To feel heartbroken about the treatment of neighbours dog

[hawleybits]

He's a medium sized, lovely boy, who never gets taken for a walk and can't possibly know how it feels to run and stretch his legs. They have a tiny garden and he's just let out for a sniff around and to do his business.

Today, as neighbours were leaving for a day out, he escaped the garden and ran around madly for a few moments, before he was screamed at, rounded up and locked back in the house.
He's now barking and howling and will continue to do so until they arrive home.
They're not otherwise unkind, in fact, they're very pleasant, just ambivalent towards him.
I know that reporting the neighbours will result in sweet FA, but why do people have dogs and then fail to meet their basic needs? I'm in my garden thinking I wish I could take him out, but he's not socialised with other dogs and I'm sure they wouldn't allow it on those grounds.
It's just horrible to live next to 😢

Arseholes.

Could you offer to walk him?

Have you told them how distressed he is while they are out? They may be trying to pretend to themselves that he's ok. If you bring it up, and they are in fact nice people,, it could give them the push they need to make proper provision.
If you wanted to, you could offer to walk the dog.
But if you speak to them and it doesn't improve, then you should call RSPCA.
Normal people would take contact from RSPCA very seriously.

I really wish I could walk him, but quite obviously he isn't going to be good around other dogs. I'd love to pay £15 and take him to one of those safe fields- there's one near us.
Whenever I'm at home, all I do is worry about that dog!

If you offered to take him out, could you not just walk him on a lead away from other dogs? That would be an improvement on his current set up.

Yanbu OP. They should have got a cat. Dogs needs are higher and some people fail to grasp that, or don't care.

Call the RSPCA. This is animal cruelty.

I mean this not to sound snarky honestly, but you can't possibly know that he is never walked unless you watch their front door all the time. He may get a big walk early in the morning or after they come back from work?

I have a small dog who acts so hyper (in a good way) when she sees other people that they must think I beat her the reality is she is walked and loved and just enjoys strangling herself on the lead to try and get to strangers for licks. We have a large communal garden and I have to take her out for toilets on a lead or she would possibly run off and be hit by a car.

But she runs off the lead at the big enclosed Park you talk about sometimes and in my in laws garden, but my neighbour would not know that! If you see my point...

Yes unless you've got a camera trained to their door 24/7 you can't be sure their dog isn't ever getting walked. Ours is walked at 5.30-6am every single day - that early because he hates other dogs with a passion I can barely comprehend. I hardly ever see anyone else at that time - and in the last year of living here I have never seen any of my immediate neighbours.

Offer to walk him...say you will take him with your dogs...or if you haven't got a dog say you are thinking of getting a dog and wanted to know can you take him for walks to see how you would get on with a dog...

If he is on a leash he should be ok,

When I had my dog my neighbours may have thought I didn’t walk him, but that was because I used to put him in the car and take him for a run at my ex mil house as her garden was the size of a field.

However I do agree if this dog never goes out it is very unfair on him. :(

Are you sure he's never walked? One of my neighbours commented that he hadn't seen my dog leave the house for months - in reality he's walked 3 times a day, one of which will be around 2 hours long. He just hadn't been looking out of his window at the correct moment.

And as my dog is a bit of a nutter, he too did victory laps around the neighbour's garden when he got out

Are you sure the dog has issues with other dogs? If he was socialised properly as a youngster he may be alright - but you'd want to test it first, perhaps with a friend who has a friendly dog you could meet on lead. Alternatively, a secure field does sound like an excellent idea.

My dog came from broadly similar circumstances at a year old, went through a series of owners in rapid succession, and then landed on my lap a couple of months later. Apart from getting very rapidly frustrated when he saw another dog he couldn't get to in a nanosecond (which resulted in barking) in the early days (NB it took me months to work out that he was actually a frustrated greeter, not leash reactive) he's got no problems with other dogs.

I'd approach it by saying that you love dogs but don't feel ready / able to commit to one full time. However, you think there dog is lovely and you'd like to look after him sometimes when they go out for the day - you don't want payment, you just want some doggy cuddles. Totally non judgemental, and if they will consider letting you walk him that's the route I'd take (... And it's pretty much the way I ended up owning my dog...)

Report those cretins to the RSPCA.

Just do it. They are not nice people.

Id speak to them and ask if they know how upset the dog gets when they are not there. As others have said you cant be sure they never walk him. We had a situation with me PIL, we stayed for the weekend once and when they went out for the day their dog didnt stop crying and barking when I mentioned it they had no idea as he obviously only does it when they are not there.

You seem to have made a fair few assumptions here. The dog may well be socialised, the dog maybe walked when you don't see it walked, it may get lots of other enrichment activities inside the home when it's not walked - there is quite a lot you can do, which we do on days we can't get out because of kids being ill or whatever.

My dogs also go to a doggy daycare once a week - which my neighbors wouldn't know about. But they have a whole day running around with other dogs and get a long walk there too. But we drive there so again nobody would know if they didn't see us. We do this for their socialisation and to give them a break from our hectic home

I'm afraid I will stake my life on the fact, he is never walked. I've lived next to them for years and pretty much know their routine. Sorry if that sounds judgmental. Honestly, they can't safely open the garden gate without he tries to escape! He's frustrated and bored and it's terribly sad.
I also believe, that a dog who's had a good run, earlier in the day, doesn't spend all day crying and howling- surely he'd sleep a bit?
I'm here because I've got a few days off and I can hear him whether I'm indoors or outside in the garden.

How many people live in the house with them, are they an older couple? I definitely think you need to talk to them about his crying all day that would annoy the life out of me!

I'd say that constitutes mistreatment, poor dog ☹️ I know it's easy for me to say because they're not my neighbours but I really would follow through on your concerns and contact the RSPCA, even for a chat about whether this is reportable animal cruelty. I'm betting you and the dog will feel better as a result! X

My NDNs have three large breed dogs. They're never ever walked, I know this for a fact. They see their concrete square of garden and that's it. They are screamed at if they make a sound and they often fight because they must be so incredibly pent up.

I've contacted both the RSPCA and the dog warden and because they have access to food, water and shelter there is nothing they can do. It's heartbreaking.

My dog is a complete arse hole sometimes.
If she can she'll try and escape from the back gate and hare off like a lunatic and run round in circles like she'd been kept in a crate for a month.
She does get walked but you'd think she'd never seen a harness and lead before when they come off the hook. And she tear arses round the garden.
I bet my neighbours wouldn't have a clue when she's walked.

ICantCope I agree with your comment about the RSPCA. It saddens me to know, that all the while these poor creatures have access to food and a roof over their head, they will not intervene. It's down to the owners to provide the care they need and if they fall short, it's the dog who suffers.
I'd love nothing more than to discover, my neighbours are regularly walking their dog, or providing day care, or a dog walker, but the reason I'm posting here, is because I know that isn't the case...

I'm 100% too. It's awful, their little faces look up at me when I look out of the upstairs window and they look so utterly miserable.There's no point in them having dogs at all because they're just there, all day with no interaction. Very very sad.

No point *

I also believe, that a dog who's had a good run, earlier in the day, doesn't spend all day crying and howling- surely he'd sleep a bit?

Depends on the dog. Mine does just sleep during the day - but a dog with separation anxiety may find that it's too anxious to sleep because it's alone and then all the other crying / howling behaviours then come out... because it's alone.

Avocados, I take your point about separation anxiety, and it's possible this might be part of the problem. He's lonely and bored in the house alone. But he isn't getting any exercise- how cruel to never allow your dog the freedom to run.
They are a couple with older children, neither of whom I have ever witnessed on the end of a lead. They are all fully fit and capable of walking the dog, but choose not to. It's as simple as that.