Originally Posted by Britster (Post 3301722)

To me, it seems more unfair even if someone only owns 2-4 dogs, but if they are never walked, or trained, etc, that's worse to me. I am dogsitting this weekend for a stylist at my moms salon who has 4 dogs... two Pugs who are 8 months old and 2 Dachshunds who are 12 and 13. They live in a small townhouse with no backyard, they work from 8-5 where the dogs stay in the crate, sometimes longer, and dogs get put back in their crate at 7:30-9am the next morning. They are only out of their crates on most days from 5-7:30pm. That's it. They don't get sufficient exercise, these are the most HYPER dogs I have EVER met. I can't even put their collar on them. They tug and tug and choke themselves. If a person walks by, the Dachshunds pull all the way out on their annoying flexi lead and try to bite their ankles and nip at other dogs. They are never calm, they are fighting, barking, marking all over things, all the boys are unaltered as far as I can tell (3 boys/1 girl), but it's not their fault they're like that. To me, that is worse than someone owning 10+ dogs who are being taken care of properly. I could never live in a house where dogs were behaving like that all the time. I wish I had more time with these dogs actually because I'd love to implement some training into their lives, even a basic sit would be nice.

Originally Posted by QuickSilver (Post 3302151)

That is *awful*. 2.5 hours out of their crates per day? Honestly, I think that is abusive. :(

BTW, most flexi leashes can lock and function as a fixed length as well.

Originally Posted by Lizzie07 (Post 3301855)

I have seven dogs and three cats. I feed premium food (primal raw at the moment) and four of the dogs are under the care of an internist, so I feel I am getting the best vet care I possibly can. Oh, and one is also under the care of an opthamologist in addition to the internist. We don't live in a mansion, but I do have a home on 3/4 of an acre with a fenced yard. The yard is clean, I can't stand it when people don't clean up after their dogs and I KNOW my home is cleaner and neater than most homes with two or three children. Also, my yard is one of the nicest in my neighborhood.

My cats live inside, but have a screened porch to enjoy the outdoors in and a cat tower to enjoy. Two of the dogs are in agility classes and two of the four senior dogs have agility titles. Five of the dogs are rescues, including Lizzy. Six are Italian Greyhounds. I don't have children, so I guess they do fulfill some maternal instinct/feelings in me. I love taking care of them.

I had someone at work "jokingly" call me a hoarder, to which I replied I thought she was more of one for having three pets who weren't very well cared for by my standards. When you say unkind things to people, don't expect kind replies. :mad: Her dog spends it's days outside in the backyard and because of barking all night, gets stuck in a crate all night. Her cats run loose and she had one disappear and the other died at a young age from unknown causes, then she went out and replaced them.

My dogs are clean, live in the house and are well behaved. They get their nails trimmed, teeth brushed and ears cleaned regularly. Lizzy (YT) is bathed once a week. They are feed 2x a day from clean bowls. There are also three large bowls of water that get changed at least every day, but usually twice per day.

I don't consider myself a hoarder. I consider myself someone who loves animals and enjoys spending the majority of my time with them, because with as many as I have, it is a lifestyle choice and there's no way a person can take care of this many unless they spend the time to do it. Most of my closest friends are like me, too. :D