Maintaining
an outdoor dog requires a little thought process to ensure your pet
is comfortable, healthy, and safe. Although, many people will argue
about the pro's and con's of keeping your dog outside, we only strive
to keep your pet safe no matter what choice you make. An outdoor dog
is any dog that spends more than 10 minutes outside, at a time, on
a regular basis (i.e. - "My dog is only outside while I'm at
work")
1. How will you protect your pet from the elements?
It is fairly easy to protect your pet in all but the harshest of environments.
A simple dog house will help keep rain off their head and provide
adequate shelter. It is necessary to think about where you shall put
the dog house and ensure it is properly leveled to keep rain outside.
A good, sturdy dog house will help keep the cold away. Primarily,
this is done by reducing the wind chill factor and keeping heat, produced
by your dog, maintained within the house. A dog house also provides
protection from the sun. Additional shade is also recommended, especially
during the summer months. Consider keeping your dog house under the
shade of trees.
2. What about food and water?
Again, fairly simple. There should be an almost unlimited supply of
water available for your dog. Common practices include daily dumping,
scrubbing, and filling your dogs water bowl with fresh water. There
are also newer products on the market that hook directly to your outdoor
water faucet. Consider this option. Although it won't clean itself,
it will provide fresh water all the time. It will be necessary to
remember to clean the waterer on a regular basis, consider weekly
as a minimum.
Food is usually not a problem. Again, in all but the
worst of circumstances, a well balanced premium dog food is all that
is necessary to maintain your dog. If you find this is inadequate,
consider talking to your veterinarian about "active" dog
food. This type of food has a higher caloric density, however, it
is highly unlikely that your dog will need this food.
3. What about vaccinations?
It is strongly recommended to visit the American
Animal Hospital Association or the American
Veterinary Medical Association to view current vaccine recommendations.
If your dog is living outdoors, they are considered to be at higher
risk for common diseases. Your local veterinarian is also a great
source of information regarding vaccines.
4. What about keeping my dog in the backyard?
There are numerous opportunities listed on this website.
Please refer to our Learning
Center for options and more information.
5. What about flea and heartworm preventions?
All dogs should be on heartworm preventions. The only
effective heartworm preventions are prescription medication. You will
need to get these medications from your veterinarian. If you have
any other questions, please visit the American
Heartworm Society.
Flea prevention is critical for the comfort of your
pet. A dog or cat that lives outdoors is at high risk for catching
fleas. Keep your dog on flea prevention will likely prevent developing
a flea infestation. The newer medications will kill fleas as they
climb onto your pet. Some medications even kill the flea before they
bite your pet.