can a chow chow stay outside by himself during the day?

[mickyj_tictoc]

my partner and i want to adopt a chow chow puppy. we both work during the day so will be gone for 8 hours a day.
we want the puppy to live indoors when we are home so mainly of a night time, but during the day we want to keep him outside.
will he be ok?

[Ursa's daddy]

Depends. Now when I got Ursa, she stayed outside during the day when I was at work. This was after I had her for several weeks and could go outside on her own, BUT there were some things that you need to know. The back yard was fenced that could keep her in and the outside world out. She was safe there. She had a doghouse she could stay in, or she could stay on the porch. She had plenty of fresh water. I also had someone who would come by and look in on her. You have to make sure that your puppy is secure and has a safe place to stay. You are also going to have to deal with separation anxiety with the dog. Now Ursa was so totally withdrawn when I got her, that my issue was to socialize her and bring her out. Being alone and hiding in a dark place was what she wanted to do.
I agree with having your puppy inside when you are home. Chows really need to be part of the family. My two stay in at nights, and have full run of the house. They are to keep off the oriental rugs and furniture, but only training keeps them off. I will leave it to other for additional comments about keeping a puppy outside during the day, but I feel that having him inside when you are home. He is a member of the family and should be treated as such. It is very important. For what it is worth, I have a friend of my who asked me if I ever went anywhere without my two. He has never seen me in public without them.

[Sarahloo]

Won't work, since the puppy is going to need a lot of loving care and attention at the beginning. No responsible breeder is going to give you a puppy when you both work full-time. Why not get an adult rescue that is used to being alone a certain amount of time every day? Your yard has to be secured, too, since a bored dog will try to dig under, or jump over fences. The fence that will stop a medium/larger-sized dog securely will have to be quite high and very sturdy. I once saw our Newfoundland girl climb up our fence like a monkey! And we only asked her to stay outside for a couple of minutes, not eight hours.

[Me & Tess]

Won't work, since the puppy is going to need a lot of loving care and attention at the beginning. No responsible breeder is going to give you a puppy when you both work full-time. Why not get an adult rescue that is used to being alone a certain amount of time every day? Your yard has to be secured, too, since a bored dog will try to dig under, or jump over fences. The fence that will stop a medium/larger-sized dog securely will have to be quite high and very sturdy. I once saw our Newfoundland girl climb up our fence like a monkey! And we only asked her to stay outside for a couple of minutes, not eight hours.

There are many adult Chow-Chows out there ready for adoption. You will get the wonderful feeling of saving a wonderful chow-being that will love & appreciate you. Your Chow in turn will give you love & devotion; they know when they have been rescued. An adult will most likely be house trained. Chows are very clean. I need to ask, have you studied the breed to see if the Chow would be compatible to your family? The reason there are so many Chow-Chows are in shelters is that the "owners" do not realize the Chow personalities & quirks - Chows are not like any other (dog). All start out as cute little fluff balls & some humans do not realize that once grown the Chow takes on a particular personality & require lots of care & grooming because of their "fluff. " Then the "owners" drop them off at shelters/kill shelters because their Chow just didn't make the fit.

Tess was an outside Chow in the day & an inside Chow at night. She did eventually figure out how to open the gate when we were at work.....never straying from the site of the home. She then became an inside Chow most of the time, being the perfect lady, never an accident or destructive behavior. She did like to get on the sofa and watch for me to come home - face thru the curtains looking out the window. She was a trustworthy Chow girl.

[Ursa's daddy]

I have to agree with my fellow members on adopting an adult chow.

[Victory]

No. Especially not a puppy. Depending on where you live, even a fenced yard is not safe for puppy by itself. In the US the puppy could very well be stolen by dog fighters or others like that. Also puppies need a lot of attention and security, in a yard a dog is usually always on alert to a degree, this means they never truly feel relaxed.

Inside with crate is much safer and provides a more secure place for the puppy. However, the main problem here is how much actual time the puppy is spending alone. with work, travel to and from and the incidental errands we all run on the trip home, it could be your puppy would end up being alone anywere from 10 hours per day or longer. If neither of you can come home for lunch, (this is what I did when Dreamdancer was little) and spend some time, for a potty break and a bit of socialization, then this is not a good situation.

chows are too naturally independent, some bloodlines could easily come to see you as nothing more than the provider of food and water, not the true leader these chows need. With chow puppies you actually have about four months to establish a good bond. if you don't do it then you'll be working on it a lot longer. A young adult rescue chow, who is already mostly socialized, has house manners and is more secure in itself is a much better option for you I think. As the others have said.

[wokman]

I cast my vote for an Adult Chow for your situation. Ursa's Daddy advice on a safe and secure yard is still mandatory.
You will have to be the judge on the area you live to how safe it is to leave a Chow out for more than eight hours, five days a week. Be careful Chows can be habit forming and one may not be enough!

[Sarahloo]

Another thing is, what if the puppy barks all day long? The neighbours are going to complain sooner rather than later and then you have no plan B.

[Merlin]

Leaving a dog, especially a young one , outside, unsupervised, and unattended is never a good idea. Not ever.
Dogs get stolen, they escape, chows especially can eat through steel chain link, dogs get poisoned, they get teased, and learn extremely bad habits once left outdoors to their own devices. There is just never anything positive about doing this.

If you don't have the time for a puppy, consider waiting until you do have the time, or like someone here wisely suggested, consider getting an adult.

[Judy Fox]

That is an awful idea!
A puppy would be so lonely and in danger of being stolen. But the lonliness would be unbearable.

[Tan160581]

Hi everyone

Thank you for all the positive comments and I will keep at it

Lola again today wee on sofa while I was upstairs washing my hair yet I had to go out of the house for 2 hours and she pees on paper do u think she annoyed I'm upstairs and she's downstairs

I certainly took your comments on board about about socialising I take her to pet shops pubs not real busy ones but country ones where dogs allowed and people come and pet her, walks where she meets people yesterday was her first time on the beach not so nice for me cold but all wrapped up but lola loved it and met other doggy people she loves other dogs too snd outside shops and family snd friends and when postmen come or delivery men course my house small snd she try's to run out of door I hold her and get the men to pop package on table and then they pet her as well and course of that I don't know if it will change the older she gets but when she sees people now she runs up or wags tails to greet people and demands attention - I'm glad I'm doing something ok

Re the sofa I have a spray called urine off don't know if that is any good x

[oceans]

I'll put my two cents in. Absolutely do not leave this little fur ball outside. I think no pup should have to be crated or left alone for eight + hours. I only work 18-20 hours a week and Matilda still gives me the stink eye every time i leave. There's nothing wrong with letting them spend time outdoors but they must be supervised. Especially the young one's. To many bad things can happen. Plus they also like companionship.

[cherriemater]

When we got Leo and Max at 9 weeks old, I was unemployed and so someone was always home with them. When we went out, they went with us. At night, they slept in a locked crate until they were potty trained, then the crate was left open. Four months later, I got a job. My husband leaves for work at 2:30pm and I would get home around 8:00pm. If I remember right I read at the time that a puppy can "hold his water" (so-to-speak) for one hour for each month he is old. We were cutting it a bit close because they were six months old when we started leaving them alone. And, when we did so, we opened up the garage door to the house so they could play out there (gave them extra room).

The ONE rule that we learned to live by is ... if it's on the floor it's fair game! That means socks, shoes, carpets, table legs, cords left unplugged, not to mention actual plugs on the wall ... et cetera and so forth. I put the feet of my good wicker furniture in empty peanut butter jars to keep them from chewing on them. They are now one year old AND I JUST NOW REMOVED THEM because they will stop with just a NO! (Well, Max anyway ... he only recently re-investigated the chewiness of the wicker wrapped leg ... but it was already a bit unraveled and might have looked like straw). I also used closet wire shelves to block off rooms in which they were not allowed (or I just closed doors) or an area I did not want chewed ((we had a wall that wasn't quite smooth and, somehow, they managed to chew through the paint and peel some drywall back ... clever boys)).

About leaving him outside: My husband built the boys a "play pen" out the back door which is approx. 20 x 40 feet square. Plenty of room for the boys to run and play and do their business. However ... we also have stray cats, tons of moles/voles and other varmints and worst of all ... skunks. The boys CANNOT be left outside without some sort of supervision. This means that usually the door to the house is also open so I can hear them yiping at this, that or the other thing and check it out. My biggest fear is BOTH of them getting sprayed by a skunk. Kimba got it twice while she was alive and it was no picnic. I can't imagine having it happen to two of them.

So all that said to say this: Keep asking yourself questions and evaluating your living conditions. What is the value of my furniture and is there anything I don't care about getting chewed and/or destroyed? (A pup without supervision thinks ANYTHING and EVERYTHING belongs to him and can be chewed, tossed, slobbered or toyed with). Consider the surroundings outside. How secure is it? Could you bring in a baby-sitter until your pup was old enough to be on it's own? If you're going to crate while you're gone, could you come home for an extended lunch to fill his love tank for another session of alone-time. Better yet, you come home on your lunch hour with your partner coming home at the end of yours would give your new pup an extended time in the middle of your day.

So many things to think about but I think you're wise to ask the question. Please consider what the folks above have said. They've always been so helpful to me.

[Chowmomma]

Puppies need that extra time with them AS puppies, its the most crucial time of their training, I agree older one

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[Cam Atis]

Chows can be on their own outside. Adult or juvenile chows, that is. A young puppy age: 0-4months can get into a lot of trouble if left outside even though you have high fence. Eating food along with plastic wrappings, poisonous plants etc. are some of the dangers. Or if tied up, the pup might strangle itself or die of heat stroke. You may build a decent dog house for the puppy, then you can leave your puppy in there until both of you arrives. A doghouse that is elevated from the ground, and has good air circulation yet keeps out the rain. Let's hope the pup won't bark all day.
Really agree with all those above comments. Anyway you did not mention the age of the chow

[Fozzbear]

I dont think that it is fair to leave any dog alone in a garden for eight hours every day personally.
If you are going to do this I hope that you will have shelter for the dog and also a dog walker to visit every day to break up the loneliness and the boredom. If you dont plan on doing this, I think it is unforgiveable.

[Rory's Dad]

Can a Chow stay outside by himself all day? Possibly yes, but not a good idea. Way to many variables and risks to think it wise. Most pups cant or wont defend themselves properly. Curiosity or for whatever other reason.

You will also take a large risk on destroying the dogs spirit. Despite their reputation for being independent, they do require companionship and a very defined sense of where they stand in the pack. Abandoning a chow to the outside of the home, whether it be for daylight hours or whatnot will cause him to think he is alone. This will never allow socialization or acceptance in his mind.

I would venture that this type of situation will end poorly with the dog being an object, and not a pet. Behavior issues are sure to follow, and this would probably be the end result with most breeds, but moreso with Chows.

[Victory]

A little more to add to this. Here in Minneapolis, MN and surrounding suburbs it is illegal to leave any dog out for 8 hours unsupervised unless the dog has proper shelter, and they have very specific rules about what that is. A dog house large enough for the dog to stand up fully in, turn around in easily and stretch out in. The dog house must be at least 10 inches off the ground, it must have a door like a flap that will close behind the dog, blocking all the wind and elements. In the summer it must be shaded so it doesn't get too hot. Water must be available at all times, which means in the winter a way to keep the water from freezing must be provided.

Frankly, here it's easier and cheaper to keep them in the house.

And as Cherimeater(sp?) pointed out, puppies are distructive, I was always home when Dreamdancer was running loose in the house I had all the power cords where he couldn't reach or at least I thought I did, he found the one that was reachable and chewed it, luckily I rarely used that lamp so it wasn't plugged in.

[cherriemater]

I had all the power cords where he couldn't reach or at least I thought I did, he found the one that was reachable and chewed it, luckily I rarely used that lamp so it wasn't plugged in.

Oh Dear!! Isn't it funny how they either find things you THOUGHT were hidden or things you COMPLETELY forgot about?!?!?

We have trouble with socks. They love the stinky ones my husband throws into the dirty laundry basket. I can stick them WAAAAAAY into the bottom, under piles and piles of other things ... and then I hear behind my back (while sitting at the computer) the pitter-patter of sneaky footfalls (they're different, you know, when they're doing something they KNOW they're not supposed to) running into the bedroom ... then a pause ... then soft shuffles past the door to quicker steps and THUMP, thump down the steps outside. Silly boys! I try so hard to be firm and tell them, No! No! but I can't help myself. It makes me chuckle every time. At least now that they're one year old they're not biting all the way through them. They just take them outside and leave them on the lawn. Funny boys. I know, I know ... I could just get a taller laundry basket for the bedroom ... yeah, I should probably do that. Maybe. Someday.