40 of 60

Indoor

Write now Article Tools

I prefer to keep my dogs inside. I do let them outside to play and do their "business," but they don't stay outside for any great length of time.

I own two pugs. I wouldn't dream of keeping them as outdoor pets.

My main reason for all of my animals being indoor pets is their health. Even with vet care dogs that are kept outside are exposed to many things that can make them sick. Other animals that have diseases, fleas, ticks, pesticides, things they can eat that will make them ill are just a few.

Another reason is that I feel it is important to socialize your animals to people. A dog that is outside never learns to interact with people, has no sense of discipline and to me just doesn't have any kind of a life.

I vaccinate my animals and they regularly go to the vet for check ups. When they do get sick it is peculiar. And my vet and I know that it cannot be anything outside because they are hardly out of my house.

Perfect example? I also had a situation with a neighbor that was disturbing. A six year old child was outside playing with Raid. Yes, the bug spray. She was running around spraying it everywhere. After repeatedly informing her parents of her bad habit my older pug got sick. We took her to the Emergency Vet. They thought she had eaten something that made her sick. We took this as the diagnosis. Then, Rosie, our puppy, also got sick. Dogs don't get the flu. It was assumed that she probably ate whatever Bella did. She was given some medication just like Bella and she began to feel better.

However, almost 2 weeks later, Rosie began shaking her ears obsessively. I took her to the vet where they discovered that she had been exposed to the Raid and had chemical burns in her ears. Suddenly, things began making sense. My dogs are not known to get sick. Even the 20-30 minutes they spent outside that particular day put them in danger.

Our dogs also are indoor dogs because they cannot tolerate the heat or the cold. They are susceptible to pneumonia and heat stroke. This is an easy thing to combat if you have them stay indoors.

I don't want to make it seem as though they are never outside. They aren't missing time playing outside. That would be cruel. They just go out in short increments of time!

We also found out the hard way that Bella is allergic to all flea products. Some of our cats escaped and came home with fleas. We treated every animal in the house to prevent an outbreak and Bella had a severe allergic reaction. So, for us to get fleas would be detrimental to her health.

We are now living in the country and are no longer surrounded by neighbors. No worries about someone feeding the dogs something or someone carelessly playing with a bug spray.

Because we took our dogs in to provide companionship and to provide them with a safe home we choose not to have them live outdoors.

Learn more about this author, Vanessa Calleja.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Should dogs be indoor or outdoor pets??
We want to hear your view. Write now!