When you go to a coffee shop and you leave your dog tied up outside, if the dog immediately proceeds to bark, and bark, and bark, and bark louder up until the moment you come outside – you need to know that every single person living and working within a kilometre radius of your dog can hear that very loud and annoying barking. Don’t be a jerk! Your dog is stressing out and obviously can’t deal with it – so deal with it! —Get a coffee maker
This article appears in Sep 19-25, 2013.
That is not my dog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIsa05fXfog
My dog did this the first couple of times I tied him outside (only for a 2-3 minute wait). It stopped when he realized that being quiet resulted in praise and a delicious treat.
So, maybe it’s the person’s first week with the dog, and the dog’s first experience being tied up outside. Maybe the dog is in training. I bet you didn’t consider all of the alternatives.
I would never leave my dog tied up outside a store. I would be too paranoid of someone stealing him/her.
I agree Cranky, in principle (my dog would follow anyone with treats), but there are exceptions. Usually I leave my dog outside, for 2-3 minutes maximum, at a place where he and I can make I contact while I wait in line. This allows me to (a) make sure no one steals him and (b) initiate non-verbal queues to help him behave properly when people walk by with things like strollers, dogs or grocery bags. Otherwise I bring someone with me and have them go inside or stay with the dog.
The key to leaving a dog outside is due diligence, which includes such things as good training and common sense. The good training requires putting your dog in situations that involve low probabilities of failure (barking while tied up outside a coffee shop) and rewarding when they succeed. So what may look like lack of training may simply be the process of training. On the other hand, common sense cannot be taught.
Its a fucking dog barking for 5 mins, max. If you’re that delicate, perhaps you should invest in your own island where there are no dogs.
SHITD, your approach requires more balance. A dog barking while in training, because it is demanding attention, is okay, the barking is only for a short period of time. A dog barking because it is stressed, or afraid, or going through anxiety, is another matter. Such dogs should not be left on their own and should be taught gradually that it is okay to be alone. It’s hard to say whether the OB’s subject was right or wrong without more details. But OB certainly comes off as an insensitive prick.
Question:
When is it appropriate to call animal control?
Issue:
I have a neighbour with a boxer-mx that is constantly barking while I pass their fence with or without my dog. I’m pretty sure the dog is just left outside, on leash, for at least 1-2 hours in the morning and in the evening (possibly other times, but I’m not out walking so I can’t tell). It’s not an issue for me or the pup, but the fact that the dog is outside and barking every time I walk by leads me to believe that the dog may be neglected (and the barking may be annoying other people).
SML – Try talking to the dog as you go by, sometimes that works.
Are you talking about 20 seconds or 3 hours of continuous barking? My dog barks at people and dogs that go by, but it’s more a “hi, how ya doin?” than anything else. Blue will even sneak up behind people on the sidewalk, and bark. The little bugger thinks it’s funny as hell, he does 🙂
I walk by the dog’s yard (separated by a fence) to/from the park in our neighbourhood. The dog is barking on the way there, and, when we return 1 hour later, the dog is still there. This happens twice daily – before and after work. Unless the owner takes the dog in and lets them out again during our outings, he/she is outside, alone, for at least an hour, twice daily. I think it’s unlikely that the owner brings his dog in during our walk, which leads to my concern about the dog’s welfare. But I also know that animal control (a misnomer, should be “people control”) is limited in their ability to protect animals from all but the most neglectful owners.
I will try talking to the dog while I walk by. My dog is fine with it, the other isn’t.
Also, a bit of barking is not a big deal. It’s what dogs like to do. It’s more about being outside and alone, potentially for a long period of time.
i’ll buy the island next to OP because my island is going to have 20 dogs on it, all barking at squirrels.
meow, that poor dog. he is probably bored out of his mind. being outside in the yard is no substitute for real exercise. animal control can’t do much if the dog is in the yard and not running loose. if the dog barks continuously for more than 20 minutes it’s covered under the bylaws.
most people don’t deserve dogs.