is it really that bad?

[felicia]

when i first brought anassa home i had no idea on how to train a puppy etc so i joined a dog forums, can't remember the name but i wanted to get advice, share photo's and talk to other dog lovers.

in this forum there were huge debates about dogs being left outside alone and that you had to watch them all the time or they would get killed by snakes etc.

anassa sleeps inside at night except when max is over because they want to play outside and stuff but, she goes outside during the day by herself to play but only because she wants to, she will sort of paw the door when she wants to go out and do the same thing when she wants to come in and snuggle on the couch with me while i read a book or watch animal planet.

i mentioned this at the forums i was at before and got torn down and told i was so cruel for letting her out....i decided to leave quietly and just not reply at all but i must admit, it hurt a lot, i didn't think i was doing anything wrong, she was never outside alone when she was a little puppy because that could have been dangerous.

am i wrong for letting her out without supervision...is it really that bad outside?




thankyou



felicia

[leahluvsherpups]

Do you have a fenced yard?

I always let my dogs outside to play and I see no problem with it. I can watch them from my bedroom window to make sure they're not doing things that they shouldn't though.

[Guest Anonymous]

If you have a fenced or secure yard I dont see any problem with it.
Im not one who thinks you have to keep an eye on your dog every second of every minute (unless he is with a kid).

[imported_Debbie]

Like the last 2 replies said, if you have a fenced in yard, letting your dog out to play and be outside is fine.

If you don't then you're asking for a world of trouble or heartache.
Lots of things can happen to dogs that are left unsupervised outside.
They could be hit by a car, stolen, poisoned, attacked by another dog (animal) etc......

Better to be safe than sorry. JMO :wink:

[courtnek]

I agree. a fenced yard is the safest.

sounds like you spent some time on Petfinder? they will rip you a new one if you tell them you leave your dog outside unsupervised. I had a long ongoing argument with them about it. My yard is completely and safely fenced, and I can see the dogs from both my desk and the kitchen windows, and mine too will bark/paw to come in when they want to, so its not like they're being left out there. and there's two of them. they like to run around the yard and commune with the neighbors dogs throough the
fence.

so no, as long as the dog is safe and you let them in if they want I see no problem with it.

8)

[AllAmericanPUP]

some people are just a lil too overprotective of their dogs, imo.

I think it's perfectly fine to let your dog play outside by itself, i dont think a dog needs to be supervised 24/7.

[courtnek]

I could see it in a place with venemous snakes, or coyotes that can come in the yard (which is why I dont trust tie-outs, there are coyotes in the forest preserves around here) if its a small dog. A coyote is unlikely to enter my neighborhood, since there is game in the preserves and at the river, and unlikely to take on two large dogs, but I guess it depends where in the country you are. I would be afraid of snakes, definitely.

[Daisysmom]

I'll say it if no one else will, they are still animals, dogs!! Before all of us animal lovers decided to bring animals into our homes, guess where they lived....... outside :D

Personally, my three get very upset if they are out side and I won't let them in. On occasion I will close the dog door if we have company that don't particuarly like my guys. Have no idea how any one could not though :lol:

[JackieMaya]

I agree with everyone else that if you have a fenced yard and are not in an area where wild animals (coyotes, venemous snakes, etc.) could get in, there's nothing wrong with letting dogs be outside. I let my kids stay outside as long as they want to. As soon as they want to come in, I let them in. And if they start barking too much and won't stop, I bring them in.

Since my dogs are so hairy, in the summer they like to come inside where there's air conditioning. They actually like being outside better during the winter in the snow.

When my dogs are out in my fenced yard, I'm either out there with them, or in the house with the windows open so I can hear if they start barking.

[JackieMaya]

[quote name='DivineOblivion19']

[quote name='courtnek']I would be afraid of snakes, definitely.

SAME HERE!!!! I've never lived in a place with snakes and that scares the crap out of me! If my dog died because of a snake bite I would be devestated. Think about it, deaf dog can hear the rattle of a rattlesnake. Way too scary for me...

One of our clients is moving to Arizona and he said that they have snake training classes out there! I'm not sure how it works at all but they train your dogs to leave snakes alone! Now I want to know how they do it.... Anybody know?

I saw something about that very thing on Animal Planet once, but I can't remember how they did it. I have a good memory, but it's real short.

[JackieMaya]

Okay, I did a search on snake avoidance training and found this. This sounds like what I saw on Animal Planet.

http://www.patrickcallaghan.com/

Patrick Callaghan's Rattlesnake Avoidance Training is a safe, humane, and proven method to teach your dog/cat/horse/llama to avoid the danger of being bitten by a rattlesnake. Rattlesnakes can be found almost anywhere. Incidents of human and animal rattlesnake bites are quite common--medical treatment can be extremely expensive. The last thing you want is to be surprised by a rattlesnake while you are hiking, riding, camping, having a picnic, or participating in other activities with your pet(s). If not taught to avoid rattlesnakes, dogs, cats, horses, and llamas take the chance of being bitten several times during a season. Due to the usual delay of symptoms and the variable effects of snake venom on individual animals, a dog/cat/horse/llama does not associate the resulting pain and discomfort with the rattlesnake bite, which thereby results in a minimal, if any, learning experience for the animal. Patrick Callaghan's Rattlesnake Avoidance Training has been proven to produce a safe, positive learning curve in dogs/cats/horses/llamas by teaching them to respond with aversion to the sound, smell and visual stimulus of a rattlesnake to avoid being bitten by one.

The Rattlesnake Avoidance Training Clinic is conducted by Patrick Callaghan, a well-known professional dog trainer since the 1970's. Mr. Callaghan is the owner/director of Gameland Kennels Dog Training Center in Norco, California, specializing in behavior, obedience and hunting dog training for all ages and breeds of dogs. During the Rattlesnake Avoidance Training session, Mr. Callaghan uses a remote collar with a low-level stimulus adjusted to each dog/cat/horse/llama's individual personality, temperament, animation and breed. Training is conducted in a safe and humane controlled environment, ensuring the safety of your dog, cat, horse or llama as well as the safety of the muzzled rattlesnakes. Please be assured that every precaution is taken to make your experience with Rattlesnake Avoidance Training a positive one for you and your pet(s). Mr. Callaghan recommends reviewing the lesson yearly to strengthen your dog/cat/horse/llama's Rattlesnake Awareness.

[Guest Anonymous]

my fence is completely secrure. I have a seperate dog run thatt hey go go out int o go potty, and that is normally the only place they arellowed i'll lveave them out there for a few hours a day to play and have fun, but lately it's been nice so i've just left the back door open, and they've gone in and out as they please in to the big part of the yard ( which is still 100% secure..)

[Malamum]

We have a dog door so our dogs have access to the backyard 24x7 whether we are home or not.

I have no problem at all with dogs being left unsupervised in a secure backyard as long as there is shade to protect them from the heat and somewhere that they can go to get protection from rain.

[Guest Anonymous]

ahh yes the famous snake training classes of Arizona lol
the6y are very popular there.. i have never been to one becuase were my parents live, they dont really get snakes but my aunt has been to it since they live out in the desert, and they have rattlesnakes and one of thier dogs was bitten by one.. i'll see if i can get some information on it, also another lady on an Aussie board i belong to, lives in arizona and takes the class every year. i'll try to get some info for you DO

[felicia]

Thanks guys!

yes, my yard has a two meter high fence all the way around, there are no coyoties in Australia but there are snakes, iv'e actually only ever seen one in my whole life and that was in a swampy area, it was a tiger snake and i just stood there and watched it, it slithered away eventually, was actually very pretty :)

however, dogs don't know that snakes are dangerous they probably just see them as another toy so i do get concerned that she will come across one, i check on her every 20 mins or so just to make sure she's okay and iv'e taken everything out of the yard that could be dangerous to her.

i live in outback Australia and when i say that i mean there is red dirt and nothing else for miles, there are kangaroos jumping down the street at night and late afternoon and there are way too many strays :( plus, there is no vet, the only one is two and a half hours away, nassa got a wobbly fluid filled lump on her side a few weeks back and we had to speed to the vet which can be dangerous in the early morning because of all the kangaroos bounding across the street, she was fine but i had to make sure because it is not worth the risk to me, i love her way too much.

i would get a doggy door installed but i can't do it here because i want my cats indoor only while we are in such a deserted place, once we move back to civilisation i'm getting a dog/cat door so everyone is happy, i think nassa should have a choice :) if cats couldn't jump fences i'd let them out too, they want to go out but we only have another 11 months here, thank goodness!!

the only things in this town are a pub, a deli and a shire oh and minesites....this is the kind of town where people treat dogs as nothing really special so you can guess the look of surprise on their faces when i take nassa down the street sporting a doggy jumper :lol:

luckily maxy's owner is just as passionate about dogs as me, so i have someone who understands and who i can talk to, damn i miss the beach though!! :cry: :cry:





felicia

[felicia]

Hi,

i'm in the very outback, up north near geraldton....but inland, don't think there are any boas here but there are browns which worry me a lot.

brisbane is close to rainforrest area, ther are some huge snakes over there, in west oz they are smaller but very poisonus, they don't worry me at all but i worry for anassa :(

sometimes we go out collecting firewood and exploring, there is this place we like to go where there is an abandoned building and oh boy are ther snake tracks! they are absolutely everywhere! we don't ever take nass to these places but we like to go and see if we can see any snakes unfortionately we haven't come across one yet, we have seen a few huge lizards though which was awesome.

one big problem we have to worry about out here is dogs chasing roo's, max has done it a few times and he will chase them for miles, roos can be dangerous though and i don't let nass off her lead out here just incase.

boas also like dense rainforrest type areas, it's all red dirt out here and very very dry and hot...thank goodness or i'd have to worry about them too.....i feel sorry for the roo though, where's steve erwin when you need him huh?

:lol:



feicia

[gooeydog]

I would leave my dogs out side alone (with me still in the house) if I had a secure yard (at least 6 ft privacy fence, even for the smaller dogs, probably even bigger for the APBTs), and lived in an area where I could feel relatively safe that no one would bother them or try to steal them. As it is, neither of the latter is very likely around here, but still, I have had comments made that worry me enough to not trust people, and we also don't have a secure enough fence for me to trust them alone for any length of time anyway. Both the bullies love hanging out outside (Haley can be out on the deck with the doors open or in the little fenced part of the yard, as my grandparents living room looks right out into it, so she can be watched, but Goo would jump out in a heartbeat if she saw something, so she's only out supervised), and the little dogs occasionally enjoy a little outside time, though Annie screeches like a banshee if I leave her out there alone for more than two minutes... so I guess it depends on the dog as well, as long as the above conditions were true (secure yard, etc), I'd let them out as long as they wanted out and weather conditions were safe.

With being that far away from your vet, it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask them if you can get (either from them or a farm store or the like) some "emergency" med supplies... fluids, strong anti-histamines, etc in case she ever would get bitten by something, or be seriously injured, as 2 hrs is a long drive when you have a serious problem. Not sure how laws in AU are in regards to that sort of thing, but it's definitely something I'd discuss with them (even if you just ask what your best action would be should they get bitten, since you're such a large distance away).

[felicia]

hey that's a great idea, i'll do that next time we go to gero, i'm not sure what the laws are like either but i'll let you know, i can't wait to leave this place :cry:

[Guest Anonymous]

oh my gosh i can't imagine waking up and lookign outside and being able to see kangaroo's jumping all over the road what a site that must be! Can you gets pics of that for us? that must be an amazing Site..

BK is from Australia too..

[Malamum]

pwrpufgirlz napisał(a):

Felicia...and mal for that matter....

What part of Australia are you guys from? I have an online best friend/penpal that I met off my wedding forum from Australia, I believe she's close to Brisbane....

I got a photo story from her of a boa eating a kangaroo. How big is your dog? Hopefully bigger than a kangaroo :o

I live in Sydney which is about an hours flight or a 10 hour drive from Brisbane. I work right near the city (can see the Harbour Bridge from my office window), however we live in an outer residential suburb which is close to lots of bush land.

Being in a built up residential area we don’t have any kangaroos near us, though Michael did have a small wallaby jump out in front of his car when he was driving down our street one night.

If you drive south from Sydney, which we do when we go skiing every year, you always see lots of kangaroos and if you are driving near sunrise or sunset you need to be very careful and keep you eyes peeled as they tend to jump across the road. You always see quite a few dead ones on the side of the road – it’s quite sad.

Snakes are a problem in Australia as we have some extremely venomous ones, and every summer you always hear horror stories about dogs being bitten and killed.

Although I do worry, I’m not going to keep my dogs inside because of it. I can’t rule their lives over a “what if”. I can only hope that if a venomous snake does come into our yard and the dogs decide to interfere with it (which I’m sure they will) that they are quick enough to kill it before it bites either of them.

[courtnek]

OK I want KANGAROO pictures!!!

and yes, I will have a toddler fit if I dont get them!!


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

oh, and throw in Koala Bears too, ok?


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[felicia]

okay, i'll try to get some :)

we don't have koalas in this part of Australia, in fact, iv'e never even seen one in the wild, i have seen an echidna
(spelling?) though.

i'll try to get out sometime tonight or tomorrow night, hopefully we will see some.



felicia

[gooeydog]

I don't know what sort of meds can even be used in case of venemous snake/insect bite, nor would I trust any online info, so definitely ask the vet what their thoughts are. I know here there are certain things that some vets will send home if they know you can administer them properly, and with you being so far away from a vet, you'd think they'd understand how important it could be to give her as much help as possible if something did happen, until you could get her in for medical care. Good luck with that!

[felicia]

i'm sure because we live so far away they would give us something...

when anassa got that lump they gave us some draining needles so we could drain it ourselves at home because we couldn't make it in every second day, it wasn't fun but nesessary and the lump is so much better now, nearly gone.

so i will ask for sure, i wish i'd thought of that last time we were down actually, thankyou for the idea though, i'd be crushed if something happened to her, she's like a kid to me :)


felicia

[Malamum]

Felica,

I have heard that others in outback Australia keep injectable vitamin C in the fridge in case their dogs get bitten by a venomous snake.

However I personally don’t have any experience in this nor know too much about it. If it was something you want to look into a bit further you could probably ask some questions on the forums at www.dogzonline.com.au. This is an Australian based dog forum and has members from all around Australia. This is where I learnt about vitamin C being used for snake bites.