[helpwkoby]

wanting to know if anyone’s GSD lives outside when everyone is at work? My partner and I’s plan was when we are home have roam inside and outside whenever he likes but while we are at work he is outside 🙂 we both work full time. The more I research the more it seems like everyone’s GSD is inside all the time ??

 

[tim_s_adams]

Hello, and welcome to the forum!

It seems to me that most people these days are sort of conditioned to believe that keeping a dog anywhere but inside is inhumane! But I gotta tell you, when I was growing up, and mind you this was in a country setting, very few dogs were kept inside the home.

We always had a pack of 4-6 dogs, and they would come inside sometimes for awhile. But honestly, they preferred to be outside. We had a large dog house for all of them, with hay inside to keep them warm. 95% of their life was outdoors, and they were all healthy and happy dogs that lived much longer than dogs do now. Not sure there's a connection, but it makes one wonder...

I personally have owned 2 previous GSDs, and neither of them were left inside while I was working. My current dog goes with me usually, but if I have to leave her at home I always leave her outside because she likes it better and we do have a fenced yard. I wouldn't leave a dog outside on a tether!

 

[Thecowboysgirl]

Here are some issues that arise with dogs being outside a lot and/or without supervision:

-nuisance barking (conflict with neighbors)
-destructive behavior (digging etc)
-escaping
-being fed/teased/stolen by strangers

I don't leave my dogs unattended in my fenced yard. Fence is 4.5 feet high. I am positive my younger shepherd could leave that yard at any moment if he felt like it.

I have another part of my property fenced at 6' and honestly I wouldn't really want to leave this dog for the day out there either. He has mad skills at escaping things and I just don't trust him.

I want to build a detached kennel for my dogs including outdoor runs where they could walk around and toilet if need be, but that would be welded wire kennel panels, dig proof and roofed or covered over the top so no climbing with lockable gates or I would never leave that one dog alone on the property with access. My other two dogs really stay where you put them no matter what. But dogs alone for long periods get ideas....digging and my lab will eat the bushes in front of my house.

So if you want your dog to have more freedom and/or ability to toilet while you're away, my suggestion would be a well thought out lockable, dig proof, climb proof kennel.

I have a kennel for boarders and if there is space and i need to, I put my dogs in it sometimes. It is especially handy when someone has an upset stomach and I don't think they can make it till I get back without an accident. Put them in an in and out kennel or an outdoor only, and they can just poop if they need to and I don't have a disaster in my kitchen.

 

[Orphan Heidi]

That was aa GREAT post and I want to comment on some real life escapades by escaping dogs.

My first GSD escaped a 6 ft. privacy fenced back yard twice when she decided to roam. Luckily I was home.

My sons's 2 huskys escaped his outdoor fenced area while he was at work and traveled 7 miles to take themselves
to the dog park on several occasions. Luckily the park ranger knew them and called my son. They had to cross several
busy highways to get to the park but they were determined to get there.

I once found a GSD hanging on a 6 ft. fence, caught by his collar and strangling with his feet off the ground. His owners were at work and I'm sure he would have been dead within hours.

If you value your dog(s) the only safe place for them unsupervised is an enclosed kennel with a top on it.

 

[Jenny720]

If I had a dog door and was not home my dogs would be in the house sleeping on the couch we’re all their people smells are. If a twig snapped in the backyard there would be a interrogation and mirage of barking the perimeters they are very protective of their property. It would be a nusance to the neighbors. They would have to much freedom and no guidance. I also would suggest and agree that a outdoor kennel would keep them safe outdoors. There is theft all kinds of unsavory people out there.

 

[mycobraracr]

Some of my dogs are in outdoor kennels when I'm not home and a couple of my dogs are loose around the house. I have a dog door, so they go in and out as they please. At my old house, we had a small yard and no kennels. So I would rotate my dogs outside during the day. They'd just be loose in the entire yard.

 

[wolfmonte]

wanting to know if anyone’s GSD lives outside when everyone is at work? My partner and I’s plan was when we are home have roam inside and outside whenever he likes but while we are at work he is outside 🙂 we both work full time. The more I research the more it seems like everyone’s GSD is inside all the time ??

I have been doing this to my dogs ever since I raised them. However, I wouldn't keep young puppies outside too long. Also, don't keep any dog outside alone for lengthy amounts of time or they get stressed because they are domestic animals. If you have more dogs then it's not an issue to keep them outside most of the time.

 

[GSDchoice]

In our current neighborhood, all dogs are inside when their owners are at work.

But when I was growing up, dog-owning families had fenced yards with doghouses and the dogs were out in the yard while nobody was home. Our Great Dane lived this way, and was (mostly) fine. She escaped twice, but was easily found (at 100+ pounds, and prone to run towards people rather than away from people, ha ha). When we came home from school/work, then she was inside with us.

Anyway I agree...if outside, you probably need a more secure arrangement than just fence. Dogs can go over, or dig under, if they are determined enough. And, schoolkids on their way home used to put their hands over our fence to pet our Dane. She loved it, would stand up on her hind legs with her tail wagging like crazy. But with some dogs, that might be dangerous or not OK...you don't want a kid to get bitten! My husband's brother was bitten when petting an Akita over a fence, and he is afraid of dogs to this day.

 

[crittersitter]

I would be afraid my dogs would bark and annoy people, be stolen or get in trouble if left out all day.

 

[Dunkirk]

When I'm not home, I leave my dog inside, with the airconditioning and the TV on. The TV is on as white noise, to diminish the 'importance' of outdoor noise/stimuli, and any action he may want to bark at.

 

[CometDog]

It depends on what "outside" is. Secure, with shelter from elements and water? Fine. Check your local ordinances too. Some sweeping laws out there especially within city limits.

The answer is it depends where you are and what you have for them.

 

[Thecowboysgirl]

It depends on what "outside" is. Secure, with shelter from elements and water? Fine. Check your local ordinances too. Some sweeping laws out there especially within city limits.

The answer is it depends where you are and what you have for them.

Good point about checking local rules.

 

[LuvShepherds]

Dogs can get used to just about anything but mine are indoors due to previous neighbor complaints. They hated dogs and children and every time a dog barked, they called AC. I have different dog now but the same neighbors. If you have a good set up that is safe, they can be kept outside. If they bark all the time, then no.