Outdoor X-pen/access to partial yard

[merity000]

I have a 14 week old Border Collie X, and I work 10 hour shifts. For now, I have been crating him at night while I sleep (6.5-7 hours), play actively with him (or go for gentle, age appropriate walks, or work on training sessions for 5 minutes at a time, etc) until I leave for work at 2 pm. He gets half his breakfast (all kibble) in his dish to eat after he toilets outside, then I use the rest as positive reinforcement for any and all good behaviors I see during from when we wake up (930 am) to when I leave (2 pm). Training to this point includes Sit, Lay Down, Gimme Knuckles, Please (drop it), Rollover, Leave it, Touch my Hand, Potty, Kennel Up, Look at Me and Off. We are working on Heel position too, but that's not going as well.

I tried to keep him in an exercise pen in the kitchen on the waterproof flooring, but I felt the long hours and his inability to hold it were setting back the progress on potty training by it being a double standard, so I fenced off a 15' X 15' area in the front yard, added a large dog house and plenty of shade, as well as an auto-waterer. Before I leave for work, I mix up his afternoon meal (1/2 kibble, 1/2 wet food), stuff a Kong, and set out his chews (all natural animal chews, no stuffed toys or plastics, etc for when he isn't supervised). I leave him in the outdoor X pen and he seems to LOVE it! He never barks, whines or shows any separation anxiety. (In fact, he doesn't cry in the crate either, whether I am around or not!)

I come home at midnight and he is calm and happy to see me. He has had plenty of fresh air, lots of open space to laze in the grass, bugs to chase (his favorite thing ever!), a corner where he toilets, his food and fresh water.

Does this seem unreasonable? If the weather is awful, I have crated him, and come home on my lunch to let him out. There is virtually no risk of theft or anyone harassing him as I live in the country and my yard is several hundred yards off the road which is rarely traveled. He is too large for birds of prey to harass, etc. He is fully vetted too. This is not a permanent solution. As soon as he can be bed trained (sleep in bed with me without risk of pottying), I will no longer crate him at night. As soon as he is fully house trained, he will be allowed loose in a portion of the house to be determined later.

My questions are:

Is it bad to leave him outside in good weather? It seems to me that an indoor X pen would be more confining and less fresh air, etc. Any advice on transitioning to indoor days? How will I know he is ready?

How long until I can reasonably try to allow him sleeping in the bed? He is still not quite big/brave enough to jump out of the bed. How do I go about this change?

 

[chrissyboy]

@merity000 Would I do it? No, I think 14 weeks is way too young to leave a dog totally unsupervised apparently with some kind of edible chew and the outdoors in general (grass? stones? leaves?) etc. I would be afraid of my dog being attacked by a racoon or something! I also don't believe outdoor air is any better then indoor for my dog.

Do I think you shouldn't do it? Also no. Lots of farm dogs live their entire lives outside happily, with shelter from bad weather and plenty of water and absolutely no one to come steal or pester them.

I have been told that it can be harder to house train an outdoor-raised dog, however, I think for your 10+ hour away situation, he sounds like he's relatively safe, is healthy, and has plenty of space and isn't in distress. If the ex-pen inside is the same as outside, i don't know how its more confining, but its ok for you to go with what you feel is best for your dog.

Any advice on transitioning to indoor days? How will I know he is ready?

LOL trial and error i suppose. Doesn't sound like you have many choices. You can get stairs for the bed. My dog wasn't ready for night freedom until a year ish. You know your dog best. Does he sleep through the night? If he doesn't, you may not want to allow him on the bed to free roam and chew up your shoes at 1 am.

 

[merity000]

@chrissyboy The indoor X pen was only 3'x3' due to my tiny kitchen. The outdoor pen is more than 200 Sq feet so I feel pretty good about him having space. The fence is 40" high and welded wire so nothing can get in, and he can't get out. The surface is all grass.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[chrissyboy]

@merity000 I lived in SK and AB where plenty of folks would have their dog in good weather like this. Although it makes me uncomfortable, I also recognize plenty of healthy dogs have lived like this. I think your dog sounds fine, although my biggest concern is the amount of time it spends alone.... dogs are social creatures. I really hope its getting lots of socialization (and has been, particularly before 14 weeks) and lots of activity with strangers, other dogs, etc, when you are home. While it spikes my anxiety to not have the dog monitored, in a good environment with water, shelter, good weather, etc, i think your puppy should be very happy with this setup and it works great for your schedule.

I am really curious about other posters opinions, though.

 

[merity000]

@chrissyboy He stayed with his litter of 9 til he was 10 weeks. We do 2x weekly socializing (at the very least), including a puppy playtime, walks with neighbors and hikes or walks in the nearby city. He has been socialized to many surfaces, noises, smells, vehicles, and the like. We are also on the 2nd week of Puppy I class where he plays with about 12 other dogs in his age bracket before training starts.

The only hours he is alone are M-F from 2 pm to midnight. I come home from work and we do walks, wrestle, train and play. He gets lots of exercise and fun time. On weekends we go to the dog park with another puppy his age for offleash time.

Growing up my parents kept all their dogs, regardless of age etc., outside year round and it really bothered me to see a shivering or wet outdoor dog. I will NEVER leave Jazz outside in wet or cold weather. This is a promise I've made to myself. I simply don't believe in purely outdoor dogs (except breeds which thrive in that environment).

I think I mentioned before, this is just a temporary thing until he is completely ready to transition to hours inside alone. I also start my new job (8 hours noted of 10), in the end of June, so he won't be alone as much.

 

[chrissyboy]

@merity000 Again, I'm from central Canada so I feel like I'll have a different opinion on this then others but... he sounds like he has a good life, and a good, attentive owner.

Ive been told it can be hard to transition "outside" dogs to inside when you are leaving them for 8-10 hour chunks like this, but you'll face that when you face it. What means he's ready to transition inside? Housebroken? I think that may be challenging before the 8 hour job but, realistically you sound like you'd put him inside before being outside shivering and wet/boiling and dehydrated. You have the flexibility to go and bring him in when weather turns. He sounds like he has a good life