We moved here in January. The cat was use to being outside whenever he wanted and the dog had 3 acres. The cat loves the lanai and fence. Makes him feel safe. He comes in at night. The dog had a hard time not having his running space at first. He loves his walks and the neighbors. Wait on a villa or Veranda. You will all be happier. We also almost jumped the gun and bought without the walls. Our agent told us he did not think we would be happy. He was so right. The walls are alot more pet friendly because more people have dogs. We love it here. Good luck.

My two cents as well
 

We had what seems to be a similar situation, moving from a half-acre property where we did walk our dog twice a day but also just opened the back door and let her do her thing. We debated about the walled in & fenced in properties, which would have been fine for the dog but not so fine for us. Instead we went to the area just above 466 and bought a property with lots of open area facing a pond. Yes, we let our dogs (one large 65-pounder, one small & quite old schitzu) outside in the back without a leash, but due to having even more predators than we had up north (up there it was primarily coyote & fox; here we've had lots of fox, some coyote, neighbors have seen bobcats at night, & yes there was a gator for a while), they are NEVER unsupervised. We are also in the midst of expanding our lanai so that they can be out in the air (if not in the grass) without supervision.

Moving with dogs
 

There are walls or fences in certain area in TV would be great for your dogs. There dog parks to go too. Be with dogs outside all times for their protection. I walk my dog and we visit neighbors with dog and play outside together while we watch. Stay on leash running around playing.My actually go to house and bark to come out to play. I just watch my surroundings because we do have wildlife looking for food. Just learn from neighbors what they have seen in that area. I see bobcats as big as large dog where I live.

Sarcasm
 

Watch out for leaping lizards, they like dogs. Also there are gorillas that escaped during hurricane Andrew that are still around, so get pet protector spray (sold at Lowes) when you walk your dogs. Your dogs will be OK if you do this and the only thing you will have to worry about are the pop-up coral snakes.

Just kidding of course. We moved here with our two pups and they couldn’t be happier. There were some routines that became ingrained and things we did since we arrived:

We walk our dogs early at day break to avoid the sun baked asphalt
We found a vet and kennel that were readily available
We registered our dogs at the county building
We had new name tags made
We take our dogs to the dog park once and a while
We bought lots of poop bags and have our dog food delivered from Chewy
And we always leash our dogs when they travel in the golf cart

I hope you find something suitable for you, and I encourage you to enjoy the villages. It was one of the best calls we ever made.

PS. There is little to no pet foot wiping required here. It is a definite plus.

Walking dogs
 

Hit the nail on the head. Our last dog passed 15 years ago and decided not to replace her. She couldn’t be replaced anyway. We wanted to travel more in our retirement and that was another major deciding factor. If we change our minds regarding another dog, our home would definitely be fenced. We have seen several dog owners here who are irresponsible dog owners and that has shed a “bad light” on the majority who are good dog owners. Perhaps this was there first “rodeo” who knows.

I always walk my dog but bought a home with a fenced yard because with the summer heat and thunderstorms I didn’t want to be out in either to walk my dog. Much easier to open door and let her out!

A threat I have not seen mentioned is drowning. During the thirty some odd years I have lived in Florida, three of my friends and neighbors have loss their dogs to accidental drowning in their pool. Another neighbor loss their puppy to a cayote when the puppy was left unattended inside an invisible fence. The vast number of animals are lost because they stray or are stolen from their home.

Blue ----- You are correct that we hear very few reports of small animals being injured or killed by predators. Unfortunately, it does happen here in TVs; possibly more frequently than we have heard. We have 2 dogs, and they are always on a short leash whenever they are outside. I know how I'd feel if one were injured or killed by a predator because I thought it couldn't happen in our neighborhood.

We had two Yorkie but now only one Lasa. A Courtyard villa NOT backing up to a golf course would answer your need. You can get a 3 bedroom 2 bath with a glass enclosed lanai and possibly a larger garage and or birdcage. Just takes a bit to find the right one. Also look for a bond paid deal and maybe already furnished if decor suits you

Thank you!!!! They are making our home sound like Jurassic Park. A courtyard villa would do him and his pooches just fine

Dogs
 

In my opinion, your dogs have been used to a measure of freedom. Such a measure is not available here - any fenced yards are small. Your dogs will feel as if they have moved to a place of relative imprisonment. It is up to you to decide if good treatment of your beloved dogs is important enough for you to move somewhere where their freedom is not significantly decreased.

And certainly, if you do move here, I believe you must be prepared at the very least to walk them, on the required lease, regularly. Or else be prepared to see your dogs really suffer from a new level of confinement.

But this is me...I would not live here with a dog, no matter it's size as I believe they are animals who need freedom to move about in more than a small yard and/or small house.

Please no trolls who think differently from me - everyone is entitled to their beliefs.

Amen to all of that. Early walks on cooler roads, poop bags, tags, maybe chipped, good vet and kennel, golf cart restraints. All good advice

I have a designer house with a fenced in yard. I am thinking of selling but can’t until February. I live in the village of DeSoto. If you are interested.

We have 2 small dogs under 16 pounds. I wanted a 4 bedroom veranda, but couldn't find one (or win the lottery system ) on the ones we liked, so we opted for a Designer home on a pond. Love the view, but am definitely aware of potential predators. Mine have a fenced yard now, but they only go out to do their business. We plan on landscaping the side yard a bit for them and putting one of those corkscrew things you put in the grass with a leash on it so they can sniff and walk around. I still won't leave them out there alone. I plan to sit out with them or take them for walks.

I'm sorry....but I beg to differ.

We lived in Northern Wisconsin for many years. My neighbor has live footage of a brand newborn fawn being lifted off the ground by a huge eagle. He made 3 attempts to lift that fawn up to it's nest and unfortunately he dropped it mid-air into the lake in the process.
The mother dear was frantic and running up and down the shoreline...very sad.

Another co-worker of mine left his ****zu dog on the deck to go potty and 6 minutes later he heard a ruckus, went to open the deck door, and witnessed his dog screaming as he was being carried off by an eagle latching on to his collar.

Another neighbor here in Florida, was walking her new Teddy Bear ****zu puppy in her back yard and the neighborhood hawk actually had the nerve to swoop down on her and try to get that puppy. The women screamed, grabbed that puppy and ran for the house ! The hawk actually did scratch her shoulder in the process of her grabbing her dog. Very real, Very scary !

I'm keenly aware of large birds overhead when I'm out hiking with our dogs, it's a genuine threat to small animals in my opinion because I witnessed it.