I’m sorry this blog post is a little late, but for me, family trumps blogging any day, and my family was in a bit of turmoil this weekend. While we were all there supporting each other, I asked my brother if there was any topic he thought I should blog on. He wanted to hear about outside dogs, so this blog post is thanks to him!
There are many people in the area with outside dogs, and if this is done correctly, it can be fine. On the other hand, if this living arrangement is incorrectly handled, both dog and owner suffer. The bare minimum standards, according to Iowa law, are that dogs who are confined outside need access to food, clean water, and shelter from the elements.
The first thing to remember is that dogs are pack animals. They like to live together in family groups, where there are a lot of rituals performed to enhance bonding and keep the group cohesive. One of the biggest troubles outdoor dogs face is not getting enough attention. Lots of people I meet who see my dogs (a 70 lb Lab and an 80 lb Rott mutt) are surprised that they are indoor dogs. I think of this as an opportunity to educate them on dog’s social needs.
An indoor dog is often impossible to ignore without trying. They are always there, interacting or trying to interact with their owner. They are always watching you, learning from you. An outdoor dog needs his owner to make the effort to ensure he gets adequate social time with the family. If you are outdoorsy folk, this may not be a problem for you- just incorporate your dog into your outdoor activities. However, if you tend to hang out inside rather than outside, this can cause a problem.
Outdoor dogs who are understimulated and need the attention of their owner often display behavioral symptoms (indoor dogs, by the way, will often show similar symptoms when they are bored and understimulated). They will often begin to engage in problem barking (eliciting barking complaints from the neighbors), chew on their shelter or anything else around, and/or become territorial, perhaps to the point of engaging in aggressive behavior. They are often so excited to finally get the human companionship they crave that they are unruly and truly obnoxious once they get it, often encouraging the owner to quickly return to the house away from their “unmanageable” dog. Thus a cycle can easily develop where the dog becomes more and more isolated from the family and thus engages in more and more troublesome behavior.
Dogs truly need human companionship to lead full and happy lives- it’s not an option for them, it’s a necessity. With a regimen of exercise and training to give the dog enough physical and mental stimulation, adding in enough quality human companionship to fulfill the dog’s needs, many of these problem behaviors will go away with little trouble. Companionship is key for dogs, and anyway, isn’t that why we got the dogs in the first place?