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Reprinted from August 1995 issue of Whiskers & Wags, Halifax Humane
Society Newsletter
OUTSIDE DOGS By Dennis Fetko, PhD
Unless you're medically intolerant of the dog (and therefore can't
take care of him in a medical emergency, so you shouldn't have the dog
anyway), making a dog stay outside is a costly waste.
If he's for protection, what do you think I want to steal - your lawn?
When you leave, do you put your valuables and your kids out in your
yard? Just what is the dog protecting out there? Most dogs kept outside
cause far more nuisance complaints from barking and escaping than any
deterrent to intrusion. Such complaints cause teasing, antagonism,
release and poisoning. With your dog a helpless victim, it's no laughing
matter.
If I'm a crook and your dog is out, your fence protects ME, not your
possessions or your dog. If I just open the gate, 9 out of 10 dogs will
run off! I can safely shoot, stab, spear, poison, snare, strangle them,
or dart through the fence and you just lost your dog AND everything I steal!
If he's tied up and I keep out of reach, he's useless. He'll bark, but
outside dogs bark so much, they're usually ignored. But let a dog hit
the other side of a door or window I'm breaking into, and I'm GONE! I
can't hurt the dog until he can hurt me, and nothing you own is worth my
arm. Deterrence is effective protection.
Protection and aggression are not the same. Protection is defensive,
reactive, often passive, and threatens or injures no one. Aggression is
active, harmful and offensive, threatens all and benefits none. Yard
dogs often develop far more aggression than protectivity because
everyone who passes by or enters has already violated the territory that
dog has marked dozens of times a day for years. That's not protection,
it's not desirable and it overlooks two facts of life today:
First, property owners have implied social contracts with others in the
community. Letter carriers, paper boys, delivery people, law
enforcement, emergency medical personnel, meter readers and others are
allowed near and at times on your property without your specific
permission. And sure that ten-year-old was not supposed to jump your
fence after his Frisbee; but neither you nor your dog are allowed to
cause him injury if he does. Imagine this: A neighbor looks into your
yard or window and sees you, your wife or child laying on the floor in a
pool of blood. They call 9-1-1 and your dog prevents paramedics from
assisting! Should they shoot your dog or just let you die?
Great choice.
Second, even if the intruder is a criminal, few places allow you or your
dog to cause physical injury to prevent property loss. Convicted felons
have sued the dog's owner from jail and won more in the suit than they
ever could have stolen! Appalling? True.
And don't be foolish enough to believe your homeowner's insurance will
cover the loss. Now you see why many feel that an outside dog is a
no-brainer.*
*The more a dog is outdoors, the less behavioral control you have. It's
easier to solve four or five indoor problems than one outdoor problem.
The reason is valid and simple: The more you control the stimuli that
reaches your dog, the more you control the responses. You've got a lot
more control over your living room than you do over your entire county!
When your dog is bored, but teased by every dog, cat, bird, squirrel,
motorcycle, paperboy, airplane, firecracker and backfiring truck in the
county, OF COURSE he'll dig, chew, and bark.
Would you sit still all day everyday? Do you want unnecessary medical
and parasite fees, especially as the dog ages?
When a dog is alone indoors, you are still 30% there because your scent
and things he associates with you, constantly remind the dog of you and
your training. When he's out, your dog is alone whether you're home or
not. Do you really expect him to keep YOU in mind while the entire world
teases, distracts and stimulates him?
The media is full of stories about the family dog saving everyone's life
during a fire. How many people, including children, would be dead today
if those dogs were kept outside? SURE - you ALWAYS get up to investigate
every time your yard dog barks. And I've got this bridge.
An outdoor dog has an address, not a home. Dogs offer real value as
companion animals. Stop behavior problems and start enjoying real
protection and companionship. Bring your dogs inside.
Dennis Fetko, PhD.
Posted on SHARE Yahoo group - Dec. 9, 2007