Dogs outside and San Antonio weather (Winters, West: wood floors, how much, house)

[Drzy]

How often should outside dogs be taken inside to protect them from the weather? We're considering getting a couple Westie terriers (ages 5 and 7) that have spent their entire lives together as outside dogs, and we would keep them outside at our place as well. Of course we'd bring them in for overnight freezes and things like that, but I'm not sure about other, more "typical" weather, since these would be our first dogs. Is it okay to leave them outside during the day? How hot is too hot, or cold is too cold?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

By the way, these two are quiet dogs that rarely (if ever) bark.

[PopsGuysRule]

Originally Posted by Drzy

How often should outside dogs be taken inside to protect them from the weather? We're considering getting a couple Westie terriers (ages 5 and 7) that have spent their entire lives together as outside dogs, and we would keep them outside at our place as well. Of course we'd bring them in for overnight freezes and things like that, but I'm not sure about other, more "typical" weather, since these would be our first dogs. Is it okay to leave them outside during the day? How hot is too hot, or cold is too cold?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

By the way, these two are quiet dogs that rarely (if ever) bark.

I think the local networks gives out pet alerts and you can probably find them online too. They advise when it is best to bring pets, children, etc indoors, including high temps and other weather issues.
But there is surely someone on the forum who probably knows a lot more than me about it.... I havent owned any pets since I've been here...
I'm guessing the humane society might post alerts/advice on their website too....
well, I didn't see anything about specific time-sensitive alerts, but here's a link to a posting of weather sensitive tips:
http://www.humanesocietyspca.org/pdf...%20Weather.PDF

good luck, and thanks for being good doggie owners...

[Lauren0319]

Well, it's generally recommend that dogs are not outside dogs... I mean, why get a dog if it's going to spend its life outside, you know? Dogs are pack animals and like to be with their pack. Plus, they are a lot safer inside. I've heard of terrible things happening to dogs that are left outside. Beside exposure from the elements, the dogs can get out. I've also heard of dogs being poisoned, abused, or "released" by "evil" neighbors or kids.
That said, when I am gone, I leave my dog outside. He is neither a barker, nor a digger. My yard is very safe and secure, as is my neighborhood. I don't have to worry about anyone getting into my yard and harming my dog.
When I am gone, my dog has fresh, cold water (starts off frozen in the hot summer and always left in the shade.) He has a dog house that he loves and our porch is shaded and stays pretty cool.
I'm really not sure how hot too hot is. I'm thinking mid-90s and higher maybe? I really don't know. This will only be my second summer with my dog, and when I'm home, he is normally inside with me.

I assume you are rescuing since the dogs are 5 & 7. I want to thank you for considering them and their welfare!!!! I have done a lot of research on how to be a good dog "mom" and I'll be happy to answer any other questions you have. Hopefully someone else will respond that has more experience with this.

hth!

[Chaka]

All our neighbors have outdoor dogs that are outside all summer. Now none of these dogs are siberian huskies or the like, and all have been born/raised in this area. Plenty of water and shade are key (if you have no shade, I'd keep them indoors), but they always seem perfectly happy.

We don't have dogs now, but I grew up with dogs in SoCal (a hot part of SoCal, hotter than here but drier). Our dogs were only ever outside - and they were loved and treated like part of the family, we as a family didn't spend all our time indoors either, even when it was hot - we had a well shaded room in the front of the house that had a tile roof and tile floor, which our collies occasionally like to sit in in the hottest part of the day. That was something they did maybe 2-3 times per summer. Otherwise they spent all their time outdoors sitting in the shade.

[jules07]

I think it's a matter of giving them plenty of shelter (shade!) and lots of water. Our Great Dane had to live her last year and 1/2 or so outside (no bladder control, and if you've ever seen how much a Great Dane pees ) and did so without problems. Now, our yard has tons of trees, plenty of "ventilation" (we don't have wood fences), we provided her with a huge bowl of fresh water (livestock bowl that we brought with us from when we had horses), and her own "kiddie pool" that she could get into. And of course, we were out there with her a lot, so she wasn't lonely. (Winters presented much more of a problem, we had to rig up an elaborate shelter with a heater!)

So, in short, it can be done, just make sure they have plenty of water, SHADE, and interaction. But a good indicator of whether or not it's "too" hot is if you sit out there with them and you're too uncomfortable. They probably are too. Good luck with them!

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by jules07

But a good indicator of whether or not it's "too" hot is if you sit out there with them and you're too uncomfortable. They probably are too. Good luck with them!

That is probably not a good indicator either. My wife finds it too hot outside whenever it gets over 75 degrees. My mother thinks it is too cold below 88 degrees and not too hot until it is closer to 100 degrees.

What YOU find uncomfortable is only what is outside the normal range of your normal environment. If you live without A/C, then it is much higher than someone who has A/C, and even higher than someone from a colder environement without A/C.

If you want your's and your dog's comfort zones to match up, you will have to move outdoors with them as a rule rather than as an exception.


A few years ago we rescued a siberian husky and my wife thought we should bring it in the house anytime it got cold. To her this was anytime it dropped below 40 degrees. That husky loved it when it dropped under 30, but it drove my wife crazy when she couldn't get it to come inside on those killer days.

[Drzy]

Thanks folks! Keep the weather tips coming! We'd keep their water plentiful and cold... our shade is kind of mediocre though. We have a small covered patio and some other parts of the yard that are shady, but it's a new place and we don't have any trees back there yet. There's some shade though, and we'd get them a nice deluxe doggy mansion.

To Lauren's point, we're a little unsure of the inside vs. outside issue. The dogs, having been outside their whole lives, aren't house-trained, and even aside from that, we're an (excessively?) clean couple. My wife wants an extremely clean house... no shoes inside at all, no food or drinks anywhere except the kitchen table, lots of vacuuming, etc. She's not a fan of the idea of the dogs bringing dirt or mud inside the house, particularly on the carpet. When they did need to come inside, we'd keep them on the tile and wood floors.

Our thinking is since they've always lived outside and they've always been together, they'd continue to be happy with the same arrangement. We'd play with them often of course, take them on frequent walks, etc., but when we're not out there, would they be content to play with each other? I'm sure they'd be happiest when we're out there with them, but we don't want them to be sad when we're not. Our biggest priority is having happy pets, and if they wouldn't be happy outside and together, we wouldn't want to get them.


Edit to add:
Here are pictures of the backyard, prior to landscaping. Note the lack of shade... :-/
http://drzys.com/home/pics/0382.jpg
http://drzys.com/home/pics/0383.jpg

[millie61]

Originally Posted by Drzy

How often should outside dogs be taken inside to protect them from the weather? We're considering getting a couple Westie terriers (ages 5 and 7) that have spent their entire lives together as outside dogs, and we would keep them outside at our place as well. Of course we'd bring them in for overnight freezes and things like that, but I'm not sure about other, more "typical" weather, since these would be our first dogs. Is it okay to leave them outside during the day? How hot is too hot, or cold is too cold?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

By the way, these two are quiet dogs that rarely (if ever) bark.

Think the question should really be how often do they need to go outside.
I adopted a pug who was supposedly an "outside" dog he didnt have any probs settling in with my other dog inside where he should be. Think there are laws against dogs being outside 24/7

[Chaka]

Check out Paka's (or was it sapphire, I get them confused) dog house.

btw - the main reason we don't have dogs now is because we both work. Once I'm a SAHM, we'll probably get a dog. I think it'd get lonely all day alone (unlike our cat who seems to prefer that), but we also spend a lot of time outdoors, and it'd be an outdoor dog.

[smitty12]

Originally Posted by millie61

Think the question should really be how often do they need to go outside.
I adopted a pug who was supposedly an "outside" dog he didnt have any probs settling in with my other dog inside where he should be. Think there are laws against dogs being outside 24/7

I doubt such laws exist.... You gonna need to site some codes for me to believe that.