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Originally Posted by ironmike86  Depends. If were are still talking about small dogs like Yorkies. They should always be inside. But large dogs in Kennels that are ways from the elements on acreage. As long as they get to run most of the day and interact with ppl. Just sleep there at night. IMO better than being confined in a small house no yard no room to run??? JMO |
I was speaking only to breeders & show people with excellent credentials in the dog fancy who have dogs in kennels as their
living quarters. No problem in putting a dog to bed for the night in its kennel with proper temp control & shelter in bad weather - but I believe that if you are keeping a dog in even an immaculate, lovely 14-20 foot kennel in a wonderfully temperature-controlled building with the best food & water & bring it out for only a portion of the day, it is not living a dog's best life - that of a beloved family member with all of the fun & human interaction that goes with.
Dogs are such social family members - want to be in on the action going on with their people mostly. Big dogs love the outside but the majority of them, even the biggest & toughest, want to be with their humans most of the time, given the choice. Why should small dogs usually get to spend great time with their humans and not big dogs? Why are they chosen for kennel life so often? Usually because people have too many big dogs to keep in the house much. Same with some breeder/show people of small dogs. They have too many to comfortably keep as true pets.
Of course there are outliers - dogs that prefer to stay outside a good deal of the time & one can debate what goes on there with some of them, but for the most, dogs want to be with humans and in on the activities of the family. And I too am a firm believer that most small dogs should be house-dogs & only outside for periods of time. But I don't think just because a dog is large or any-size breed-/show-quality dog, it is fine for breeder/show people to house them in kennels as their living quarters. That's no way for a dog to have to live.