Friend Ties Up Dog

[Sarah in SC]

Thanks for the educational efforts--sometimes people just don't know better.
We had a sad story when some neighbors, who purported to love their animals very much, had a dog die a gruesome death from just this practice.

The dog was notorious for getting out of their fence, so they made an overhead cable run for the dog, attached to the dog's collar. Only problem was, they didn't use a swivel clip and the dog twisted up on the line, shortening it as she went, until she suffocated. Horrible, horrible, horrible. We cut the dog down. <shudder>

That dog died for want of a $2 swivel clip. I'm glad you saved this sweetheart and perhaps you can tell them our story. I hope that those folks we knew back then continue to be haunted by that dog's agonizing end.

 

[Dawg52]

Right. We'd enjoy it, but for me, there are too many disadvantages.

He slept in our bedroom last night. There was a lot of snoring, bad smells, and farting. And then we let the dog in!

I was about to say.... my dog doesn't smell bad or let out bad odors and he sleeps with me. Occasionaly he leaves the room though.

 

[Stevewc]

Right. We'd enjoy it, but for me, there are too many disadvantages.

He slept in our bedroom last night. There was a lot of snoring, bad smells, and farting. And then we let the dog in!

You are a hoot big Al
Maybe your not as good a trainer as you thought
If this is an outside dog you may need to spend some quality time with indoor manors training.
Taking a bath now and then might be on the list too

 

[REWahoo]

Taking a bath now and then might be on the list too

Yeah, I'm sure Lena would appreciate it if you'd see fit to clean yourself up occasionally.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

You guys had some great posts there! Lots of laughs. Too funny Al. Made me think of my daughter who has seven dogs. German Shepard, American bulldog, a mutt and four Chihuahuas. All sleep with her and her hubby except the German Shepard "Gunny" (named after my SIL's military rank), the bulldog and one standoffish Chihuahua. She has MS and the dogs keep her going. She loves them and they adore her. Gunny senses the problem and is very protective of her. We all love our dogs and hate to have them not treated well.

T/Al, how can you ignore the look on that dogs face? "Please take me! Can I be yours? Please Al--PLEASE!"

 

[TromboneAl]

Just to finish up: the owner came to pick him up. She says it was the first time that she tethered him, and she did it because he marks all around the back yard. The kennel was full, and her neighbor who usually watches the dog was out.

She didn't know it was against the law or bad, but she does now.

She assured me that he's always in the house with the family when they are home.

 

[Purron]

Good news. You handled this very well.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Just to finish up: the owner came to pick him up. She says it was the first time that she tethered him, and she did it because he marks all around the back yard. The kennel was full, and her neighbor who usually watches the dog was out.

She didn't know it was against the law or bad, but she does now.

She assured me that he's always in the house with the family when they are home.

She didn't know it was against the law to tie up a dog for THREE days? Sounds like she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. If you can't tie up your child for three days for making a mess all over the house with their toys, why would you think that it's okay to tie up your dog outside exposed to the weather for three days!!!

Gee, if my DH and I want to go on vacation and can't find any room at the kennel or friends to watch our dog, guess what? WE STAY HOME...duh.

Sounds like your "friends" are still complete morons and I wouldn't want to be friends with people who don't have two marbles in the brain department to rub together. Yes, I am an animal lover and it burns me up to hear of stories like this.

 

[saluki9]

Sounds like your "friends" are still complete morons and I wouldn't want to be friends with people who don't have two marbles in the brain department to rub together. Yes, I am an animal lover and it burns me up to hear of stories like this.

Yep, they would no longer be friends of mine

 

[Orchidflower]

People all over the country are abandoning their homes and leaving their animals behind to fend for themselves now. I guess on Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs, animals rate waaay down there. Maybe the care we take of those who can't fend well for themselves should be the way we rate civilization? And it ain't shinin' too bright during this Recession to me. Just IMHO.

 

[TromboneAl]

BTW, the owner called to tell me how grateful she was that I gave her the printouts on tethering and dog walking. That was nice, since it's rare for someone to express gratitude when you give them unsolicited advice.

She said she's thrown away the tether and stake.

 

[harley]

Good thing nobody ever listens to me.

You handled this really well, Al. Congratulations.

 

[tmm99]

Al,

You did great..especially for this particuar dog, and I'm sure he appreciates it that he will never have to be all chained up in knots.

BTW, you have bunnies (or a bunny?), right? How did they get along?

 

[Purron]

BTW, the owner called to tell me how grateful she was that I gave her the printouts on tethering and dog walking. That was nice, since it's rare for someone to express gratitude when you give them unsolicited advice.

She said she's thrown away the tether and stake.

Great! So happy it worked out. Animal shelters and rescue groups already have more homeless pets than they can handle. It's so much better when people can be educated on how to responsibly care for their pets. You did a wonderful job handling this situation T-Al. If you lived in Virginia, I'd be trying to talk you into volunteering at the shelter I work with.

 

[skyvue]

I grew up in rural southern Ohio. Most people had farms and lots of land and at least one dog. Almost everyone I knew had a dog house outside and the dog chained to the house or tree next to it. Some of the dogs would get let lose during the day and others (if they were hunting dogs) would only get let loose at night when they were going coon hunting. This was/is the "norm" not the exception where I grew up. Very few people allowed their dogs in their homes.

The dogs were well feed and treated kindly and didn't seem to mind being chained to the tree. I am a little surprised at the outrage on here.

You simply could not let your dogs "run free" in this environment because you would find them 5 miles away due to chasing various kind of game (deer mostly). Also hard to "fence in" the dog because most people have 100+ acres and thus no need for "fences" between you and the next farm/house.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Sky, there were many things done in years past that would be considered reprehensible behavior today. I'll spare you a list.
Suffice it to say that most enlightened people would think chaining dogs is not only illegal, but cruel as well. Regardless of their upbringing.
In my parents' rural town, dogs and children didn't get vaccinations and I'm pretty sure they think both are a good idea now.

 

[skyvue]

Sky, there were many things done in years past that would be considered reprehensible behavior today. I'll spare you a list.
Suffice it to say that most enlightened people would think chaining dogs is not only illegal, but cruel as well. Regardless of their upbringing.
In my parents' rural town, dogs and children didn't get vaccinations and I'm pretty sure they think both are a good idea now.

I understand the sentiment but tell me how you would keep a dog at home at night on a large farm without chaining it up or tying it up in some form? (Fenced in yard or area?)

Again, I am not talking about a lap dog but a hunting hound or other type normally found on farms.

 

[donheff]

This thread reminds me of an incident from about 10 years ago. DW and I always have a Golden Retriever and usually two so they are never alone. About once a week we walk them to a local diner for breakfast and leash them out front where we can see them from the window. We frequently talked to another couple who ate there about the same time as us and were fellow dog lovers. When the older dog died we were set to adopt a dog from the local Golden Rescue branch. We happened to talk to the couple in the restaurant about our application. Two days later we were called by Golden Rescue and told we were disqualified from ever adopting from them because we were reported for leaving our dogs chained up unattended. We said that was absolutely untrue and they cited the restaurant as "an example." They were uninterested in the fact that the dogs loved going there (because of the bacon) and were always in sight. Who knows - reading this thread I suppose it is possible (because of the territorial issues T-Al mentioned) that even tethering dogs in sight but out of immediate reach is a problem. If so, you would think the couple would have talked to us about the problem when we were talking dogs. Unfortunately, Golden Rescue ruled out one of the world's great dog lovers in DW and a reasonably close second in me. Interestingly, we never saw the rat-squealers in the diner again after the incident.

 

[TromboneAl]

BTW, you have bunnies (or a bunny?), right? How did they get along?

No, you're thinking of Nords. People often confuse us, but you can tell us apart because he's the one with the pony tail.

 

[FUEGO]

Hypothetical animal cruelty question:

A "friend" left his momma cat and newborn kitten at home for 8 days in his condo while he went to New York for vacation. This "friend" left plenty of water out, plenty of dry cat food, and enough wet cat food to last for roughly the amount of time until it would spoil. And the toilet seat was left up. And an extra litter box was left out.

Animal cruelty?

 

[tmm99]

No, you're thinking of Nords. People often confuse us, but you can tell us apart because he's the one with the pony tail.

So sorry, Nords (wait, sorry, I meant Al).

My brain cells definitely misfired on this one.

 

[Purron]

Hypothetical animal cruelty question:

A "friend" left his momma cat and newborn kitten at home for 8 days in his condo while he went to New York for vacation. This "friend" left plenty of water out, plenty of dry cat food, and enough wet cat food to last for roughly the amount of time until it would spoil. And the toilet seat was left up. And an extra litter box was left out.

Animal cruelty?

Leaving a healthy adult for 2-3 days would be OK. Leaving a cat for 8 days with a newborn kitten? Not OK.

 

[FUEGO]

Leaving a healthy adult for 2-3 days would be OK. Leaving a cat for 8 days with a newborn kitten? Not OK.

My friend said it turned out very well in hindsight.

This explains why my friend isn't a big animal person. Luckily my friend is a better parent than animal caretaker.

 

[tmm99]

And the toilet seat was left up.

.... for??

 

[FUEGO]

.... for??

An endless supply of fresh water.