Do you think it is a good idea to get a dog without a fenced in garden?

Rabbitandcavy

We had two terriers, one passed away Monday aged 17. We are all devastated and miss her dearly. Our other one is about a year and a half old. We feel sorry for her now with no doggie friend and plus we would like to have another dog ourselves. We have a half acre garden that can't be fully enclosed. We keep the dogs indoors though and they go out for play time. We live in a rural area where all the dogs just run around the place. We never had a problem with our dogs or anyone elses killing live stock because they have been raised with the animals and are used to them. There is someone home all day in our house.

Should we get another puppy?

I hope everyone can just state their opinions and not have this thread end up pages and pages of pointless arguement. I'll read everyones opinions and make a logical decision whether or not getting another one is a good idea.

Thank you!

SophieSakura

Sorry you lost your dog

I think it depends on the individual dog. Some will stay in the garden and are really good, so to me, that's as good as having a fence. But you could get one that might be determined to run off, I guess it depends how you train the dog too.

kylith

I would not recommend having a dog without a safe, enclosed area for them as they may wander and get lost/stolen or have an accident. If you can't fence of the whole garden could you fence off a smaller bit so that they dogs could have somewhere?

ISDW

Really sorry for you loss, great age for a dog, I'm sure you shared many happy memories, which hopefully will help you get through this tough time.

In my opinion, no you shouldn't have a dog without a fenced in garden, whether you live in the country or not. I don't understand why your garden can't be fenced in, but you don't want a discussion, so I guess you won't tell us:D

Shazanne

I am so very sorry to hear that you lost your dog:(

I think that your other dog should be your priority and I really feel that he/she needs a companion. Your dog is very young so how did it react to being in the garden without a fence initially? You sound like true dog lovers so I feel you will make the effort to ensure that your new dog will be trained in the same way as your other dogs. Ideally you should have a fence (I'd have no choice with my two!) but if its worked for you up to now without any difficulty then I think you should go ahead and get another but, as someone said above, be careful what type of dog you get (and maybe give some thought to a rescue dog??)

Rabbitandcavy

Thanks everyone is far

Probably would get a pound dog if we decided to, IF we do. Rescues would not rehome to us.

andreac

Please fence an area for your dog, its not safe or responsible to have your dogs roaming and loose.
They could cause an accident, get stolen, get run over, harm other dogs or livestock, the list is endless.
I just cant fathom how a dog owner can leave a dog loose and not properly contained
It is possible to build a dog run or fence a small area to keep them in when you arent around.

Rabbitandcavy

Thanks for your post.

She is not let roam around, as she is an indoor dog she only goes outside to pee and run around a bit. Other then that she does not leave unless she is brought on the lead. Haven't had any problems with either roaming as they were spayed and had eachother and us they didn't need to.

andreac

Rabbitandcavy wrote: »

Thanks for your post.

She is not let roam around, as she is an indoor dog she only goes outside to pee and run around a bit. Other then that she does not leave unless she is brought on the lead. Haven't had any problems with either roaming as they were spayed and had eachother and us they didn't need to.

Its not a case of they didnt need to, they still could have if they wanted to and if the opportunity arose and they want to they could have wandered off.

You can never tell how a dog is going to react or behave as instinct will always take over if something attracts them enough, or they get a scent or want to chase a rabbit etc, so its up to the owner to make sure that this isnt possible and they are properly contained

Shanao

I think you should get another dog to keep the other company and good on you for thinking about rescuing from a pound, but please consider at least building a run or something.

Rabbitandcavy

Thanks,
I might look into getting a run though don't think we will use it. We don't leave her alone outside.

SophieSakura

If she's not left outside alone, and she doesn't run off, then I don't see the problem with it. If the dog is train to not run off, that's as good as a fence, like if a dog is trained to walk offlead, it doesn't need a lead

The only thing I'd be worried about is if the new dog was really hyper or something and loved running off, but hopefully you'll get one that won't

andreac

SophieSakura wrote: »

If she's not left outside alone, and she doesn't run off, then I don't see the problem with it. If the dog is train to not run off, that's as good as a fence, like if a dog is trained to walk offlead, it doesn't need a lead

The only thing I'd be worried about is if the new dog was really hyper or something and loved running off, but hopefully you'll get one that won't

Sorry, but its not the same . If you arent around there is absolutely nothing to stop a dog from running off if it really wants to. All the training in the world wont stop a dog following its instinct or wanting to chase after a rabbit, bird etc so if there is no fence to stop it then it will just run off if it really wants to.

ppink

SophieSakura wrote: »

If she's not left outside alone, and she doesn't run off, then I don't see the problem with it. If the dog is train to not run off, that's as good as a fence, like if a dog is trained to walk offlead, it doesn't need a lead

The only thing I'd be worried about is if the new dog was really hyper or something and loved running off, but hopefully you'll get one that won't

The one thing about this is that it definately does not protect from the guys in vans going around our countryside constantly picking up loose dogs and using them for God only knows what.
it always amazes me how we now have dedicated websites for lost and found dogs.


The other thing that would worry me is another neighbourhood dog coming in and fighting with my loose dog.....I only say this from experience unfortunately!

then of course I would worry about it causing an accident if it did venture out of 1/2 an acre.

it is funny as some dogs are home dogs. we had one who circled the house when out and never went further than that. he was so big you could see his ears trotting past the window every minute or so. however he was the one who was targeted by a neighbourhood roaming dog and our dog had just had surgery.....I was not impressed:(

LisaO

Rabbitandcavy wrote: »

Thanks,
I might look into getting a run though don't think we will use it. We don't leave her alone outside.

This is maybe the key point to your question. Our situation is very similar to yours. We have 2 dogs & a large area that is very difficult if not impossible to fence adequately. Our dogs are not left outside unsupervised, even if there is someone at home. Like most dogs, they prefer to be with their people so even in Summer when doors are left open the dogs are with someone (usually me!), so if I go in, they come in, if I go outside, they come outside. We have a dog run but don't use it TBH, as when they are left home they are in the house. A lot will depend on the dog you may eventually choose - I'm sure there are dogs that are determined to escape at any opportunity but generally if they are well exercised they shouldn't be off out the door & up the road every time the door is opened.

SophieSakura

andreac wrote: »

Sorry, but its not the same . If you arent around there is absolutely nothing to stop a dog from running off if it really wants to. All the training in the world wont stop a dog following its instinct or wanting to chase after a rabbit, bird etc so if there is no fence to stop it then it will just run off if it really wants to.

Well not exactly the same. But they don't leave the dog outside unsupervised anyway. It's not the ideal thing, but it works for them.

One of my neighbours has a Boxer in the front garden (only outside sometimes but is left unsupervised) and she never leaves the garden, even when I walk by with my dogs who she doesn't really like. She would chase after them but she knows she's not meant to leave. I think that she's pretty safe that she's not going to run away, but am kinda scared somebody would steal her.

But the OP doesn't let the dog out unsupervised, so it's not in that much danger really.

Discodog

I have three (two big ones) dogs & a small unsecure garden. The dogs are never allowed outside off lead. So when I get up I pop them on 24ft flexis & they have a pee. After breakfast they get a 45 min off lead walk. Then late afternoon they are back on the flexis for another piddle & then they get a another 45 min off lead run. Finally it's a flexi pee before bed.

Three of my neighbours have had dogs killed on the road. They all claim that this was the first time that their dogs had wandered.

boomerang

Discodog wrote: »

I have three (two big ones) dogs & a small unsecure garden. The dogs are never allowed outside off lead. So when I get up I pop them on 24ft flexis & they have a pee. After breakfast they get a 45 min off lead walk. Then late afternoon they are back on the flexis for another piddle & then they get a another 45 min off lead run. Finally it's a flexi pee before bed.

Three of my neighbours have had dogs killed on the road. They all claim that this was the first time that their dogs had wandered.

Good post, Discodog. It's always best to have a fenced-in, secure area for your dog. It's possible to keep your dog safe in an unenclosed garden, but as Discodog's post shows, it requires a huge amount of dedication and effort if you intend to be responsible about it.

Are you honestly saying OP that on a wet winter's morning when your dog needs to pee, that you're going to go out into the mucky garden with her to make sure she doesn't ramble off?

Any number of things can happen to an unsupervised dog in an unenclosed garden. A bored dog may get in the habit of chasing the post man's van, for instance. Or your dog could be sitting at your open gate when someone passes that frightens the dog, and the dog barks and lunges. Next thing, you've got a complaint on your hands. Or another dog might wander past and your dog goes off down the road with it. The possibility is endless really. If you get a dog without having an enclosed garden and don't make strenuous efforts to always supervise the dog when it's outside, you're taking a risk.

I'm in the same boat as Discodog and it takes enormous effort on my part to supervise my dogs when they're outside. They don't go outside the door without I or my Dad keeping an eye on them. Not so much because they could wander off, but because of the amount of human and animal traffic up and down the road. The lack of a fence and a closed gate means I can't stop people or animals coming in, and without supervision I can't stop my dogs if something out on the road takes their interest. It's really difficult and I'd do anything to live somewhere that's fenced in. In fact even though I own my own house, I rented elsewhere for three years because I felt so strongly about keeping my dogs safe.

Discodog

boomerang wrote: »

Are you honestly saying that on a wet winter's morning when your dog needs to pee, that you're going to go out into the mucky garden with her to make sure she doesn't ramble off?

That's why I use the flexi's - I can stand in the porch. They all piddle instantly on command - might be useful one day .

As you know it's all about consistent routine. I consider it an honour not a chore - I get 10 times more from them than I give to them.

belongtojazz

My back garden in the UK wasn't secure. I also had a cat which my Springer absolutely detested next door and 4 foot high fences so my guys were never ever let out on their own.
Wee time involved all of us going out no matter what the weather was like. They never got to play out there unless I was there watching them.

In my experience it is very doable just means more work.

Where I am now we have a secure backgarden and to be honest I still go out with them as it is just habit now

Rabbitandcavy

Thanks everyone who posted.