Poll for dog owners!/ Update post #137

[MushyMushy]

it's a small house

They can go upstairs 'unsupervised' for the most part, but they choose not to, they like being with us.

The main room in our house is our living/dining room area and that's where we are most of the time and that's where they are most of the time. It's just as much free reign as I have, more or less.

LOL Free reign is that they can go where they want when they want.

 

[Scurvy]

My two dogs can be anywhere in the house, which usually means they are right next to one of us. They aren't allowed on the beds or one couch and though they are allowed on the rest of the furniture they rarely get on it. They are inside dogs. With the exception of working dogs, I feel strongly that pets should be kept inside with their family. I know there are exceptions, but in general I think most people who keep their dogs outside do so because they aren't willing to put in the work to train the dog to behave properly inside or because they didn't research the dog enough and ended up with a breed (or mix) that doesn't fit their lifestyle.

 

[hiwaygal]

LOL Free reign is that they can go where they want when they want.

Yes, I know that. I do have basic understanding of the English language.

Several posters here have said 'free reign on the first floor' or something along those lines. Our situation is no different, I simply chose to word it differently.

I apologize for those of you who can't seem to understand that concept.

 

[Sleepy]

LOL Free reign is that they can go where they want when they want.

Some people think it means the dog is not confined the the crate at all times while in the house.

 

[BCV513]

I have a two year old Sheltie. She has free reign, including furniture and beds. She almost never is on the floor. She's a total cuddler. If one of us is on the couch, she's right next to us. She sleeps in bed with us. She always has to be touching one of us.

We do crate her when we're not home because she still likes to raid trash cans, etc. and I'm afraid she might hurt herself if we're not right there.

 

[robinb]

Yes, I know that. I do have basic understanding of the English language.

Several posters here have said 'free reign on the first floor' or something along those lines. Our situation is no different, I simply chose to word it differently.

I apologize for those of you who can't seem to understand that concept.

There is no reason to get snarky. I thought it was a funny turn of the phrase too.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My dog has free reign as long as she's clean and well behaved.

 

[goofy4tink]

My 9 y/o golden retriever is a house hound. He is allowed up on the beds and that's where he sleeps at night. Right by my feet. But he isn't allowed on any other furniture...period. He has a pen that he is in when 'nature calls'. He isn't crazy about being outside by himself though.
On the other hand..my previous golden loved being outside. He stood by the basement door, all the time, asking to go out in his pen. He preferred being out there to being inside the house. But, that was his choice, not ours.
He is part of our family..he is not a 'working dog'..he isn't going to be disruptive if he's allowed in the house, he isn't going to lose any working abilities by being inside, with us. If he were a working animal and being inside would dull those instincts, then yes, he would be outside, not in.

 

[GoofyBaseballMom26]

Ok, ya'll will probably think I'm a bad dog mom.

I have two dogs who stay outside. They were both strays that we took in so their lives improved immensely after we found them. We lived in the country until just recently and they loved being outside.. rabbits, squirrels and lots of woods to romp around in.

We recently moved to town and they have a nice, big fenced in yard, in fact the yard, for them, is primarily why we bought this house. They do come inside and sleep in the garage at night on their beds. I'm sure they miss their 25 acres but they are fed and safe.

They are fine being outside dogs.

 

[Pigeon]

I don't think it's fair to a dog to keep it outside all the time. They want to be with people.

That said, we don't let ours on the furniture. We also mostly keep her in certain rooms unless we are with her because she likes to eat small plastic things (like CDs, TV remotes, Polly Pockets, etc).

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I didn't vote in the poll because I think I fall in the middle of 2 options. My dogs do not have free access to the house.....but they would never stay outside alone. We have 2 shih tzus. They are allowed on the furniture but in the past when I have had large breed dogs I did not allow them on the furniture. They are not allowed in the bedrooms because one of the dogs has trouble telling the difference between his toys and the kids toys. When we had just one, she slept in our bed. Now they had a large bed that they share.

I don't think I could ever have a dog that was exclusively outside. What would be the point in having the dog? I could understand keeping a large breed dog outside while you were at work as long as the dog had adequate shelter, shade, and food. My sister keeps her 2 golden retrievers in a kennel outside when no one is at home but as soon as someone comes home the dogs come in and stay in.

 

[Zdog]

Call me weak, but our dog is allowed where ever she pleases, and sleeps by my feet at night. I respect ALL dog owners, but our dog is so much a member of our family and a trusted friend, and as such, she gets free reign.

 

[jen0610]

Our dog has free run of the house, now. She use to be kenneled when we left, but do to extreme seperation issues, she no longer gets kenneled. She sleeps on the end of our bed. She doesn't bother the kitchen trash, nor the trash baskets in the kids rooms. The bath rooms are another story. The main bath room has a baby gate in front of the door and the cubby area that the trash sits in in our master bath, has a baby gate in front of it.

She is allowed up on the couch, but only when her blanket is laid out for her. If it's not there, she knows she's in trouble if we see that she has been up there.

 

[hiwaygal]

There is no reason to get snarky. I thought it was a funny turn of the phrase too.

Your point is well taken.

I just thought it odd that several previous posters had said "free reign" with exceptions but no one pointed out their error.

Guess I just got lucky today!

 

[suejai]

My dogs, a Bouvier and a Fox Terrier, have free reign of the house, with conditions. They are not allowed on the couch in the living room, but they are allowed on the bed and the couches downstairs. The Bouvier, however, won't come on the bed, in fact I can't even get him to come into the bedroom. When we are not home the Fox Terrier is in his crate. Oh, and no bathrooms, they have no business in there.

On the inside/outside debate: I prefer my dogs to be inside with us but I do understand when people have farms etc and they have working dogs that don't come into the house. But those dogs are with the owner for the bulk of the day, while they are working. However, in an urban setting, with a non-working dog, I don't understand why someone would get a dog to just leave it outside.

 

[MichelleVW]

I really see no point in outside dogs...even if you live on a farm. I know plenty of people that live on farms and their dogs still live inside.

My dogs pretty much have free reign of the house. The girls keep their bedroom doors shut because they don't want them in their room and the youngest gets put in his crate at night and when we leave, but they are allowed on the furniture, beds etc. I don't let them sleep on the bed with us, but if we are in bed watching tv they are allowed up there with us, but when we go to sleep they have to get on their own bed.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I said our dog has free run of the house. The only exception is the kids rooms because they have Asthma but we simply keep their doors shut. Dogs pretty much want to be where their people are so mine tends to hang out at my feet under the computer desk. Our cat, on the other hand, tends to want to be wherever the kids are not, so he hangs out nestled in a bunch of what were supposed to be my decorative pillows now on the floor of our room.... whenever I get a new bedding set the cat gets new pillows

 

[stsomewhere]

Our dog has free run of the house when we are home. She is kennel trained, though, so she sleeps in her kennel (inside the house) at night, and when we are not at home.

This is what we do.

 

[iwrbnd]

Dogs are pack animals and you are there pack. It's cruel to keep them separated from you. The joy of owning a dog is the relationship you build with them. It's hard to build that if they are outside all the time. If you don't want the constant companion of a dog then get a cat.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[tazdev3225]

My dogs have always been inside dogs and allowed where they wanted to be. I just bought new furniture so my big furbaby is only allowed on her chair now. She has also taken to sleeping on my bed and that isn't always fun. She's a 65 pound boxer/shepherd mix.
I did have a husky when my kids were little and that dog would not stay inside, he hated it. Whenever I bought him in the house he would go to the back door within minutes and howl until I let him out. Some dogs are meant to be outside.