Any thoughts on 'Outside Dogs' ? Discussions

We have two "outside" dogs, Lily the Lurcher & Graf our Rottie. They share part of my workshop, have two leather sofas to sprawl on (well what's left of them

They are loose in our farm yard 24/7 and as well as the workshop, there are a couple of wooden kennels that they mess about in and we have also put some rubber tiles about 2" thick about the place for them to sunbathe on

Their toys are tyres/logs/trees and anything else they can half inch of me;-)

Thanks for your posts guys, Kito my mal is doing really well now, he's now just gone 5 months and as expected he spends most of the day outside, there is normally someone at home and he has a large garden at his disposal. Much to his delight he now has a young GSD to keep him company. The pen has come in quite handy and he is quite happy when put in for whatever reason, its half sand / half grass and has a big log pile, luckily he isolates his favourite sport of digging to the sandy half and not the rest of the garden... He still spends a fair bit of time in the house and certainly gets plenty love and attention.. although he is not allowed up on sofas and beds, each to their own and all that. At the moment he still sleeps indoors (at the front door on the cool tiles), I am still not opposed to the idea of him sleeping in a kennel in the pen though. This has nothing to do with me not wanting him in the house, I know a few other Mals who are kennelled/penned at night and are clearly happy to do so.. more about wanting him to be comfortable.. with his coat he would certainly not feel the cold and as a breed are quite accustomed to sleeping in far more extreme conditions...

There is not a problem with him being outside! If you don't plan on having him a playmate, make sure you make plenty of time for you to have play time with him. When we got our first rottie, he stayed outside but we stayed outside from the time we got off work until it was dark and he has been fine up untill about April of this year, when we got 2 more dogs, and he's now 2. But he also found time to chase animals like squirrels and other small creatures like birds, I don't know why the birds! But it made him happy and passed time.

I have two gsd's and if it wasn't for the neighbours or would-be thieves, I would have no qualms in leaving them outside all night. They love to chill out on the decking out the back until very late at night with the french doors open, and hubby has to bribe them to get them in to go to bed, so I know they would love it, but I just can't risk it, even though I'm in a very safe little village, I'd hate to wake up in the morning and find them gone, especially the one which has "please steal me" written on her forehead, the other one is old, they probably wouldn't bother with him and he'd be far too heavy to cart off!

If I lived somewhere else and had no neighbours, I'd have the french doors open all night and the dogs roaming wherever they wanted to be, that's my take on it, let them choose!

Would be one daft thief for trying to nick two German Shepherds.

Yes, I suppose so, but it's happened too often for me to want to take that risk, that's why I don't even leave them out in the garden when I pop out even for 10 mins. I could never stop worrying (I am a worryguts though!). Maybe they'd throw some juicy meat over the fence laced with a sedative, or use a stun gun even, or maybe I've been watching too much telly! Lol!

Do `outside` dogs bond as closely as dogs who live with their owners? Just wondering.

yes! All three of my rotties avery protective over me! I spend ALOT of time with them and I work 6 days a week sometimes and Im gone 730 am to 630pm and I bond perfectly with my dogs!

My little one thats 5 months old he greets me when I get home and he is waiting on me at the door when I wake up, he knows the time of the day when I arrive!

All 3 of my lurchers are kennelled, they are pets and workers and are a huge part of my life, they live outsid because i work from 8-5 most days and it wouldn't be fair to keep them cooped up in the house all day and for my own convenience really, i would hate doing the housework with the dogs getting in my way, haveing visitors an if i just want to chill out sometimes i have no worries of what the dogs are up to!! They do come in the house when im home, when they get injured but genrally they prefer to be outside, they have raised platforms with duvets on, a light and a radio, they get takn out for a walk before work at lunchtime and have a 1-2 hour walk in the evening, they know when i get home and get excited but otherwise you wouldn't know i had dogs and we have a very good bond! They get walked, fed and spoken to and they're happy, they go to the park, to the beach, to the woods in my free time and as puppies are solely house dogs to teach some basic house manners when they do come in the house. Each to their own but haveing my dogs indoors fulltime would do my head in sometimes!

My dogs are happy to be outside.They have heated bedded areas and if my back door is open they might pop in for a nose then go back outside.

I agree 100%.that sounds like my home.haha.Good post.

Oh someone who agrees with me! Thankyou ;-)