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Indoor/Outdoor Should Refer to Carpeting, Not Dobermans

© Deborah J. Myers

It seems that some of today’s busy families want a dog with which they can romp on the weekends but basically ignore all week long. At first, they leave him indoors. After all, he is just a little puppy. He chews up the house and wets all day long while the family’s at work and school. Evenings, he gallops around the house making a ruckus. During dinnertime, he “crumb hounds” around the table for scraps. Throughout the night, be begs to go outside at odd hours.

To fix the problem, the family locks him outside in the yard. After a day of digging (not to mention barking and chewing), he’s filthy and not fit to be let back inside. So he gets his dinner on the porch and ends up living in a doghouse. This is not referring to farm dogs that ward off critters and guard the back forty. We’re talking about suburban dogs that end up cooped up in the back yard with nothing to do but get into trouble all day and bark all night. They’re unemployed dogs who will find something to do, even if it’s naughty.

These aren’t bad dogs; they are good dogs who have been treated badly. Their families will either get rid of them, or put up with their “dumb dog” behavior. How intelligent would your child act if he or she never did anything but sit in the back yard and get occasional interaction on the weekend? Other families haul off their dogs to the pound for a gamble at a better family or possibly euthanasia (depending on the shelter).

Some dogs tolerate yard life better than others. Their independent nature and easy-going personality allow them to rule their little domain without going nuts when someone walks past the yard. They are content with chew toys all day, and seem to revel in the outdoors. Although all dogs benefit from training and people interaction, some dogs can make do without as much attention.

Dobermans are not that kind of dog. Not foreseeing that their sweet little puppy will be about 75 pounds when he grows up, some people adopt a Dobe thinking that they have just purchased a good family protector. They’re right—if he stays with his people so they can bond. Dobermans were the only dog specifically bred to be with people. They have a better chance for turning out wrong if they aren’t with their people. Yard-bound Dobes bond with the yard. This means that if someone messes with their yard, like the meter man, or the delivery guy, he’d better be able to make it back to the gate in three seconds.

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