I don't understand, the OP stated the garage is insulated, but NOT heated or has a/c!! So to me who cares that it's insulated?? Houses are insulated, but if you don't have heat or air they get hot & cold!
I'm sorry, but when we adopted Camden at 2 1/2yrs she was in a garage and I thought it was awful!
I know that people have clean garages, but it is where a lot of people store chemicals for the house & lawn. It does have a cold, hard concrete surface.
I don't get why they don't have an xpen or something IN the house where they keep the puppy when they aren't home or can't supervise them!
I feel sorry for this little puppy. I think way too many people buy puppies without thinking through all the work involved, so sad!

It IS awful. I agree with you - why bring a pet into your life and ignore it ... To me - and this is going to sound mean but it's LAZY :( ...for someone to throw a dog out into a garage all ALONE due to inability of training tells me they really don't need a dog in their life. I stated alone because I know others have 'outside' dog houses who breed etc - but this puppy will be all alone. Which leads to stress and worse behavior - he's never going to be socialized let alone trained if left all by himself for hours and hours

Exactly! The people who we got Crosley from kept her in the basement because they felt she was hyper and barked a lot (she was 3 months old.) It was lazy, they didn't want to fool with or take the time to train her. I think a lot of people get caught up in how cute and adorable a puppy is and do very little if any research on what kind of work and commitment is involved!
Children don't train themselves and neither do dogs!

I like Karrie's suggestions. I don't know these people like you do...but maybe trying to offer suggestions to cope with the new puppy will make them more willing to give up the puppy if they need to. Often people don't realize the work involved in raising a good companion. If they feel judged they might get defensive and not ask for help until it is too late.

that's a great point and you're right :)

Yep! That was exactly my point! They just wanted a status symbol dog :mad: People like this are ignorant! Perhaps they'd do better with a pet squirrel that lives off NUTS!!!

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I cannot believe this thread. First of all, someone mentioned an insulated, heated, and air conditioned garage that cars are not kept it. How many garages have you been in that are like that? I think that IF a person has a garage like that, they have simply converted it to part of their home...as in a family room.....so I would not exactly call it a garage.

The OP clearly in her first post was concerned for good reason. First of all this puppy should still be with its momma and littermates. Bad enough it was taken from them much too soon....now it lives by itself in a garage?!?!? My money says this poor puppy is going to have socialization issues. Very sad. My son has a yorkie that I fostered about five years ago...he lived in a shed with a doggy door. Supposedly it was heat and a/c controlled. Had to be really since this is Texas and I doubt he would have survived. Oh..the people sometimes let him in the house...but they could not stand the smell of urine and he spent most of his time outside. He has emotional issues now and drinks and piddles excessively. We thought he had diabetes insipidus...and did a complete workup on him. It is ALL emotional. Very sweet boy who had a rough beginning in his life.

The debate about the type of garage really floors me. The bottom line is this puppy is getting a terrible start in life.

Ever heard of an ex-pen for when gone? If sleeping then a crate is appropriate. A garage is isolation and no puppy or dog eve should be isolated. The dog is not being watched for or taught properly how to, and where to go potty.

If you really see nothing wrong with sticking a puppy in a garage then I really feel sorry for your puppy.:confused:

hmm.. most people I know park their cars in their garages and store chemicals in their garages....

It always warms my heart when I hear of someone like you offering to do all those things for that sweet little baby. Hopefully you will get Chloe soon and give her the love she so deserves.

:thumbs26:

I agree...and I will pray that it is sooner rather than later.

Tell you what, why don't *YOU* go inside your garage, and close it up. Spend several hours there. Come out for a while at dinner time, then go back in it all night long to sleep. Come out to eat breakfast, then go back in the garage all day while your "friends" that you depend on for your survival go to work all day. See how that feels and get back to us, OK?

Most people were making assumptions when they clearly did not have sufficient facts about the owners and the way they care for their new yorkie or don't care for it in that matter as well as the conditions of this persons garage and true sound facts as to if it is safe to keep small animals in a garage or not under all kinds of circumstances (working, training, extended periods of time, heated, air conditioned, so on and so on).The first post from the OP was vague and lacked details, but yet all these assumptions were being made unfairly may I state.

A dog needs to be with it's family - they are social animals. Its not natural for a dog to be isolated and yes it causes behaivoral problems. No one is denying that at all. I'd like to repeat because I know some don't get it the fist time around. No one is denying that it's not natural or humane for a dog to be isolated and locked up! But really does anyone here know who much time the owner spends with this new puppy or doesn't spend with this new puppy for that matter? Does anyone know what the garage looks like or the conditions of the garage? Does anyone here work and leave their puppy alone when at work - are you an evil owner too for doing so? Does anyone know if the owner has a dog walker who walks this puppy when at work, or a puppy sitter? I'm sure the answers to all those questions are NO.

A teammate of my fiance's has a border collie and she LOVES the garage. It's a luxury garage though and I don't blame the dog.:) The garage is accessible through the kitchen and the border would spend hours in the garage even as a puppy! My fiance's friend and wife would leave the door open and NOPE she liked the garage wouldn't even budge even on command to come inside! The puppy still was provided care and attention and tons of mental stimulation and tons of time was spent with it. Obviously the garage was at the time and obviously still is clean of any chemicals, is heated and has AC, it's never too hot or cold or drafty, it's ventilaed and has a fresh clean water (actually a luxury puppy faucet that you people wouldn't believe) and a soft warm bed, a large screen TV, a bar, it's well lit and they also installed a doggie door leading into the kitchen. Because this room was their pride and joy's favorite part of their property they updated it to the max - I won't even tell you how much money they spent in renovating it and making it a true puppy palace. Let's just say they spent more than 2 million dollars on the garage. I'll have to get a picture of it, so everyone can see and tell me if they would like to spend their time in their too or not!! Now I'm not saying that the OP garage is like my fiance's teammates or anywhere close to it, but what if it's nice. What if it's like another room in the house. What if it's accessible to the house with a doggie door leading into the house? What if it's an appropriate temperature. What if it's safe - no cars or chemical and well ventilated and so on and so on.....I see no problem with that whatsoever! In addition what if the OP still provides mental stimilation to the dog, plays with it when it gets home from work or before leaving for work. What if they have a pet sitter too or a dog walker. Are they still evil? Are my fiance friends evil too?

What makes me angry is that before being so nasty and opinated and saying such terrible things about anyone one should factor into consideration and into their statements that it is based on an assumption so the conclusion of their statements may be in error. Of course one can judge the accuracy of ones fact and the probability of the accuracy of ones assumptions, and this should be factored into conlcusion when ascertaining the probability of accuracy of said conclusion. However, I didn't see any comment posted on here doing that at all. As someone who has 6yrs post ivy leaque education in psychology assumptions are the operating principle behind self-fulfilling prophecies and those with low levels of emotional intelligence and ultra egos. There were a ton of assumptions made on this forum - including me being a bad pet owner! I won't even go there though or comment on that poster. If your assumption is sound and correct.. then it's a good thing, but assuming someone is bad because they are different from you or do something different from you .. is not a good thing.. they will sense your hostility.. you wont get along.. and might miss out on a great opportunity or friendship. Not only do we believe our assumptions about what other people are thinking or the type of person they are without really knowing, but then we end up taking those assumptions personally and even end up resenting the person. All of this over an assumption.

The real problem here is not that a dog is kept in a garage (provided it's a safe garage and all), but by the sounds of it the person is away from home for too many hours. A life of solitude and isolation is cruel.