I was wondering whether breeders that keep kennels full of dogs actually do home rear their litters as their ads claim?
do they really bring those pups into their homes for 8 weeks whilst all their other dogs are out in kennels??
i wonder how many only bring them in when puppy buyers appear? when i got my first schnauzer 8 years ago, she was down at the bottom of the garden in a garden shed. she hadnt even heard bird song because the woman had the radio on to 'socialise' them

Not all people that breed are the same.

I have more dogs than anyone I know.  I certainly don't know of anyone that has so many living in the house.  I don't own a kennel.

The reason people rave about the temperament of my dogs is down to how they are reared.  Even my Chihuahuas play in the compost heap with my Collies (then bring all the mud indside!) 

I think the majority of CD people don't own kennels.

i have quite a few dogs from large to small and they all live in the house and when i do have alitter they are brought up in the house with the pack yes they live behind a puppy pen to protect them from large feet but when they start moving around they are let out under supervision with the large dogs many people i know have a large pack of dogs and non live in kennels outside, but i also know of people who have kennels attached to there house and the pups are bought up in the whelping room and they see people comming and going all day long, they have freedom into the house through the kennel area but they are put to bed outside in the kennels , and i have found no difference in there temprement but they have had extensive socialisation from being born,being handled and all noises of the house, i suppose it is the way you bring them up and spend the time with them giving them new experiences etc.

Kennels don't have to be bad things! I know very good breeders who have their dogs in kennels. Some of the dogs prefer to live in the kennels than inside. Some dogs are inside, sometimes they alternate who's in and who is out. However, when they have pups, whelping is inside (unless it's a bitch who really doesn't want to be inside - it does happen) and the pups are reared so that they are well aware of household noises and they are extremely well socialised to other animals, objects, people, situations, etc.

Obviously not the case with your schnauzer.

I think it's more a case of looking beyond where the dogs are housed (not saying how, how they're housed is hugely important and will reflect on how they are cared for), but I'd expect any dog, indoors or out, to be housed very well. There are dogs not housed/cared for well in kennels and in individual's homes.

A friend of ours owns a very large kennel with many dogs (20 odd) and when they have a litter they do bring them into the house the bitch whelps in their conservatory then when the pups are old enough they are allowed to play in their kitchen getting into everything.

Our friends though keeps kenneled dogs have some of the best socialized and well kept dogs I have ever known few are kept inside but all non the less have great temperaments.

We do have our dogs living in our house and raise puppies in our front room/ kitchen, its not really where you bring them up but how you do it that counts, so long as they have the social interaction and are clean and well kept.

I have whelped every litter I have ever had in my home(usually my bedroom for the first 2 weeks!).  Once the puppies are old enough, they move downstairs to the kitchen where the can hear/see everything but are still confined to a puppy pen.  My pups get outside access and full run of the downstairs of my home from about 5 weeks.  It is usually this age as they have enough sense to get out of the way of the bigger dogs and the kids and the cat!  My latest litter would all snuggle round the washing machine when it went into spin cycle.  Well, their mum is a live-wire so it must have remided them of their time in the womb!

There aren't many breeders like that these days -by that I mean good breeders, not the back yard breeders or puppy farmers. It used to be common for people to have kennels full with dogs, today your average breeder keeps their dogs as house pets.

I have 16 dogs. Only one lives in a kennel, and that was not by choice but by necessity. He does not like cats or my other male dogs. My puppies are always reared indoors.

I stand by my original post. Just because dogs are kept in kennels this does not mean that they are back yard breeders, nor that they are puppy farmers. There are plenty, I am sure that are, but I know some who most definitely are not and those I know I would guarantee would give a good run for their money over some puppies that are raised in a house.

My dogs do live in my house, but, I have friends AND breeder friends who I have the utmost respect for who do, shock horror, have dogs living in kennels. Dogs in kennels are not necessarily a bad thing.

Dogs in kennels are not necessarily a bad thing.
But could it ever be a GOOD thing?

> But could it ever be a GOOD thing?

Not if you end up with a dog like my new rescue. I can't imagine any way - except from being in kennels without much outside input for far too long - that she could have developed her habit of pacing in circles, always clockwise. Even when out, it's her default pattern behaviour. And indoors when she's not sure what do do, or bored, or stressed, or just excited or even happy. I guess it probably takes a lot to do that to a dog to make it a default, unless it's something she learned when very young which has grown up with her.

It does remind you of the pacing of zoo animals, except she is in a home or on a lead outdoors.

MsT -I have a cat like that. She's nearly 18 and have NEVER got away from the fact she was born and reared in a cattery as opposed to indoors.(I have cats in a cattery, but would NEVER put a kitten there.) I got her when 8 months old so despite all this time she has never really changed. Stays in the utility room ALL the time, cannot feel able to use the rest of the house. Thankfully stopped the pacing backwards and forwards a few years ago.

> I have 16 dogs.

OH how I love it when I see perfectly normal people on here!!!    

16...how do you manage?
I mentioned to hubby that we need to increase our family (dropped in the number 16, lol)..he nearly passed out..sigh..oh well I shall just have to keep trying!!
I love my dogs...Id have a house full, if I had the space..hmm perhaps hubby needs to be sent away to work;)

My dogs are indoor dogs and pups are born and raised in my living room and kitchen and have full access to garden.

I have to say unless you are lucky to have extensive property with purpose built kennel buildings, with rooms that can be heated etc for whelping (you'd have to be pretty well to do) then just from practicality as puppies and whelped bitches need so much care having them born and raised or at least the first month in the house if just purely practical.

There is no way I would want to be sleeping in a kennel building with my bitches and pups even if I had one.

My five week old pups had their first outdoor experience yesterday rather later than I usually have it as the weather has been so wet.

This was in the run with attached kennel adjacent to the kitchen.

My house layout does nto allow for enough space to have pups running free and the other dogs (I have five) getting some peace and nto having to go through the pups area to go outside (think hall, into living room, into kitchen into garden). 

For the other dogs comfort and safety/hygiene I cannot allow free range puppies, and there is a limit on the space I can allot to a puppy pen, so by 5 weeks they need to play outside but where they can be safe and also so the adults can still go outside unmolested. 

So having a dog run with a board across the entrance so adults can go in and out at will, with a kennel for shelter for daytime naps, and bringing pups in through the day to eat and sleep at night and play with as and when. 

By the time pups are over 9 weeks some will have gone to new homes by then, and once down to the last two or three I let them have free range with the adults more an more, as even the grumpy great great granny at 13 can cope with that many.

Can you imagine trying to keep a growing litter of 13 Great Dane, Doberman etc pups entirely in your livingroom and Kitchen with their Mum and other dogs?  Not to mention that there can be friction between Mum and toehr dogs at thsi tiem due to her beign protective of puppies and feeling she is due higher status due to this fact.

My Living room is 14 x 12 feet and the kitchen is 10 x 20 feet at its widest and longest, but one part is just 6 x 10 feet, and you have kitchen units appliances too.

Slightly off topic but...Trialist, I don't think you have any idea what you are talking about and I mean that in the nicest possible way.  Dogs that are kept in a kennel are nothing but part-time pets or on-standby show-dogs.  I know because I was an owner that kept my dogs in kennels(never bitches with pups or puppies).  I was one of the few that I know that house-trained their kennel dogs.  Most breeders don't need their dogs to be house-trained as they are never inside the house!!  I let my showbug get too much and owned too many dogs which was why I got into the kennel situation and I always said that I would never re-home so my outside dogs got as good a life as I could give them but looking back, if I'd re-homed some of them, they would all have had a better life.  My kennel dogs got in the house from around 7pm every night and were walked daily but they still had the walk of someone going to the hangman when I had to put them back in the kennel every day.  Dogs are pack animals and as such should be with their human pack instead of separated.  No wonder kennel dogs have pshycological issues.
I now only own 3 dogs and they are all house pets first and foremost.  The kennel was dismantled last year and I was so glad.  I will never put up a kennel again as I would never keep a dog like that again.  My dogs really are part of our family now.
How can you say a kennel pup gets the same time or experinces as a house pup, I really don't know?

Not Trailist but I'm sorry knowing the type of dog Trailist is talking about and knowing people that keep their dogs in a similar way I fully understand what she is saying and totally agree with her. They are neither part time pets or standby show dogs they are fully stimulated mentally and physically and the bond they have with their owners for the most part is second to none.

There is a difference in using a kennel or kennels as an adjunct to your home to comfortably House your dogs (building extensions or getting a bigger house is not possible for everyone) and keeping dogs kennelled full time.

I also think breeds differ in this regard.

I have the back door open most of the year when it isn't freezing and the kennel acts as a bedroom for some of the girls, and they prefer it as it is cooler.

In the day they pop outside as and when, but prefer to stay indoors with us, but come 11pm those who sleep in the kennel are waiting to go to bed and the pop holes to be lowered.

I live in an urban situation and certainly could not have the dogs in a  kennel when I am not at home as they would likely  bark and neighbours would complain.  So they are confined in the kitchen where they cannot react to outside sights and sounds too much.

I think Trialist's experience is primarily with working dogs, and many sheep, police, gun-dogs etc are routinely kennelled yet are still socialised and have a deep relationship with their owner/handler due to working with them.

Kennels are just dog  geared accommodation.  Our human homes can have many hazards and aspects that do not make them ideal for housing the dogs.  Usually too hot, often too noisy and lots of things that can be dangerous if chewed or knocked over, so there are times when they are better confined to a kennel, far better than what many dogs get being shut in a wire/plastic dog crate for hours on end, yet still in a house?

Then there are the toy breeds kept in too large numbers in a room in then house stacked up like Rabbit hutches?

Kennels, Crates, collars and Leads etc are all tools that can be used well or abused.

I think that you have to look at each set up individually.  I've had kennels so that the dogs had freedom when I was out and also when I was working.  The grooming parlour window opened into their open run so they were sort of with me while I was working.  They then came indoors when I was indoors.

But I know another breeder who had 30+ Rough Collies that she'd bred over many years and she chose not to rehome the ones who didn't make the grade and so had many kennels.  But her whole waking day was spent with her dogs and when she was well into her 60s, she would often ring me at 11 in the evening and when I'd ask "Are you OK you sound out of breath?"  she would answer "I've been to the cash & carry today and so I'm kicking the football for some of the dogs under the floodlight!"  Now those dogs lacked for nothing whether it be socialisation and being taken out 2 at a time, time living indoors and certainly not lacking human contact.   Now that's not the way that I would do it but it's just different not wrong.
PS her litters were born indoors and she's sleep on the floor with them for at least 4 weeks ........

> Then there are the toy breeds kept in too large numbers in a room in then house stacked up like Rabbit hutches?
>
>

Which I find unacceptable.  Although I do know top show people with my breed that use this setup. (I agree that their living rooms are tidier than mine!)

I am fortunate in having a 30ft kitchen, and dogs sleep up the top end.  I do have to use crates when I have bitches in season, but feel that I manage it to the best of my ability, having both sexes.  A couple of my smallest dogs choose to sleep in a crate at night, and I allow this, as I don't want a Collie lying on one as he turns over.

And I'm lucky to have huge amounts of outdoor areas for play.  But stacked up rabbit hutches that I have seen turn me cold, even if they are in the house.

Exactly there are no absolute wrong or right ways.

> Dogs that are kept in a kennel are nothing but part-time pets or on-standby show-dogs.

Not necessarily. Some dogs do prefer to be outside. One of my gundogs really liked being outside (although he did sleep in the house at night) during the day my dogs have full access to the garden. A friend of mine has a dog who will not come into her house under any circumstances and is thoroughly unhappy if he is brought inside. He was sold as a pup to a 'pet home' and lived indoors. Unfortunately the people turned out to be rather unpleasant and when my friend got him back (thin and not groomed) from them she found that he now will not come into the house at all. She has bought a kennel and he is a happy dog he sleeps in the kennel and during the days mixes with her other dogs in the garden, but refuses to come into the house. My friend was very upset at how he had been treated and wishes he was confident enough to realise he would be safe and well cared for in her house, but until he does he is happy in the kennel.

> They are neither part time pets or standby show dogs they are fully stimulated mentally and physically and the bond they have with their owners for the most part is second to none.

couldnt agree more....i have 14 large breed dogs and ALL are part of the family, yes i have kennels and all dogs spend time in and time out, ALL puppies are born,raised in the living room until they leave. My day is 7am - 11pm EVERDAY with my dogs, they spend quality time, individual time with me, and i would never re-home any of my kids!

None of mine are part-time anything.....they are FULL time and i have a special bond with each and every one and am very proud of their excellent and very balanced temperaments.

One of my breeds much prefer to be outside given the choice. So i think its about the individual way people keep their dogs and the time and effort spent with them not just about a kennel. JMO

> they spend quality time, individual time with me, and i would never re-home any of my kids!
>
>

My sentiments exactly.  Even my boy that grew far too big for show, and is not used for breeding, is still my pet, and very much loved. 

I consider my one on one time very important, and they all get a turn, just like you Mandy.     

Oh dear cracar ... this is the point at which I apologise most profusely to satincollie ... I've only just, literally this minute spotted cracar's comment. Now I have to admit my blood is absolutely boiling. If cracar was out to wind me up then she/he has well and truly succeeded. I admit to not having had a good day today, so if satincollie feels like removing this post ... which at this point I am not quite sure what it will contain ... then I accept her decision!

Trialist, I don't think you have any idea what you are talking about and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Oh dear, in my fairly extensive experience of life, these sort of comments are rarely meant.

Let's get one thing straight. There is life beyond pets and show dogs. In your world it may just be restricted to pets and show dogs, but in mine there is so much more.

Most breeders don't need their dogs to be house-trained as they are never inside the house!!

Really? That may well be your experience. Most of the breeders that I know do house train their dogs 'cause their dogs are in their houses. I house train my own dogs, 'cause my own dogs live in the house with me. That does not make me so narrow minded enough to discount some of the truly excellent breeders who happen to house their dogs in kennels.

Dogs are pack animals and as such should be with their human pack instead of separated

That may be so, but why should the human pack be preferable to the dog pack? I know many humans and I know many dogs and there are some dog packs that I'd much rather be a part of.

No wonder kennel dogs have pshycological issues.

That's very sad if your dogs had such issues and that's a fault of yours. That most definitely is not a fault of the people that I am referring to. Far from it. The dogs from these kennels are ... yes, showing (horror, of horrors), in pet homes, in working homes, in search and rescue homes, in drugs detection homes, in dry rot and wet rot detection homes, oh, yes, then there are the obedience homes, the agility homes, the flyball homes, and even more shock horror, there are those dogs who are subjected to the awful ordeal of being in pet homes. Every single one of these dogs are bombproof, have been raised to extremely high standards, are well socialised and can be taken into any situation without any worries at all.

How can you say a kennel pup gets the same time or experinces as a house pup, I really don't know?

I think if you re-read my post you will find that I said no such thing. I said the people who I know who have dogs in kennels, most of whom are brought into the home to whelp, but some will not be house dogs, but the pups are brought into the house.

So if you can honestly tell me that the puppies you produce are of exceptional temperament and that are going to working homes, show homes, pet homes, obedience homes, search and rescue homes, flyball homes, agility homes, working trials homes, err, what else, oh yes ... drugs detection homes, dry/wet rot detection homes, and goodness knows what else, then I may well take note of your opinions.

But please have the decency to read my post befroe telling me that I have no idea what I am talking about.

Just as a matter of interest, from your last litter would you care to post what sort of home each of those puppies has gone to and how successful they are?

This is of course meant in the nicest possible way

I would add to this post that I fully agree that there are dogs raised in kennels that should not be, but there are equally many dogs raised in a house that should not be. It is what you do with the lives you have created that is the most important thing, not so much to do with where the mother of the pups has chosen to whelp.

I also would add to people on CD whose opinion I value, and there are a number, that there is so much more to the world than the show world

What a sensible post.

My dogs all live in the house All of the time for thir whole lives

We have a female who prefers to live in a kennel, she's weird lol,
Even though our dogs do live in kennels they are rotated and come in the house also,
all our puppies are born and raised in the house, they stay in the house until they are ready for their new homes, i find them better socialised then, i prefer it this way.

Depends on the breed largely.

My brother has border collies and if his doors are open - his dogs are outside.
A friend with Bernese says her dogs prefer to be outside if possible.

BUT Boxers follow you from room to room and sit on your feet while your are in the loo! As a breed they suffer badly from separation anxiety and really spend there whole day in kennels looking up at the house..... I know - I did it.

I had two large kennel blocks built, kept most of my boxers in pairs in them. Warm, heated boxes...large runs and lots of free running but given the choice they wanted to be with me.
Slowly but surely more and more came into the house and completely integrated into the home.
Fewer stayed in the kennels and finally I gave my self a good talking to...I didnt want them in kennels... the dogs certainly prefered the house, the family the visitors, the fireside.... so I cut down the numbers I kept over the years and used the kennels as storage.

Now Cavaliers...well thats a whole new ball game...the sofa and the bed thats their choice.

I will say however, if you keep a breed which actually prefers to live with you in your home, in kennels....your conscience will get you in the end.

Dogs that are kept in a kennel are nothing but part-time pets or on-standby show-dogs.

Cracar with all due respect I have to disagree....

Trialist....excellent post....and I agree 100% with everything you have written there...to my mind its just another example of how "authorities" attempt to apply blanket criteria to what should really be Breed Specific criteria....

Some breeds of dogs like to be both with you all the time.....and outdoors in equal measure. Any lifestyle and individual set up that provides for the needs of that particular breed is heaven for them....

I know many humans and I know many dogs and there are some dog packs that I'd much rather be a part of.

Me too....humans are just so complicated..but I feel proud and honoured every day of my life.....to be an accepted member of my particular dog pack

In fact I don't know how I woud manage without my dogs around me to keep me sane...think I would probably develop my own psychological issues

> to my mind its just another example of how "authorities" attempt to apply blanket criteria to what should really be Breed Specific criteria....
>
>

It's the nature of the beast.

A collective of owners of differing breeds, giving opinions based on their own breed.....all many and varied ..... on not  'one size fits all' subjects.

Just tucking this onto the end, not replying to anyone in particular. One thing I have noticed is that 90 % of my puppy buyers come to me because my dogs don't live in kennels and my pups aren't reared in kennels. I have had so many that say they would never consider buying from somebody who does kennel.

Quite Trialist.

I wouldn't buy my chosen breed, for my family home and circumstances, from a 'kennel' but I don't think this is the ONLY way for all dogs

For instance, friends who farm will generally get their dogs (gundogs, terriers, collies) from other farmers and these may be raised in ways that some pet owners might find unsuitable.  My parents had one of their very best JR's from a local farmers barn, and one of their worst from a couple in town.  The farmer understood stockcare and breeding principles, had long lived lines, owned great-gran, gran, mum and other relatives, bred for health work and great temperament with their kids, horses and farm animals.  The couple in town just put their bitch to a friends dog and despite being raised with love and care was a complete sod to train and hated children!  He also had the worst Queen Anne legs and awful movement.

I do however think it good advice for the majority of pet owners to look for home-raised puppies - it's one way of avoiding puppy farms, and many of these owners wouldn't be able to offer the right home to an out and out 'working dog' - but we ought to be careful not to assume that 'kennel or barn dogs' are from bad breeders.  There are always exceptions

To be honest the way I would choose any pup is via the breeders reputation, the aftercare, the knowledge, the lines and understanding of their breed, whether they kept their dogs in a kennel or a home wouldn't worry me, knowing the care and attention, socialising etc they put into the litter would. At the end of the day I want a healthy, robust dog with a good temperament and to breed standard, whether the parents live in a kennel for their evening sleep or a sofa worries me not.

There is a world of difference between a puppy farmer, someone who shuts their dogs forever in crates, sheds etc or does not socialise with their dogs at all to a good owner/breeder who perhaps does not have the room or a breed/dog who is happier outdoors.

I'm pretty certain I could tell the difference the moment I walked onto a premises to view a pup, if I wasn't happy I would just about turn and walk away. Simple!

> A friend with Bernese says her dogs prefer to be outside if possible.
>

This is where I think we have to be careful - the bernese I have had love to be outside because it's cooler than indoors but they are very much a breed that needs company and although my current girl likes to be out all day watching the world go by in the garden she hates to be locked outside (sometimes we shut the door if its freezing ) when we are all inside. She would much rather be lying at your feet, curled up beside you on the chair or out for a run with you for company. I really don't think that a bernese is a breed that would be happy living in kennels 24/7.

I do know a number of farmers however that have one or two dogs that are family pets, but the others are working dogs and are kept in kennels overnight for the most part. No-one could say that these dogs have a terrible life as they have human company all day when they are working and are kenneled to sleep but are probably happier than a lot of pet owned Border Collies ( and yes I have owned a Border Collie as a pet many years ago, and she would have been far happier as a working sheepdog IMHO ).

All the puppies I have owned have been brought up in the breeder's house - except the border collie who was bought from a farmer by my brother who felt sorry for her - then ended up giving her to me!

To be honest the way I would choose any pup is via the breeders reputation, the aftercare, the knowledge, the lines and understanding of their breed, whether they kept their dogs in a kennel or a home wouldn't worry me, knowing the care and attention, socialising etc they put into the litter would.

Think this again is very breed specific to be honest as some breeds just do not do well in kennels and pups reared that way can end up with problems. Certainly my main breed needs a lot LOT more socialisation than any other breed I've ever come across.

My 6 dogs are indoors when we are or in their kennels when we are not - the oldies ( and somehow I now have three ! ) have a heated dog room   - all the dogs sleep indoors 3 in the kitchen 3 in our bedroom - when they are indoors they have access to a paved dog yard via a dog flap in the dog room and they often choose to go into their kennels themselves ( the kennels are left open when we are at home ) or if it's raining their preferred place is outside standing in the rain getting as wet as possible before coming back indoors and wiping themsleves dry on my kitchen cupboards/walls/floors etc etc . The kennels are simply an  extension to the house for them and they go in quite happily if we need to be out. 

We have a 1 acre paddock for them to run in but they won't use this unless we go out there with them - they just all congregate at the gate staring intensely at the back door until we come out -( preferably with the ball chucker ) .

Pups are born in our spare room and spend the first 3  weeks there - once we start weaning they are moved into our dining room ( tiled floor ! ) into a large puppy pen where they see all the usual household stuff plus any visitors etc and can interact safely with the adult dogs  - the dining room has access to a separate garden area so the pups can play outside if it's warm enough. 

Even though we use kennels  our dogs are certainly not viewed as 'on hold show dogs'  but as much loved members of our family !!

Yvonne

Sounds ideal, wish our house was big enough and laid out so there was separate access to outdoors.

As a dog owner I prefer to have a dog/puppy that is used to be in kennels.  Due to my work and family commitments I have to travel time to time and I find it very handy that my dog used to kennels and used to their routine.  I could leave her in the boarding kennels and I always know that she won't be stressed and will not stop eating her food.

Lots of perspective dog owners don't realise how important it is to have a dog used to kennels, until they have to travel, or even go to hospital.  I have met many dog owners who complain that they can't go anywhere or take their kids abroad because their dogs are too stressed to stay in the kennels.  Not many can afford home boarding at £20-30 per day and not everyone has a friend or relative, who cold look after the dog in their absence.  And I know one lovely but lonely elderly lady that has to keep postponing her hip replacement operation for nearly a year, as she was waited for available foster family through the charity

As a dog owner I prefer to have a dog/puppy that is used to be in kennels.  Due to my work and family commitments I have to travel time to time and I find it very handy that my dog used to kennels and used to their routine.

That would only work if you continued to kennel the pup after you got it. Being used to living in a kennel up to 8 weeks of age doesn't mean the pup can move into a home and then go into boarding kennels happily several months later -by then they will be used to living indoors.

My dog got used to live indoors, but have not forgotten kennels.  She left breeder at 10 weeks and went to boarding kennels for the first time at 9 months of age.  She was not too keen on the kennels but was not scared or overly stressed, and of course given choice now she would rather stay at home with me.

Of course boarding kennels are nothing like a dog's own home kennel, even if it is concrete and outdoors.

I am sorry but I also don't see how kennelling up to 8 weeks would help.
I have home bred dogs that absolutely don't have any problem with kennels, dogs with stable psychic will handle kennels well at any age.

Roxyandbella, your dog was fine in a kennel at 9mth cos it has a stable psychic and not nervy and not cos it remembered a kennel back from when he was 1 month old. Imho

Home bred puppies on the other hand come much better socialised, used to other pets, kids, house noises etc.

if it's raining their preferred place is outside standing in the rain getting as wet as possible before coming back indoors and wiping themsleves dry on my kitchen cupboards/walls/floors etc etc .

Trevor/Yvonne - howling with the laughter of recognition reading that!! lolz

Am not a breeder but my Ital Spinone likes to be outside; his basket's in the utility room which has one door to kitchen (dog-gated) and one door to the garden which is left open enough (on a string) for him to wander in/out as he pleases in all weather but snow or rain from the N driving in which is rare.  In the garden he has a 'Snoopy' style ridge-roofed kennel on short legs with a thick fleecy rug, and that's where he likes to be, or if the weather's fine, sitting/lying on a waterproof rug or on the grass watching the world go by.  As almost all my waking life is spent in the kitchen or on the computer in the study which pretty much butts on to the same dog-gated open door to the utility room, he has the best of both worlds - freedom to be outside during daytimes, but also coming to the dog-gate for cuddles every 10 mins (is v. affectionate). Is in at night.  He'd be bored inside during daytimes!  but as already said, they are individuals just like us, all different.