This is a recent question from a reader of my website:
Question: My dog has always been really good about staying in our yard if I let her out to go to the bathroom. Lately, she’s been running away a lot. This morning my husband let her out. In a short time, she had already run off. She ended up at the elementary school across a major road. The only thing I can think of is we just had our neighborhood repaved. A neighbor said the smell of new asphalt can make pets crazy. Apparently her cats have been running away. Could this be it?
Answer: There are literally hundreds of reasons why a dog may run off including the dog going into heat, being distracted, getting older and more independent, etc. Whether or not the asphalt is the cause of the issue doesn’t matter, the solution is the same regardless of the cause….GET A FENCE!
No responsible dog owner is going to allow their dog to be in an unfenced yard unsupervised. Dogs that aren’t contained are dogs that are likely to get hit by cars or poisoned by annoyed neighbors. Loose neighborhood dogs are so much more likely to bite a child or another dog. Dogs without fences are a nuisance as they go to the bathroom in neighbors yards, dig up neighbors gardens, and steal items from neighbors yards. NOT ONE OF THESE SCENARIOS IS POSSIBLE IF THE DOG IS PROPERLY CONTAINED. I’m not saying that everyone with a dog needs a fence. If you don’t have a fence, though, it is your responsibility to never allow that dog alone outside.
2 Comments
I actually had a concern about this a few years ago and investigated the effects of paving asphalt on animals, specifically puppies. What I found was a gentoxic reaction from the fumes enhancing the metabolic activation in some of the animals studied. Certainly an increase in metabloism could cause more activity in the animal. If this helps. And BTW some of us love our animals and don’ keep them in a fenced in area. We personally have priced them and they are thousands of dollars and weren’t able to put one in at this time. Sometimes accidents occur. I hope this was helpful.
I know this will come across as offensive and I’m sorry. I just don’t understand, though, how one can love their dog and let it roam the neighborhood. There is so much danger and liability in that that I don’t believe it is possible. If a fence isn’t a possibility that doesn’t mean that you let the dog roam the neighborhood.