Outdoor Dog vs. Indoor Dog

[PirateGirl]

I think you are getting a lot of great feedback on things to consider regarding your life, your housing, the training, and the importance of breed selection. I just wanted to add that it is good that you are thinking of this now, BEFORE you get a dog. Once you have a dog and it gets used to one lifestyle it is hard to change it. We used to live in a condo. The dogs were used to being inside dogs. They mostly had to be on a leash to go outdoors for their own safety with neighbors and cars in the shared parking lot. The dogs got used to the routine. We then moved to a house with a yard and I installed an invisible fence so the dogs could spend as much time outdoors as they wanted. I grew up in a home with an invisible fence and remembered the dog running around outside for hours. My dogs didn't get it. They had never been "outside" dogs in this sense or had this sort of freedom. I would send them out and shut the door behind them and they would sit on the porch and cry to come back in or cry for me to come out with them. The older dog is still pretty much like this. The younger dog has adapted and now happily goes out by herself for longer periods of time and I have a hard time convincing her to come in, but it took a long time for her to adapt and she still would not be happy if she could not be with the people most of the time and prefers to be on whichever side of the door we are on.

 

[Meg-in-MT]

My dogs are all indoor/outdoor. They get to choose where they want to be when I'm home. My big girls are let out in the morning, fed and stay in the barn with access to the bird yard while I'm at work. In the evening they are in and out as much as we are.

My St. Bernard is afraid of the dark, so while she is suited for the cold, she absolutely refuses to sleep outside. My Newfoundland loves to be in and out, but prefers to sleep outside and is out far more that the other two. She gets pretty hot in the house and is also the protector and alpha female.

As far as mess goes, my biggest battle is hair. And straw. And hay. My poor newfy is basically a 150lb ball of Velcro But she's my baby, so I only complain to me. The big girls eat in the morning and at night in the barn while I sit with them. It doesn't matter the weather. Stoli (newfoundland) is a food stealer and Nahla (St. Bernard) is submissive. Only relaying that, as it's something to watch for if you have two or more dogs eating together. Anyway, water bowls are kept in the house and Chick (blue heeler) is the only one that eats inside. The occasional dribble from drinking is about the only mess they make.

Best of luck in your decision making!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Speaking of multiple dogs. .... if you plan to have more than one, I always advised my clients to wait till the first dog is a year old before adding another. Otherwise the dogs are likely to bond to one another, forming their own pack with you as an observer rather than the alpha leader, as you should be. This gives you a year to bond, train and establish dominance with the first dog. Then the second, younger dog will follow the older dog's lead in looking to you for leadership and guidance.

 

[NHMountainMan]

Speaking of multiple dogs. .... if you plan to have more than one, I always advised my clients to wait till the first dog is a year old before adding another. Otherwise the dogs are likely to bond to one another, forming their own pack with you as an observer rather than the alpha leader, as you should be. This gives you a year to bond, train and establish dominance with the first dog. Then the second, younger dog will follow the older dog's lead in looking to you for leadership and guidance.

I've always had 2 dogs unless I had lost one. And I always spaced them a few years apart for your exact reasoning. I'm reconsidering that based on my new experience losing the older dog. The younger guy was very submissive to the older guy. Without the older dog, he's been lost (though the chickens have helped - he loves hanging out with them). But he isn't eating. Basically - it look like he doesn't know what to do without the other dog's guidance. My thought was that next time I get a pup, I'd get 2 from the same litter (either two males or one of each) and give them both individual and group training time. Let pack position form naturally based on the dog, not based on age.... I wouldn't do this if I weren't retired - but as I'm here full time, thought I could handle it.
But of course - I'm also thinking of getting another dog soon to get my pack back up to size. thoughts @BigBlueHen53 ?

 

[wyoDreamer]

In my opinion - I think you need to let the lost dog find his way. Work with him and get his confidence up so he can become a complete dog, not just a follower. You really don't want your existing dog to be a follower to a new, untrained puppy.
But that is just my opinion.

 

[NHMountainMan]

In my opinion - I think you need to let the lost dog find his way. Work with him and get his confidence up so he can become a complete dog, not just a follower. You really don't want your existing dog to be a follower to a new, untrained puppy.
But that is just my opinion.

That's how were leaning. Thanks

 

[rosemarythyme]

Assuming you want a pet dog, I believe they should be primarily indoors - the dog will be happier for it, because they want to be with you. Working dogs that need to be outdoors should be provided proper shelter in order to do their jobs (with adequate shelter).

To address some of your concerns, this is how I handle it:
- I absolutely do not leave dogs in the yard. My current lot isn't fenced so that's not feasible here, but even with a fence, dogs are great at getting themselves into "stuff" so I always supervise them. Example: I was staying at my parents house at one point and my mom put my little dog out in the yard without telling me for several hours - the dog found and ate a palm seed that ended up impacting her small intestines and costing us almost $2000 in surgery and vet bills.
- I don't let my dogs sleep in our beds or anywhere near the bedroom (only exception so far is our newest dog, with severe anxiety, so we let her sleep outside the door for a few weeks, then gradually moved her away so now she's downstairs). They're also not allowed on the furniture. They have free access to about 1/3rd of the house which includes the living space we frequent the most. They also have their own doggie bedroom with multiple beds and all their toys. 2 of the dogs use the bedroom (the 3rd does not, as she can open the door!)
- I don't keep water in the house as 2 of 3 of my current dogs are super messy drinkers. We have it on the porch and the dogs are let out to drink. Their food bowls all have placemats so there's very little mess with food.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I've always had 2 dogs unless I had lost one. And I always spaced them a few years apart for your exact reasoning. I'm reconsidering that based on my new experience losing the older dog. The younger guy was very submissive to the older guy. Without the older dog, he's been lost (though the chickens have helped - he loves hanging out with them). But he isn't eating. Basically - it look like he doesn't know what to do without the other dog's guidance. My thought was that next time I get a pup, I'd get 2 from the same litter (either two males or one of each) and give them both individual and group training time. Let pack position form naturally based on the dog, not based on age.... I wouldn't do this if I weren't retired - but as I'm here full time, thought I could handle it.
But of course - I'm also thinking of getting another dog soon to get my pack back up to size. thoughts @BigBlueHen53 ?

I had a similar situation once, @NHMountainMan. The older dog, a Collie, got out and was ... actually murdered by a guy in a truck, who was known to have done it before. I didn't even know he was out. The younger, a Golden, grieved terribly. It took him and me both quite some time to get over our loss, but eventually we did both recover. I'm happy to say we went on to have a very close relationship and lived happily ever after for many years afterward. Give yourself and your buddy time to recover and build a new relationship with you. In my opinion, he already has you, and he's liable to feel closer to you than to a new puppy. Once he's adapted to the new status quo, you may both be ready to add a new puppy, but it might be wise to take a little time to heal first.

On the other hand ... if you're both hurting... a puppy might be just what you both need to fill that empty space. But I would still recommend getting just one, not two. Two puppies will distract the snot out of each other, and frustrate the snot out of you. While you are trying to work with one, the other will be crying for it. You're a better trainer than me if you can deal with that!

 

[Aquatic_blue]

I think it comes down to in part the care and attention you give the dog, the outdoor setup you are able to provide, your local climate/environment, and one other thing that you do not mention is your neighbors. How close your neighbors are, the size of your dog area, how much your dog barks can impact this. I also think training is important if your dog is ever in your house, even if it is mostly outside. You still have to set the rules of a house dog, is the dog allowed on furniture, in all rooms of the house, does it get table scraps, is it permitted to counter surf, etc. Also what is your predator load, is you dog enclosure outdoors safe in all weather with all predators at all times of the year? Just things to think about. I think every person's situation is different and it is possible to make an indoor or outdoor or indoor/outdoor dog work.

Thanks for the extra questions to think about. They are definitely useful. I am thinking quite far in the future so I am not sure if we will be at our current home or not by then, but for now we live in city, closest neighbors on each side are a ways away, not directly next door. Every home on this street (but ours) has at least one dog. The neighbor across the street has about 4 or 5 dogs. It doesn't seem anyone minds barking here. Our backyard is fairly spacious, which is useful. Yes, training is important! =) No predator issues. The only thing I worry about is the heat outside in the hottest parts of summer, which is only like 101 F and few days of it, which isn't too bad.

 

[NHMountainMan]

I had a similar situation once, @NHMountainMan. The older dog, a Collie, got out and was ... actually murdered by a guy in a truck, who was known to have done it before. I didn't even know he was out. The younger, a Golden, grieved terribly. It took him and me both quite some time to get over our loss, but eventually we did both recover. I'm happy to say we went on to have a very close relationship and lived happily ever after for many years afterward. Give yourself and your buddy time to recover and build a new relationship with you. In my opinion, he already has you, and he's liable to feel closer to you than to a new puppy. Once he's adapted to the new status quo, you may both be ready to add a new puppy, but it might be wise to take a little time to heal first.

On the other hand ... if you're both hurting... a puppy might be just what you both need to fill that empty space. But I would still recommend getting just one, not two. Two puppies will distract the snot out of each other, and frustrate the snot out of you. While you are trying to work with one, the other will be crying for it. You're a better trainer than me if you can deal with that!

Thank you. Great advice.