Where should small dogs live?

[Beekissed]

I had a friend who was looking for a home for a Scotty...a wonderful 2 yr. spayed female with a charming personality and extreme intelligence. We bonded the moment we met and I think she is great. This friend doesn't see her appeal and doesn't want her.

Until recently this dog has mainly been an inside dog but has very much enjoyed staying on this woman's farm and romping outside with the cow dogs and such.

Anyhoo...since my older dog is living her last summer and we are open to opportunities for a companion dog to my other outside dog, I told her I was interested in this pooch.

She stated, "But...this is an INSIDE dog!". When last I looked this Scotty had abundant fur....matter of fact, they had just cut a bunch off.

Same woman wouldn't give me a kitten she was fostering because I would keep it outside and I live near a road. She came home the other day and her dog had killed the kitten.....

I, on the other hand, still have MY my kitten...who lives outside...by a road...and is spoiled rotten and is well loved and healthy.

She knows my lease agreement doesn't allow inside pets and she also knows my dogs have VERY comfy digs outside and room to run and play. No ties, no pens, good perimeter fencing.... a pretty good dog life.

Here's the questions: Do you all think that inside dogs must always live inside? Do you think all small dogs should live inside full time?

 

[Farmfresh]

Not according to Doogle my D1's probably 15 pound beagle nor Kiya her 3 pound Pomeranian!

Both of them spend the majority of their time outdoors summer AND WINTER! They have some good dog houses available and go into her un-heated garage at night. Occasionally they come in the house, but both PREFER outdoors.

They are a couple of the healthiest happiest dogs you will ever see.

 

[sufficientforme]

We have a breed that we were told had to indoors at all times except to potty but those silly dogs would rather be outside in the dead of winter and the summer heat than be in the house. I just monitor them constantly all day and provide a kiddy pool for cooling and blankets in the winter and they are happy clams OUTSIDE. They are no bigger than a Scotty either.

 

[Beekissed]

When this lady told me that~ in her exasperated tone~ I just had to reply, "Well, she HAS got fur, hasn't she? Did God give her that much?"

I'm sorry...but God gave these animals fur for a reason and I don't think it was to provide an insulating cover for our couches.

My older dog has a double coat of fur and tolerates the cold well, but still loves the warmth of her dog house in the winter. The younger dog is a smooth coated lab with much a much thinner coat and no double layer like the other dog. He LOVES the cold and adores the snow...hardly ever goes to the doghouse except at night.

When we bring them in by the fire, they soon have to move as far away as possible to avoid overheating. They develop a proper winter coat if left outside to adapt...no matter the breed.

Well...maybe except the Mexican hairless dogs...

 

[Farmfresh]

And if people don't believe that they should look up old Gold Rush photos from the Yukon!

An awful lot of German Short Hair Pointers hooked up in sled teams!

 

[tortoise]

I think very few people are able to care for dogs outside. Indoor dogs get neglected, for god's sake! And outside dog (out of sight, out of mind) is more likely to have serious health or behavior problems because of this.

Outdoor dogs tend to be dogs that are maladjusted. Is this because they are outdoors? No - dogs that don't fit into our schema of acceptable behavior are often banished to the outdoor life.

I have seen well-cared-for outdoor dogs. I've seen neglected indoor dogs. I don't think it has much to do with location, but with the care provided.

 

[lupinfarm]

Our 4 Mini Poodles live indoors all winter long and go out in a run during the day in the summer, and are crated at night.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree! I am currently boarding a Rotty that has been kept in a crate each day in an apartment until the owner comes home, lets it outside to toilet and brings it back in.

She has no muscle tone, no social skills and has serious ADHD...but I don't think she would if she had been treated properly. She doesn't know how to interact with other dogs or people and its a shame. Its the same as tying a dog to a box and feeding it once a day.....only this is indoors.

It depends on where you spend your life whether your dogs get enough attention. I spend a lot of time outside and my dogs get the benefit of that. If I were an inside person with little reason to go outdoors, then my dogs would be lonely and forgotten.

This woman has been to my home and got to see how my dogs are...happy, healthy, well-socialized dogs in a safe environment. They get stimulation all day, freedom to romp and play, they have their own shed in which their dog houses are placed.

This shed has a ramp, wooden floor with hay bedding, their dog houses are surrounded by hay bales for insulation both summer and winter. They have a heated water bucket in the winter and they get fresh cool spring water every day in the summer.

This Scotty has lived in a small home with an elderly, dying woman and had a 8X10 kennel attached to a small back porch as her only outside area. She has had little exercise unless visiting my friend's farm and that has been only recently.

I think my place would be an extreme upgrade....

 

[Farmfresh]

We have had a dog that was sentenced to life in a box. Never will that happen to mine.

Understand me, I think kennel training is great for house breaking a pup or for bed at night, but the in a kennel while I am at work all day or shopping all night is just cruel and unusual punishment for ANY intelligent animal.

I challenge anyone who disagrees with me to spend 65 or 70 hours a week in their bathroom with nothing to do and see how they like it. A bathroom is cushy compared with a kennel where you just have to lay there.

 

[dragonlaurel]

I think that dog would be very happy with you and your farm. It's a shame she has closed her mind on the subject.