Do you ever leave your dog outside?

I don't let the boys outside if I'm not home, but when I'm here, sure. It usually lasts until they start barking at something In the winter, never more than 20 minutes though, while in Summer the backdoor is open and they sometimes stay there one hour (when it's not too hot).

Thanksfully they are not jumpers though, as our fence is only 5 feet high.

Same here

sometimes

When the weather is ok (not now--too hot or in the winter--too cold) he can be outside on his own--generally just for an hour or so. We recently got our fence and I would not be worried leaving him out there while I run the the store. Our new fence is 5 ft and shadowboxed (so no holes to get out of)...

I don't allow my dogs outdoors unsupervised for any period of time. For me its not an option even with a fenced in yard.

I consider it too much of a risk and won't chance it.

same here

Of course. I've always had dogs who enjoyed being out alone, and I think dogs need to be outside a lot unless the weather's awful. My current dog will, in nice weather, stay outside for 2-3 hours at a time. In very nice weather, she doesn't want to come in. If it's hot or snowy or rainy or a little too cool, she demands to come in, and she gets in. My other dogs were much more outside-loving dogs, and were content to stay out, hanging on the steps, through snow, cold, etc. When she barks, of course, I take her in before she becomes a nuisance.

If there's no one home to keep an ear out for trouble from the yard, however, she stays inside. I don't want her getting loose or something or someone getting into the yard after her.

edit: And my current dog's the clingy sort who winds her paws around my legs and circles me as I go upstairs. The other two, who had interior lives of their own, would stay out for hours and hours without a peep of protest. I think my first dog spent much of my schooldays out back. I used to have to coax her inside in cold weather - she had that thick, double coat of a Beardie and she'd be covered in snow and looking at you like "In? You want me to come in? Why don't you come out?" And, of course, my last dog had Duties outside - the squirrels that had to be chased, the trees that had to be climbed, the various things that had to be monitored and investigated. She didn't really have time to sit around on the couch. They talk about a dog needing a job - all my dogs have created their own positions, and much of their responsibilities involved being out in the yard.

Aeron has always been allowed to come and go as she likes. When she lived with me she always had a door open and even though my property at the time was not fenced it was huge and she NEVER left the grounds. She always has a door open and she checks in every hour or so.

I would not let Lilly out alone. It is funny how RD and I are similar in this aspect. You can trust a BC to be good. LOL

My boys stay outside when we're not home. Zeus used to stay indoors, but since our last vacaion, he has developed seperation anxiety issues. He will now pee/poop on the floor when alone now. *sniffle* I'm so depressed about this, especially since he was the absolute perfect indoor dog up until 2 months ago. We're working on improving things, but progress has been extremely slow.

Voodoo stays outdoors since he's still a heathen puppy and is too unreliable to be left alone inside.

My yard has a 6-foot fence and wall around it, and both boys love being outside. They frequently ask to go out and play, even when we're home. They're not allowed to run amok in the house, so they full advantage of the yard. During hot days or bad weather, they stay inside: one in the crate, one in the bathroom.

I always let Foster out to play by himself, he absolutely loves it! He just runs around the laundry drying thingy (I totally just forgot what they're actually called) and runs like there's no tomorrow! And now that we have some agility equipment back there, he goes out and goes through the tunnel, does the jumps, all by himself! it's so cute to watch. Also, we have a little pool outside for him, so he can get a drink from it, or cool himself down when he needs to. He always runs outside to chew on special bones like a nice knuckle bone or something, because he THINKS I can't see him, but I always supervise Foster if he's outside with something he can rip apart or eat.

I wish I could let Andy out by himself, but I never do. If he's outside, I have to be right there beside him. Our neighbors run an in-home daycare and the kids would always come over and let our old dog out. Plus, most of these kids love to yell and hit things, so I don't want Andy getting hurt while I'm gone.

The only time we leave them outside intentionally is when we need to prop the side door open to get something in the house. After the door is closed, they are welcome to come back in the house if they want. My boys LOVE to be outside so if they don't want to come in, they don't have to. There is always fresh water outside for them.
Our dogs are inside at bedtime and when we are not home.

We always let our dogs out by themselves. We have a fully fenced in yard and in the winter they love to just sun themselves on the deck. When its hot out (like now) I keep them in whenever possible.

never unattended but i have no fence as well. AT Mom's Vic will play with shaffer the fence being 8 ft high so no worries there! That is just for play time, never for long periods.

Mine is always accompanied by me.We stay out sometimes for a hour depending on weather.Never all by themselves though.I always go out too.Than again I smoke outside so...

My dogs are out (the yard is about 3 acres) while I'm at work because I can't quite trust the boys unsupervised with the indoor cats, and Abbey, who generally ignores the cats completely, will go along with the 'pack' mentality. However, we also have a dog door into the basement, with dog beds all over the place and that's where everyone hangs out when it's hot (if they're not lounging in their baby pool). My neighbor also stops by to check on everyone twice a day.

Mine are 100% outside dogs. To put it simply- they hate it inside. They've all live outside for almost thier entire lives, and thats where they're most comfortable. Sure Dakota liked my bed after he got neutered, but once everything wore off (which happened to be at about 4 am), he wanted back out pronto.
We dont have a fenced yard, so everyone is tied out. (And if you think I'm the cruelest person for doing this- just message me. I dont want to start another public attack crusade. You're wrong anyway.)
We tried bringing them inside when its hot, in the basement. They just sit at the door, whining, wanting to go back out.

actually that was proven to by a myth. A bird is not capable of picking up more than 3-4 pounds. So you only really need to be worried about your 3 lbs dog . Found here
Snopes- bird picking up dog

Other than one very innacurate report from cnn and a dog that got away no bird is capable or taking away a dog over 4 lbs.

Charlie is 7 1/2 pounds and we are not in a very highly propulated nature area so I am not worried about that.

My dogs live outside so ya, LOL deffinately

We'll leave ours out for short periods, but they are not completely unsupervised. We'll keep an eye on them out the windows. They have never gotten in trouble in our yard though, the worst thing they do is bark at people walking by. Mostly Bruzer and Midnite there, Gunnar usually doesn't get involved in that sort of stuff. He sits on the deck and surveys.

Kona goes out by herself, no matter the weather. Never for long, just about 10-15 minutes, unless it is cooler than usual, then she will stay out there as long as she likes.

When she is ready to come in, she scratches the door.

However, when we go somewhere, like the store, or a friends house, ect, she will go in her crate until we are home.