Doodles and Fences

[Denise U]

I have a question and I guess it actually stems from me being a little peeved at a situation.

 

I have two Doodles that my husband and I take very good care of.  We have no children, so you can probably guess how spoiled they are. They are ALWAYS taken outside on leash.   And I do mean ALWAYS... which includes blizzards, subzero temps, mosquito infestations, etc... everything that we experience in WI.  I not only don't trust them with birds and such, but I don't trust other dogs in my subdivision.  It's for all of our protection.

 

So, I was looking into possibly fostering or adding another doodle to our life.  Not now, but sometime down the road.   But, I notice that a lot of groups say you MUST have a fence.  Why?  There have been cases where dogs get out of fences, or the fence wasn't secured due to someone else.  And not that I am saying anyone here does it, but in my area of town (more rural), people leave their dogs outside and spend no time interacting with them out there.  At least when I take my dog out on lead, I am interacting with them. 

 

So, why is it so much better or safer to have a fence than to have your owner with you, outside?  It's a shame if this is the one thing that would keep me from getting a rescue.  Please help me understand this, because I don't.

 

Denise

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Denise, I had the same problem before we got Vern. I tried to rescue several dogs and kept getting turned down because of the fence issue. I got into a huge debate with the Leader of one rescue agency and the dog I wanted stayed at the rescue forever. I knew I could have given that dog a great home with or without a fence, but she did not see it that way. We just gave up and got Vern. We did finally get a fence and I will say, it has made MY life so much easier, but we raised one dog in a townhouse without ever having a fence and she did fine. I am super careful with my dogs, walk them everyday, and I did not like the rule either. That being said, I love Vern and got a great dog.