Inside vs outside dog - Page 2

Put a dog in fenced area and a snake comes in, the dog has the option to prove it's intelligence and get away from it and allow it to go on it's merry way. The dog that died in the kennel could not get away from the snake.... I would not put a dog through that. I live in a home with two gsds on a quarter of an acre fenced in. My dogs live indoors because I will pamper the senior and my younger dog is my service dog and must be by my side :) I fully agree dogs should not live crated all the time in large numbers in a house and too many to exercise and that is a huge pet peeve of mine :) 

So a healthy dog should be able to survive a bite from a cottonmouth or rattler or defeat a gator?

I´m totally against crating dogs - my personal dogs ( only one or two at a time ) do live in the house having access to the garden.
The dogs I trained had to live in a kennel...
My personal experience: A " house dog " seems to be smarter than a kennel dog,  a dog that knows both, kennel and house, will decide for the house for sure.
Health? Better health in the kennel
Workability? Better workability in a kennel
Socialization? Better in the house
Smartness? Better in the house
Protection? For me better in the house

I hear some pretty silly stuff being said above about the benefits of outdoor only dogs.  GSDNewbie has pretty much covered the common outdoor hazards in the USA, that are WITHIN THE CONTROL of the owner.  My vet sees both rural and suburban animals, which includes both high and low income owners.  Here are his anecdotal observations, based on what he's sees brought into his office daily:

1) Dogs that live inside tend to get heartworm less often than dogs that live 100% outside, this includes other flea and tick transmitted diseases.  

2) Dogs that live inside tend to get medical attention for injuries or sudden onsets of illness MUCH earlier than dogs that live 100% outside.  As was said earlier, my vet mentioned BLOAT specifically as an example. He said the dogs that come in too late and have the lowest possibility of recovery are ALWAYS outdoor only dogs.

3) Dogs that have bites from, or scrapes with wildlife are not usually dogs being taken on hikes, but instead are usually dogs that have lived 100% outside.  His list would include snakes, bees, rats, coyotes, etc, he's seen all kinds of crazy wildlife bites during his career.

4) The most broken down and "old looking" dogs he sees are 100% outdoor dogs.  The oldest and healthiest dogs he typically sees are indoor dogs that get lots of exercise.  Just because a dog lives a long time doesn't mean its healthy or fit to do anything beyond lay under a tree.

5) The most socially stupid dogs he's sees are 100% outdoor dogs.

I have purposely not included his thought on why the above is happening.  Note, I am not saying that dogs need to live 100% inside the house, but I am saying that being 100% outdoors is, anecdotally, not good for the overall health of the dog for some reason, within the continental United States..

As for the "poisoned dog" issue, I knew a couple of security guards at two totally different jobs, who both owned German Shepherds privately.  They both bought them to roam the yard as untrained guard dogs in bad neighborhoods. BOTH DOGS GOT POISONED within 2 years of being brought to their homes as "guards" of their backyards.  You know what they both said to me?  They would NEVER let any future dog be in their yards when they were not home, ever again.  This is from TWO TOTALLY different people whom did not know each other, but coincidentally had the same profession and lived in bad neighborhoods and the incidents happened YEARS apart.

And...Two Moons, who said above that apartment life is a complete fail for a GSD, well, I know two people in my club with apartment/condo dwelling GSD's and they get more training and exercise than 95% of the dogs in the USA.  Its the about the owner, not the dwellings.

everything that has been said is highly circumstantial and influenced directly by the caregiver/owner.

It boils down to the dedication of the owner to provide adequate safe shelter and resources.ie food,water,grooming, vet care, etc.....  

Just because a dog is indoors doesnt mean its healthy or safe and just because a dog is outdoors does not mean it will be unhealthy or unsafe.

So be a good owner that spends plenty of time with your dog and give it the appropriate care and training and it shouldnt matter if its indoors or outdoors.







 

it depends on the owners particular circumstances. Mine are indoors but I know folks that keep them outdoors and it works for them as well. As someone said earlier, depends on whether or not the owner is committed to "making it work". The best circumstance, in my opinion, is when the owners job and personal circumstances allows him/her to take the dog with them everywhere. 

(So a healthy dog should be able to survive a bite from a cottonmouth or rattler or defeat a gator?)
No, not nessecarily.

Because my dogs have been exposed to snakes they handle the situation very well, add to that their natural instincts and most will leave them alone.
Anything, man or beast can be bitten by a snake under the right circumstances.

As for a gator?
No different than people who live around Black bears, you'd teach them just as you'd teach your children.
A gator can grab a child just as quickly as it could anything else, nasty buggers.
And Black bears can be very dangerous, more than say a Grizzly, much more aggressive as predators go.
Herding dogs have been dealing with predators all this time and seem to have survived just fine.


Again instinct comes into play, as the correct GSD would be cautious in such encounters, learning adding to instinct.
Of course they didn't get this far living in  a house, chewing on rubber toys.

Imagine what a GSD would be like now, today, without all that working, living and learning.

The greatest asset of the German Shepherd Dog is intelligence, they didn't get that way by accident.

No matter how you spin it they were not meant to be house dogs.




p.s. momo,
There are exceptions to every rule of course, but not the norm.






 

As for poisoning, your dog can be trained in this area easily just as it can be trained for anything else.
I disagree with most of your post Momo, or maybe just your vet.

Two Moons, do you know how ridiculous your answer to my post sounds?  I purposely DID NOT included his thoughts on why the above is happening.  I don't understand how you think you can argue about WHAT is coming into his practice on a regular basis, remember I DID NOT include "why". To give a little more background this is my general vet, not one of the specialty vets I use.  This guy has the widest range of customers that I have ever seen in my life, the area his practice is located in is unique and has suburban, urban and rural areas nearby.

Food refusal is a pretty difficult thing to teach correctly and can be easily screwed up.  I wouldn't ever recommend such on a public message board. Only people who have access to a knowledgeable trainer such ever attempt such.

As for Snake proofing, I highly doubt your dogs are as snake savvy as you say.  You clearly are overestimating their understanding and one day may result in seriously injury or death of one of your dogs.  I've seen how they do it for gun dogs and people can still lose a dog under those circumstances.

So to the OP, basically some people here are saying, its better to keep a dog outside, so as long as you teach Food Refusal, Snake proof the dog, fence your yard properly to keep out pests and predators, regularly take you dog in to the vet for heartworm, west nile virus and valley fever testing and this and that and this and that and this and that. 

It should be obvious at this point that its easier and less work to just keep them indoors and vacuum more often.

 @ Momo.