anyone have a dog, and not have a fence?

[Autumn Breeze]

Dh and I are looking at adopting an older dog, but I'm having a hard time seeing past us not having a fence. He wants to put up a 'dog run'. It would be a large space, shaded and sunny. And I have insisted on having a dog house.

We want the dog to be inside with us most of the time, taking him out for potty (we have even designated the potty spot already), and play time. He would only be on the run while I'm cleaning the floors, or when we've gone grocery shopping.

Thoughts?

[Alyantavid]

We don't have a fence. We have an older Chesapeake who knows exactly where the boundaries are and stays within them. We also have a Weimaraner puppy who is completely supervised while she's out.

I think you'll be fine as long as you are out with your dog the entire time he's outside. I do wish we had a fence (and we will at our next home) but it's just isn't possible right now money-wise and the way our property is set up.

[Autumn Breeze]

Yeah I have the same problem. The part of the yard that I would want fenced is WAY to expensive.

Thanks for your input!

[Breathless Wonder]

For the first 9 years of our dog's life, we didn't have a fenced yard. And it was hard. I hated standing out in the wind, rain, snow, heat, etc. with her on a leash, waiting for her to go to the bathroom. If she wasn't feeling well, and needed to go frequently, I had to stand out there with her- no matter what time it was. If I was sick, or one of the kids was sick, I still had to go wait while she went to the bathroom. And we had more than one heart stopping incident where she slipped the leash, or one of us tripped and fell, and she bolted off. We also had the issue of not being able to play ball with her, unless we visited somewhere with a fenced area, and quite frequently we had incidents with wandering dogs coming into our yard, and getting in our dog's face. She is friendly- they weren't always.

It is so much easier to have a fenced yard. A dog run isn't big enough to play in, in general. But you could always fence a smaller section of your yard.

[Autumn Breeze]

If we fenced (I keep wanting to type fense ugh lol) the yard, we would have to include the shed, and the distance is too far for our budget.

Our run will be about 100 yards, half shade. And short timed. I am waiting to hear how this dog is with out a leash. The add says he's great with a leash, and that he likes to find a place to sit and watch birds and squirrels. I don't know if that means he doesn't run off.

We're probably being too picky about our dog to

[Maine Mama Doula]

We don't have a fence and we have a Siberian Husky. I hook him outside in the mornings while we're home and he can play on the lawn and seek shelter under the garage. We cannot take him off a lead no matter where we go because he is prone to run. I wish we did have a fence, but it's not in the budget. The funny thing is I really want the fence for the kids, not the dog!!

[floss&ferd]

We have two dogs and no fence.

The four year old cockapoo can be off-leash. She's very dependable.

The year old boxer is always on a leash. And yes, it's a pain when the weather is bad but it's what we do. I have a retractable leash that we use just for pottying. He does have a tie-out that we hook him to in the yard but only when someone is out there with him.


He gets walked daily, sometimes more, and is crated inside when we are not home.

[amyjeans]

we have a Saint Bernard (3yrs old) and don't have a fence. He is not allowed outside with out a leash. Its for everyone's safety, including him. We have LOTS of bears in our neighborhood, so we don't let him out alone either. We could do a fence, but our thoughts were, just like the electric fence, if a bear was in the yard, I would not want him trapped, with no way of running away.
we use 2- 20 ft leashes and he has plenty of room to run and play with the kiddos. But always supervised. He is also a couch potato, too!

[beanma]

We have a fence, but at times we have had dogs w/o a fence.

The fence is sooooooooo much nicer. I couldn't go back to w/o a fence ever again. We actually got a bigger fence when we got our latest canine addition because she's an amazing jumper (probably hound/German Shorthaired Pointer mix). It was a real pain in the butt to have to go out in the freezing rain when our other dogs needed to potty. Although you've bypassed the puppy frequent pottying stage, as your dog gets older they also need to go out frequently. Our 11 year old border collie mix sometimes asks to go out about 3am. It is so much nicer to open the back door and let him go than it is to dig out the leash and traipse out in the weather in the middle of the night. It was totally worth it to us to just be able to let the dogs out whenever they want to go out.

When you're talking about a dog run, are you talking about a tether? Be aware that anti-tethering laws are gathering steam. In our area of North Carolina several anti-tethering laws have recently been passed. When I was a child we had a dog who got tangled up with his tether and almost choked himself. The anti-tether folks say that tethering can increase aggression also.

That said, my neighbor had an escape hound who loved to hang out on their front stoop tethered to the stair railing. She climbed any fence they tried.

Our young dog could jump out of any fence shorter than 6ft and she comes way too close to being able to jump our 6 ft fence, but she's definitely the exception rather than the rule.

We know several folks who have been very happy with invisble fences, too. I don't think that would have worked for our situation, but that might be worth looking into also. I have a friend who when she moved just took her invisible fence with her, too!

Good luck!

[Autumn Breeze]

By a run I mean a long steel cable around 1 tree and across the yardthe same around another tree with an appropriate (haven't found it yet, but we don't have the dog yet either) leash that would slide along the run. This would not be used daily.

If there ARE tethering laws in my area, they are sadly under enforced. Most of my neighbors just have their dogs tied up in their yard, fenced or not.

[Catubodua]

is there a reason you don't want to use a crate inside the house for times you'll need him to be contained (like grocery shopping, etc?)

i don't think there is anything wrong with using a run while you are home, but it's not a good idea imho to use when you aren't there. the dog can possibly get caught up on things, break the wire, etc.

but, worse, you've now tied the dog to something and taken away it's ability to protect itself. it can't get away from neighborhood kids with wiffle bats or people who stand just outside of it's range taunting it. or worse, having a child come on the property to say hi and getting injured (excited/happy dog knocking them down) or bitten.

sadly, there was a story not long ago about a beagle that was killed by bee stings when the owner tethered it to a tree with a hive in it and the poor thing couldn't get away.

all of these may seem like extreme examples, but they happen all the time, even in good neighborhoods.

if you plan on having the dog inside and with you most of the time, using the run while you are home and wanting to give the dog some outside time sounds like a nice idea. i'm just discouraging their use when no one is home.

[Autumn Breeze]

Thank you!!

Ideally, he will be crate trained, but I don't know it's not in his description. But yes, I do prefer that over leaving him out on a run

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

My yard is not fenced. I do have a cable attached halfway between the back porch and the woods with 50ft of line. When Isis needs to go out I hook her to it and leave her out for awhile. I also leave her out there to play with the kids.

I do have a lot for her it is 100x120ft square (or rectangle) off to the side of the house in the edge of the woods. The lot has 2 padlocks and is 6ft high so she is safe. I put her in there if I need to go somewhere I cannot take her or she needs to play/run and I dont have time to deal with her.

She has a crate inside the house and sleeps inside at night.

She spends about:
45% of the time in the house or going places with me
35% on the tether
20% in the lot

I know many people leave their dogs crated while they are at work or have to go places but to me it seems to restrictive for the dog. I prefer she be outside in her safe lot so she can play, eat, sleep and use the bathroom as she needs to. Thankfully I live in a very rural area so leaving her outside is a safe option.

I would love a fenced in yard but that would be expensive so for now not an option.

[MariaMadly]

No fence here, though I'd love one, but we've never have a problem. I think some of it depends on the breed, as well as individual temperament of course. Our Bernese Mountain dog has a very small range of home -- our house and our next door neighbor's. They have a Berner, too, and the dogs tend to think of both properties (combined five acres) as one big lot. Neither of us has fencing.

We have power lines out back with a snowmobile / walking trail on the easement, and I walk my dog there off-leash almost daily, though I always have a leash and bribes with me. She keeps me in view consistently. In the house, she's a first-floor-not-on-the-furniture dog. Never a problem, that we caught anyway.

She's often in the yard by herself (I can usually see her), uncrated but indoors when we're away, and uncrated indoors to sleep. If she's healthy, going out at 3 AM has not been an option we told her was available.

By the way, our neighbor with the Bernese, she used to have a Golden with a range of miles, she said she always had to be going after that one.

[lifeguard]

We didn't have a fence when we first got our gsd-mix. I wouldn't do it again if I had a choice. She didn't get nearly as much outdoor time as she would have liked & we hated standing out with her waiting for her to pee in the middle of the night. Ugh.

But having a run sounds like a good compromise. Or one of those invisible fences if you don't want to mar up your yard with an ugly run.

It is definitely doable but not necessarily ideal.

I'd wait on the dog house myself. My pup won't go near one. My MIL set one up the year we were living with her, & the dog would NOT go in it. We even came home one night to find her soaking wet, shivering in the freezing rain on TOP of it (my in-laws didn't realize we'd left her out & she didn't bark) - poor, dopey pup.

[Arduinna]

We didn't have dog proof fencing we had 10 acres. With my hounds at the time, it was a nightmare since we were surrounded by hundreds of acres of ranch land and they always were out following their nose. We had other dogs that would stay home no problem. It really depends on the breed, their training and prey drive. We did set up a dog run. Three of the hounds were consummate escape artists though and nothing we did could keep them home.

Not having a dog proof fence is now a deal breaker for any house. And we haven't had hounds in years and our dogs stay inside 80% of the time. I don't care, I never want to do that again.

[somegirl99]

Originally Posted by amyjeans

we have a Saint Bernard (3yrs old) and don't have a fence. He is not allowed outside with out a leash. Its for everyone's safety, including him. We have LOTS of bears in our neighborhood, so we don't let him out alone either. We could do a fence, but our thoughts were, just like the electric fence, if a bear was in the yard, I would not want him trapped, with no way of running away.

Pretty much the same for our 2 whippets, I have been without a fence the last 5 years and they are only allowed outside with a leash. We do two walks a day and plenty of potty outings. We have coyotes and mountain lions and wild boars, no bears, but the same concerns. They are both couch potatoes (sleep ~22 hours a day at this point) which does make it easier, a few years ago I did take them regularly to a fenced-in dog park.

[North_Of_60]

Another vote here for never leaving a dog tied up alone. I've used tie outs or runs in the past and they work fine. But the risk of injury when not supervised is just too great. They're much safer in a crate when you're not home. The wire crates fold down pretty easily and can be slid under a bed or in a closest if you're worried about space. You could also gate a kitchen or laundry room for when you're not home.

Who knows, you might end up not needing any of it. In fact, I'd suggest picking a breed(s) that is easily house trained, has a low prey drive/good tendency to learn recalls, and just hold out for a dog who will do well in your situation. With the right discretion you could very realistically end up with a dog who is reliable in the house when you're not home and is reliable outside off leash while supervised. IF you make those traits a priority when looking for a dog.

[Autumn Breeze]

Thank you all so much!!

Another opportunity has come to us we are going to be housing a little (ha she's 8 lbs) bunny that was someones pet, that a friend of mine found in a yard. My friend has been trying to find the owners but hasn't had any luck. She is litter trained and really sweet.

So we will be waiting on getting a dog. Maybe we'll move and our next place will have a fence

I REALLY appreciate everyones 2 cents! Thank you all!!!

[Maine Mama Doula]

Around here, they won't let you get a dog without a fence. Fortunately for me, I'm a vet tech and the rules don't apply :P We don't leave our dog out if we're not home (tied to garage where he likes to lay in the dirt underneath). There is absolutely NO WAY I could let him off-lead and I would even be hesitant with a fence; there are A LOT of porcupines in my area. We had 3 dogs last night at the clinic where I work with quills and that's just a normal night!!