Traditionally, it has always been thought that animals are happier living outside.
However, there are opinions that suggest all dogs feel happier, healthier, and safer when they spend most of their time inside their homes living with people since they also need an intense social life.
In most of the homes in the cities, the dogs are lodged inside the apartments and they are happy.
On other occasions, where the houses have an exterior patio or garden, the doubt arises, where our German Shepherd would be better? What if you have extra company in your home? Or for reasons beyond your control, you can’t be or aren’t at home?
You may want to consider keeping it in the garage.
Really, the garage?
Leaving our German Shepherd outside the home can carry added risks, as they could escape, get lost, and be stolen or poisoned by inconsiderate people.
In addition, dogs that spend a lot of time in the garden can get bored and feel lonely and frustrated. Abnormal behaviors such as digging holes in the garden or barking excessively may result.
In other cases, they can behave too friendly with any strange person who caresses them or gives them something to eat, losing the utility of the protector of the house, if this activity is the one we are looking for them.
On the contrary, they can become excessively territorial and feel the need to protect their territory, even from family and friends.
If the German Shepherd is not allowed to enter the house on a regular basis, they may find it difficult to distinguish between family members or friends and strangers.
The garage becomes an option.
An option, if available, is to leave the German Shepherd in the garage.
This is not a very suitable place to put a dog where it can also feel isolated, with the consequent associated behavior problems.
Garages may be dark, damp, and poorly ventilated places where tools and chemicals that can be potentially harmful to curious dogs are often stored.
Making The Garage Ideal For Our German Shepherd.
If your dog is a puppy, it is normal that it cries for being in the garage, is alone, and does not see you.
This should not be a permanent solution; there exist multiple cases of people investigated for animal abuse by abandoning a dog in a garage without food or water in the past.
Nevertheless, the garage can be used as a temporary living area as long as we modify it with the minimum functional conditions for our furry friend.
A zero hazard area: we start by eliminating dangerous items from the reach of our German Shepherds like nails, screws, power tools, saws, lawn care equipment, and batteries.
Without our supervision, the German Shepherd may accidentally injure itself with sharp tools around the garage and ingest small hardware.
Also, we include the removal of chemicals such as automotive supplies like motor oil, antifreeze, paint, gasoline, windshield washer fluid, pesticides, and cleaning solvents that can be highly toxic to your dog.
Don’t just change them from the position, remove them from the garage instead.
Making the garage comfortable: think of the garage as one of those areas outside the main house where it could be characterized by extreme temperatures, where your German Shepherd would be very cold during the winter and very hot in summer.
Thankfully, we can have an easy solution for both cases.
If the garage gets cold, provide a warm bed and blankets for the German Shepherd. Create an area where the dog can be cushioned and comfortable with warm clothing.
If the garage tends to get hot, look for a fan to keep the area cooled down for your dog. Make sure the fan power cord is out of the German Shepherd’s reach and that the fan provides a protective barrier over the fan blades.
The basic need, water: always have water available for your German Shepherd. Plain and simple, make sure you have plenty of water.
Keep your German Shepherd occupied: If you have to keep the dog in the garage for a long period of time and no other option is available, keep your dog entertained in some form.
Offer a chew bone and multiple toys. If your German Shepherd becomes bored, it can become destructive.
The dog may start chewing on the shelf, tearing its bedding or even chewing on walls or panels inside the garage. A German Shepherd with options to keep itself entertained is more likely to be contained and non-destructive.
The last resort.
Think carefully and make a wise decision before considering this option, as we told before, use it as a last resort.
