Should dogs be alone all day/night?

I've had a couple of neighbours that work and own dogs,my next door neighbour has a huge 'St Bernard" dog. During the day while they are at work its locked in the yard not a huge American type backyard 12X12 feet square of concrete with a kennel which has been fenced off from the main yard and during the night its locked in the same yard. Only between between the hours of about 6.00pm and 10.30 does it have any company and even then it isn't allowed in the house often.

This isn't the first neighbour I've had that does this and I doubt it will be the last,dogs are pack animals and get really lonely when the owners aren't they they don't hear the lonely whining they make, all they experience is the joy when they get home from work, I often petted the dog over the fence and when I left she'd start howling with lonelness again,my next door neighbour in my old house did exactly the same thing with two staff bull terriers,they were smaller and at least had each other for company.

So it's my belief that dogs should have someone with them most of the time for example a stay at home mother or father or only get a dog at retirement age,to keep people company during the day.

I don't want to sway the poll too much by arguing against it so I just want to see what you guys think,am I being over sensitive or is it cruel?

 

I grew up with dogs in the family and they were never locked up but now i am disabled i would not be able to walk the dog which is something that it needs as well as company.

 

I agree mostly, but i sorta disagree that dogs aren't meant for out doors, not that they should be out side all the time, but all dogs should have a yard to play/run in i think.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I guess its impossible to give dogs company all the time but the times they're left alone should should be kept minimal,not 8-12 hour stretches every day outside and alone in a small yard, I can imagine its just like prison.

I also accept there are probably people on here who on a dog and work,I know of a few people who do this too. My brother had two dogs who were left at home during the day often,his girlfriend worked odd shifts though so it wasn't 5 days a week and family walked the dogs for an hour at mid day of they ever were alone for an eight hour stretch and they slept inside at night.

 

My dogs are all valued members of the family, they even have their own bedroom. Sometimes they allow me to play in the yard with them, but usually they send me inside because I don't bark loud enough to scare a moth away.

 

That's what I consider never as,there will obviously be times when they have to be left alone but not routinely for long stretches,that's what I voted for and what I think should be strived for with dogs.

If they were only left for 8 hours one or two days a week when there was no choice I wouldn't consider that bad but at least have someone visit them at midday and take them for a walk or something and don't kick them out again that same night.

 

Never left alone. Period..
Cheers..

 

Before I read the question, I would have answered the poll differently. By "left alone", I thought you meant while their humans were at work or sleeping rather than chained in the back yard for the better part of every day.

I actually don't see any problem with a dog being left outside, if they have proper water and food available, and a shelter available in case of inclement weather. And of course in winter when it gets stupid cold outside they should be able to come in.

As for being left alone for hours (such as while at work), I really don't see the issue there, either...depending on the dog. Saying you shouldn't get a dog unless you can stay home with it all day long is as irresponsible as saying you shouldn't have a child unless you can stay home with it all day long, in my opinion. BUT...it depends on the dog. Some dogs are perfectly fine at home in their kennel while you're at work, some are not. The question I have to ask is, have any of the neighbours told them how the dog acts while they are gone? It's hard to know your dog is whining about being alone when you aren't there to hear it, so unless someone tells you, you can't know.

I had a similar thing with my new next-door neighbour. They've got this dog, which stays chained in the back yard (an actual yard with grass and trees, not a kennel). The &$%# thing barked ALL.DAY.LONG. After about a week, I went over to talk to them. They had no idea. Now the dog gets left in their basement while they're at work.

I get where you're coming from, I really do. And in the particular case you're talking about, they are not good pet friends and probably shouldn't have a dog. But there's a huge difference between what they're doing and saying no one should ever have a dog unless they can stay home with it.

 

I tend to agree that dogs do need some form of companionship (human or another animal) and they do get horribly lonely and can fret if they don't see their owners/family and fret just as much being left outside when they see everyone inside the house because they want to be a member of the group - part of the pack!

Don't understand why people don't get animals typed and sized for their home/lifestyle. A 12'x12' space is horribly small for such a large dog.

I once had a lovely, medium sized, well behaved dog which was always kept in the house and treated like a family member; with in/out access to the back garden only when someone was home.

Though most days someone was home, our dog was trained to settle down and behave in the house when left alone (had access to the whole house with never an incidence and slept through most the time if the cat was outside the house).

Neighbours around here all tend to leave their dogs outside regardless of the weather and whether they are home or not...I can't stand to see the way they watch the famly inside the house and fret because they want to "join the pack"...And yes, they whine and howl something awful when left alone all day, and the howls and whines get worst with adverse weather.

Guess different folk think differently about animals...I think most buy as pups when they are small and cute, forgetting future size and care responsibilities which I see as a great failure with humans in general.

LS

 

http://www.emotihost.com/glass9/18.gif Now you're my kind of two legged friend!

 

I can't really vote.
The choices are to straight forward.
My view is that some dogs are better off outside most of the time. It depends on their size honestly, my grandparents 65 and 75lbs dogs for example would not be good dogs to bring inside, while one of my 4 dogs who are smaller I could see being brought inside if my mother would agree to it (they are still quite big). I don't spend much time with my dogs as I do my grandparent's dogs.

 

Yes, dogs are pack animals and will fret in most, (but not all) cases, unlike cats who like to 'do their own thing' most of the time. Though, the way my cat gets excited and runs down the driveway in front of the car, (yeah, I know, I get kinda skeered when she dawdles and stretches right in front of the car as well), when I get back from being out, I wonder if some cats are somewhat like this as well.
Guess it depends on a lot of things. The dog's personality, (both breed type and individual); environment; other dogs, things to do, etc. Basically, treat your animals the way you would want to be treated yourself. Would you enjoy being chained to a post, with nothing to do for 18-20 hrs per day? Neither do most dogs.
Really, the ideal situation for dogs is the old-fashioned situation where Mom is home all day. Maybe one or two small children and other dogs/pets to play with. Okay, so nowadays mostly both parents work and the kiddies are in Day Care, so things aren't as ideal as they used to be for most families/households.
I've said before on this Forum. that I won't get a dog again, (as much as I'd like to), because I don't think I would be home enough to be fair on it. (The cat's cool, although maybe she gets a tad lonely at times as well). The Parakeet doesn't care much, although he's always pretty chatty when he sees me LOL.

 

While I don't like dogs (at all), i think it's really cruel to leave them outside 24/7. If the people have to work, or are having a gathering then yes sure it's ok to leave them outside (unless its very cold/hot) then bring them in when you are home/party's over.


I agree in thinking it's unfair to say someone shouldn't own a dog because they have to work. What about the rest of the time??

 

Again thanks for all the replies its been really interesting,thanks to Tibbs especially I wasn't expecting anyone to say it was O.K if the group thought otherwise,you dog torturer Tibbs you:-D Hehe Gloozit I wasn't tryna persuade you.:cool

I want to know what people think on this one and why they think it I don't really want to get caught up in winning a discussion and arguing my point. I've seen it a lot, dogs being left alone all day every day. I want to know who is right,am I wrong are dogs emotionally and physiologically tougher than I think? This would be the best answer for me because the alternative means that all of the people I know who do this even friends people I know and like who seem like decent people are lacking some kind of intelligence or empathy gene?

To define the poll I mean left alone,indoors or outdoors all day which I consider 8-10 hour work day 5 days a week,if you think this is o.k tick it.

By night I mean locked anywhere again alone not free to roam the house or sleep near you if it chooses,if you think its O.K to lock a dog anywhere during the night tick this.

The poll is obviously too simplistic as they usually are, its hard to predict what people's viewpoints will be and hasn't really helped much.

I hadn't even considered different dogs need different treatment,some breeds get more lonely than others? The other thing I hadn't considered are what the dog wants but I assume if you lock a dog anywhere for extended periods there will be many times during that period he gets lonely,I can't imagine a dog would choose to be alone.

For the record I'm not a dog person,I've never owned a dog and I'm not in a rush to, this is something I've seen ALOT and it seems really sad iz'all.

 

I'm not much of a one for following along with the crowd. :-D

I've known many, many dogs over the years. Some prefer their cage to sleep at night, some insist on taking over the bed. Some want to be outside all day, some are only willing to go out when they have to. Some have to be constantly with people, others don't seem to care if they have anyone around or not.

Really, they're like people. Every one is different, so you can't treat them all the same.

By the way, I didn't vote. Because my best option would have been "all day and night", but that's not what I mean. I don't think they should never have human interaction, I just don't see anything horribly wrong with leaving them alone to go to work, or putting them in a cage or locked in a room to sleep. Some dogs, if you don't lock them up at night, you're going to be buying new furniture. Most will grow out of that. My niece's dog, who is now two, slept in a cage at night for the first six months of his life, and also got put in the cage when they left the house. Because otherwise he would literally tear the house apart if let roam freely. He got over it, so now he gets free reign of wherever he wants to go (with the exception of the cat's litter box, which is kept in a closed bathroom or he'll eat it). :-D

 

I have a few indoor cats at home.

Personally, I think they like being left alone during the day. It gives them more time to tear stuff up without me reprimanding them. LOL

 

Nah, that is me. :-D:-D (evil laugh.)

 

Even tough dogs can suffer emotionally and physiologically.

As an extreme example, I remember reading of a 9/11 Rescuer whose family couldn’t understand why their lovely family dog which was used as a Rescue and Cadaver Search dog appeared to be in a state of deep depression for a few days after his last rescue and cadaver search.

They finally realised that during those bleak, busy, urgent and sleep deprived days of 9/11 spent in rescue searches, they hadn’t washed the dog of the blood and dirt from its days of continued searches, amidst the rubble. Due to such trying, time constrained and stressful circumstances following a heavy week of urgent searches for bodies, they hadn't thought to clean the dog. A thorough washing of the blood and dirt from the dog revived its spirits and its mood washed away with the soiled water.

I view animals’ emotional and physiological status based on their owner’s/handler’s treatment and the type of environment the animal is subjected to. As Laura already stressed, humans have domesticated dogs from the wild; and as such the proper respect should be shown to this companionable creature which still retains “a pack” mentality. Its “pack” concept, now having been moved from a former wild environment, to that of its owner/handler’s.

Dogs have been domesticated not only to be companions, but in many ways to be extensions of ourselves (e.g. hunting dogs, Police Dogs, Guide Dogs, Guard Dogs, Special Needs Dogs, etc, etc, etc) right down to the humble companion animal we have around the home. The numerous and varied types of roles dogs now play are also selected by their temperament (not always for size), and their emotional and physiological status invariably comes into play.

Try putting your question of emotional and physiological aspects to those handlers of dogs specially trained and you’ll find there is a healthy respect and understanding of dogs and their animals’ reactions in stressful conditions. You’ve already had some responses from readers here on their thoughts of such conditions on a companionship or practical level when considering where/how a dog ranks within a family unit.


I'm in total agreement with Phantom: