Quote:
Originally Posted by canana  On the topic of outside dogs.
I have never owned a larger dog, but personally I would not be able to leave them outside. It feels too sad...but I know there are many who own homes who leave their big dogs outside.
But...just to vent on the side, in my neighborhood of dog friendly condos, there's one ground-floor unit that has a beautiful Samoyed dog who permanently stays in this small 4' x 10' patio in his small igloo-style dog bed.
I cringe every time I walk by that unit and pray to God that the owners take it for a walk several times a day. Otherwise it doesn't seem to get any human interaction (I'm not monitoring it 24/7 but I've never seen it not on the patio) and unlike a house with a backyard, it literally sleeps all day in that very very small confined space.
At first, the dog bed was faced so that people who walked by could see the dog inside. Now, the owners have turned the bed around, so you can't see the dog anymore, nor can the dog see anything but a wall.
It's so sad....
Is this considered animal cruelty?? I mean, it has shelter food and water. But it's confined to such a small space...for such a big dog.  |
Well, as you said, you don't monitor it all day so hopefully, he does get to go on walks and come inside to interact with the family. Perhaps he is just there during the day when they are at work. it's probably more humane then forcing them to stay in a crate all day or in a house where they can't go to the bathroom if they need to. Pee pads don't work to well when a dog lets out a quart or two of urine. Also, you have never seen damage until you come home to a completely demolished sofa with fluff all over the place.It not ideal but most people have to work to provide for themselves and their dogs and that generally means the dog is going to be left alone for several hours a day.
They are OK, they feel like our babies but they are not, and if they could talk they are probably nowhere near as impressed with our presence as we think they are. My dog snuggles up to me for a few minutes then he disappears in the house doing whatever unless I am actively playing with him, he'd love to go outside and chase birds and dig holes but we have raccoons and tough stray cats twice his size, so he is only allowed outside supervised when I am around.