Where does your dog live?

[Laura Corin]

We are getting a dog in December, and I found out last night that husband's and my assumptions about where she should live are completely different. I'm trying to work out if this is cultural (he's American, I'm British) or personal. If any Americans have time to answer my poll, I'd be grateful.

 

Thank you

 

Laura

[Laura in VA]

We are getting a dog in December, and I found out last night that husband's and my assumptions about where she should live are completely different. I'm trying to work out if this is cultural (he's American, I'm British) or personal. If any Americans have time to answer my poll, I'd be grateful.

 

Thank you

 

Laura

 

All of our dogs have been indoor dogs. Until they are completely housetrained, they stay in a kennel when we are not home and sleep in it at night.

HTH!

[elegantlion]

We have a lab. She has an outdoor kennel. We do not have a fenced yard otherwise I'd let her roam in the yard. She is allergic to the trees in our yard, so she has been staying inside more often.

 

She has her own room. We have sunroom with a door to the back yard, that is her room. It has a sliding glass door that opens onto the living room. She will sometimes stay out with us, but stays in her room most of the time.

 

She has two chairs, one to stretch out her head.

[Night Elf]

Our dog (13 lbs) lives indoors but is housetrained to go outside (except in extreme weather conditions which scare her to pieces and we put a puppy pad in the bathroom for her). She has a crate in the living room that stays open all day and is closed at night to keep her in one place while we're asleep. She has free roam of the house all day.

[TammyinTN]

Ella Bella our Border Collie has free roam of the house. We are currently living in an apartment so we don't have a yard of our own. We do take her for long daily walks in the farm land around post. She sleeps in a kennel because she wants to. We usually leave the door open and she will stay with us until she's tired and goes to her kennel for the night. She's an excellent dog and we have had her trained by a German trainer. The only bad habit she has is she barks when someone comes to the door.

[Janet in Toronto]

We don't have a yard, so our terrier mix is inside other than when we walk him (free range of the house, but no jumping on beds). He is walked 3-4 times per day.

 

Janet in Toronto

[VaKim]

Our puppies live in a crate except to go out and potty or be played with until they are housetrained. Then, they have full range of the house and yard. We have 3 right now.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

our dog lives in the house like a person. When she was younger she was crate trained, but hasn't used the crate in years (in fact the crate got moved to the barn). She's an 8yo German Shep who gives family "the look" if there is no room for her on the couch. The only places off limits to her are my dd's room & the classroom (only rooms w/carpet & dog sheds). I'd like to keep her out of my bedroom, but she is frightened of storms, so in bad weather all dc are in my bed & the dog is right beside the bed on the floor. BTW, this is not how I was raised. I would prefer the dog to be off the furniture & mostly outside, but I am overruled in my house when it comes to pets.

[Gamom3]

They range from 18lbs, 13lbs, 5lbs and 2lbs.

The 3 older ones are trained, they have free roam of the house.

The puppy is being trained, if I can not watch her, she is put in her crate..which is rare, since I know when she goes. She is very close to being housebroken.

 

We installed a doggy door about 2 months ago and it was the BEST purchase we have made in a LONG time! The puppy even knows how to use it!!

[Laura in VA]

our dog lives in the house like a person. When she was younger she was crate trained, but hasn't used the crate in years (in fact the crate got moved to the barn). She's an 8yo German Shep who gives family "the look" if there is no room for her on the couch. The only places off limits to her are my dd's room & the classroom (only rooms w/carpet & dog sheds). I'd like to keep her out of my bedroom, but she is frightened of storms, so in bad weather all dc are in my bed & the dog is right beside the bed on the floor. BTW, this is not how I was raised. I would prefer the dog to be off the furniture & mostly outside, but I am overruled in my house when it comes to pets.

 

I love German Shepherds! Ours was scared of storms, too. He'd follow us around the house when there was a thunderstorm and just shake from fright. He also did not like the sound of firecrackers. He died last year (9 1/2) from cancer. He was the absolute best dog I have ever had or known.

[LisaNY]

Our dogs live in our house with us. We have a fenced yard, so they have plenty of room to run. Dogs are "pack" animals - they do best when they live with the family. I hate, hate, hate to see dogs tied to a tree, or placed in outdoor kennels. It goes against their nature to be isolated from their "pack". IMO, if you plan to do that, do the dog a favor, and get a cat. :001_smile:

[Twinmom]

We have a small boxer and she is an indoor dog, meaning that she spends time every day outside in the yard and going on walks, etc. but she sleeps indoors in a crate in our room. She basically likes to be whereever we are, so that's no problem for us! She's a pack animal as the previous poster said, and she wants to be with her pack. She's trained to ring a bell when she needs to go out and she has a nice yard with lots of room to roam when she has the urge. We just let her decide where she wants to be!

[Plaid Dad]

We don't have a dog now, but I grew up with them. They always had free roam of the house, although we did close our bedroom doors at night. We did not have crates for them, although if I had a dog now, I would. I don't mind dogs being in bedrooms, but I don't like them sleeping on the beds. (Our cats do, though.)

 

I know several families with large dogs who keep them outside almost all the time. In one case, the dog comes into the mud room when it's very cold. The others have barns where the dogs can go in bad weather.

[TCoppock]

I had to answer other. We have a lab who use to be an inside/outside dog, but he has slowly become an outside dog. He rarely want to be indoors. He has the barn he can sleep in outside but prefers sleeping on the picnic table. :confused: I don't understand why he wants to be out on a hard table rather then on his bed inside.

[JudoMom]

We've got 2 American Eskimos (about 25 pounds, I think) and they live mostly in the yard. At night they sleep in the kitchen or garage. When we are all hanging out after dinner, dh lets them in and they hang out with us, but they have to be supervised or they tend to wander off and mark the bedrooms :glare:.

 

I would love for them to have free roam of the house (this is how my dogs were growing up), but I was overruled by dh when they were puppies. The next dog we get will be smaller (maybe a pug) and will be an inside dog.

[RoughCollie]

Our dogs have always lived in the house. They go outside in our fenced-in back yard, or for walks on a leash, or run free at the dog park.

 

I'm from the South and I've known plenty of people there whose dogs live outside and are not housebroken. The weather there is warm enough for that year around, and if it does get cold, the dogs go into the laundry room or garage. I've never had, nor wanted, a yard dog though. My dogs mainly live in the house, and can go anywhere inside they want to go, no matter what size they are.

 

RC

Edited October 24, 2008 by RoughCollie

[GreenKitty]

Indoors only. Goes outside just to potty.

[Dee in MI]

We don't have a fenced yard, so I had to answer "other". Indy stays inside with us, and is walked several times a day. He's pretty much housetrained, but he's a chewer, so he stays where someone can "put an eyeball on him" regularly. He's not allowed on the furniture. He sleeps on the floor in my bedroom.

[scubamama]

Flounder the Basset Hound(er) lives in the house with us, althought she is let outside everyday year round on her dog line to sit in the sun. She never does more than sit though, very lazy. She has free roam of the house but isn't allowed on furniture or beds. She's at the stage of life I call "the throw rug"- so old that she's not very active and mainly follows us from room to room like a big throw rug (with dramatic sighs ever time she has to get up). Her natural droopiness makes her look exhausted and she uses that as an excuse to try to get on the sofa. My dh grew up on a farm and has "never seen a more useless dog" He's right but she's great! Those long ears make for a mean game of Peek a Boo with little ones - that's useful :)

 

Michele

[Laura Corin]

I'm from the South and I've known plenty of people there whose dogs live outside and are not housebroken. The weather there is warm enough for that year around, and if it does get cold, the dogs go into the laundry room or garage.

 

His mother was horrified at the idea of an inside dog - she was Texas born and bred, and dogs lived outside.

 

Laura

[Titus.Two.Five]

We have a large yellow lab. He lives outdoors only. GASP!!! :D

 

 

He has a 2 acre sized, underground, electric fence and a slightly heated garage that he is welcome to in the winter or stormy weather. Five kids that adore him. And is well cared for. He even has his very own pool.

 

 

Unfortunately, one of my children has severe allergies so being inside our house is out of the question. And to be quite honest, I think having a dog (or cat) inside a home is nasty. :leaving: And I am nowhere near the south! lol

 

Pack animal or not, I guarantee his current life is a huge improvement over his past one before we rescued him from a shelter. ;)

Edited October 24, 2008 by Titus.Two.Five

[Melinda in VT]

I answered, but I don't think our Golden Retriever counts as a small dog.

 

He has free range of the downstairs, but can't go upstairs (bedrooms). In part this is because my husband is allergic to him.

 

Up until this summer, we had a crate in the living room that he was free to use during the day and was locked in when we were out for long periods of time or were asleep. I finally decided that with six people and 900 sq ft of living space, I couldn't justify allocating so much floor space to a crate, so we got rid of it. Now he sleeps wherever he wants, as long as it is downstairs.

[RoughCollie]

His mother was horrified at the idea of an inside dog - she was Texas born and bred, and dogs lived outside. Laura

 

My husband was aghast for a few moments when he realized that our collie would be living in the house -- until I told him the dog lives where he lives, period. DH did not want to live in the yard. When he was growing up in the hot South, his collie/shepherd mix lived outside. It's too cold here for that. Besides, I've never understood how a dog who lives outside can be a pet -- no way I'd be going outside a zillion times a day to visit my dog. I don't see, from witnessing other people whose dogs live outside, how a dog can be a member of the family when it is not with the family most of the time. Mind you, I am speaking from the perspective of a suburbanite -- it might be a different story if I lived on a farm or had a lot of acreage.

 

Our dog has a huge crate, which we keep in the foyer as it won't fit anywhere else. The door is not on it because we don't need it. The crate is there because the dog likes it so much. He also has half of the couch in the den, and if a person sits on his half, he barks at them until they move or I tell him to stop and them to stay. I don't have an island in my kitchen because, although I planned one, I realized that it would sit right where the dog lies down to keep me company while I cook.

 

I have a strict policy that the dog is a dog, and he does not come first -- the people in this family do. But, to a degree, he is a pampered pet.

 

RC

Edited October 24, 2008 by RoughCollie

[Plaid Dad]

His mother was horrified at the idea of an inside dog - she was Texas born and bred, and dogs lived outside.

 

This is interesting. One of the families we know who has an outdoors-unless-it's-subzero dog is from Texas. I definitely have the impression that the wife finds the idea of indoor dogs revolting. Their dog came to them housebroken, but he hasn't been obedience- or crate-trained at all. The kids play with him outdoors, but he can get pretty wild.

 

Then again, one of my mom's sisters (from Pennsylvania) was horrified by the idea of any animal being in the house; all she could imagine was "the germs." Mom was completely devoted to our dogs. So it may also be a matter of temperament and comfort levels with mess and dogginess. :)

[Lisa at Home]

:)

[Pamela H in Texas]

Our dogs, all 3 of them (2 small dogs, and a lab), are primarily inside dogs....they go out in the yard to do their business, we take them on walks, we have a small homemade agility course. But they LIVE inside.

[CookieMonster]

Our current German Shepherd mixed mutt, a stray rescued from having been dumped in the woods where we used to live, lives in our backyard. If the dog would not dig out or jump out of the yard we would let her roam free. She is on a span wire. She has a dog house. Whenever we travel back to the country, she roams free regularly.

 

As a suburbanized American, I have had indoor dogs most of my life. I never will again. After having been indoor-pooch free for over two years I cannot subject myself to the hair, the tracked in dirt and sand, the occasional accident, or slobbery toys ever again. The difference in the cleanliness of my house, my furniture, and my clothes is palpable.

 

My husband, the country boy, had outdoor dogs all his life, until he married me. He and his family do not consider the inside of their house the place for an animal like a dog. My husband put up with my indoor dogs because he loves me. But he has let it be known he won't go there again - even for a small, cutsey dog.

 

So I voted for outdoor only. I went into all those details for the sake of your American/British survey of the question, in case it would help.

[JFSinIL]

H'mm, our Labrador lives in the house, with us and our four cats. Captain holds down the couch for us....and thinks he is a lap dog.:001_smile: Since a dog is a pack animal, he wants to be with his pack.

[Sharon in SC]

:)

 

Yep. This would be us : Lisa wrote: "Yes, this is what we do, too. Plus, they sleep in the bed with us." :o) ! :D

 

Our dogs are, literally, part of our family. They do what we do (except for potty in the toilet, :tongue_smilie:), and go where we go. We wouldn't have it any other way but, certainly, this lifestyle is not for everyone. :) (BTW, we currently have a Border Collie and a poodle. We've also lived this way with a 100 lb yellow lab).

 

The only thing different from the old house lifestyle to the new is that they don't get up on the furniture now. I am very thankful, as the homemaker, for that!

[Crafty Mathy Mom]

We have an indoor/outdoor Jack Russell mix. He has run of the house except for a couple of rooms. We keep those doors closed. He has a spot in the kitchen where he sleeps inside. He runs free outside with his doggy friends that live next door. They pretty much run between our two yards and play with any children that are outside (usually mine). He has a doghouse. Dh put in a 30 foot run system, but we rarely use it. I don't like tying animals.

[3lilreds in NC]

Our dog is an "inside dog." He goes outside to potty, and I walk him regularly, but he doesn't get to hang out outside because we don't have a fence. So, I chose "yard, with free range of the house," but it's mostly just free range of the house. He is crated at night and if we're going to be gone long - he's good in the house but if bored will shred paper or eat a book. Too much of that around here for me to leave him out.

 

Growing up, though, we had "outside" hunting dogs that lived in a dog run with a house and everything but were not allowed inside - usually because they were not house trained and we got them as adults. We were outside a lot and played with them.

 

It's such a personal thing. We have friends with a dog who, although they live in our neighborhood and there are leash laws and all that, let their dog out at night to roam free. She's gotten into lots of stuff - Halloween candy, for example - and gotten quite ill. I don't think it's safe to do that, although my dog would probably love it.

 

ETA: Our dog is big, black and hairy. I hate the hair. I would love to put him outside, but he would be very sad and there really is no way to do it here. We won't have another dog. Between him and the 4 cats, the mess is about to make me lose my mind. I love them all but enough is enough! We aren't getting rid of anyone, but we won't replace any either. Of course we have many, many years ahead of us to enjoy all our animals (Lord willing and all that) because they're all young. I'm just saying.

Edited October 24, 2008 by 3lilreds in NC

[mrsdash]

We have a fenced in yard. The dogs are outside and inside like little kids who want to come in and out. We have Shadow,a pit/lab, Duffy, a mutt and 2 chihuahuas- Lola and Hector. They sleep with the kids and they "go to bed" on their own, lol.

[Sharon in SC]

They sleep with the kids and they "go to bed" on their own, lol.

 

:lol:

[hsmamainva]

We have two 3 year old labs - one yellow and one black.

 

They have dog beds in the family room where they sleep, and a fenced-in backyard where they go out to play and...do other things. ;)

 

And they're allowed free access to the main level of the house, but we have a baby gate on the stairs to keep them away from the upper level where the bedrooms are, simply because my 9yo has asthma and the dog hair would make it worse (we discovered that the few times that he's fallen asleep on the couch in the family room, and he woke up coughing).

[BritAnnia]

Dh and I had the same discussion when we were married and moved to our first home. To him a dog lived outside, to me a dog was part of the family and lived inside. The dog we got made up his own mind. He wasn't much of a people loving dog and he prefered living outside. He stayed outside in our fenced yard, a doghouse and we took him out on walks through the woods fairly often.

The dog we have now spends a lot of time outside in our fenced yard but is essentially an inside dog. He's happiest during the day to be outside, hanging out, wandering and sniffing, watching the cars go by. At night and on very hot/cold/wet days he is inside. Bit like the kids really :D

Edited October 24, 2008 by BritAnnia

[Country Mouse]

I voted "other" because while our chocolate lab is a princess and must be around her people at all times, she is trained not to go in ds's room. She gets to run and play outside in our big, fenced yard but when we are in she wants to be in, also.

[Highereducation]

We have two dogs: a 2 yo GSD named Boca and a 3 yo Schipperke named Indy, and they both live in the house. We do have a deck, but usually when we let them out they start barking at the 2 dogs next door, or anyone walking by, squirrels, etc., so it's a revolving door depending on how much barking I can stand!

 

We take them for walks and put them on ropes in the backyard to play with them (the yard isn't fenced yet), but other than the deck, they are not outside if we aren't.

 

My dd is an aspiring show dog handler and she will be showing the Schipperke once she is old enough to compete as a Junior Handler (the minimum age is 9). If she has her way we will become a full-service doggie daycare by the time she's 18!

[Heather in Neverland]

My dog lives "on a farm with lots of room to run" or so my kids think.

[Renee in NC]

My two labs are outside when we are not home and live inside the rest of the time. They sleep in my room usually (or wherever the dc are.)

[Kathleen in VA]

I voted "other" because we have a tiny dog that only goes outside for a few minutes each day. She really thinks she is a cat.;) She follows me around all day and promptly falls asleep at my feet if I sit down for more than two seconds together. She sits under the piano bench when dd16 practices. She sleeps on my bed at my feet each night. We almost named her "Kitty."

 

I know some folks in my neighborhood who keep their large, hunting-type dogs outside in a large kennel with a nice insulated dog house. Others here let their dogs roam the neighborhood:glare:.

 

I got my dog for companionship and I can't imagine leaving her outside all day. She is just too snuggly and cute for that.:)

[camibami]

My dog lives "on a farm with lots of room to run" or so my kids think.

__________________

 

LOL!

 

I had to pick "other", because our dog doesn't live in the yard at all. She goes outside a total of 1 hour a day, in 2 minute potty breaks and 1 30-45 minute walk at night for excercise. Otherwise, she's indoors only. She'd make a great apartment dog.

 

She's a black Lab.

[Carrie12345]

I voted before noticing (small), sorry! My vote is "other", anyway.

 

Our beasts are large. Our yard is unfenced. I am anti-tie-out. They live indoors and their "zone" is limited mostly to gathering areas, only b/c the stairs and kids' rooms are gated off to keep the baby out.

 

We crate our dogs in our loft when we're out and at night.

[Brigitte]

On the couch. :tongue_smilie:

 

Our dog is a Cocker Spaniel/Lhasa Apso mix (about 20 lbs). He is mostly indoors (potties outside). When the weather is warm, he likes to spend a lot of time sitting on our deck watching the world go by. Since he has not always been reliable, we do crate him or block him in the kitchen. He loves his crate and goes in willingly.

 

My previous dog was very smart and 100% house broken. She had free range of the house at all times and did not really enjoy spending time outside unless there was something to bark at. She was a Lab/Greyhound mix. Because she had the bony frame of the Greyhound, she mostly lived on the couch and slept in our bed. :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie:

[I talk to the trees]

Our dogs live in our house with us. We have a fenced yard, so they have plenty of room to run. Dogs are "pack" animals - they do best when they live with the family. I hate, hate, hate to see dogs tied to a tree, or placed in outdoor kennels. It goes against their nature to be isolated from their "pack". IMO, if you plan to do that, do the dog a favor, and get a cat. :001_smile:

:iagree: Just before dd was born, we adopted a 3-yr-old sheltie mix who didn't even know how to run. I am not joking about this. He had been on a 15-foot chain his whole life! It took us *months* to teach him how to run and play. Lisa is absolutely right about the pack animal thing. Our "pack" of 3 sleeps surrounding our bed (on pillows on the floor, unless it's really cold, then they get to snuggle with us.) We do have a doggie door, and they can come and go to our fenced yard as they choose. In the coldest months, we keep the door closed, and they are indoors except for potty trips.

 

-Robin

[Murphy101]

stays in the house except when going out to do the "do" or when the family is out

[Dayle in Guatemala]

When we rescued our Black Lab, my dh and I had different ideas about where the dog would live. We have a fenced in garden behind our house and his thoughts were that Shadow would live there and not be allowed inside the house. I thought he would primarily be inside the house. He wasn't raised with pets, I was.

 

I can tell you that it wasn't long before the puppy was in the house with us. It was obvious that he was sad outside by himself so much. He really didn't do well. I had considered even giving him to another family who would have him in the house with them. We slowly allowed him into the house and now he is basically an indoor dog with a lot of time with the kids outside during the day for exercise. But, he's always with the family.

 

I agree that dogs are so social they need their family. They get their identity from their "pack". We recently rescued a mini-schnauzer and we have her in the house with us all the time. They start to fit into our schedule and become a part of our family.

[jonesloonybin]

We have a Pug and he is an indoor dog. He goes out for "the do" and walks. But he is indoors all other times. Here it can get hot and with his smooshed face he does not do well in the heat. He is allowed on the couch or my oldest dd's bed (her choice) but that is it. He mostly sleeps in his indoor kennel/crate or on my oldest dd's bed. But we keep him clean and bathed regularly so he doesn't get too "doggy" smelling. He will follow you around and he always knows who is not feeling good...he sticks to them like glue. :001_smile: He is such a good dog.

[Stacy in NJ]

The climate in a New Jersey winter would prevent almost anyone from keeping their dog outside, especially during Jan, Feb, Mar.

 

Our dog is a pet. He lives with us in our home. He has free run of our yard and a bit of the neighborhood when he jumps our fence.

 

Honestly, I have a hard time with people who leave their dogs outside all year round. I understand that working dogs may be outside dogs that sleep in a barn or kennel and that's realistic for the owners life style, but for people who keep dogs as pets it just seems cruel.

[lllll]

2 Chihuahuas. They are inside all the time unless I take them walking with me, or they need to go out. They both used to sleep in the bed with me and dh; but the older one (17yo) sleeps on a baby blanket on a cushion beside our bed now. Younger one still sleeps in bed with us. :) They also have cushions at various places all around the house (kitchen, beside table ...) to sit on when I'm in these rooms.

[Peela]

We have 2 dogs- a 4 year old medium sized mix, and a 12 week old Jack Russell/Maltese (very cute but a nervous bundle of energy compared to our older, very placid dog.

The older dog is well trained and sits in the school room most days- well, until recently when we got the puppy. Now we need her to "babysit" the puppy in the yard because the pup is not toilet trained yet so we cant let her run around.

Pup sometimes sits with my dh and watches tv- in bed :) Pup needs lots of handling.

Mostly though the dogs are outside and come in for part of the day for affection and loving and just hanging out with us. They generally do not come into the bedrooms. We rent and are not really supposed to have the dog inside, let alone two, but they are very loved and there doesn't seem much point having a dog if they are going to be outside all day, to me, unless we also spent a lot of time out there with them, which we dont.