Toby'shuman

I kind of guessed that, heck, my Toby doesnt like it if it drops below 10 degrees centigrade here.
But curiosity has gotten the better of me, I would imagine if there is so much snow on the ground it must be close to zero a good percentage of the time.

loltraktor

Actually it is a common sense answer. So why is your dog outside most of the day? I would never keep my Rhodesian Ridgeback outside during the day unless I was there with her. It seems to me that a Doberman is not much better in suited to cold weather than a Ridgeback.

Dogs are sensitive animals. From what I understand that is even more so with Dobermans. If I did not have the time, resources or inclination to provide a suitable home for my dog, I would give it up for adoption. I know for several years while I was in the army I had neither the time or resources to take care of a dog, so I did have one.

Darkevs

over the years i have lived in many places.....and always had dogs.

did not matter where i lived, if there was not a fence.....i put one up.

does not take much to put a run off the back or front door of your house.

i have scrounged posts out of the bush, off the beach, bought rebar and pounded them in in all kinds of weather.etc.....etc.

a roll of wire and you have a fence.

your dogs saftey comes first.

at the least look into a free standing chain link kennel, you can probably find a good second hand one at a good price on craigs list.

i love a fenced yard.

it keeps other dogs out..............and yours in.

HUgz to your DoberBoy!

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MIA

I was going to mention rebar as well, done the same when I was a renter and didn't want to pay for a fence, works great and yes you can do it in any weather. I did 2 acres for next to nothing.

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ajp240

I understand a fence is expensive, as I just put one in this last Spring. I have 1/4 acre in the suburbs which is a lot here, but I only fenced the closest half of it. If you are on a budget there are options for you like split rail with chicken wire behind it, which won't obstruct your views of the forest you live near. You can install it yourself with friends over the course of a weekend.

Take your dog out to go potty on a leash until you can save up the funds. Take your dog on walks on a leash to get exercise. This way you are never the one at fault and if you absolutely have to defend yourself and your dog- you have good reason to.

Lastly, as others have stated, if you live somewhere with three feet of snow (or any snow!) on the ground, you dog should not be out there for long periods of time. My Doberman wants to go out, pee, and come right back in. It is simply too cold!

Coco Loco

My house is 5 years old. We are the original owners. We could not put up a fence until the subdivision was completed and the land was released as all grading had been approved. For the first 2.5 years of Coco's life we did not have a fence. I took her outside on a leash for every potty break she needed. Imagine what this was like when she was a puppy . We are not allowed to have chain link fencing as it is a bylaw in my neighbourhood. We spent $2000 to have a 6 foot solid wood privacy fence put up when our land was released. I would have loved to spend $500 for a fence!

Do what you can with the finances you have and keep your dog safe. It is not fair to your dog to be attacked in his own yard. Obviously your neighbour cannot or will not keep their dogs away from yours so you need to take the initiative.

And Coco would never stay out in the yard by herself especially in 3 feet of snow nor would I do that to her.

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Northern_Sierras

Thanks for all your guys answers and suggestions, i really appreciate it-

I managed to get a hold of the county sheriff himself and explained my situation to him. He told me to come file a report to document the past events, and to shoot the dog to kill if it comes back on my property. He said to make sure to be aware of which way the round is discharged (to avoid shooting someones house), and to make sure to kill the dog to avoid suffering. The sheriff told me last year in my same neighborhood a 6 and 8 year old were mauled to death by 3 mixed breed dogs. I guess the parents couldn't afford a fence either, and weren't standing outside with the girls while they played on their swing set. Pretty disgusting if you ask me.

Again i appreciate all the responses, even though some were a little naive.

PS- My dog has a jacket and comes and go as he pleases. He just loves to be outside.

dobermama

3ft of snow and an outside Dobe is IMHO animal cruelty. As to the expense of fencing a 1 acre lot it is not that expensive in rural areas without HOAs. I have a 5 acre yard fenced off for my dog. I built it myself with supplies from local farm store for less than 500 dollars. I live in the country, on a large farm, and built said fence because the safety of MY dog is top priority even though others around me do not feel the same and let dogs roam.

I also utilize electric fence to protect my livestock and am well within my legal rights to shoot any dog which threatens them. I choose to PREVENT that type of problem in the first place.

PatchworkRobot

The death of a child isn't really something to poke fun at, if you ask me.

Also, if dogs are known to roam in your area (and that definitely seems like the case) than it was most definitely irresponsible of the parents to let the children outside alone.

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Mikemontreal

Nice place you must live in when a cop tells you to go shoot someone else's dog when this can be avoided if u just go outside with your dog . Bring pepper spray with you and mace the dogs not kill it. Hey what do I know I'm just Canadian we don't allow guns .


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BenVera

I see that this hasn't yet been mentioned, but have you considered an outdoor enclosure? They vary in size and shape and seem simple enough to put together.

Cottageview 5 ft. x 5 ft. x 4 ft. Boxed Kennel-HBK11-11799 at The Home Depot

They're relatively inexpensive; cheaper than a fence anyway. And if you plan to keep him outside as much as he is, then buying one with a roof, and then putting an igloo or other insulated dog house inside the enclosure should work for him.

This protects him from any predatory animal. I imagine being out in the wilderness like that can lend itself to being vulnerable to animals other than your neighbor's dogs.

That, and no bitches in heat can come into the yard so you can avoid him knocking up any stray or loose bitches and, possibly, eventually dealing with even more stray or loose dogs.

Solves all your problems, doesn't it?

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CalamitysHuckleberry

Umm just a thought....bring the dog inside.





Or there is always something like this, hate it because I don't think any dog should be an outside dog, especially a Doberman but temporarily, plus you can always find something similar on Craigslist.




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CalamitysHuckleberry

Yeah what BenVera said! Great minds think alike!


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Northern_Sierras

The death of TWO children isnt something to poke fun at, no. I find it laughable that you would blame the parents for letting their kids play in their own yard. Not all dogs that are left to roam around are vicious, but i guess you think so.

falnfenix

you didn't thoroughly read what Patchwork said.

Northern_Sierras

[quote=Mikemontreal;1221449]Nice place you must live in when a cop tells you to go shoot someone else's dog when this can be avoided if u just go outside with your dog . Bring pepper spray with you and mace the dogs not kill it. Hey what do I know I'm just Canadian we don't allow guns .


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lol you think if im with my dog a pack of vicious dogs wont attack me too? I've never chuckled so hard in my life.

Northern_Sierras

wow thats a great idea, thanks im going to look into that.

vivienne00

Thanks for clearing up the jacket alternative.

And if you think wolves or other predators are unlikely, I think you may be being naive. I live in an old house in an area that has been farmed for over a century, but the number of coyotes is astonishing and the size of them! - they appear to be cross-bred with the local stray dogs. I don't have a gun but I have chased many coyotes thru the sheep section of our place with a pickaxe and a machete. I have also chased Rotties off my place thus equipped. We also have cougar here (elk herds) and bobcats just outside my boundary fence - I see the baby ones playing in the summer. I am just outside Portland OR and we have a lot of dogs lost to coyotes - they have a technique of luring the dogs away from the house to where other coyotes are waiting to "play".

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PatchworkRobot

No, not all roaming dogs are vicious and I said nothing of the sort. However, if SOME roaming dogs are vicious than why take chances be it on your dog or your children? Not all snakes are poisonous but I don't tell the little kids that I work with to go approach a rogue snake because it MIGHT be okay.

Not actually reading thoroughly and putting words in my mouth? Does that make you feel better? Tisk, tisk.

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Northern_Sierras

Oh, mind elaborating

falnfenix

uh, Patchwork already elaborated. read.

Northern_Sierras

WOW thats a great point. You should never allow your children to pet a dog because SOME may be vicious, and why take chances be it on your dog or your children? AND.. snakes are known to be poisonous wild creatures, not domesticated dogs, but again thanks for the laugh.

Coco Loco

I guess I must be naive because I would never take the chance to leave my dog or children outside by themselves if I knew there were roaming dogs in the neighbourhood. I wouldn't want to potentially risk my loved ones to find out if the roaming dogs were vicious or not.

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PatchworkRobot

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Northern_Sierras

Maybe you should stay with your animals while they're outside to avoid having to KILL a poor little wild coyote or bobcat. You can also build an exterior fence around your whole property to to keep them out. There are alot of things you can do to keep your animals safe before trying to hack an animal to death with a machete