NO fence discussion

anaruadh said:
When we were looking for dogs I had to go to a breeder as a student who rents an apartment. My crazy responsible breeder thouht that after she met me I was a suitable home for one of her babies. Since I couldn't go through a rescue I got my baby Luna. And she probably gets more attention from me because I can't just throw her in the backyard we go on walks and I take her to daycare amd the dog park so she can have her offleash time ... If I went to get a rescue today I would be turned away even though ihave a satisfied puppy and we do so many things together so she can be safe and excersed ... Silly
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I second that - the fact that I DON"T have a fence actually ensures that my dog gets walked twice a day every day. Let's face it, you don't always feel like walking your dogs (espescially in -30 weather) but if you have no other choice it gets done and I would hazard to guess that many dog owners with fences in extreme weather conditions just throw their dog in the yard. Mine gets a minimum of 50 minutes outside a day with me. I can guarantee that the average dog owner with a fenced yard does not accomplish this (I am sure there are many on here that are the exception as we are all obviously so dedicated to our dogs!).

I too, was turned down by rescue due to the lack of a fence and was forced to go through a breeder. However, I would say that now, although we have the finances to build a fence, we are leaning towards not doing it as I don't want to let the lazy creep in.
 
Sometimes we require no fence, depending on the dog. A known fence jumper is not going to a home with a fence. It would be unreasonable to require a 6 foot chain link fence for adoption.
 
ClantyreSheltie said:
Sometimes we require no fence, depending on the dog. A known fence jumper is not going to a home with a fence. It would be unreasonable to require a 6 foot chain link fence for adoption.
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my sentiments exactly. Dog does not need a prison walls, dog needs a reason to stay in. Probably came from one of those fenced in situations where they just dumped poor pup in the yard for days with nothing else to do but to climb walls.
 
IMHO, its more than a little insulting to insinuate that dog owners who don't have a fenced in yard are irresponsible.

At the same time I know that when shelties are re-homed they're often a flight risk, so I understand that a fenced yard can be a good thing.

Still, I don't think that whether or not a family has a fenced yard should immediately exclude a possible home, this should be determined on a case by case basis.

Our yard was not fenced when we brought Sadie home. But we were experienced dog owners so our breeder was comfortable with us.

When Sadie had out grown the pen in our yard we tied her to our porch when she was outside as a precaution. She was never unsupervised or left outside for long periods of time. The very next summer we did have our yard fenced.

Toby, our rescue, did nearly escape once when he was frightened, but it had nothing to do with whether our yard was fenced or not.

We have a neighbor who owns a shepard mix who gets loose almost every day. I have NEVER seen this dog walked in his life and he has had no socialization or training of any kind. He is fear aggressive with people (and dogs) from being cornered and grabbed in a rough manner when he gets loose. Its just a matter of till someone gets bit. Did I mention that this neighbor has a beautifully fenced back yard? I guess that means despite appearences, that this person is a responsible dog owner. After all, he/she DOES have a fenced yard!

Also, the idea that the rescue excludes people who live in rural areas for not having a fenced yard is also crazy to me. I would be happy to adopt a sheltie to a responsible family in a rural area, fenced yard or not! To me a big open field for a sheltie to run can be an ideal situation, depending on the sheltie. Again, this goes back to my point about reviewing families and shelties on a case by case basis.
 
I have no fence and would like to think myself a good puppy parent. When we went through rescue, they took it on a dog-by-dog basis. Some were more inclined to needing a fence and some were less. Abbie wasn't a flight risk (came to us with a great recall), so they didn't really care if there was a fence. They were more interested in what kind of life she would have with us. I use a 40 foot long lead when we play outside, just in case. She is only off-lead at the dog park or if we are over at a house with a fence that I've inspected.
 
Goggle said:
I second that - the fact that I DON"T have a fence actually ensures that my dog gets walked twice a day every day. Let's face it, you don't always feel like walking your dogs (espescially in -30 weather) but if you have no other choice it gets done and I would hazard to guess that many dog owners with fences in extreme weather conditions just throw their dog in the yard. Mine gets a minimum of 50 minutes outside a day with me. I can guarantee that the average dog owner with a fenced yard does not accomplish this (I am sure there are many on here that are the exception as we are all obviously so dedicated to our dogs!).

I too, was turned down by rescue due to the lack of a fence and was forced to go through a breeder. However, I would say that now, although we have the finances to build a fence, we are leaning towards not doing it as I don't want to let the lazy creep in.
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You're absolutely correct and I'll be the 1st one to stand up and admit that because I have a fenced yard and my dog can "do his business" at home, I don't walk him every day. (when the weather is terrible) This isn't to say that he is EVER out in the backyard on his own. He's not. My partner and I both smoke, so we're out on the deck several times a day/evening and he always comes out with us.

When we first got him, we lived in a townhouse with no fenced grass area (just a fenced patio), so he got walked 2, even 3, times a day, rain or shine, snow, wind, whatever!! Now that we're in a house with a big, fenced yard, I have to admit that we've gotten lazy about walks. All spring and summer long we were walking regularly, but I'm ashamed to admit that since it got really wet and cold out, we've been awful about it.

Anyway, my point is… that a fenced yard can be a temptation for laziness to even the most responsible dog owners. It's really a dumb requirement. Besides… dogs quite often make their escapes out the front door, so a fenced backyard would be useless in preventing it.
 
My dogs LOVE their fenced in yard. We live on 15 acres that is on a private road. We often go spend time at my MILs which is in a town. There is no fence there so we have to walk the dogs a couple of times a day. When we get back home, our dogs race out of the car and stand at the gate so that they can go into "their" yard. Then they run around and around and around like maniacs. My girls just have a LOT of energy, and just walking them does not allow them the running room to get out that energy. After spending a week of just being walked, they are irritable, cranky, demanding and getting into trouble. I am very thankful that I have a yard for these nut cases to race around like maniacs in. My girls are very good, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that they get LOTS of exercise everyday. Having two also helps in that department.

Now...saying this, I am not saying that a home should not be considered for not having a fenced yard, but it does say that I TOTALLY see the benefit of having a yard to have a well adjusted, well excercised Sheltie. They need to run, and I just could never run enough or walk them enough to even compare to the exercise they get everyday in their yard.

The rescue where we got Vinca from would not adopt to us because we had children under the age of 12. My mom lives across the street and Vinca had to be adopted by her and live there. My oldest daughter trains her everyday, but Vinca lives at my parents house. We are an AWESOME home for shelties, and I don't put down the rescue because they wouldn't adopt to us, but I truly know in my heart that Vinca would have been just as happy or happier if she lived full time in our home. She LOVES my children and can't wiggle her butt any harder when she sees them.

But, I respect the rescue that they have to have rules that work for them.
 
My Danny Boy loves his huge fenced in yard too. There he can run like the wind to his hearts content. That is where he has developed his great muscle tone. But I still do not think a fenced in yard should be a prerequisite for adopting a rescue sheltie. But new adopters should be aware of the flight risk of their new dog. Having said all that my Danny Boy loves his walks and the different things he smells on them. He has his set times for walks and he let's me know it by his nose pokes or stares.
 
Thinking its ridiculous and narrow minded
Its ok that you can be in a condo without a fence cuz the condo association can spy on you? Lol, can't take this serious, sorry. I am sure they mean well, but this all screams elitist to me, I am too poor to own a Sheltie myself, because can't afford a townhouse, condo or a fence... Good thing I could still have a child if I wanted, cuz the rules aren't as strict. ;)
 
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