We have a backyard but it's full of compost...tomatoes, etc, and AFAIK, that stuff is not good for the dog, so we did not let him in the back.

I share similar outlooks with ARD, and if I was to take a member in, I did not want it to become something I just walked and fed in the mornings and nights. It should have someone there in it's life to play, etc.....and at the end of the day, after much hemming and hawing, that is just not something we can give it at this time.