattended in the yard if we are in the living room (which has a massive picture window overlooking the yard) or the kitchen (which has multiple windows overlooking the yard).
Leaving them inside IS also dangerous.... How many times has it been on the news home burned down pets either died or barely made it out in time. Their is no 100% guarantee in life. That being said ....
OP You already said in another thread your Neighbor has removed the pup for the crate TWICE once when your home! So to me Leaving the pup outside Alone is Not an option! IF putting him inside is not safe ..ie the bad electric Then Take Him With you Everywhere. That is the only way you know they wont bother him.
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It had been there a week, we took it water and food and the police finally found a family friend to pick it up.
