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If they can get inside at will. Otherwise, no, dogs don't belong in the back yard. This miserable, thick-furred dog was left outside barking all summer long one year on my street. Anyone with half a brain knew the dog did not like being tied to a dog "house" day in and day out.
And a woman down the block left her dog tied to her porch until I called the local animal shelter as winter approached. Even afterwards, she would keep her dog tied up all day in the snow. I called about her a number of times until finally the dog was no longer outdoors. Not everyone should have a dog.
I agree. I only let my dog in the fenced yard while I am there. Partly due to the dangerous pit bull next door, partly due to the coyotes/mountain lions that can come out at almost any time.
A couple of years ago a woman up the street left her two greyhounds in the fenced backyard. She was gone from 8am- 2pm. She came home to find one dog had its neck bitten by a mountain lion, and the other dog most likely attacked it to get it off the other dog.
So no, dogs do not belong in the backyard and should not just be left there.
I wanted to also mention that several times my husband and I took our dog to a shopping area nearby with a lake, where lots of people walk their dogs and eat with their dogs on the patio. I was so pleasantly surprised to see that every child who wanted to pet our dog asked if it was ok first! Kudos to those parents!
OK, dogs in stores apparently is becoming the norm.
Problem is my daughter is deathly afraid of dogs. It's annoying to us as parents as we have to pick her up if there is a dog within 100', but now that she is getting bigger and soon will enter public school, it will become a problem if she doesn't outgrow this issue.
I've had two social issues that have been a little hard to handle "correctly".
Instance #1: On hiking trail, stopped at a hiker's break area with picnic tables. Daughter is sitting on top of picnic tables. Another hiker with dogs off leash approaches, and dogs get excited to see daughter and scamper up on top of picnic table. Daughter freaks out as she doesn't want dogs running toward her.
Instance #2: In store today. Dog enters store. Daughter gets nervous. Dog starts to bark at daughter.
How would you handle either of those two situations? Especially the dogs in stores situation.
Dogs out doors: Almost all places outside of dog parks require dogs to be on leash. I wouldn't hesitate to point that out to dog owners. I'm a dog owner and would NEVER have my dog off leash in a public place outdoors. Some dog owners think their little muffin or their large smart Genghis are exceptions, no threat, and it's okay for them to be off leash. It's ILLEGAL, and it's not safe. Dogs sometimes react by instinct, and that can be a problem.
Dogs in stores: If the dog is on leash, it's really your daughter who is the problem, IMO, since the dog is under control. It would be no different than someone having a toddler in the store or a turtle or a cat. Any fear of those things that are under someone's control and not acting in a threatening manner, is unreasonable. It is your daughter's issue that you need to work on. She will encounter many dogs in her lifetime. You won't be successful teaching her to go through life asking other people to put away everything that scares your daughter.
Consider getting your daughter a pet, so that she learns more about animals. They are quite wonderful, teach responsibility, and give unconditional love. It might help her get over her irrational fear.
I agree. I only let my dog in the fenced yard while I am there. Partly due to the dangerous pit bull next door, partly due to the coyotes/mountain lions that can come out at almost any time.
A couple of years ago a woman up the street left her two greyhounds in the fenced backyard. She was gone from 8am- 2pm. She came home to find one dog had its neck bitten by a mountain lion, and the other dog most likely attacked it to get it off the other dog.
So no, dogs do not belong in the backyard and should not just be left there.
I only let my dogs out in the fenced back yard when I'm home. Anything can happen. They can get out somehow, someone can walk by and throw something at them, they could get stolen, someone walking by could open the fence as a lark, or they could start barking too much.
I have mine trained to stop barking when I say "Quiet." So I'll yell that out the backdoor if they're barking. They'll be quiet. But if they start barking again, they have to come inside. Play time is over. So they're pretty quiet after I tell them to be quiet, usually. They're such good babies!
You need to end her fear now. It's not going to get better with age. Sounds like you've been feeding into her fear. Sounds like a completely irrational fear of dogs. You didn't say she was ever bit or anything so she must be feeding off of some vibe from someone in the family.
My nephew was a year old and he was bit by a dog. He's NEVER been afraid of dogs. He grew up with a dog. When his dog passed away last year, for the first few days, he went outside and sat at his grave every day after school. He's 8 now. He was not traumatized by the bite because his parents didn't freak out about it. He was the cause of it and they knew it.
Do you have friends or family who have a dog? Go visit them for a little while several times a month and let her get used to a dog. They're not horrible mean evil creatures. Sure there are some Cujo's out there. I'm not saying go find one of them.
Dogs can be the best friend of a little kid. I speak from experience. When I was 3 years old, I loved going to my grandparents house. I wanted to see their dog! I could get an ice cream from the corner store. I would sit with Trixie (A Boston Terrier) in her bed and we would eat my ice cream cone together. We did that until she died. I was heartbroken when she died and I was a little girl! I still remember her 40 years later.
Some of you "dog owners" need to be less ego-centric and self-absorbed.
No, her daughter does actually need help. It's not good to have a debilitating fear that can actually increase her chances of being attacked.
Not every dog she encounters is going to belong to someone. One day she may come across a stray dog, and if she flips out, the dog could react with more aggression.
The latest trend seems to be taking the spoiled rotten dog or dogs EVERYWHERE. No wonder helicopter pet owners always complain about their precious mutt's "separation anxiety". Dogs belong in the back yard, watching the place while you're gone. My state has a leash law and I am not the least bit shy about encouraging people who disregard that law to reconsider.
No thanks, not leaving my 14 pound dog outside in the backyard in the dead of winter while I'm gone.
There is one extreme, then there is the other...
What you fail to realize is the vast majority of people probably fall in the middle.
Unfortunately, you can't control the behavior of others. What you can control (or at least influence) is your daughter's reaction to dogs. I would highly suggest speaking to a therapist about ways to help desensitize her. To be honest, it's in her best interest. A dog is far less likely to react aggressively toward someone with no reaction over someone with a highly anxious and fearful reaction.
Whaaaaat?!?!
A therapist because dog owners(not you specifically, ok? ), one of the most selfish sect of society currently, urban quality-of-life terrorists--feel a need to show off their lifestyle accessories? No. A letter writing campaign to your local pols asking them to enforce/enact laws to keep them out of populated areas. Just because your dog "has never bit anyone" we don't want it jumping on us or acting aggressive. We don't want to hear him barking all night, we don't want to keep walking through our town like its mined with IEDs because you dont use that little spoon you carry entirely for looks. IF you live in an urban area, please consider a hamster, ok?
Also, there are more human assaults than dog bites.
LOL....my husband had a huge scar on his thigh until the day he died from a human bite (a woman with no teeth I kid you not) that he got in his 20's! So yes humans do bite!!!!!! My sister bit another kid at school when we were younger and she got into some trouble
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