Inside or Outside

I don't have a fenced in yard, but even if I did, there's no way in hell that Ella would left outside in it.

1. she's a pit bull mix and I've already had shady people comment on her and ask how old she is. I'm sure she'd be stolen

2. She'd find a way over the fence if another dog was harrassing her.

3. I wouldn't trust people not to throw something poisonous over the fence to her

4. I'm getting hives just thinking about leaving my dog outside unsupervised

5. I feel safest with her in my house, locked in her crate, and the doors to my house all securely locked, when I'm not home. And we live in a nice neighborhood.

my dog always stays inside, her 'princess' personality does not suit an outdoor lifestyle. a work @ home, so she is not alone for long. if i know that i'll have to go away for more than eight hours, i either bring her with me or leave her with a friend or my mom.

I am not too concerned with having my dogs stolen, all kennels are attached, and my two youngest are fireballs......we're talking a German Shepherd and Chow mix........

mine are never out unless I'm out with them. We've had some scary incidents with coyotes, illegal trespassing deer hunters, and drunken teenagers. Besides, even if  given a choice they all seem to prefer to sleep inside all day.

Personally I could never leave my furbabies outside by themselves, I'm a worry wart. I gate mine in my kitchen and ofcourse leave the ceiling fan and tv on for them.[]

I keep my young'n gated in the kitchen...but that's mostly because I live in a 2nd story condo...if she wants to go on the porch and sunbathe, I have to be out there with her...I'm so worried that she's going to fall through the slats on the porch.

I've never felt comfortable leaving the dogs outside when no one is home. Even though I live in a good neighborhood, it only takes one shady person to steal, poison, or free my dogs. I'd also be afraid that they'd get bored and find their own way out.

Inside. Always. Conrad is crated (sep anx like woah) and Marlowe has his own dogproofed little room because he doesn't like his crate all that much (not cushy and comfy enough) but he's also a curious little beastie. We live in the city and there is just way way too much that could happen. Besides, Marlowe likes to bark at things outside and, like Xerxes, when he barks astronauts in space can hear him. We're in a dense residential neighborhood and I'm pretty sure no one wants to listen to my hound bay all day. When they are out in the yard, I'm usually supervising them in some way--out on the porch reading, or peeking through windows every few minutes to check on them.

When we lived in the country every now and then I would leave Conrad out if we left the house (either in his kennel or on his line--we didn't have a fence) but only if I was just running out for some toilet paper or something and would only be gone for 20 minutes.

There's just too much that could happen. Contained safely in the house with their Kongs and toys, with climate control and locks on doors, I get peace of mind. Then when I come home we can enjoy being outside together.

i think it really depends on the dog - Bugsy doesn't rest outside - he's on.  We have an acre and an invisible fence that goes all the way around the house (strange lot and house postition made this the best option for him).  He loves to be out but he guards the whole cul de sac (5 houses), so is at attention for all traffic, chases all wildlife, etc.  He has plenty of outside time but I feel it would be cruel to leave him out for long periods because he just doesn't rest.  we've tried it on nice days but he will not lay down for more than a few seconds, then a leaf might fall from a tree and he needs to go check it out.[sm=lol.gif]  he doesn't even relax if we are out with him.   
Now my neighbor leaves their golden retriever out all the time and he is as happy as a clam out there.  Totally relaxed and unmotivated.  He is also on an invisible fence - he often doesn't even have his collar on but NEVER leaves and I can't say I can even imagine him considering leaving.  Mr. chilled out!  it would be cruel to leave him in all day.
Neither Bugsy or the neighbor's dog bark so that is not an issue.

I don't trust people enough to leave my dogs outside....especially young boys.

I was outside with Zeus the other day and two whippersnappers came toward him with a stick....like I wasn't even there....I was on them like white on rice.

I don't think it's cruel to leave a dog outside during the day as long as they have water and shelter.
 
I give mine free access to both indoors and outdoors during the day. There are some safety hazards, but we live across from a school and the neighbors & school employees both keep an eye out for oddballs in the neighborhood.
 
Mine basically prefer to be out in good weather and enjoy watching the large variety of pedestrian traffic the school brings.

I crate mine inside when I'm not home, but they are still puppies. I eventually want to give them the whole downstairs, once their past the chewy stage. My boys don't seem to like it outside much anyway. After they do their business they lay down by the door until I let them in. If they are out for mure than 15 mins and don't have bones to chew, they start digging and barking, especially since my neighbor has an outdoor cat. They looove to bark at that cat.

At our old house, we left them outside (fenced) during the day and that worked out well.  At the house we live in now though we got barking complaints after living here for only a couple of weeks, so they are now crated indoors during the day.  Luckily I work from home 2 days/week, so we only have 3 days/wk to worry about it.

CoCo wont go down the stairs after she had a tumble down it once.  So during the day, we gate the stairs so she cant get up, (cause she cant get back down and will have accidents upstairs.)  But she has free range of the downstairs level when someone's home, and she has a doggy door she has free access to our fenced in back yard.  She usually just sun tans on the deck, or make sure there are no "intruders" in our privacy 6' fenced in yard, ie. squirrels, birds, etc.

It's kind of funny.  When it's sunny out, she will go nap in the sun...then when she gets too hot, she will come back inside and lie on the cool tiles in the kitchen, and then when she gets too cold, she will go back outside.  It's hilarious to see.

But when no one's home, she is crated.

Lance isn't allowed in the actual house at all (not my choice) but he does have doggy door access to a very large ac'd basement with food, water, his crate, and his toys, along with 3 acres to run and play on, so he's out 100% of the time. I work outside most of the day so he's happy hanging with me. When I'm not around he just sleeps in his crate or sunbathes on the back porch. If I'm going to be gone for a long time I'll crate him, and I also lock him up over night. Only because he's a kleptomaniac and if left alone for too long will steal things and hide or bury them. [:@]