# Inside or outside?



## edthatsme

Do you keep your GSD inside or Outside?... and what is your reason behind it?...

im not sure how i want to keep Sydnee... i know they will be fine either way... but im sure one is harder than the other...:crazy:

So pros and cons, with your experience


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## JerzeyGSD

INSIDE! 

I've never actually kept my dog outside but here are reasons why I think a GSD would be completely unhappy outside:

1. Jerzey is like my shadow. If I stand up, she stands up. If I leave the room, she leaves the room. She is under my feet to the point of being annoying but that is because GSDs just LOVE their families. I honestly think it would be unfair to leave a dog that finds so much pleasure in being around its people outside by itself.

2. Leaving the dog outside is just plain dangerous. Anyone could bait the dog, throw things at it, throw poisoned food over the fence, etc. Sure, all of these things sound a bit extreme but it's all possible and has happened.

3. I, personally, think that the dog would get bored outside by itself all day and that's more likely to leave to distructive behaviors like digging or trying to find a way over the fence!

4. I also think that a dog that is by itself outside all day will not get the training or socialization that is required for it to be a healthy dog. GSDs get a bad rap because of their size and it's too easy for them to be labeled "dangerous" over things that wouldn't be as big of a deal if another dog had done them. I just think that you are asking for an ill-mannered dog if it isn't around the family learning how to behave around people, in the house, around strangers, etc.

That's all the reasonings I can think of for now but I am sure others with more experience will offer more suggestions and advice. Good luck with your decision making.


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## sagelfn

Inside

my reasons:
I want him inside
GSDs need to be with their pack
its not safe for him to be left outside all the time (risk of ppl hurting him poison,shooting, etc.. plenty of stories out there)
bad winters hot summers
expense of having an outdoor all weather kennel
i wouldn't be able to bring him to peoples houses for sleepovers since he probably wouldn't know how to behave indoors
a dog can't protect you if its stuck outside
barking/howling

cons:
shedding
being followed to the bathroom ALL the time
not being able to move because a 75lb puppy fell asleep on you lap and then your legs start to fall asleep


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## FloridaKerrin

Definitely Inside for ALL the reasons stated above plus they're wonderfully warm lying next to you on a cold night


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## Miikkas mom

*Inside*

For _*all*_ the reason mentioned above. Plus, I don’t want to be a rude neighbor. If I were away from home, running errands, at work, etc., there is no way of knowing what the dog is doing while it’s stuck outside. Is it barking and disturbing my neighbors all day? I don’t want an angry neighbor coming to my door complaining about my dog! Plus, I love her too much not to have her right next to me when I'm home.


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## LDB158

When I first got Speedy, I was living with my parents, so for the first 3 1/2 years, he stayed only OUTSIDE. They did not want him in the house, because they both had allergies. The only time he came inside was at night to go into his crate. 

Now that I have my own house (as of Sept 09), he stays INSIDE with me. That was the reason I wanted to get my own house was so I could let him stay inside with me. I've never potty trained him, so I'm surprised he doesn't use the bathroom in the house. He's only had one accident since I've lived here. He probably spends a couple of hours in the day outside playing in the backyard, other than that he stays inside with me. When I let him outside, I can tell when he wants to come back in because he starts barking. At night time, I can't leave him outside at all, because he barks all night wanting to come inside to his crate. Sometimes if I leave the house (during the daytime only), I will leave him outside. If I let him inside when I am not home to roam free, which I've done once, he chews up stuff. I came home with paper towels tore up all over the floor. 

Satin is also an inside dog. I got her at the beginning of the week and she had already been potty trained. She does good roaming around the house, I haven't had any problems with her chewing anything up yet. I did have a ripped up shade on the door from where she jumped up, but that needed to get rid of anyway. Lol. 

I don't think either of them would like to be only an outside dog now. They follow me from room to room. They both fall asleep with me on the sofa. I don't know how I fit on the sofa with two gigantic dogs, but we make it work. Lol. They both sleep in my bed with me if I am not working and don't have to crate them. I was trying to keep them off furniture, but I don't think I have a problem with them listening to me. If I want them off the furniture, I say "Off" and they jump off. And Satin doesn't get on any furniture unless I'm on the furniture that she gets on. The good thing about them being inside is I pay extra close attention them and know when they get sick. Before, when Speedy was outside, he was "never" sick or so I thought, I may just not have noticed, with me not watching him so closely all the time. 

I love having both of them as inside dogs. The only negative is that I have to sweep everyday. Lol. My house is covered in dog hair, as is some of my clothes. Lol. I baked food for work one day and all of my co-workers were like "There better not be dog hair in this!" So yeah. . Lol.

It's kinda crazy some of you were talking about throwing poisoned things over the fence. Both of my dogs got sick with vomiting, and that was the thing my mom asked me, if I thought someone threw something poisonous over the fence. And I was just like OMG!! I went walking all over my back yard with a flash light trying to see if I saw anything. I've decided now when I let them outside, I may just have to stand out there with them to make sure they don't eat anything they aren't supposed to.


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## Chicagocanine

Inside. I would never keep a German Shepherd outside unless outside was where I was!

There was just an incident on another forum I am on where someone's German Shepherd was poisoned when let out for a few minutes on their porch.


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## Lucy Dog

Lucy stays inside with me because she's part of my family. I wouldn't expect my mother to stay/sleep outside, so why would i expect anyone else in my family to?


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## Syaoransbear

Indoor/Outdoor

Outside when I'm not home, inside when I am. 

Pros: 
He gets some exercise while I'm gone and is free to potty when he needs to.
He doesn't scream and hurt himself trying to escape his crate.
He likes it, and willingly goes outside even though he knows I'm not following him out there.
Same amount of socialization as an indoor dog.
Less hair.
Don't have to worry about him escaping his crate and getting into the bird room and killing all of my birds.

Cons:
I can't really think of any.

I have a large yard that is surrounded by friendly neighbors that I know(and two are cops). I can't imagine why someone would poison him anyway since he does not bark when he's outside. It's likely most of our neighbors don't even know that he's ever even in the backyard. I've watched him before, he just sleeps in his dog house, poops, pees, checks the windows to see if I'm home yet, unburies toys, plays with them, then buries them again. Even when my one neighbor called his name, Chrono just stared at him and didn't move from lounging on the patio furniture. The only destructive thing he's ever done is dig up one of my birds that I had buried years ago. He doesn't even go in the garden in summer. He's extremely well mannered in the backyard and I've never got a single complaint about him, and I have a very, very cranky neighbor that would let us know if he was being noisy at all(this is the same neighbor that called Chrono's name and has said Chrono is his favorite dog on the block because he's the only one that doesn't bark or rush the fence).


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## sagelfn

FYI i was kidding about the cons, I love it..okay except for the shedding but its worth it


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## SuzyE

oh Lord.
Anyway, when Paige was young she wanted to be out all the time so we finally put a fence up so she could stay out during the day if she wanted. Jazmin NEVER wanted to stay out. Now Paige almost never stays outside unless it is super nice. Travis, part Husky wakes up and runs to go outside and sleep on the porch even at 6 am in 10 degrees. Now I see what people mean about huskies. If it were up to Travis he would LIVE outside.When the weather is good he can stay out and does all day until late at night. I would let him sleep out there in the summer if I didn't think he would bark.He acts like it is torture to come inside for too long, I would never want a full bred Husky.


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## Dainerra

my god, Rayden thinks it's torture if he is outside alone! shoot, he won't go out to potty if it's raining unless I go with him! if I tried to make him live outside, well, I can't even imagine his reaction.

DH's GSD growing up, she lived outside. but it was a family with young kids who were outside the majority of the day all summer and most of the time after school. So, she did get human interaction. But, it was a very different bond than what our kids have with Rayden


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## Castlemaid

INSIDE!!! 

Pros:
I get to love and enjoy their company all the time.
They get to love and enjoy my company all the time.
Helps them feel loved and cherished, develops a stronger bond. 
I know where they are and what they are doing all the time.
I know what they are eating and not eating all the time.
I know they are safe.
I know they are not harrassing wildlife, being harrased by wildlife, being harrassed by loose dogs and idiots.
Learn great house manners.
Help keep the kitchen floor free of crumbs and dropped food.

I'm in the boonies, I have acreage, and no fence. I love it that having my dogs forces me to go outside with them, to excercise them, to play with them, to train them, to take them for walks. Some people rationalize keeping their dogs outside because then they will grow a nice thick winter coat for the winter. Well Gryffon may spend between 2 to 3 hours a day outside with me, the rest of the time he is inside, and he has such an amazing, thick, silky, glossy coat, people ask me all the time if he is an outside dog. 

And even as an inside dog, his coat is more than adequate to keep him warm when the temps go down to -30 or colder, and keeps him comfortable the same when he lies down in front of the woodstove for a nap. 

Even if I had a fence yard, I would not want my dogs outside alone unsupervised. Too much stuff can happen.


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## sweetliberty

Inside - for all of the reasons stated by others. Plus it would break her heart not to be with us all the time. Whenever one or both of us goes away for a few hours, Liberty stays right by the door listening and waiting for the pack member to come home. When the pack member comes home it's quite a welcome, like she hasn't seen us for years. When people tell me they love their dog like a child, I KIDDINGLY say that I love this dog more - she never wrecks my car, gets in trouble in school, asks me for money, or comes home drunk. KIDDING KIDDING KIDDING.


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## Cathygirl

Mine are primary inside and stay in the house if I have to leave for a couple hours or so, but when I go to work they have to go in the outdoor kennel. It is a 40x15 kennel attatched to our barn. 
They don't mind it and actually run up to it when I tell them to go to the kennel. We live in the country with only a few neighbors by us and they are on the next acreage parcel. 
They have lots of room to run and play outside and we have a creek that they love to play in. But they also LOVE to be in the house.
Right now they are all laying in front of the woodstove.


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## arycrest

The Hooligans are indoor dogs. When I was working they stayed crated in the house. Now that I'm retired they spend as much time as they want outdoors and then come in when they're ready.

I've only had one outdoor dog, Andy, my Cocker. That was his choice - he detested being in the house. He'd only be inside a few minutes and immediately want to go back out. On bitter cold nights he was forced to sleep in my bedroom and he was absolutely miserable.

My biggest problem about leaving a dog outside when I'm not at home is the weather. One afternoon we were having a terrible thunderstorm, all of a sudden KABOOM - it felt like our house was in the midst of a huge football sized hailstorm. Come to find out we'd been hit by an F1 tornado. Looking at the damage done outside I'm sure the dogs would have been injured had they been out when it hit. And yes, sometimes animals in our neighborhood (mainly horses and cows) are hit and killed by lightening.


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## heather122

I have a really evil neighbor, so I'm not comfortable with keeping my dog outside when I'm not home. She loves being outside, but not alone. Prior to potty training, she would get hooked up to a run outside while I cleaned her crate. When I took the crate inside, she flipped because I left her (for like 5 mins!!!)

Sadie is part of our family. She loves to be with us and take part in our daily routines. She brings more laughs to this house than any of our other animals. We would miss out on so much if she were outside. Also, I feel that if she is inside, she is more territorial and wants to protect "her house" even though I pay the bills. If she gets curious outside and gets hurt, will I hear her yelp? If the tv is on, probably not. If she is in the house, I can hear her get curious before she gets the chance to get hurt.

I had 2 outdoor dogs as a kid and had no where near the attachment to them as I do to Sadie. I loved them and was sad when they passed, but I would much prefer all of my future dogs to live inside with me. My last dog was easier to handle inside because he was tiny, but Sadie has learned most of the house rules and is really not a burden inside. She makes messes, but thats part of it. I still wouldnt trade her!


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## Lilie

Inside / Outside

I work all day (aprox. 8 hours away from the house) , and I live in the country. My dogs are kept in a large fenced back yard while I'm away. Their job is to keep the home stead safe. I never have to worry about attack squirrels taking over my home..LOL! When I come home, I spend at least a min. of 3 hours out doors. Hondo is usually with me. He gets a lot of exercise as he is left with an overly active Golden. He gets a lot of stimulus during the day as he chases squirrels and birds and bugs and frogs and crickets and .........

At night when I'm in the house, he is in the house with me. He does follow me everywhere, all the time. I enjoy his company and talk to him as if he were a person. I brush him every night and that is our quiet time. Sometimes I cheat him and watch TV while I'm brushing him, but he doesn't seem to mind. 

If we have adverse weather, I can keep him in his kennel indoors when I'm gone (he is 5 months old). I am blessed with the fact that I can come home on my lunch hour and put him outside. 

My Golden is stricktly an outside dog. He does not like it in the house and becomes nervous and aggressive. He is perfectly happy outside, and I take measures to make sure he is safe in all weather conditions. Having said that - he will kennel in the event of a bad storm like a hurricane etc. 

In my opinion you should do both and keep your dog safe and happy.


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## edthatsme

it seems like most are favoring inside, some a little more extreme than others.... but im sure its the extremities that make the relationship with your dog beautiful...

I knows that GSD's are perfectly fine outside weather wise, especially in bayarea weather 
im just trying to find an equilibrium with Sydnee inside and outside for now... shes not fully trained and with my crazy work hours at the P.D. im usually home in the day time... but if for any reason im gone in the day time i leave her outside... she has a big backyard to play in, with 7foot high dear fences... the only thing is that my neighborhood has hiking trails behind our house, so Sydnee goes nuts with the dogs that walk...:crazy:

But other than that i feel like u dont necessarily need to have an inside dog to have all the closeness and affection you and love they need...

so for now Sydnee sleeps inside and stays outside till someone comes home... even tho i want to get to the point where she is inside all the time, so i got to get on those training classes:blush:


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## Dainerra

dogs can also easily adjust to whatever hours their owners are working lol. awake during at night, sleeping during the day.

the biggest problem with outdoor dog in a neighborhood like you describe is the barking. Sooner or later a neighbor will start to complain about it.

"But other than that i feel like u dont necessarily need to have an inside dog to have all the closeness and affection you and love they need..." this is true IF you are the type of person who spends a lot of time outside, as in HOURS every day. if you are a farmer, like to putter in the yard, go hiking ect, then it's no problem. but, if you are tired when you come home and prefer to put up your feet and watch TV, than a strictly outside dog is just a lawn ornament.

I find it's easier to just train as you go if you want to train them to be inside all the time. that is the only way to learn "house manners," not a training class. leash her inside and that will help you keep her calm. it also makes it easier to practice basic obedience, "sit" "down" etc if she is inside with you. if you're just chilling and watching TV, have her do a few tricks during the commercials. 
If you leave the house, simply put her in a crate or confine her to a room where there is nothing to hurt her.


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## CherryCola

Inside.. I don't think I'd choose a GSD if I wasn't going to let it be inside and be a part of the family. Cherry is incredibly bonded to me and likes to follow me everywhere and be a part of what I'm doing. And that's how I like it! I wanted a companion and she is a perfect one.

She gets plenty of time to play in the garden during the day. She goes out and charges around with Phoebe (Border Collie), she doesn't really like to be out there on her own. I think for my own peace of mind I prefer her to be indoors as well. I'd worry if I went out and left her outside all day.


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## Dainerra

see, Rayden has a doggie door. He could be outside as much as he wants, but he never does. He prefers to be inside, even when we aren't home. I've asked the neighbors before and they've NEVER seen him outside. "Maybe once to take a quick potty then right back in"


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## Tihannah

When my DH first started talk about wanted a GSD, one of his requirement were that it stayed in the home with us. Well, I kinda grew up to where big dogs always stayed outside and the little ones lived inside. I told him NO WAY!! He would have to wait until we had a large enough home with a big fenced in backyard cause there was NO WAY I was gonna be dealing with an 80lb dog pooping, peeing, and shedding all over my house! Well, now we have Kaiya, and she has never spent a single moment living outside. She was probably one of the easiest pups I ever had to housebreak. I couldn't even imagine keeping her outside now as she is a part of our family and she's constantly stuck to me like glue. I now think that dogs kept only outside have to lose some of that family bond.


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