Dog door use when you are not home

[Anonymous]

We have a three-year-old foxhound who needs to run around in our fenced backyard for a few hours a day to be a happy pet. When she is stuck inside for too long, she goes a little nuts and gets up to bad things, like eating my couch. For as long as we’ve had her this has not been an issue because at least one of us has been home and able to let her outside whenever she needs to go. But now that everybody is back to school and work she is stuck in a crate for a good part of the day. A dog walker won’t work, because she just needs to run around like a maniac, not take a walk on a leash. We’ve tried doggy daycare and while it definitely meets her needs, it’s just prohibitively expensive for us to do on a daily basis.

My husband got the idea to put the open door of the crate up against a dog door to the backyard and let her come and go as she pleases. We tried it out over the weekend and she totally understands the concept and seemed happy with it. But I’ve never left her in the backyard when someone is not at home and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m not worried about her going over the fence, it’s an 8 foot privacy fence and while she jumps at it she cannot clear it. But it still feels a little irresponsible to let her be out there on her own. Has anybody done something like this successfully? Am I overthinking this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a three-year-old foxhound who needs to run around in our fenced backyard for a few hours a day to be a happy pet. When she is stuck inside for too long, she goes a little nuts and gets up to bad things, like eating my couch. For as long as we’ve had her this has not been an issue because at least one of us has been home and able to let her outside whenever she needs to go. But now that everybody is back to school and work she is stuck in a crate for a good part of the day. A dog walker won’t work, because she just needs to run around like a maniac, not take a walk on a leash. We’ve tried doggy daycare and while it definitely meets her needs, it’s just prohibitively expensive for us to do on a daily basis.

My husband got the idea to put the open door of the crate up against a dog door to the backyard and let her come and go as she pleases. We tried it out over the weekend and she totally understands the concept and seemed happy with it. But I’ve never left her in the backyard when someone is not at home and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m not worried about her going over the fence, it’s an 8 foot privacy fence and while she jumps at it she cannot clear it. But it still feels a little irresponsible to let her be out there on her own. Has anybody done something like this successfully? Am I overthinking this?

I did it for a dozen years with my cocker spaniel. It was great. What are you worried about?

[Anonymous]

OP I had an American Foxhound that I got from a shelter in Ava when she was 1-2. I lived in a Condo. She got lots of exercise and didn’t have a yard. Given that you have a yard I would have the kids take turns throwing a ball for her in the morning before school, Dogwalker midday, dogwalker could even throw the ball in the back yard for 20 mins or just let her run around if you think that is better than a walk. Then after school/work a long walk then time in the yard.

[Anonymous]

Above PP again, sorry forgot to add. We went to a fenced dog park 2-3 times a week too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I had an American Foxhound that I got from a shelter in Ava when she was 1-2. I lived in a Condo. She got lots of exercise and didn’t have a yard. Given that you have a yard I would have the kids take turns throwing a ball for her in the morning before school, Dogwalker midday, dogwalker could even throw the ball in the back yard for 20 mins or just let her run around if you think that is better than a walk. Then after school/work a long walk then time in the yard.

But this person DOES have a yard, and so the dog should have 24/7 access.


Easy Breezy.

[Anonymous]

A dog walker will come and play with your dog in the backyard. Just talk to them about what you want. We did this successfully for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a three-year-old foxhound who needs to run around in our fenced backyard for a few hours a day to be a happy pet. When she is stuck inside for too long, she goes a little nuts and gets up to bad things, like eating my couch. For as long as we’ve had her this has not been an issue because at least one of us has been home and able to let her outside whenever she needs to go. But now that everybody is back to school and work she is stuck in a crate for a good part of the day. A dog walker won’t work, because she just needs to run around like a maniac, not take a walk on a leash. We’ve tried doggy daycare and while it definitely meets her needs, it’s just prohibitively expensive for us to do on a daily basis.

My husband got the idea to put the open door of the crate up against a dog door to the backyard and let her come and go as she pleases. We tried it out over the weekend and she totally understands the concept and seemed happy with it. But I’ve never left her in the backyard when someone is not at home and I’m not sure how I feel about it. I’m not worried about her going over the fence, it’s an 8 foot privacy fence and while she jumps at it she cannot clear it. But it still feels a little irresponsible to let her be out there on her own. Has anybody done something like this successfully? Am I overthinking this?

I did it for a dozen years with my cocker spaniel. It was great. What are you worried about?

OP here— I guess I’m just worried that there are some things I’m not thinking about with her being outside by herself. She’s a barker but in the daylight hours that doesn’t concern me so much because she usually doesn’t go longer than a couple of minutes. But there are times where something like a squirrel will catch her attention and she loses her mind for a little bit, and I don’t want to be the neighborhood nuisance. I’m also a little uncomfortable with the dog door concept, because I’m worried about a brave critter coming inside. But again, I am an overthinker and I think this is probably worth a try unless someone’s got a horror story to share.

[Anonymous]

Our dogs have access to the fenced yard via the dog door & it works really well. If you're worried about her jumping out of the fence, try weeding or something on the outside of the fence while she's in the yard. If she's able to jump out, this is when she'll do it.

When we only had one dog, he chewed through the wooden gate to come and see me, but now that he has a friend, he's fine.

[Anonymous]

don't do it.

My neighbor leaves her dog w/a doggie door and sometimes the dog barks non stop. Never does it when she is home.

[Anonymous]

Personaaly, I would be afraid someone would snatch my adorable puppy from my yard if it was out there alone.

[Anonymous]

What about tracking in dirt and mud? That would be my concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personaaly, I would be afraid someone would snatch my adorable puppy from my yard if it was out there alone.

this would be my concern too. OP get a dogwalker to come play with dog in yard midday.

[Anonymous]

How tall is your fence? Ours are probably 6-7’ and no way anyone can get in (gate is locked). We leave our dog outside all the time unattended

[Anonymous]

Isn’t this one of the main benefits of having a yard??? Really, OP, I though everyone did this. When I was a kid we used to leave our sliding glass door open so the dog could go outside abd there wouldn’t be accidents if we were running late. After a squirrel got in the house my parents put in a dog door.

[Anonymous]

I would have the dog walker come and play with the dog for 30 min each day.