please never leave your dog outside by its self!!

[Punkygirl0101]

I think that is absolutely horrible! But..

I also allow my dogs outside unsupervised. If I were to be outside with them everytime one of them had to pee I would be out there all day. We have a secure, fenced in yard. We have a pool, but there is no water in it...and the dogs don't go in it anyway. And nothing else they can get into. they have access to outside all day, and then at night they are brought in for about 8 hours then let back out again.

 

[bubbatd]

I could never leave mine out all night ...............

 

[grab01]

Mine stay inside a good majority of the time (only go out for potty runs). I do not stay out with them when they pee though. Legend will hang out outside in the evening when it's cooler and I check on him throughout the evening.

I'm really surprised the owner didn't have a necropsy done. If my pup died unexpectedly, I'd want to know the cause.

 

[Suzzie]

on nice days i leave my door open for the dogs to run in and out. In the morning, I let them out while I drag myself into the bathroom for my own potty time. That doesn't make me irresponsible. Crap happens sometimes. I suppose it's only truly irresponsible if there is something dangerous in the backyard that you just couldn't be bothered with to remove/fence off/replace.

 

[Bunny82]

My heart goes out to the owner. Losing an animal is such a tragedy and I can not even begin to imagine what it is like to lose an animal and not have any answers.

Forgive me but I am not sure if I missed something. Did she request an autopsy so the cause of death could be determined?

I do agree with not leaving animals outside unsupervised but that is me and I am overly cautious and paranoid.

 

[Squishy22]

That is absolutely horrible.

I leave reggin out on his line without me out there. I am home alone 90% of the time and I have a 10 month old that needs my supervision 24/7. I will say that I keep both of the windows open that face his zip line, so I can keep a close eye out on him. I cant wait until our fence goes up. It makes me nervous that just any stray dog can come running up to him. The other day I seen a white husky pass our yard.

 

[perla123]

My heart goes out to the owner. Losing an animal is such a tragedy and I can not even begin to imagine what it is like to lose an animal and not have any answers.

Forgive me but I am not sure if I missed something. Did she request an autopsy so the cause of death could be determined?

I do agree with not leaving animals outside unsupervised but that is me and I am overly cautious and paranoid.

Nope they didn't recuest nothing

 

[FoxyWench]

personally i dislike leaving any dog unsupervised anywhere, mostly because im from an area origonally where dogs would be stolen straight out of your yard...while your home...

the area im in now, theres been numerous cases of stray dog attacks and the worst...PEOPLE, horrible people who poisen meat and throw it over the fence...

but for me, even if in the safest area possible (our garden is securly fenced and were off the main road) i dont let my dogs out unsupervised...mostly because dodger is only 3lbs, and both he and vixie are prime prey size for the local birds of prey (vixie is about the weight of a large hare and doger is prime prey for even smaller birds of prey) and there are coyotes, bobcat and even a bear was spotted the other day.
Ruby and charlie go out unsupervised right before bedtime (about 11pm) but then its with the main door open (just the screen shut) and i stand right there, they go out, pee poop and straight back in, they know the drill...

and in truth...i dont even think id leave a huge dog outside alone around here...

 

[bubbatd]

I really wish that Ollie would spend more time outside !!! It's been beautiful outside and I leave the door open for him . But no , he'd rather stay in with me .

 

[perla123]

I really wish that Ollie would spend more time outside !!! It's been beautiful outside and I leave the door open for him . But no , he'd rather stay in with me .

aww grammy you have such a loyal dog

 

[bubbatd]

He's so good for me and with me ......another dog when company comes !!!

 

[lucille]

I will let my dogs out in my back yard unattended for short periods of time in my back yard with the six foot privacy fence. But I would never leave them out when I am gone from the house. There is rising dog theft, and I have heard of dogs stolen even out of fenced yards. Some stolen dogs are sold as pets, others are sold for research; and I don't want to risk either.
As the economy worsens I expect even more dog theft. My dogs are not high dollar dogs, but they mean a lot to me.

 

[JudithMary]

that is so sad. What a shock that would be. I have heard of young dogs just dying before. To bad they didn't request a autopsy. If they bought from a reputable breeder the breeder might like to be informed. The person I know was given another pup.
I d on't leave my dog unattended outside, he is a pup and we have to many racoons squirrels, skunks etc. I have a small enclosure by the back door so he can go potty with me watching inside. I take him out into the rest of the yard to play supervised.

 

[Dekka]

My guys have a fenced yard. In the sumer the door is left open so they can come and go as they please. IMO there are more things my dogs could get into in the house unsupervised and many people leave their dogs uncrated when not home.

 

[HoundedByHounds]

Sounds like a heart attack or even bloat/torsion, if she was not paying close attention. I have no issue leaving mine out in the yard without staring at them constantly. Things happen...our yard is as secure as it can be.

My kids also play out in the front yard with me checking every now and again...but I don't stare at them constantly either..tho I used to. At some point you need to be able to trust that you've done what you can and that you picked a safe place to live.

When I was a kid I used to run the neighborhood without a parent for hours of even most of the day. I cannot go that far with mine...but I have loosened up considerably as they've gotten older.

The dogs that can be trusted outside are allowed some freedom...I have a very secure run area for those that cannot be so trusted LOL.

 

[BrownFCR]

I am so sorry that happened to that dog, but as most here have already said, things can happen that would have happened even if the dog was inside.

I have a secure fence, with locks. My dogs, especially Gus the GSD, really like to be outside for a great deal of the day. It's getting cold now, so I wait until the sun hits the patio before letting them out -- except for that quick potty break early in the AM. They come in and out during the day because I like their company, but Gus will usually start staring at me to go back out after 10 or 15 minutes.

Glad that most people on this board seem to be sensible and not overly paranoid. You can be careful, and then you can also overdo it.

 

[Doberluv]

Oh that is horrible. What a tragedy! My heart goes out to those people. I do hope they don't feel guilt about it. I think it's unreasonable to feel that they should have supervised their dogs constantly when they're outside. These are big dogs that normally can take care of themselves. I suspect bloat or a heart attack or something. Danes are prone to things like that.

I supervise my Chihuhuas pretty closely when they're outside. I might go in for a few minute and in summer, they mostly sun themselves on the deck. I do worry about eagles a little bit so I'm pretty watchful. The big dog is usually out there with them which makes me feel better. If they're out alone, I am with them. But the bigger dog, I let play with the neighbor's dogs in the pasture or let her explore around the woods by herself. I call her periodically...every 20 minutes or so to check in and she doesn't go off the property. I agree that you can't let your life be controlled by paranoia. And they could get hurt inside too.

It was a freak thing and very sudden and sad. I hope their pain will ease.

 

[BostonBanker]

How sad for the dane's owners. I too am surprised they didn't request a necropsy to figure out what caused the death.

Meg is out and about with me all day at the barn, and although I am technically outside with her, it's nearly 100 acres. She generally sticks right around me, but occasionally decides to run up to one of the ponds, or spends 20 minutes hunting in the tall grass up past the pastures. She's good about checking in frequently, and if I don't see her for a while, a whistle sends her running from anywhere. Sure, she could get in to something without me knowing, but her quality of life is fantastic. I wouldn't take that from her because of "what if".

 

[mrose_s]

My heart goes out to those owners

We have a fenced yard, and have to split the dogs into two groups, 2 stay indoors, 2 stay outdoors. At night we can bring them all in for supervised time in the loungeroom but Sophie and Harry sleep outdoors aswell. not that it bothers them too much.

There are nearly always dogs outside here. Even if they all still got along great, my mother would be kicking them out periodically for a few hours to "air out" the house. I don't know... I can't smell a thing. lol

 

[lucille]

How sad for the dane's owners. I too am surprised they didn't request a necropsy to figure out what caused the death.

Meg is out and about with me all day at the barn, and although I am technically outside with her, it's nearly 100 acres. She generally sticks right around me, but occasionally decides to run up to one of the ponds, or spends 20 minutes hunting in the tall grass up past the pastures. She's good about checking in frequently, and if I don't see her for a while, a whistle sends her running from anywhere. Sure, she could get in to something without me knowing, but her quality of life is fantastic. I wouldn't take that from her because of "what if".

That sounds like a WONDERFUL life for a dog, how lucky both of you are.
Some caution can be situational, I suppose. Very near the poor inner city area where I work, there is a growing problem with youngsters fighting pit bulls. Dog strays, dog theft, dog fighting.
100 acres sounds like paradise.