Can you leave your Sheltie unattended outside?

[Hugo]

I was checking out a website with people posting about their lost Shelties, often dogs aged 5 or 6 who should logically NOT want to leave their humans.

I was wondering if you guys can let your Sheltie outside alone, unattended (implying a non-fenced yard).

If I'm outside, the dog is out there, always without a leash. If I don't see him, I call him, and he appears from out of nowhere within 5 seconds. He never ran away, ever.

Best of all, I can actually let him go outside alone, he will go potty or whatever, and if he wants to come back in, he will wait at the door, if not, he generally sits at the limits of my driveway or on the sidewalk and watches over the neighbourhood .

That is, until someone comes along. He runs to them and greets them.

He also sits on my front lawn for hours on end with a bone and one of my cats (who loves Whisky), and the car purrs and cuddles him. They sure put on a great show for my neighbours!

 

[SunChaser]

IMO no one should have any dog outside without benefit of a leash or fenced area until they are 100% sure that their dog has a perfect recall. I see too many of these beautiful creatures in shelters and wandering the streets because someone "thought" their dog would come when called!

 

[mcguiregirl2248]

IMO no one should have any dog outside without benefit of a leash or fenced area until they are 100% sure that their dog has a perfect recall. I see too many of these beautiful creatures in shelters and wandering the streets because someone "thought" their dog would come when called!

I think I'm with you on this. I would never leave any of my dogs outside without a tie out or fence. There is someone on MySpace that is currently looking for their lost Sheltie in FL b/c it got out a small hole in the fence at her parents house - somewhere he was not used to. She has been searching for him since mid-April. Even a fence can be questionable!

 

[Hugo]

IMO no one should have any dog outside without benefit of a leash or fenced area until they are 100% sure that their dog has a perfect recall. I see too many of these beautiful creatures in shelters and wandering the streets because someone "thought" their dog would come when called!

I respect your opinion.

I do think, though, that if a dog lives in a fenced area, he might wanna see what's on the other side. If he sees everything, but is told not to go, he doesn't feel «imprisoned», and therefore, doesn't feel the need to go there.

I might be wrong tho.

Also keep in mind that we never leave the house with the dog outside, and we always look out the window every few minutes to make sure he's within eyesight.

It's just reassuring to know that I can go outside to answer the phone or do something and not have to worry about the dog running away.

We also live in a very peaceful city, in a very peaceful suburban neighbourhood, so having the dog stolen is not a concern. There just is no crime here.

Needless to say, I don't leave him untied at someone else's place.

 

[OntarioSheltie]

I would NEVER leave my dog unattended in an unfenced area

I would NEVER leave Sadie unattended in an unfenced area, even if I didn't think she would wander away or be stollen.

She would be completely unprotected, if an aggresive dog got loose she could be seriously injured or even killed. I've also learned that I cannot rely on the common sense of other dog owners, how do I know that someone with an agressive dog won't allow their dog on my property and beat up my sheltie?


For Sadie's safety, I'd never risk such a thing. I see such thing on the news and on Animal Planet all the time, its an occurance that happens frequently and as a result, I'm not willing to take the chance.

 

[Hugo]

We know everyone who walks their dog on my street, and Whisky likes those dogs. They are smallish dogs, Whisky being bigger than them all. Not a concern. And again, we keep an intermittent, but watchful eye on him.

Whatever could happen if I was inside for a few minutes could also happen with me under the car fixing something, and Whisky on the front lawn.

 

[Sharon]

Leaving Sheltie Outside Alone

I never leave my sheltie outside alone. I dont trust anyone.There have been dog nappings in my area. He is my life. Sharon

 

[Hugo]

There have been dog nappings in my area.

Damn, what the hell???



I never heard of this happening here.

Oh well... our city of roughly 650 000 peeps has had a single murder since October 2006, so everyone is pretty laid back, be it towards each other or animals...

 

[OntarioSheltie]

You Won't Believe This One!

I never leave my sheltie outside alone. I dont trust anyone.There have been dog nappings in my area. He is my life. Sharon

Thats happened in my area as well. A friend of my mother's not only had her boxer stollen, but the theif held the dog for ransom! He threatened that if they called the police they'd never see the dog again.

They paid the ransom (I still would have called the police) but I don't think the dog was ever the same. We think the thief must have abused it while he had it. Poor dog and people

I live in a small city of 135,000, its considered to be a retirement city, not rough and fairly low crime rate.

 

[Izziesbud]

Izzie is never outside unless she is on a leash. She climbed over a chain link fence in February when she was at the trainers house. She was missing for 11 days in brutal winter weather conditions.

We finally got her back after we set a humane trap in a location that she had been spotted in. We are getting a 6 foot privacy fence in a few weeks so she will then have the whole yard. Even with the fence I will not let her out unless I am out with her.