I really have to wonder why some people get dogs. It’s not like they seem to want one; maybe they feel obligated, or it’s just the thing to do. They’re not Michael Vick, but they don’t seem to appreciate that a dog is a living being and should have it better than a piece of furniture. I’ll provide two examples that I observe every day because they are my neighbors.
One bought the current canine as a replacement for the last one that died. Maybe it was the sake of continuity, but it sure wasn’t for the sake of the dog–or the neighbors. I won’t mention the brand name, but you know it. They had an electronic pen installed around the yard after they got dog number two. It’s important to understand that this dog is at least part border collie, meaning she needs to get out and run around. Yet her world is limited to the house and the yard. I can’t say for sure, in this case, if they ever take her anywhere. From my observation, the only time she gets beyond her yard is when the battery in the receiver dies. Because she cannot get out, they only bothered to house train her; nothing more, it seems. She won’t poop in the house, thank goodness, but when they let her out, at all times of the day and night, she walks around the yard, sniffing, and barking incessantly. I think she’s stir crazy! No one at her house seems to care. What fun to be around. I should mention, to put things fully in perspective, that these folks are the center of the known universe, and absolutely everything is always about them.
The other neighbor also has (what a shock!) that same pen around the yard. They got their dog (a chocolate lab, another dog that needs to run) several years ago as, apparently, a companion for granny. But granny died three years ago, and the dog stays cooped up in the house until someone shows up to let her out. If this is at night, she also barks–and howls, oh, joy. Then she wants to get right back in after taking care of business. A house dog. She also puts on weight and then loses it, again and again. No exercise. No one plays with this dog. She spends most of her time alone, no longer anyone’s companion. Might as well be a chair.
There used to be a lot of dogs in this neighborhood. There were no leash laws then and certainly no artificial boundaries. They ran free, and casualties were actually rare. Of course, traffic volume was much lower then, too. But at least those dogs got the attention they needed–from everyone.
Dogs just want to have fun.