JBJ14

Hi All

This may be a stupid question, but do people have dogs that are outside dwellers? We are thinking of moving our dogs over with us, but them being inside will set off asthma as they are 100% outside doggies over here.

Pretty sure come Calgary winter time it won't be an outsidey kind of world for a dog. We considered using the heated garage during winter, but would love to know of other options if it's even done over there??

Thanks for any help!
Wayne

Dave n Ailsa

It's not just the cold you will need to consider. The summers could be un-bareably hot for a dog outside. Dogs left in cars over here can de-hydrate in 15 minutes and die... apparently.

Most houses have air-con, so dogs are happiest inside.

You might need to build a dog suite for your pooch's, lol. Should have plenty of room ;-)

dbd33

People keep horses, llamas, sheep, donkeys and alpacas outside. One house near us has a camel in the garden so it's certainly viable for large dogs so long as they have some sort of run in shed and that's heated in winter. One poster here had a lean-to thing attached to the house for that purpose. I doubt it'd work for a whippet or other sensitive type. A problem though is that everything is regulated in Canada and that seems to be shockingly so in Calgary, there are doubtless many laws governing dog keeping and building regulations for kennels.

Almost Canadian

I know lots of people that keep their dogs outside in Calgary so, as long as there are not noise issues, you shouldn't have any issues with the local bylaw brigade.

Some of them have heated kennels, some of them simply let their dogs roam free in a yard. I have no idea how the ones without a kennel fare when the temp drops below -20 but, as that doesn't happen that often, I assume they simply keep them in the house/garage during such times.

Piff Poff

A LOT of people keep their dogs outside, all summer and all winter, a bit like a garden ornament, never walked just outside. Makes me cross seeing a dog cooped up in one place never being walked, but hey ho, it seems to be a Canadian (Red Deer?) thing. I find most brits see the value in walking their dogs.

You can get heat mats for kennels and heated water bowls so dogs fair OK as outside dogs here, so you can tick that concern off your list, one less worry lol.

gryphea

If you are planning on staying within Calgary city limits then it may well be your neighbours that allow this to work for you, if your dogs bark at all.

There are tough city bylaws and it seems to be that if any barking annoys your neighbours at all then by definition it is a nuisance. Some neighbours will tolerate a lot, ours won't tolerate more than around 2 minutes a week.

Be warned!

Alan2005

Loads of people keep their dogs outside round where I live. It's a good way of seeing where the rednecks and grow-ops are.

flat to the mat

LOL , let's get this straight You have dogs although you can't have them in the house because you suffer from asthma , and , you are only thinking about bringing them with you .
Do you plan to have them wave you goodbye at the airport if you decide they won't fit in with your future plans ?
Stupid question no , stupid owner yes

Mikeypm

Do you have quite bad asthma?, I only ask as if I'm introduced to a new animal it can have an affect on my asthma. But not a severe affect and find you can build a tolerance as both our cat and our dog our deffintley indoor pets.

merylbaz

we have 3 dogs and a daughter with asthma, she has built up a tolerance and can manage it.
Dogs should be part of the family Couldn't imagine keeping my boys outside

Mikeypm

+1 couldn't agree more as our dog and cat are very much part of the family and have their favourite seats in the house

Piff Poff

+2 I know everyone is personal when it comes to pets, mine is a big fluffy thing, he loves snow bathing but he is an indoor dog, its good for him and us.

JBJ14

I wondered how long it would take before someone judgemental came along.

Thanks to all the other sensible answers though, eases my mind a bit.

And for you deciding you know so much about the situation, I have an option for them to stay here with a good family. Really hard choice for us and the health issues are that serious that inside is not an option. So potentially saying goodbye to our dogs that have been part of our family is hard enough without replies like the genius one above! Really no need!
Stupid owner no, waste of time reply yes!

Thanks again to everyone else, going to siot down with the wife and decide, the age of the dogs is also a factor so we are getting vet advice today.

JBJ14

Hi

I got the dogs for my wife when she was going through chemotherapy (all is good now), the treatment had quite an impact on her lungs and breathing and it's easily triggered. I could probably handle it and build up tolerance, but I would hold more of a concern for her.

Cheers

JBJ14

Hi

Thanks for the suggestion, we did consider a dog suite haha. Don't think the heat will be an issue though, they've lived in Perth Australia for 13 years. I see some people have mentioned heated options so I will look into that too