Page 2 | Does a dog need an enclosed garden?

Fivemoreminutes1 · 2021-02-16T18:25:29+00:00

How dog proof are your gardens? We have no way of enclosing all of our garden. Does this rule out dog ownership?

SoiPup · 17/02/2021 12:35

We live in an apartment and manage. Definitely easier with a garden but it's doable without.

LimitIsUp · 17/02/2021 12:39

My dogs love the garden. One of them enjoys doing circuits of the perimeter and checking that everything is in order. She most commonly does this in the evening.

They both enjoy sniffing and barking at birds and squirrels.

And its a lovely place to hang out on a hot summers day. Their lives would be impoverished without it (and they do go out twice a day for hour long walks)

sunflowersandbuttercups · 17/02/2021 13:01

It's doable - I mean, plenty of people keep dogs in flats, but it's a pain in the arse.

You'd have to go outside with your dog every single time they wanted the toilet, and keep them on a lead too. Once mine was toilet trained (by about 5 months) he was just put in the garden to do his business, then let back in afterwards. Much easier when it's pissing down with rain outside or he's decided he needs to go out at 3am

Plenty of people cope fine without a garden but it's a lot more work - you need to take them out more often, for starters.

LimitIsUp · 17/02/2021 13:02

Its doable - but is it fair on the dog?

Cauterize · 17/02/2021 15:28

You don't need an enclosed garden, I'm sure there are lots of people in flats with dogs.

However, it would be a complete ballache imo. I like being able to let them straight out in the morning and throughout the day and having the door open all day when it's sunny and warm

JackieWeaverIsTheAuthority · 17/02/2021 15:36

@SoiPup

We live in an apartment and manage. Definitely easier with a garden but it's doable without.

I think it’s a different scenario when you have no garden at all. Without any garden you have to actually put the lead on your dog and take them outside to toilet, so you are with them. There’s no risk of them running off. But if you have a garden it’s far too easy to just open the door and let them out, nip back in to do something, forget to check them etc and if the garden isn’t enclosed the dog is gone in a flash. Having no garden isn’t the same as not having an enclosed garden in terms of escape risk.

Suzi888 · 17/02/2021 15:37

Depends on the dog, I personally wouldn’t think it was safe for my DDog as he would go a wandering. When we moved to our current house, he wandered squeezed his huge buttover to our neighbour. Luckily they saw the funny side, but quickly plugged the gap!

mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork · 17/02/2021 16:21

I live in an upstairs flat but I have a small (shady) garden that is enclosed. The dog likes to rush into it before we come back in the front door to see if any of the neighbour's cats are in it and then she just wants to come indoors with me. She does not want to be in the garden by herself when I'm indoors. It wouldn't really matter to her if I didn't have a garden - she gets good walks with lots of running off lead. I suspect that Battersea would still have let me adopt her even if I hadn't had a garden.

Sitdowncupoftea · 17/02/2021 17:06

Dogs do need an encloses garden especially with the dog thefts at the moment and for safety. My gardens a half acre and I've secured it.

RandomMess · 17/02/2021 17:09

If a dog hasn't had a garden they don't know what they're missing out on 🤷🏽‍♀️

Our garden is unsecured so we treat it as though we don't have a garden. She's only out there with us same as if we lived in an upstairs flat or similar.

Strokethefurrywall · 17/02/2021 17:13

We don't have an enclosed garden and have two large shepherd mixes.
We walk them on leash throughout the day to do their business and to sniff, and whilst an enclosed space for early morn/late night quick pees might have been handy, we're so used to it after 12 years that I don't consider it a no no.

Folks in big cities don't have enclosed gardens and manage fine, as long as you're prepared to go outside with them a lot. Not sure if that's a deciding factor for you though.

YouAreYourBestThing · 17/02/2021 17:15

I wouldn't have a dog without an enclosed garden (my lovely old girl has gone now, but she loved pottering around out there!).

Saying that though...some (cruel!) people have dogs in flats 🤷‍♀️ My personal opinion is that this isn't fair on the dog...who will be made to wait whilst the owner gets organised enough to take them outside...but I know many dog owners living in flats!

YouAreYourBestThing · 17/02/2021 17:25

Actually I need to apologise! I said 'cruel' and after writing this I realised that I'm projecting my feelings towards my dick of a brother, who keeps 3 large dogs in a tiny (dirty!) flat that he sells (and uses) drugs from (so I'm sure you can picture this!) He hardly ever takes them out and lets them do their 'business' on the balcony of the flat. It is cruel and he has been reported several times but nothing ever comes of this.

So I'm sorry...obviously I was out of order and was definitely projecting here (it really upsets me 😢)

RandomMess · 17/02/2021 17:32

@YouAreYourBestThing

That is so cruel no life at all.

I suspect my terrier is part camel she is so anti going in the garden!!! 3 times a day and that's only if she hasn't been for a walk - she refuses walks if it's raining 🤦🏼‍♀️

LimitIsUp · 17/02/2021 18:56

YouAreYourBestThing - good on you for realising that you are projecting. A lot of posters do that and go for another poster unreasonably.

Such a shame for your brother's dogs, and regretable that no agency will respond to the reports

SimonJT · 17/02/2021 19:26

@YouAreYourBestThing

I wouldn't have a dog without an enclosed garden (my lovely old girl has gone now, but she loved pottering around out there!).

Saying that though...some (cruel!) people have dogs in flats 🤷‍♀️ My personal opinion is that this isn't fair on the dog...who will be made to wait whilst the owner gets organised enough to take them outside...but I know many dog owners living in flats!

How is putting your shoes on to leave a flat any different to putting your shoes on to leave the house?

Is there a special ritual you think those living in flats are doing before they take their dog outside?

Honeyroar · 17/02/2021 19:27

@YouAreYourBestThing

I wouldn't have a dog without an enclosed garden (my lovely old girl has gone now, but she loved pottering around out there!).

Saying that though...some (cruel!) people have dogs in flats 🤷‍♀️ My personal opinion is that this isn't fair on the dog...who will be made to wait whilst the owner gets organised enough to take them outside...but I know many dog owners living in flats!

Slightly narrow minded response!

I live on a small holding with 16 acres and endless countryside around it, but when I lived in a flat my dog was looked after just as well as my current dogs. A garden is not the be all and end all for a dog. One of my current dogs really doesn’t like the garden. It doesn’t take much organisation to take a dog out - coat on, grab lead and poo bags, off you go!

YouAreYourBestThing · 17/02/2021 20:31

@SimonJT @Honeyroar

If you'd read on (one post later) you would have seen that I immediately apologised for my post 🤷‍♀️ When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong 👍

Honeyroar · 17/02/2021 20:34

[quote YouAreYourBestThing]**@SimonJT* @Honeyroar*

If you'd read on (one post later) you would have seen that I immediately apologised for my post 🤷‍♀️ When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong 👍[/quote]
Fair enough, apologies back at you. It was just such an infuriating post.

SimonJT · 17/02/2021 20:36

[quote YouAreYourBestThing]**@SimonJT* @Honeyroar*

If you'd read on (one post later) you would have seen that I immediately apologised for my post 🤷‍♀️ When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong 👍[/quote]
Ah sorry, if I see bits I quote them rather than reading to the last page.

TheNationsFavourite · 18/02/2021 00:49

We live very rurally, about half a mile from anyone else, basically down a very long drive in the middle of a 5 acre plot/field. When we first moved there, I was really worried about our 9 year terrier who was always escaping from our previous small enclosed garden. Oddly enough, he never tried it once in the new place, even though there were gaps all over the place and gates he could wriggle under. Seems like the enclosed garden was a challenge!

Our new pup is 18 months and he's generally very good. He goes out for a wander round, chases a few pheasants and squirrels, has a paddle in the stream and when he's had enough, he barks once at the front door and waits to be let in. He knows he's not allowed up the driveway but luckily the lane is very quiet.

A fully fenced garden would be easier but I couldn't cope with still having to take him out there on a lead all the time.

RandomMess · 19/02/2021 10:08

So DDog had her daily long walk yesterday lunchtime. 10pm last night she was pushed out for her nightly wee.

So it is now 10am and I've had to call out from DDs bed to have her breakfast and then before she pottered back off and to again push her out for a toilet break 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

Now has put herself back to bed with DD!

Pinkyponker · 20/02/2021 17:29

We don't have an enclosed garden as terrier rescue dog can easily scale the 5ft wall.

However it really isn't an issue. We let her out on a flexi lead for a wee/poo and she does all her sniffing etc on her walks.