Dog Kennel

Hi all, appreciate your concern for the dog..the reason I don't want her in the house is very simple. We have plenty of friends with dogs and as much as their house is clean you can never get rid of the dog smell and dog hairs. I like my house clean, tidy and fragrant. She is well looked after and receives plenty of attention from all family members. Her kennel is being built tomorrow and her AC is ready for installation. Having a GSD and a GSD cross I can assure you that they are not going to do well even with an AC kennel outside. This beautiful breed needs human contact and will feel neglected when the family gathers indoors and the poor dog is left out alone. Please reconsider this move as it's unhealthy for the dog in the long run as other posters have pointed out. Daily brushing your dog will reduce the shedding and daily vacuuming will keep out the fur at your home. A healthy, indoor, well maintained dog does not smell, an outdoor dog does however and will require more maintenance.

Hi all, appreciate your concern for the dog..the reason I don't want her in the house is very simple. We have plenty of friends with dogs and as much as their house is clean you can never get rid of the dog smell and dog hairs. I like my house clean, tidy and fragrant. She is well looked after and receives plenty of attention from all family members. Her kennel is being built tomorrow and her AC is ready for installation. Just out of interest how will she be getting plenty of attention in the summer months? If you won't allow the dog in the house at all then will the family go and sit outside in the garden or in the kennel with the dog for several hours a day in the heat? We have had a number of working dogs which were live out (spaniels and labradors). But they were regularly trained (several times a day) and still came into the house in the evening to sit with the family, they were only permitted in the study and tv room, the rest of the house was off limits. Perhaps you could consider having one room in the house where the dog is permitted, for at least part of the day so she can spend some relaxing time with the family? I genuinely do feel a live out non working GSD will go crazy, and realistically if you are not working her it is unfair on both yourself and the dog to be trying to find enough quality time to spend with her. She will most likely become frustrated, anti-social and destructive making it harder for you to be able to look after her as once behavioural issues start it is even harder to reverse them. It is then likely you will end up resenting her and consider her uncontrollable. Which could result in you not enjoying spending time with her (as due to circumstance she simply will not be a nice dog), starting a vicious cycle of spending time with the dog becoming a chore instead of something you look forward to, so the dog will sense that and become more problematic, which will mean you enjoy her company less and possibly spend less time with her and she becomes more problematic still. Having a well mannered, content, socialised outdoor dog is a lot of hard work, most likely more hard work than simply cleaning your house of dog hair. It is actually fairly easy to keep your house not smelling of dog and hair free. I find by brushing the dogs daily (outside) it gets rid of most of the dead fur and keeps the oils in their coats replenished so they don't smell, they are also bathed when required. I hoover and mop daily as well. I notice when a house smells as my mother has one small spaniel and her house does smell of dog (she never brushes or baths the dog which drives me nuts), our house however does not.

Hi all, appreciate your concern for the dog..the reason I don't want her in the house is very simple. We have plenty of friends with dogs and as much as their house is clean you can never get rid of the dog smell and dog hairs. I like my house clean, tidy and fragrant. She is well looked after and receives plenty of attention from all family members. Her kennel is being built tomorrow and her AC is ready for installation. Speechless........

Agree totally with RuthM. GSD dogs don't make good live out dogs. I've known a few and they've literally gone insane, become completely aggressive and incapable of being handled because people didn't bother with them. I had a collie x GSD - two super intelligent, hyper breeds - if she was left on her own for even a short period of time without stimulation, she was totally destructive. If you can't have it as an inside dog, give it the necessary exercise and mental stimulation which is required, I suggest you find it a home with someone who can. I don't say this to be mean, but in the best interest of the dog and you because the last thing you want, is to end up with a problem dog that can't be handled, it's not fair either way. <em>edited by FairyDust on 29/07/2014</em>

We have recently rescued a German Shepherd dog and it looks like she's staying with us...that being said, we don't want to keep her in the house and the Dubai heat is too hot for her...we already have a portable AC unit for her but we need to find a reasonably priced Kennel / small shed to install. Does anyone have one for sale or know where we can buy one, thank you very much. Why don't you want her in the house? Is this a family pet or a working dog?

Whilst rescuing a GSD is absolutely wonderful and very kind of you please be cautious having it as a live out dog. Many owners of live out dogs get along just fine but a minority tend to leave the dog to their own devices for long periods which for a breed like a German Shepherd can be disastrous. German Shepherds are one of the top 3 most intelligent dog breeds. They are very faithful and sensitive dogs and need people contact as well as firm training by a confident calm handler. If left alone for long periods they can become badly socialised, aggressive and develop nuisance barking not to mention the destruction they may reign down on your garden through boredom. Bear in mind this breed is used for complex tasks such as police work, search and rescue, drug/bomb detection as well as agility (which lots of domestic owners do) they learn very quickly and are very eager to learn. Simply put this is not a breed to leave isolated for long periods. Having one as a live out dog can work out but please be prepared to spend more than the usual about of time with it. This means walking, training and socialising at least 3-4 times a day to compensate for the lack of human contact when the family is indoors and the dog outdoors. The family would be best to all get involved with the dog bonding period (although only one person should be training the dog at a time) to ensure the dog does not regard some members as strangers as these dogs are naturally protective/territorial (you want the dog to be faithful to the family not one individual). Good luck finding your kennel carpenter and I hope you enjoy the new member of your family for many years to come.