by David Moreno

Created on: September 16, 2008   Last Updated: September 17, 2008

Our family has a dog. He's big, he's gassy, he chews up anything he can find when inside the house. This makes for colorful droppings a few hours later. But no matter what we've tried to prevent him from falling into bad habits, he goes right back to them. While he is getting better, he lives a good portion of his life in the backyard.

We love animals and while we appreciate the companionship our dog has brought us, I couldn't imagine him living inside on a full-time basis. Granted, the lack of a tail-he was born without one-definitely cuts back on the amount of things that could potentially get knocked over/spilled/broken, we still contend with our amount of fleas, piles of fur everywhere, and that wonderful dog stink wherever he lays.

As an owner of a dog, I understand that any of those annoyances should be expected and dealt with accordingly. However, when one is allergic to flea bites as I am, I find it more convenient for our dog to live outside during the day and come in at night. When you walk into a room and can literally feel the fleas jumping onto your legs, things are bad. We do wash him and apply anti-flea medication on a regular basis. But even so, the flea problem only gets slightly better.

These are just a few reasons who I believe dogs should be outdoor pets. This would be my stance no matter if we owned a large dog that smells or a small one that didn't. On the other side of the coin, we could be those over-the-top dog owners that insist on taking their canine companion everywhere and subsequently let their dog take virtual ownership of their home. Sorry, but those people are nuts. It's a pet, not a child. Besides, I've seen my share of dogs in the local parking lots on hot days owned by such folks who are obviously unaware that their furry friend(s) cannot sweat and, despite having the windows down, could still have their health compromised.

Don't get me wrong. Our dog is a wonderful pet that is also very protective of our family. But he does not sleep on the bed, nor does he eat from a silver spoon. We simply don't have that in our home since, well, in my opinion it's a little weird. He's our dog; a friendly, dopey species that enjoys chewing on our son's toys and my sunglasses. It's for this reason he lives a good portion of his life outside where he is free to roam, play, eat, and do whatever it is dogs do to keep themselves occupied when their owners are away.

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