Tie out suggestions?

[Renee Hacker]

Lily gets 1-2 walks every day, plus playtime with me in the yard, but she also loves to just hang out in our fenced in back yard.  Seriously, she likes being outside more than inside with us I think.  And she actually prefers to go to the bathroom in our yard vs. on her walks.  Problem is, our yard slopes to one end and whenever it rains or snow thaws there is a puddle down there that has become her favorite digging spot.  She has also decided to start digging in our garden.  I can fence off the garden (although I'm sure she could just jump it), but there's no way to fence off this other area.  So I'm thinking that instead of just letting her have free run of the whole backyard I need some sort of tie out to limit her radius.  :)  I've never had a dog of her size and I've never used a tie out.  So any recommendations?  Anything I should be aware of or look for in particular?  I'm planning to ask for advice at our local independent pet shop, but you guys are always the experts in all things doodle so I thought I'd start here.

[F, Calla & Luca]

 I bought some cable things at Petco so the dogs could be out safely while I mowed. They barked and were not happy. It was easier to leave them inside.

[BG and Gavin]

I would put some time in, if you have it, to train her not to dig and to stay away from the water area.  Now this requires that she is only out there with supervision for right now, but they learn quickly.  Wait for her to try the behaviour then intervene.  Tie outs can create territorial behaviour in dogs from what I have heard, so you want to minimize doing so if you can.  If you do use a tie out make sure you use a collar with a metal buckle (not plastic).  Ask me how I know ;)

[F, Calla & Luca]

How do you know : )

[BG and Gavin]

At the cottage a couple of years back, we tied Gavin out while we were doing some work outside with the chainsaw.  A dog came next door to the neighbours and Gavin gave one good pull and the plastic buckle of the collar broke leaving him free to go visiting!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jack once snapped a 25 foot canvas lead hooked to a steel cable tie-out around a tree in the front yard. I was weeding the flower bed, a dog came down the street, and JD snapped that thick canvas like it was paper. He also got hurt, because he lunged so hard and the lead broke so suddenly that he actually went flying several feet and landed on his back in the street. No more tie-outs 'til we got a lot of training done, lol.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Wow, thanks for the stories.

[Adina P]

I think the territorial aggression comes from being outside and bombarded by other critters and people who are visible from the territory line (fence, tie out, etc).  Not sure a tie out in a fenced backyard would have the same effect.  At the same time I agree with Karen...she probably LIKES being outside because of the digging opportunity so training should help that.  But I totally have a I-Want-To-Be-Outside-ALL-The-time dog too in Boca.  So I understand. Luckily she just likes to watch for and chase squirrels and sniff the world in the yard.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The rescue group from which I adopted Jack specifies that you are never to "tie a dog out" unless you are out with them, such as if you are doing yardwork as F mentioned. It's unlikely, but if I were to do what you are asking about and a volunbteer from the rescue happened to see it, they could legally take him away from me.  It's generally frowned upon by most humane organizations and dog trainers. It's is believed that it can lead to certain types of undesirable behavior.

Lily may "like" to be outside because she can dig and get into other things that she can't do indoors. If she's getting enough exercise on walks and playing fetch with you, she doesn't need to be spending more time outside alone.  I would not leave her out there tied up. She wouldn't be getting any exercise anyway, and it would probably frustrate her to not be able to get to her digging places. I wouldn't be surprised if she started digging right where you tied her, out of frustration.

[Charlotte and Bo]

I tried to tie out my last dog BJ when I was having some work done on the house.  I set it up so about 40 feet of cable was secured inside the garage and he had access to the yard.  I had food, water, and a bed for him.  That was the plan anyway. BJ sat down at the end of the cable and barked his head off.  He would not move, just bark.  As F said --not happy.  He ended up blocked in my bedroom when I wasn't home.  

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

So just Googling about the laws is pretty inconsistent from state to state but most states address it. Very short period of time allowed and type of rope/chain and length, also access to food, water. 

We are rural people and see a lot of it going on, for myself I have never seen a dog tethered that also didn't ruin the yard where it is tied out.  The back and forth of the dog (caused by being tethered) and the dragging of rope/chain over and over in the same area, ruins the yard and the dog ends up with nothing but dirt under it.  Even tethered to an overhead line for any length of time ruins the yard.

Maybe a better idea would be one of the pens that you can move from area to area, leaves her room to romp without being tied.  I know you can find them at major pet stores and I am sure at Amazon.  Good luck with finding an answer.

Here are several that are available on Amazon,http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dpets&am...

[Shelley & Beans]

thanks for the link I had asked Sandy about the one she had in the picture for Theo and Hattie and I saw it posted here. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Why do you think she likes being outside in the yard more than inside with you....just wondering?