outdoor dog and indoor dog

misshoney

Already have a bichon frise who lives indoors. I want to get an outdoor dog now, not sure which breed but looking for a guard dog/ watch dog. Would obviously love both dogs and the outdoor dog would be walked regularly and could spend time with my partner when he was working outside gardening etc (our garden requires a lot of maintenance) He would have plenty of space and be well looked after. I'm just worried that the outdoor dog would be jealous of the indoor dog or that it seems a bit unfair? also, would the two dogs be able to socialise ever? For example if we had to go away for a few hours would they be able to keep each other company? Although I think dogs should either be indoor dogs or outdoor dogs so mixing them prob not an option. Trying to work out some kind of plan. any ideas?

Corruptedmorals

I am of the opinion that a dog is either part of your family and sleeps indoors or it's a farm dog with loads of other dogs to be around. Anything else is cruel I think. A dog does not have to be outdoors in a kennel to protect you and your family.

boomerang

Corruptedmorals wrote: »

A dog does not have to be outdoors in a kennel to protect you and your family.

This.

I have seen situations with homes that have an indoor dog, and outdoor dogs. There is often conflict between the dogs, because they are not integrated and don't share the same sense of territory.

Rommie

We have three large breed dogs in the house and the instant someone steps into the yard, they all bark their heads off. I have no qualms about what they would do to an intruder if anyone got in because the bitch in particular is very protective. There is absolutely no need to have an outdoor dog, they will be a guard/watch dog regardless of inside or out

fatmammycat

Oh aye, there's plenty of 'outdoor' dogs around where I live, and they bark all day and half the night.

gramar

I've had an indoor dog (bitch) for 8 years and then got a dog pup.
He never sleeps inside but is allowed in when we're there so when we're at home most of the time they're both inside. When we're not there and at night he's either in the garage or the kennel and there hasn't been any problems.

I think as he was a pup when he came he never knew any different and just accepted things as they were. It may also help that it's a dog and a bitch. it might be different if they were both male or both female.

name0123

I think its completely unfair to get a new dog and make him sleep outside while you have an indoor dog. I have 3 big dogs and they all sleep inside, I think they would protect the place more inside than they would outside.

misshoney

I get what you are saying about a dog not having to be outside to protect our family but its because we have two acres outside and there's that to protect mainly. Also our house wouldn't be very big so two dogs would be a lot to have in the house. One poster said dogs should either be inside or be farm dogs with other dogs around. What if we had two outdoor dogs?

DBB

misshoney wrote: »

One poster said dogs should either be inside or be farm dogs with other dogs around. What if we had two outdoor dogs?

Farm dogs tend not to suffer from social deprivation and boredom, not so much because they're with other dogs (actually, this is not something one can assume either, as many farmers only keep one herding dog), but because they're doing stuff. There's almost always something going on, and the dog is active, working, or just spending time with the farmer. For hours, every day of the year.
This does not translate too well to a non-farm home, whether urban or rural. I know your oh does some gardening, but realistically, this is only going to be at certain times of the year, with not much going on in gardens in the winter months. Even in spring and summer, realistically, is your oh spending hours in the garden, every day?
From a behavioural perspective, a dog left for long periods alone is much more likely to develop behavioural disorders, and a huge thing that's often overlooked, if the dog is alone, there's nobody influencing the dog's behaviour. In other words, lonely dogs tend to self-train themselves, usually behaviours that are inappropriate and annoying. They also tend to be more needy and develop attention-seeking behavioural problems too.
Getting a second dog to "solve" this problem very often results in two dogs doing all of the above. And whilst one dog with these problems is a big problem, two dogs is just a nightmare.
Look, here's the bottom line. It is not good for dogs to be left alone. It denies them one of their most fundamental biological needs, and that is just not fair. Just because lots of people do it, does not make it right, and indeed, it is a rather Irish condition. Other country's dog owners look with horror at how many dogs are living outside alone in Ireland.

gramar

DBB wrote: »

Other country's dog owners look with horror at how many dogs are living outside alone in Ireland.

Beware of the 'it only happen's in Ireland' syndrome.
I live in Spain and I've been suprised by how many poeple I know of that have dogs that live outside alone and also of cases whose owners keep them in villages but who they themselves live in the city and go to feed them a couple of times a week.

Twoelles

I have never seen the point in having a dog that is not part of your family and segregated to only living outside while you keep a cute fluffy one inside.

Jelly2

gramar wrote: »

Beware of the 'it only happen's in Ireland' syndrome.
I live in Spain and I've been suprised by how many poeple I know of that have dogs that live outside alone and also of cases whose owners keep them in villages but who they themselves live in the city and go to feed them a couple of times a week.

I was struck by this when travelling around Murcia in Spain too. It appeared to be really common to have a dog tied up alone 'on guard' at the entrance to properties, without any exercise whatsoever and hardly any interaction. One poor dog in particular has always been stuck in my mind because his situation was so heartbreaking - he was always on a short chain and just sat all day and night while I was staying in acommodation nearby; I asked the owner's neighbour about it and was told that the dog had been kept like this for several years. I enquired why nobody had reported the situation and was told that nothing would be done about it even if they did (I'm unsure if this was true or not). I felt very uneasy about it and wanted to report the situation but I don't speak Spanish and was ignorant of the procedures...
It also appeared to be common to have a guard dog at a weekend property, which was fed by a neighbour once a day and left to stand and bark in the yard otherwise. Very noticable and very unsettling to see.

ShaShaBear

You also run the risk of someone simply stealing your outside dog, and then proceeding to rob your home and indoor dog. Is your land fully enclosed? Or are you expecting to let the dog roam free?