# Potential Health problem for the past few weeks, I have been leaving kelly in the yard when I goto class. The screen door to my room is open so that she can come back in for food/water or rest. So far everything has been okay. No damages or accidents. Well today i decided to spy on her to see what she does in the backyard.… ## Thread In Health · started by wliu003 · 10 replies - **Category:** [Health](https://nihonken.org/community/c/health) - **Forum:** [Nihon Ken Forum](https://nihonken.org/community/) ## wliu003 · 2009-02-19T21:27:10.000Z for the past few weeks, I have been leaving kelly in the yard when I goto class. The screen door to my room is open so that she can come back in for food/water or rest. So far everything has been okay. No damages or accidents. Well today i decided to spy on her to see what she does in the backyard. And she was licking dirt so i ran out to correct her and i found a dead bird. I am guessing she either killed the bird via hunting or the bird just dropped in. Anyways I am wondering if there are any health concerns that I should be aware about. ## JessicaRabbit (admin) · 2009-02-19T21:36:48.000Z In regards to health, I would contact your vet and get their input. There may be things that could be of concern, and a vet would know better than we would. I would also STRONGLY discourage leaving any dog (but especially a shiba) in a yard unattended. Besides them getting into things like dead birds, toxic plants, and/or god knows what else. Dog napping is an ever increasing crime. And not just people looking for a new pet, also dog fighters looking for bait dogs. Please consider keeping Kelly inside. ## sunyata · 2009-02-19T21:49:50.000Z I agree with Jess. On both accounts. I would contact your vet, she will be able to advise you of any symptoms to watch out for if something should go amiss. Also, leaving a Shiba unattended is, unfortunately, asking for trouble. The thought of leaving my girls unattended outside makes me ill. There are lots of things that they could get into that are bad, they could also escape (as they are known escape artists, and there are people who would maliciously take your dog. Obviously, it is your decision, as she is your girl, but it is always good to remember that there are bad things that happen to good dogs. :( ## JessicaRabbit (admin) · 2009-02-19T22:01:30.000Z I will never ever ever leave one of my dogs unattended even indoors in my home ever again. Remember my dog Moto died getting into something in my kitchen overnight. There are just too many variables to consider in an unattended outdoor setting. Both Miko and Piglet are confined whenever I step out of my house or go to bed. Please be careful...I would not wish the loss of a young healthy pet on my worst enemy. ## lingmorton · 2009-02-19T22:08:05.000Z yeah i agree with every1, leaving shibas outside is risky and dangerous. i supervise them each time they are out in the yard, but a couple of times cos i was late for work in the morning, i left them out and peeked at them through the window as i get ready for work, i saw them digging by the fence, i also saw my neighbors lil kid trying to feed them sticks and leaves. def not a good idea to just leave the shibas out unattended, esp for long periods of time ## Sangmort (moderator) · 2009-02-19T22:53:03.000Z 2nd / 3rd / 4th all that's been said here, very sound advice. ~ ## TeamLaika · 2009-02-20T00:15:01.000Z Go ahead and check with Kelly's DVM, but I can't think of too many problems with a dead bird. There are some parasite issues with scavenging, so a routine fecal or prophylactic deworming is in order for dogs that tend to ingest wildlife. Guska once was treated for an intestinal fluke. Flukes always have a snail as part of their life cycle so he likely ended up with it after ingesting a bird or amphibian. The only other issue I can think of would be with rodents that had succumbed to rodenticide and bumbled into the yard. My dogs manage to kill things on a regular basis. Heck they can be leashed and still kill things! They are known for zipping out on a flexi lead and coming back with something dead. Last week they killed a raccoon. They have dispatched coons, opossums, birds, squirrels, groundhogs, rabbits, bullfrogs, mice, moles, etc. No ill effects so far aside from some mild scrapes from the raccoons. They are just so dismayed when I won't let them bring their 'prizes' into the house. That's the way it goes when you live with hunting dogs. By the way, mine aren't permitted outside without some supervision either...they are accomplished escape artists! If we are in a suitable rural location and far away from car-filled roads and things like chickens, they can be free but I use a tracking collar! ## wliu003 · 2009-02-20T01:17:14.000Z Thanks for everyones advices, it is always better to be safe than sorry. However, to ease everyone's mind a little, our backyard is just concrete and grass, there is no plants or trees to mess with. its mainly just grass. the brick wall 6 foot and it would be an absolute miracle if she can climb out from the tops. I am a pretty cautious person, i would not have left her by herself if there were an abundance of plants and trees, or a convenient way to escape. Even with that said, there is no guarantee that she is completely safe, so I do appreciate everyone's concern and will reconsider my decision to leave her unsupervised. Because of the lack of obstacles in our backyard, i was really really shocked when I found the bird. My vet kind of shrugged it off. he said that to be sure I can submit a fecal sample. I was going to do a fecal at 1 year (she is near 10 months) so instead of waiting another two I will probably just get that done now. ## JessicaRabbit (admin) · 2009-02-20T11:42:09.000Z Unless your brick wall is over six feet I would still reconsider leaving her alone. I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous it is to underestimate the tenacity of a shiba inu. ## lepercann · 2009-02-20T16:01:10.000Z Everyone thinks I am overprotective of Triton because I stand and watch him outside when he goes to the bathroom. Shibas are so cute and even though we are in such a nice neighborhood, I wouldn't want someone to think he was adorable and take him. I would never forgive myself. It's nice that none of you would leave your Shibas alone outside either! ## Kirbysmom · 2009-02-20T19:12:14.000Z I would NEVER leave my dog outside in the yard alone, when we aren't home!! True story: We have a nice fenced in back yard, and we had 3 dogs then. Well, there is a house that gets rented across the street in the summer, and I believe (I say believe, because I didn't see them do it.), that one of those people let my dogs out of the yard!! Thank God the dogs didn't get hit by a car or get lost. But boy was I scared AND angry. There is no way the dogs could have let themselves out either. Since then, we have a nice little locking system on that gate. --- **Navigate:** [Forum home](https://nihonken.org/community/?format=md) · [Sitemap](https://nihonken.org/community/sitemap.xml)