# Inside vs Outside dog for Me?



## love_GSD (Aug 9, 2013)

Hi all
I recently booked a male pup from a breeder.... I have a few questions and suggestions. A little background may help:
I'm 32 and live in melbourne, Australia in a suburb. I dont need a working GSD as I have no sheep or livestock or a huge property for my pup to work. All I need is a loving loyal, healthy good looking male GSD. Why GSD u ask? cause I beleive thats the only dog I have ever loved and liked and then ofcorse Labs. Coming back to the point.
I have a medium to Large back yard. I have two kids 3 and 5 yrs. My wife doesnt like dogs to come inside the house she believes its more work as in vacuuming and all that. My brother who lives with me has an older DOG(Male Bull Arab(an australian Breed) x Mastiff) who is around 2.7 yrs old. His dog is an outside dog. I work around 7-8 hrs a day on a 5 day week schedule. My wife and kids stay home. I come home from work take spend the time indoors.
My concern is I want the pup to develop a strong bond with my family and specifically with me. 
So am trying to figure out if I bring him up as an outside dog will he still have that level of bonding as an inside dog. Cause I was thinking when I am out at work he will spend time outside with the other dog, when I am home I want him with me all the time. Will this not confuse the pup? Is it fair on his part to be moved outside during day and inside during night while am awake and outside to sleep in his kennel?
Please share your thoughts on this idea.

Krish​


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## love_GSD (Aug 9, 2013)

Admin or Moderators, My apologies could you please move this to the appropriate forum topic?


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

They can adapt to whatever you decide. If you are consistent with your routine this will be normal for your dog. I keep mine indoors, they go outside for bathroom breaks, play and exercise. Imop its best to keep them where ever you are going to be, if you are indoors then so should your dog. They do best when they are with their people. I have kids and they are bigger mess makers than my dogs.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

I have had gsd's my entire life, and my parents before me, and my grandparents before that. imho, the german shepherd dog is an indoor dog who does best and develops to their full capacity when they are with their people. again, just my personal opinion/experience, that it's actually a disservice to a shepherd to require him/her to live outside. if your wife is worried about the work that goes along with having a dog in the house, that could be a problem. again, jmho, but the work required is more than made up for by the sheer joy these dogs bring into your life. they are brilliant and seldom does anyone change to another breed, once they've had one. and one is hardly ever enough, lolol...


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## love_GSD (Aug 9, 2013)

Thank you, Katieliz and Nigel for your valuable suggestions

Katieliz : Yes she is worried about her work, But like I said he is my dog so I told her that I will take care of the work involved. So she is fine with that. I know(I read) that they shed a lot and require brushing often and require lot of excercise training and obedience...

Nigel: I thought that may the case and you have confirmed it. If a routine is followed then they may adapt to it. point noted.

Would you suggest any website for learning more about the breed as in training required and excerise tips. thanks.

Krish


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## CeCe (Jun 1, 2011)

I think you should have your dog indoors with your family- he will protect your wife and kids while you are at work. There is another thread going on right now where some robbers pushed past the posters neighbor to break into her house when she opened the door. Yes, dogs do shed and require some cleaning up after them but I love the peace of mind that comes with having protective dogs.


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## Jess (Oct 31, 2010)

I have two GSDs and my girl will not stay outside. She will go out for potty breaks and to play but cannot be left out during the day when we are at work as she will escape. She is a Houdini to the extreme!! So she is inside, she has access to a deck and plenty of water and adapted just fine.
My boy however loves it outside, and sometimes its hard to get him back inside! He loves being around us though so when we are home, they are both inside. They also sleep indoors, what's the point of having the protection of two GSDs if they are locked outside if someone breaks in when you are home?
There is more work but I find as long as they are brushed regularly, the amount of hair indoors is not too bad. When they blow their coat is another story but it is very manageable, plus the joy and companionship you get from them outweighs the hair anyway.


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## d4mmo (Mar 27, 2013)

woohoo another Aussie!
which state are you in?
with the beautiful weather here you will find dogs are happy and comfortable living outside and especially if it has another dog companion to play with. 
which breeders did you go with if you dont mind me asking?


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## Greg123 (Jul 30, 2013)

Dogs adapt to our routines. After a while your dog will begin to notice that during the day he should be outside and will know that when you arrive home he will be welcomed inside.
If your dog enjoys being indoors (probably will, since family is indoors too), then he will see your arrival home from work as a good thing and will probably welcome you with all that anxious and excitement dogs have towards their owners arrival. In other words this will most likely further strengthen your bond.


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## brembo (Jun 30, 2009)

I'll go as far as to say if you decide on an outside dog, don't get a GSD. GSDs are people dogs and not allowing them maximum people time is borderline abuse for them. I'm not a crazy overly protective dog person either, it's just that this breed thrives on human contact.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i think you and your wife should spend time with training and socializing
the dog. you said you want your dog "to have a strong bond with my family
and specifically with me". i think a dog should have a strong bond
with everybody in the house. it's not my dog, her dog, the kids dog.
it's the family dog.

your dog will adapt to being inside and outside. my dog is an inside dog.
he's our pet/companion. he's not a companion if he's in the yard. when
it comes to protection we protect our dog. whatever it is we need 
protection from our dog needs to be protected from it also. the only way
i would count on my dog being protective is if he were trained to be
protective. some GSD's are protective some aren't.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

A GSD was born and bred to be by your side. Ideally, the dog should be wherever YOU are, indoors or out. But of course, we have work schedules and other things in our lives that our dogs can't always be a part of. 

Having said that, as long as the dog is getting sufficient bonding time with you, time spent walking, playing, training, socializing, etc., he won't wither and die if kept outdoors the rest of the time. GSDs have a thick double coat that protects them from the elements, so physically, they are suited for a wide range of climates. They do need shelter and protection from sun and rain, of course, and I wouldn't leave a young puppy outside alone at night.

Now, the issue with the other dog... if you leave your pup outside with your older dog, the pup will naturally want to bond with HIM. If you want your pup to bond strongly with YOU, don't leave him to run with your other dog all day. Either kennel them separately or keep your puppy indoors. They can (and should) be allowed to play together an hour or so a day, provided the older dog is good with the pup. This play should be supervised, especially while the pup is very young. The rest of the pup's quality bonding time should be with YOU.

I don't suppose there is any way you could bring your dog to work with you?


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## Julix (Aug 11, 2013)

I think you will miss out out on a lot of bonding with you dog if it lives outside, I trained mine to not get up on the cloth cover sofa, but ok on the leather , train for your own preference, but we watch the animal planet together, I don't believe we could be as close if he didn't live with me, could not ask for a better roommate, if your worried about house damage, it's very easy to train them, and I sleep better at night with him inside.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I go outside they want to go outside, I go inside they want to go inside. Mine would not do well if I left them out there on their own. I have 4 dogs, 2 are GSD's...not one of them want to be away from me. Right now I'm upstairs, they are all here. When I get up to go downstairs they will all follow me.


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## love_GSD (Aug 9, 2013)

Freestep said:


> A GSD was born and bred to be by your side. Ideally, the dog should be wherever YOU are, indoors or out. But of course, we have work schedules and other things in our lives that our dogs can't always be a part of.
> 
> Having said that, as long as the dog is getting sufficient bonding time with you, time spent walking, playing, training, socializing, etc., he won't wither and die if kept outdoors the rest of the time. GSDs have a thick double coat that protects them from the elements, so physically, they are suited for a wide range of climates. They do need shelter and protection from sun and rain, of course, and I wouldn't leave a young puppy outside alone at night.
> 
> ...


I wish there was a way I could bring my Pup to work. But no, I work in a call center. No Way.


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