Unfenced yard

[Boxeramamama]

Hi all,
I wasn't sure where to post this - hopefully this forum will do

Unfortunately, my significant other and I have decided to split up. I will be moving out of our house and taking our Boxer. I have been lucky enough to find a place to rent that will allow me to have pets, but the only downfall is that there is no fence around the yard. The neighbours on one side are supposedly putting up a fence "soon" and the owner of the house wants to put up a retaining wall on the other side - the back of the yard has a fenceline. So hopefully, this is a temporary problem, but a problem nonetheless.

Have any of you had a boxer in an unfenced yard before? Dex doesn't like to spend a ton of time outside by himself, but does the odd time like to lay out in the sunshine. I've never tethered him before... is this a ridiculous option? I would obviously always supervise him, but I'm not sure if there are precautions I would need to take, those kinds of things

If tethering is ludicrous, what other option do I have? Other than not giving him the opportunity to be outside when I can't be right there with him...

Thanks In Advance everyone!

 

[MonaC]

I live in a condo where my back yard area is unfenced (we're not allowed to fence in the area out back) and considered common ground. I tether her on a 15 foot line so she can't wander into a neighbor's common area. I always go out with her and clean up immediately. Your pup will get used to the tether..... it's just like being on a long leash. It has been a successful strategy for keeping her in my section of the yard.

 

[samsons]

can we talk about underground fences ?? but if we can, that might be a option - i dont know much about them, except they beep when the dog gets to the border.

moderators , pls forgive if this is considered a 'electronic device" i really am not sure how they work.The discussion of Underground fences in not allow as they run a shock through you dog. :(

 

[Toasty]

We don't have a fence for our two Boxers. We take them on at least a mile walk every day...sometimes two. DH also takes them for a bike ride at night which they love. We tether them outside when they feel like lounging but to be honest it's not often. Our oldest knows to bark when she's ready to come in. The longest they have stayed out is MAYBE an hour and that was completely out of character...it's usually more like 10 mins. Totally a waste of time . We also do our obedience training outside.

There is also a baseball field not far from here that is fenced in. We practice TBall with ODS every Sunday and when we do the dogs are allowed to just run around the field...which usually they just sleep .

I think it depends on the temperament and the amount of exercise they get.

 

[Toasty]

I don't think all are electric...I think there are many that vibrate and basically startle the dog.

 

[Boxer251]

My dogs get put on a leash when they are out on the front lawn and they don't mind it at all. They run free in the back yard and when they are at the lake, but they know when they want to sit out front, they have to be on a leash, yet they still love it. It's amazing how they will run on the leash, and know exactly how far they can run.

 

[HokieGirl]

We do tether Rocki outside. Admittedly we do this for about 20 mins in the am so we can get ready and she can go #2 which she will not do on a leash. Also, if we are outside doing house work she is tethered. She is never really left outside for long periods of time but loves being outside. I also tether her outside while I go for my afternoon run (about 40 mins) as this gives her the chance to be outside instead of in her crate. We use a leash to take her out otherwise. This being said, she gets at least a 2 mile walk outside daily to help with excerise. She is too young to go running with me yet, she is only 11 months.

As an aside, my parents have always tethered their dogs with no problems. Any dog that would not stay in the yard was tethered when they went outside. They had a pointer at one time who would climb the fence so she had to be tethered. Fences aren't always the solution and as long as you give you pup love and allow him/her to be part of the family, I think tethering to potty/play for short periods of time is fine. I think where you see behavioral changes with tethering is when the pooch is left unattended for hours upon hours with little human interaction.

 

[Sansal]

can we talk about underground fences ?? but if we can, that might be a option - i dont know much about them, except they beep when the dog gets to the border.

moderators , pls forgive if this is considered a 'electronic device" i really am not sure how they work.

Underground/electric fences - NOT a good idea. Besides the fact that they don't even reliably work they can cause harm to the dog, therefore the topic is not allowed on BW.
Articles: Why I REALLY Hate Electronic Shock (Invisible) Fences by Pamela Dennison at Positive Motivation Dog Training!

Tethering outside could be a good option. Show him how long the leash is and where the "boundary" is so he doesn't choke himself when running around. Instead of a collar you could also use a harness to avoid choking.

 

[RoxiesEcho]

If you have to tether temporarily, might I suggest a run. We used to have a Shar Pei who we could not let near our other dogs or people due to an agression issue. She was kept in a kennel but when we were outside we put her on a run. It was basically a wire that was about 50 yards long (or however long you want to make it) that was anchored into the ground on each end. There was a tether attached to it so that when it was hooked to her collar she had a much bigger area to cover than her kennel. It's certainly nothing I would use unsupervised or for long periods of time but it would keep Dex on your property without you needing to be attached to him by a leash.

 

[BoxerMoments]

Tethering outside could be a good option. Show him how long the leash is and where the "boundary" is so he doesn't choke himself when running around. Instead of a collar you could also use a harness to avoid choking.

We had to adjust our fence over the summer so for about a 2 week period we only had half a fence and if we couldn't be out there with Dakota we used one of the ones that have the steak in the ground and hooked him to it with a 30 ft tether. But since he wasn't used to it and the kids would be running around we used a harness on him to avoid choking or hurting his neck from a quick run that went too far. It didn't take long for him to get used to it and be ok with it. But I would personally suggest using a harness instead of hooking him up by the collar.