Advice from those who do not have fenced in yards.

[Jennifer and Jack]

My mom is moving out of my house in about two weeks. Molly will be about 17 weeks when my mom moves. She is a total outdoor loving puppy. She will stay outside and play in my backyard for as long as we let her. She will stay by herself. She could care less, She loves to chew sticks, smell the grass, go through tunnels, dig just about anything outside and she is totally happy!!!

 

When we make her come in, she will play in her play pen or the kitchen but she is always ringing the bell to go outside...

 

My mom is moving to Sun City, which is a gated community. She is not allowed to have a fence up. There are alligators galore there. The only option for free running is the dog park, My mom is not a fan of the dog park for a lot of reasons but mostly out of fear of other dogs.

 

Since Molly has a lot of energy and still needs to romp and play, what do you guys do that do not have a fence and choose not to use the dog park often as a means to get exercise in. She will do some walking with her on a leash.

 

My mom is 70 so sitting on the floor all day with her is not the easiest of things to do.

 

Any ideas I can give to her?

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

In many cases Mental stimulation is just as tiring as running and playing, so Training Training Training.  Make everything she does with Molly into a training exercise.  We had this problem with Lucy and Sophie up until they were probably 18 months.  We didn't have a fenced yard.  We started with e-fence, but I just never got comfortable.  We took lots of trips to places they were allowed to go to get them exercise.  Lowes, Home-Depot, outlet center, petstores, you name it, it was always about the dogs.  All of our week-end outings were to places they could go.  Just riding in the car would tire them out.  Doggie Day care is another option.  And of course she can always come to your house to play.  After our girls hit about 2 y/o they didn't require the same amount of outdoor time.  Although they still love it, they sleep a lot!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I "second" this.  We don't have a fenced in yard, so here's how we cope with giving them the exercise and stimulation they need.

• Lots of training....I do little exercises throughout the day, even now.
• At least one good long "working" walk a day.  If you Mom can't do it, I would definitely suggest that she hire a dog walker.  If she can find one who has some training background that is optimal.
• We wait until there are no other dogs in our complex dog park and take the boys there to play fetch.
• They go in the car with us all the time.  Sometimes on really bad weather days, we just take them out for a ride....always a great chance to stop for ice cream.
• Trips to stores where they are allowed....it's a great training time and a good change for them.
• We do "stair ball" inside (but I wouldn't start this until the puppy is older).
• We play fetch inside, and I build training into the game....wait, sit, down.
• During the bad weather my guys go to Daycare about once a week.  I prefer that they go half days.  I would caution though that the "right" Daycare is key here.
• Games....we play "hide the toy...or hide Mom".  I have some interactive treat games that they love.

I was very worried about this with Murph because he's such a big guy, but it has all worked out well. 

[Jennifer and Jack]

Thanks I am going to print this list and give it to her..

[Jennifer and Jack]

Coming to my house to play won't be an easy every day option since she will be about two and half hours from me each way. I love the doggie day care idea and the stores as well.

 

Thanks

[Adina P]

She is a pup still so I would say that as she matures she won't need to constantly romp. There are exercise needs and there are doggy preferences. I don't think Boca NEEDS To be outside all day...but she would PREFER to be outside ALL DAY doing the same things as Molly likes to do.

Are there any dog walkers she could hire to take Molly on an extra walk or two? Would your mom be open to sending her to board and train to get her FULLY off leash reliable and then would she be able of keeping up the training? I realize it is ideal to train your own dog but it sounds like that is not your mom's strength and you are super busy with Jack and other things. I can recommend a few board and train trainers who would do a superb job and then your mom can play with her off leash wherever it is allowed.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Can I send Jack there.. I would love for him to be fully reliable off leash so I can let him run like a nut on the beach when he is feeling better.

 

My mom is not allowed to have her dog off leash it goes against the HOA... I would not want her to anyway even if she was fully reliable, too many alligators in the area for now.

[Adina P]

Of course you could send Jack there =)  But not sure you'd want the separation -- it's a 10 week course.

[Joanne and Tucker Gilbert]

I have a wireless fence and I love it.I did 2 weeks of training with Tucker just on the beep mode and he learned to not go past the white flags just from only using sound.My fence has 6 levels of correction and Tucker is on level 1....he never goes past the flags.I can even let him out without the collar on and he stays within the perimeter established with the training.He can run and romp....we play fetch...he digs holes and chases the cat...lol.Best money I ever spent.

 

Jo

[Jennifer and Jack]

Thank you for your idea, we were specifically told that the E fence if more dangerous for the dog where my mom lives because the dog can not or will not leave the yard. Her area does have alligators, though I had her pick a lot not on a golf course or by a lagoon, they are still in the area, So the alligator could come into the yard and my mom's dog would not be able to run through the fence, or most likely would not.

 

Molly is a brand new puppy, we are not strong trainers, either one of us and even if she did have a great recall I would still fear her not being next to us where we could keep her from harms way.

 

Thanks for the idea though

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Im moving to the inlaws - who live on a huge property outside a small city. They have no fence and Im concerned how Cooper will be. Shes great off leash, she never goes too far away, but her recall isnt great (she thinks Im going to take her inside). I do have a long line, so Im going to have to do more training with her in that regard. They also have bears there which scare the cr*p out of me!

[Becka]

Kaytlin, I'm not advocating that you have Cooper off-leash in an unfenced area, but there is a way that you can improve her recall--this is something I learned with Sadie at the dog park. For the first few weeks we went, I would randomly call Sadie (sometimes with a treat reward and sometimes not), praise her when she came, and then let her go play again. That way, she learned not to associate my calling her with leaving the park, and now not only does she always come when I call her at the park, but when I say "Sadie, let's go!" and start heading toward the exit, she always follows me right out.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Thanks Becka. I have recently been using 2 different commands - come, and inside. it does seem to be helping, but it will take time