Do you think domesticated pets should spend a good portion of their time in the backyard or outside in general?

Hello.You can invest in a dog/cat flapper so the specific cat or dog species can choose when to be indoors and outdoors.

I think it depends on the individual animal itself. Some have special needs & need to be indoors supervised all the time, but any normal dog or cat should have its own time outside.

If they are tied up I think its fine to put them outside but not for long periods of time. I would never just let my cat/dog just roam around. My cat got out a few days ago and that wasn’t fun thinking about wheather or not she would make it home. So I say just leash them up :-)

I live in a very rural place, surrounded by grassland. My neighbors have horses there. My cat is able to go outside through a cat flap and visit the horses.

I think that cats in safe, rural environment should be ale to go out, while cats in urban areas with heavy traffic should be kept inside. Cats do not usually obey commands and training a cat to walk on a leash is very difficult. There are rare exceptions, but most cats cannot be trained that way. Cats that go out on their own should always be spayed or neutered. Otherwise they tend to run far away and reproduce infinitely.

A dog needs to be able to walk and run in a manner that is species-appropriate. While a small chi-hua-hua should be fine with two or three walks around the block per day, a greyhound needs to run far and fast. If you have a lot of land where it is safe for your dog to run and roam, you can let the dog out on its own. If you do not have that much land, you should take walks with the dog. If the dog is obedient, you can go without a leash where that is legal, if the dog is not obedient you should use a leash.

A family decision considering the Best interests

Outside in General. I find that dogs are happier going for walks etc than staying in a backyard. Just like us they also get cooped up and need their exercise. As for cat’s don’t they decide where they go in anyways?