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the downside of having a fenced yard


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Everyone talks about how having a fenced yard is a must for dogs. I'm thinking it too is easy to let a dog out and forget :rolleyes: I don't have a fence and rely on walks, hiking and a good game of fetch for exercise, but I'm staying with my folks for a couple months and they have a huge fenced yard in the city. i admit this is much easier, but gets me off the couch a lot less :D

 

Tonight my Dad let Grady outside to do his thing and then got distracted by a phone call. It's currently about 20F and snowing and poor Grady got left out in it for about 40 minutes by himself :D I feel so bad! He doesn't have the heavy coat like Lucia has and gets cold REALLY fast. I didn't know he was out and I kept hearing him tapping on the door knob to go outside. When i went to let him out I discovered he was already out trying to get back in. He NEVER asks to come in so I know the poor thing was frozen :D He curled up with me on the couch and let me cuddle him until he warmed up. His paws were sooooo cold.

 

I don't like leaving the dogs alone in the yard for more than 10 or 15 min at a time and even then I'm always looking out a window to check up on them. I guess it was just lack of communication. I'm not used to anyone taking care of the dogs but me, so unless I do something with them, they're probably sleeping in a corner or chewing on a bone IN the house. My Dad is very absent minded and isn't used to having dogs around at night (my brother sometimes has them watch his dog during the day) so forgets about what they need sometimes.

 

I guess I just feel really bad. I know Dad didn't mean to forget about him, so I think I'll have him start announcing when he does things with them. He even has a sign now that he hangs on the back door stating whether the gate is open or closed so no one lets them out without looking first. It works really well. I'll have to figure something out for potty break now.

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Can you have your Dad remember to set a egg timer or something similiar when he lets the dogs out ? Add a small note to the gate sign about hte timer . This way when it goes off , it will let someone know to let Grady in .

Hope you come up with something. Poor Grady , Im sure he will be ok :D Just give him extra hugs, Im sure he would forget about it if you let him sleep in your bed with you. :rolleyes: One of my dogs has gotten into the habit of climbing up on my side of the bed in the middle of the night . It sounds cute , but when you get a cold nose somewhere warm , its pretty shocking to say the least !! :D

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I know what your talking about. I think yard are over rated. I use to have almost no yard. Having almost no yard I took the dogs daily for a run in a field or a hike thru some wood. Now that their is a yard the need to hike or run them seem to diminish. We now do maybe once a week go hiking if I can find time... :rolleyes: I sometimes wish we didn't move and that we still didn't have a yard... :D

 

The nice thing about having a yard is we have more room to do agility. Before we had to either lug the equpiment around or pratice on the sidewalk near a busy street... Now we can set up a larger course and pratice.

 

ETA: My dad moved back in with us and we have the same problem. Good luck on finding a solution!

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my dogs would never let me forget about them lol, they will eaither bark or pound on the door until I let them in. I would not be overly concerned about 20*F though thats pretty warm still..actually around here we consider that gorgous weather to let the dogs out to play all day long lol

 

I would not want to not have a yard...I have 7 dogs, taking them out is fine and dandy when you have 2 or 3, but having to walk 7 dogs for every potty break? I would loose my mind! and when I was working 2 jobs(1 full time 1 part time) and not having a yard with 7 dogs? I am not a patient person, the dogs would not still be here lol

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I LOVE the timer idea. A baking timer set for 5 or 10 minutes would work great! Thanks :D

 

As for bed snuggling, they both love to snuggle but prefer to sleep in their own spaces for the night. But like John said, a cold nose in the AM for an early breakfast is a regular thing :rolleyes:

 

Hope it works. My Mom uses it regularly when she lets her dogs out. I had a hard time getting her to use it , but once she tried it , she liked it ! MIKEY !!

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That was an interesting read.

 

 

Was that ment in a good way or a bad way :rolleyes:

 

It doea get me thinking though. Soooo many rescues require a fenced in yard for adoption. Could this cause sacrifice of attention to their dogs for safety of a secure play place? I know I seem to be more active with the pups when I don't have the luxury of the fence.

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And then there are those of us who live in temperate climates and have fenced yards and *still manage* to take our dogs for walks in addition to just "throwing them out in the yard." Generalizing from the fact that you are tempted to do less while you stay with your parents, and especially generalizing your father's forgetfulness into the supposition about how those of us with yards then must treat our dogs (just throw 'em out and forget about 'em) is a bit of a stretch don't you think? I have a few who actually enjoy hanging out in the yard (mainly on the porch or back deck or by the gate) on nice days. But that doesn't mean I use the yard as a crutch or a means to avoid actually doing things with my dogs.... FWIW, as far as rescues go, I'm sure they see a fenced yard as a way of keeping the dog safe and NOT as a means of encouraging folks to leave dogs out to their own devices. How many gazillions of times have you read in different threads on this forum the cautionary words: "Border collies like to be with their humans. You shouldn't leave the dog alone in the yard to entertain itself or it will do just that, and you very likely won't be happy with the result" or similar? I think it's safe to say that most of the folks here who have the luxury of a yard in no way consider it a substitute for actually interacting with their dogs.

 

I'm sorry Grady got stuck out in the yard longer than he should have. I'm sure he'll be fine.

 

With several recent threads it seems folks are just looking for ways to insult those who lead a different doggy lifestyle....

 

J.

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Julie... I know rescues require the fence for safety. I don't even leave my guys with sitters that don't have one for safety reasons. It was just a fleeting thought. I know most people here don't use a yard as a crutch. I do find it easier sometimes to just send them out to potty and not have to walk them around the block, but find I don't walk with them as much during the week now that i have that convience :D We still do a TON of other fun doggie things though.

 

Grady will definately live, but I still feel bad. I'll be buying a baking timer this week for sure :rolleyes:

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in2adventure, I understand what you mean about Grady being outside for that length of time when he's not used to that. You just kind of wonder what he was thinking and why wasn't anyone coming to let him in. :D

I have a nice, big fenced in yard but I'm one of those that wouldn't put them out there unless supervised or I was checking on them every 5-10 minutes (or more). Also the last 3 dogs I've owned would never let me forget about them out there. Like Julie mentioned, they are (were, my GSD who passed) just dogs that 'like to be with their human' and I can't even imagine what kind of trouble Chase the BC would get into back there if left to entertain himself. :rolleyes:

However, my 1st GSD just loved being outside laying in the sun, or in the shade. That was where he loved to be most. So while I was home and if the weather allowed, he spent most of his day outside.

I don't particularly count being out in the yard as any kind of stimulation or exerise for my dogs (unless they're running back and forth playing ball with my husband or me). I have a beautiful natural resource area 2 minutes up the road and I try to get there when I can between this dog class and that dog class. My dogs love going there and exploring and hiking and I do too.

 

Get your egg timer, that's a really good idea!

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I live completely surrounded by woods and I have a fenced yard AND a doggy door. There are some who like doggy doors and some who don't, I love mine! My dogs are fine alone in the house, I think they just sleep cuz the water bowl is always the same and no food is ever eaten. But it is nice to let them be able to come and go as they like. The thing is, they have never spent more than 5 min outside alone! But for my Cheyenne it was a Godsend. She liked to just lay about the yard soaking up sun. With the doggy door she could do that when she wanted. Also, I like the fence because it is way less stressful when there is company around, especially kids. No worries about someone letting the dogs out to play with them. Plus, it was a secure way to teach a recall. Mostly rescues do require a fence because the dogs may run off when they first get to a new place. But, with the woods all around, the best thing about a fence is keeping critters OUT! :rolleyes:

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Of all my dogs, my very BC one, River, loves to hanging outside the best. The other three just want to be where I am (in or out). But River would love for me to let her out, esp on non-rainy days and let her just sleep on the lawn rather then inside. I have my fence to keep my dogs in and wildlife out. And yeah, on days when the weather is crappy or it gets dark at 4:30pm, letting them stretch in the yard is a dogsend.

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Well....at least he didn't forget him outside overnight. DH has done that not once, but twice with his dog - both times when the temps were right around the freezing mark. Both times he went to bed later than me and let the dog out but then just came to bed and forgot about the dog. Then I wake up in the am and notice only my dog is in her crate and his dog's crate is empty. hehe...I think those 2 times were the fastest he's ever gotten out of bed!

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I wouldn't be without one, and never had one growing up, or with my first dog. Soon as I could, I had one installed and will never go back. Once you have multiple dogs, walking them for their constitutionals is not as easy as it used to be. Walking for exercise is still great even with a yard. But, my dogs just love our yard. It's also a nice safe place for play, given that in my area, roaming dogs are the norm, rather than not. Yesterday our not friendly neighborhood Shar-pei was the chosen one.

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Could not imagine not having my fenced yard. When I got my first dog we rented and our yard was only partially fenced and it was a pain. When I bought my unknown BC rescues home they have had space to run and play that was safe. When I got Bandit he had been in the shelter system for 6 months and his joy at running at high speed around the yard was priceless.

My garden is not an exercise system, we go for walks everyday. None of our dogs would have regarded a session of catch as suitable exercise.

There are many benefits to fenced yards, I don't think you have to have one but I love mine for lots of reasons other than the dogs.

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It's good to hear I'm not the only one who's forgoten about the dog :D

 

When I eventually buy my own place I do want a fenced in yard with a doggie door. I'm hoping the doggie door will eliminate forgetfulness :D I think I'll still have to kick Lucia outside though. She's my velcro dog and would NEVER let me forget her somewhere. I even hear her thud up against the bathroom door while waiting for me to come out.....because you know, I might escape out the secret passage that's under the tub :rolleyes:

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I love my fenced in yard! I love the privacy I have, not needing to be social when I want to unwind and not needing to worry about loose dogs bothering us when we are out there. At this point in my life, my dogs are never outside unless I'm with them. We spend a lot of time in the yard playing and, when the weather is good, just hanging out. During the summer, we are sometimes outside for 4 hours or more. When the weather is horrible or I'm sick, it's great not needing to go trudging out for a walk. We still enjoy our walks around the neighborhood but the scuffed up backyard is our little haven. I was in apartments for about 8 years with dogs and it worked out ok, but moving to my house with the yard (and my own washer/dryer) was very exciting. Fifteen years later and I still treasure the yard and privacy (and my own washer/dryer). :rolleyes:

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Somedays I really wish that we had a backyard. It was a bit of a challenge to bring Shiloh out as a small puppy so many times a day for a quick pee. Now at 7 months he is able to last for 3-5 hours during the day and the entire night. Still, getting the leash on, taking the elevator (sometimes with 10 other people packed in) 14 floors and through 2 sets of doors... phew....

 

The upside is that he is really clear on what is inside and what is outside (after a mark in the elevator and on the security desk which resulted in a sharp correction). Also, he gets extra exercise and lots of pat's from his fan club in the building. :rolleyes:

 

But still... a yard just for a quick pee.... that sounds like a dream!

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I fenced in my back yard this spring which is something I’d wanted to do for two years. I have neighbors who are extremely irresponsible pet owners and allow their very large, very nasty lab mix to wander and now their grandchildren are living with them and they wander, too. The dog has stalked me, my other neighbor, and my late golden mix and is a dog I absolutely do not trust. I finally spent the money for a six foot high, vinyl-clad chain link fence in anticipation of someday owning an Irish Wolfhound and have no regrets. Lewie and I can play outside without fear of being victim to a nasty dog and now that I have Mickey, my foster moose, he and Lewie play for hours outside. I check on them every ten or fifteen minutes to make sure all is well and they haven't dug themselves half-way to China. The yard man had a lot of wholes to fill in this fall. :rolleyes:

 

I also have recently been diagnosed with Graves’ disease, which causes me to have muscle weakness. If I fall down, I cannot get up without the aid of something to pull myself up on, like a chair. And, I have flat feet so walking for anything distance causes me great discomfort.

 

For an on-the-high-side-of-middle-age fat lady, my fence is almost a necessity.

 

Oh, and it sucks to get old. :D

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Somedays I really wish that we had a backyard. It was a bit of a challenge to bring Shiloh out as a small puppy so many times a day for a quick pee.

Yeah, I've got a 5-month old and only recently started putting him out in the yard on his own to go potty (during the day). I still walk him for the last potty time of the night, but with puppies, I wouldn't count on just tossing them out in the yard--I go with so I can make sure they do their thing (plus I can teach a potty command).

 

I have a dog in for training that I have to walk separately at night or he won't go potty and then wants to go out at 2 a.m., so it's easier just to walk him in the yard (if he's out with the other dogs he's too busy working Pip to do his business. :rolleyes: )

 

One thing I have done for winter is put a straw-filled crate covered with a tarp on the porch right next to the door. If I'm slow getting a dog in, they have a warm place to snuggle till I get there to let them in.

 

J.

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Was that meant in a good way or a bad way :rolleyes:

 

It does get me thinking though. Soooo many rescues require a fenced in yard for adoption. Could this cause sacrifice of attention to their dogs for safety of a secure play place? I know I seem to be more active with the pups when I don't have the luxury of the fence.

 

 

I meant that it's interesting about how people leave their dogs in or out, fence or no fence. I have a large fenced yard and a dog door. The dogs have always had easy access to the yard whenever they want to go in or ou rain or shine. The fence obviously does what a fence is supposed to. However I've never let the fenced yard keep me from my appointed dog walks which are a minimum of 2 a day, morning, eve regardless of weather. I leave my dogs unsupervised from the time I leave the house until my return. No crates, not locked outside or in a room. I've never had a dog go nuts and tear the place up (I've seen other dogs do it), nor have I ever returned to find trash everywhere, one of my fav objects or the couch shredded. Never had a problem with the kids and dogs together, in fact the only problems I've ever had with the dogs is when I take them out and another dog or an unthinking person gets involved. Around the house they behave perfectly. Better than the kids ever did.

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