I don’t have one but I’ve heard they work really well. It’s probably be a great idea.
Shoshana, that’s terrible!! OMG, I hope you cat comes home.
We had a dog in our yard and I stupidly tried to reach the tag and the dog bit me.
Not hard and I should have known not to put my hands near her mouth. Luckily the owner came because we live on a busy street.
Thanks. It’s been almost a month, so I’m pretty sure the cat is dead. It’s very upsetting.
I’m really sorry. I’d be upset too.
This might be why we got him in the first place. He followed a friend’s little boy home from school. (She lives in another town.) Collar but no tags, housebroken, trained to sit and heel, polite and well-behaved. (He has yet to jump on anyone but loves to wrestle with the grandkids.)
Anyway, my friend called all the local vets, put an ad in the paper, and ran an ad on the local cable TV outlet. No one claimed him and after about a month of searching for the owner, we adopted him.
Shoshana, I hope your cat’s all right. We have two who live indoors. Today I opened a window that didn’t have the screen on (the screens aren’t washed yet). Mick, the fat cat, was sitting on the sideboard looking out. The window was cranked open about six inches. I was visiting with a friend and it was a couple of minutes before I noticed that Mick wasn’t on the sideboard anymore.
Oops. I went out to get him and he was sitting right under the window, sniffing the grass. “I’m free! What do I do now?” he says. “You’re coming back inside, that’s what”, I say “Oh, okay then. This was fun. Can I do it again tomorrow?” 
I might try this too. But when I’m with him, he stays close by me, so I don’t know if he’d lead me to his special place.
Do you think he could be confused about where his territory is because of other dogs who roam our yard?
Ditto.
I just wish the assholes that keep complaining about me shooting their dogs [and calling the animal control office and getting them tickets issued] would invest a tad of money in a fucking FENCE. You have a dog, FENCE YOUR FUCKING YARD. Keep your damned dogs away from my chickens and sheep. They are NOT chew toys for your fucking dog. I do fence my chickens in, but sometimes the chicks are the right size for slipping out through the wire if we get a particularly adventurous one. Sheep are happy to hang out in the field and graze, but oddly enough I cant afford to put 6’ chain link around a 2 acre pasture, and a standard fence can easily be jumped by an active dog.
Really, it isnt rocket science. People have been doing it for thousands of years to restrict animals into certain areas.
A dog does not consider its territory to end at the propery line. Since he’s been allowed to roam he presumably sees the fields etc as also his territory. The likelihood is that other dogs also visit there at times and he could be checking out the doggie scent trail.
From your posts its clear that your husband is pack leader while you are alpha female. Utilise that to control his behaviour. Get husband to take him out at night and then order him in at the appropriate time. Hubby might also lead the dog to the interesting area to show that it’s really his territory too.
It’s certainly possible for multiple people to command a dog. There should be no problems with it obeying both you and your husband. A dog is a social animal and it has its place in the heirarchy - they are essentially pre-programmed to have multiple other dogs above them and below them. Anything above it can boss it about or tell it to butt out. You need to work on not being so nice to your dog and becoming more commanding. Once you’ve established clear relationships he should be more biddable.
My husband works nights, darn it.
In the summer, I can time the last potty trip at about 9:30, when it’s still light out. Then Boomer can wait until 2 a.m. when my husband gets home from work.
I’d love a fence. It’s something we’ve talked about, mostly to keep other dogs out. Nobody else in town has a fenced yard except for the dog breeder two doors down, and a family on the other side of town that has several Rottweilers.
I talked with my other neighbor about a fence for the dog and he said “Why? Boomer never bothers anybody.”
Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful responses. I’ll work on getting Boomer to mind me, and I’ll take him for a walk in the evenings too. Tire him out.
That’s tough. My fiancee’s dog is a airedale-bouvier mix . Both his morning walk ais an hour (45 minutes if we’re running late for work), his evening walk is often an hour and a half or longer. He also has a dog walker come mid-day, but that has more to do with his anxiety issues than a need for exercise.
If you’re yard is enormous and he races around at full tilt, that’s a good bit of exercise, if he’s out for a half-hour or so.
It’s good to take him for walks for exploration. But don’t tire yourself out or make your hip hurt. So take it easy, especially at first.
If he likes to chase then a decent period in the yard with you sitting and him chasing a ball or frisbee would be excellent aerobic exercise for him.
And remember that there are probably teenagers in your area who would love to walk him for a small payment. So long as they are old enough to handle him safely and responsibly they might be a good idea for walkies on any days you feel unable to.
Her dog is 12 years old. I wouldn’t give him more exercise at this point than he’s used to.
Our neighbor had an older dog and his grand kids decided to take him for a walk and he was running around with the kids and he dropped dead. The poor kids came running down the street because the dog wouldn’t get up and my husband and I had to drive to the park and pick up the dogs body. It was hot and it might have happened anyway, but it was pretty traumatic for the kids (and me).
At this point if you walk him, stop every few minutes and let him rest. Hay, he’s a senior! 
An experienced dog walker is a good idea though. My friend does this for a few people and she has quite a business going.
Yeah, you don’t need to make him run like a maniac or anything to get the exercise. Our pooch has pins in his leg from being hit by a car when his previous owners had him. We can’t run him too hard, but we can take him on nice long nature walks. We enjoy the stroll and he gets tuckered out.
If your hip nixes long walks for you, you probably could get a decent dog walking service to come a couple of times a week to take him on a more substantial walk. Dogs can get a bit ansty if they have more energy then they are expending in walkies.
You can also use n overhead wire run with a lead, as long as it’s not long enough for him to wrap around a tree.
You feel convinced of that but I have no idea if the strange dog in my backyard is friendly or what. Please keep him controlled. You have a dog, I don’t, and I don’t want a dog marking up my territory as they are wont to do.
I think it’s very nice of you to wonder, by th eway, and ask about it.
And if any of your livestock gets out through a hole in the fence and into my yard, they end up on my grill, no questions asked. Fair enough?
I hadn’t even considered a dog walker. That’s another good idea – there are a few kids I could ask. I used to take him down to the baseball field and let him run. (It was fenced.) He loved that.
I had him outside this morning but he wanted to go back in after about 5 minutes. He confuses me, really. He doesn’t seem comfortable when he’s outdoors, except at night. Loud noises frighten him, like the neighbor’s lawn mower, motorcycles, mo-peds, doors slamming, horns, fireworks, thunder, etc.
Maybe he’s more comfortable outdoors at night because it’s quieter.
Could be. He might just be a nervous dog - some are. Remember you don’t know his entire history so you don’t know what bad things might have happened to him in the past.
I find that lots of reassurance and goodies tend to help a dog settle down in an environment it doesn’t like (cats too actually, all my pets will happily watch fireworks from the window :p). So take him out, let him stay close to you, give him a treat and then go back indoors. Do that frequently and slowly stretch his comfort zone. Not sure if you are working or not but if you have the time then just spend a few days working on walking down the street comfortably. Try not to move him on further until he’s ok with what you’re doing. And if you become aware of something which you think might make him uncomfortable (hearing a motorcycle in the distance, seeing kids running down the other side of the street etc) then start to talk to him - not only are you distracting him from the potentially scary thing but you are also providing reassurance that you are interested in his wellbeing.
Only you can know how nervy he is when going out but do exercise caution in your choice of dog walker. Younger teens might not have the strength or knowledge of how to reassure him and keep him and others safe if the dog gets a fright. So if you do get a walker then try to get one with plenty of experience with dogs. And give him time to get comfortable with the walker - you’ll probably have to go with them for the first few weeks so that he can learn that the walker is an accepted part of his pack.
One other thing springs to mind. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having his ‘big’ walk at night if he is getting plenty of toilet breaks and shorter exercise periods through the day. Could be that he just enjoys being out at night and if you feel comfortable walking later then it might be enjoyable for both of you.
I like this idea too, especially now that it’s warmer. He doesn’t wander in the winter – probably doesn’t like cold feet.
I’ve had him outside for today for about an hour so far. I’m hoping the fresh air has the same effect on him as it does on me.