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If you have dogs, do you leave them outside unattended?

If so, for how long?

I'm really not trying to start anything, I was just reading this thread on MM versus this one in the pets board and it got me curious.

Re: If you have dogs, do you leave them outside unattended?

  • I'm sure my response would be flameful on the Pets board and maybe by some on the local board too.

    My dogs have the run of the place.  They have access to a defined area of the house where their blankets, water and beds are.  That leads to the enclosed back patio and they have a doggy door to that.  That leads to a small, fenced in enclosure on the grass and they have a doggy door to that as well.  They come and go between the three areas as they please.

  • I just clicked on the links you provided and scanned the info but didn't fully read it or any of the responses, sorry about that!

    How long we leave the girls outside unattended in our fenced back yard (we have never had an issue with digging by any of our dogs) really depends on the weather.  If it is too hot or too cold (rainy) we don't leave them outside very long.  If it is a nice spring day and the weather is not hot we will leave them outside all day to hang out.  I know some people may not agree with our decision, but it works for us.  I will say that the girls have a doggie door in our garage door leading out to the back yard so they can go outside as they wish or if it rains can come hang out in the garage.  They also have a bowl of water available to them at all times both in the garage and out on the deck near the yard.  I know that some people would freak that we let our dogs hang out in the garage due to all the "stuff" there that could potentially hurt them but we have never had an issue with our girls getting into anything in the garage and any harmful liquids are in a cabinet that they cannot get to.

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  • I don't think it's flameworthy, I just don't trust our dogs that much.  They're curious assholes capable of god knows what.

    Our dogs are never outside by themselves.  When we were in the puppy housetraining stages, we were outside with them all the time to make sure they did their business and I guess it just stuck.  We're out with them everytime to make sure they do both businesses so they won't have accidents.  They're old enough and reliable enough now that they probably wouldn't, but we just haven't given it up.

    Plus with the breed and the smushed faces, they can't take the heat like normal dogs can so they aren't really outside other than to go to the bathroom.  Except when we go to the dog park in the fall/winter/spring.

    ETA:  We also don't have kids, so I fully understand and accept this maybe is a crazy childless dog person thing.

  • Yes. Two of them will go out and do their business and come right back in. Maxi will stay out in the backyard all day if we are home. She stares at the trees and waits for the squirrels so she can bark at them. 

    If it is nice out I leave the sliding glass door open and they come and go as they please.  

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  • When Amsterdam was house training we were always outside with him to make sure he did his business and to clean up after him. At the same time one of our neighbors had a dog that was digging under the fence into our yard. We had to make sure A didn't go under the fence. It was summer soon after we got A so we didn't stay outside too long since it was so hot and we don't have a covered porch.

    Now A is better about accidents so we let him out on his own. Our neighbor no longer has a dog and the hole has been filled in so we're not worried about him getting out. When it's nice we leave him outside as long as he wants. That's usually not long since he likes to know where we are at all times.
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  • In Navarre, yes, but for the longest is only 10 or so minutes for pottying.  Never more because Salty will dig out and run if he's understimulated.  If I dont give him something fun to do, he'll find it himself. Also, the yard was very very small and I could see them at all places.  I will fully admit that when Manny was younger and the only dog, he was outside by himself while we were at work.  I would never do that now, but when I was an uninformed dog owner, that's where his pottying self was.  I feel guilty about that now.

    At my moms, never.  Our yard is HUGE and there are a couple weak places in the fence that I've reinforced but still dont trust.  Salty is crazy smart and can dig out and be gone in minutes.  Plus, Im worried that since he's in transition he's not going to be pottying like he should, so Im trying to keep an eye on it.  Anyways, I dont think I'll ever be able to leave Salty in my mom's yard by himself, its just too big and there are too many places for him to get in to something he shouldnt. 

    (I didn't read the links... I know Pets boards stance, its my stance now too.) 

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  • Throughout the years, as long as the home we've been in has had a covered area against rain, a shady place for him to lay, a secure fence and a place to put a big bowl of water we've often left him outside all day if it's not too hot/cold out. He likes to sleep in the sun and then cool off in the shade. He always hash is collar on, he's micro chipped and he's just not a "roamer" or a digger.  
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  • No, we take him out and wait for him to do his business and come back in.
  • Unattended for relatively short periods of time. I wouldn't let it go longer than an hour, and that is only if I get distracted.

    When it is nice outside, we leave the back door open and the animals can run in and out as they please. 

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  • pumpkin would stay outside all day if we let her, but she does tend to dig, which we don't approve of. the dachshunds don't really like to be outside for too long, so usually when it's nice and i'm home like, making dinner or in the family room we just leave the back doors open so they can come and go. we also have bay windows in the kitchen and french doors in the living room so i can always see our yard and know what they're doing. i'll let pumpkin lay in the sun for an hour or so, but then i call her back in b/c she'll eventually get to digging. they never are outside when we aren't home b/c of barking and digging/escaping.
    Love 9.3.03 Marriage 12.1.07 Baby Carriage 8.3.11
  • Clancy loooooves to be outside, and would lay in the sun and hyperventilate and die out there if I let him. I don't leave him unattended in the yard because it's not fenced... and he likes to chase ducks that are 3x his size (and I'm torn between feeling bad for them and being afraid for him).  Plus, we have a sago palm in the back.. and while he's never been interested in it, I'd be inconsolable if he decided to eat something while I wasn't looking.

    But I do leave him on the porch to bask in the sunshine for an hourish at a time. He comes and stands/sits at the sliding glass door when he wants in, but for the most part I have to go get him bec I'm worried he's overheating and is just in denial. "No, ma, *GASP* *PANT* really.. I'm *PANT* *PANT* fine...."

    "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." - Dale Carnegie
  • Henri will stay outside all day and all night if I let her.  Our yard has an 8' fence and she has food/water and shelter so whatever.  As long as it isn't too hot or too cold (ha!  Too cold for the WI dog...) she can stay outside as long as she wants (when we are home).  Frankie goes out, plays for a bit and then barks to come inside.  If the weather is nice the sliding glass door just stays open so they can come and go as they please.
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  • We have a 6' privacy fence.  We don't typically go out with Griff at all.  We'll let him out to do his business, then he comes back to the door to come back in.  A lot of the time, he just likes to be outside.  Wandering around, chasing squirrels, laying around, etc.  We'll check on him every 10-15 minutes or so, but other than that he's free to roam.  If he's digging or jumping on the fence, we stop him or make him come in.
  • Mine don't really want to stay outside on their own for an extended period of time. I usually let them out, they do their business and come right back in. My DH goes out there with them to run around and play fetch and they are obviously being supervised then.
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  • Since we don't have a yard Bowzer doesn't get any alone outside time.  When we go out to my mom's he gets to run around her yard but we can watch him through the front window.
  • Typically as long as they want to be out there.  Our yard is fenced in and they don't try to get out.  If it's nice out, we just leave the back doors open and they can come and go, if it's too cold/hot to leave the door open, they come and scratch on the door when they're ready to come in and we let them in.
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