I think you've hit it, Chrys. In our world, most of our dogs spend a majority of their time in our big plushy carpeted crates (our house) and get to go on safe mini adventures for walks and hikes and play with one another safely in their own yard... I have one beautifully broken male shiba and one exuberant female shiba who has really known no harm in her lifetime with me (since 3.5 months old). I do not feel they are missing out on that much, I spend tons of quality time with them; playing, grooming, petting, napping, talking, training, walking, exploring the yard, chasing squirrels - quality things we do together as a unit. I truly believe that if I expected my male to have off leash adventures, the stress and anxiety from the non structure would hurt more than help him. I don't say that to make me feel better, its the honest truth.. its not in his best interest to ever put him in that situation. And yet there is that constant "am I doing enough" feeling, truly based on situations I see or read about (yes, not-as-sappy-as-it-seems-but-I-still-cried Merle's Door), but compared to dogs I have encountered in the rescue realm or just chained in their own backyard... my dogs have it pretty damn good, even if they are always leashed.
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And yet
there is that constant "am I doing enough" feeling, truly based on situations I see or read about (yes, not-as-sappy-as-it-seems-but-I-still-cried Merle's Door), but compared to dogs I have encountered in the rescue realm or just chained in their own backyard... my dogs have it pretty damn good, even if they are always leashed.