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 😢

@hawley definitely not excusing people who don't walk their dogs - just making the point that this isn't the case with all dogs!

I understand Avocados. I'm back in the garden, having a cuppa and the poor dog hasn't let up for a moment. I've spent time in other countries, where animal welfare isn't great and dogs roam and rely on scraps from restaurants, but they're mostly happy, friendly dogs. I can't help feeling that it's a preferable life to the life my neighbours' dog leads.

They are just assumptions though, not facts.

My dog looks woe be gone at me when I am out of the room for 5 minutes!

My dog cannot be trusted around open doors and gates for her own - and she gets walked every single day - so those things don't prove anything!

It is sad if the dog isn't walked, of course. Its unfair and I feel guilty if we miss a walk for illness or through the storm last weekend for example.

However the RSPCA do have to prioritise abuse, cruelty and neglect levels and a dog who is possibly bored or frustrated would not be high on that list.

Offer to walk him, he might be fine around other dogs - ask them about that. Mention that he’s been howling.

that should read for her own safety.

That is awful. I feel bloody guilty if I have to miss just one of my dogs' two off lead daily hour long walks. Exercise and recreation is essential. He's in the dog equivalent of a maximum security prison (but without the gym, library and decent exercise yard)

I'd love to see the faces of the dogs next door if they saw grass, or were able to run and play. I think I'd probably bawl.

@Hawley I was in SE Asia last year and there were lots of street dogs, especially in Cambodia, where they are semi owned at most.

While obviously the lack of vet care, occasional dog meat eating and unreliable food sources aren't ideal, I couldn't help but feel that they didn't have a bad life of a day to day basis - there's always something to do or look at, and they don't have the congenital health problems that come with many of our purebred dogs.

RCPCA will do nothing, but you could use the barking/howling as an excuse to report a noise complaint to the council (environmental services). Your neighbours might then be shamed into treating their dogs better. (?)

RSPCA

Update: it's now 8:43 and the dog is still howling. Still alone!

Report. Exaggerate if necessary. Say that you think it might have been left all day.

Both of my dogs try to escape the second the back door is opened. They are walked regularly and taken to the field to play with a ball every evening. Still buggers at the door though.

What breed of dog is it OP? Not that it makes a difference, all dogs should be walked but some breeds in particular I think it's even worse (like a collie for example)

Yes report - exaggerate if necessary, as a pp has said. Get the RSPCA out there. It should shock those people if nothing else.

May I just say, the RSPCA have never ignored any of my few reports. I always choose to report anonymously, by the way. You do not have to disclose your id

There is also a noise situation which your neighbours are causing. It is not fair to any dog to be cooped up like that nor to be shouted at. And it not fair for neighbours to have to suffer the barking etc and to be totally worried about an animal’s welfare.

The RSPCA wouldn't do anything for me, and there are three, large unwalked dogs next door.

If you have lived next door to them for years why don't you just mention he has been howling all day! My neighbour walks her dogs everyday between 6:30 and 7:00 I see her when I'm in the kitchen but if I got up later I would never of thought she walked them! If they were going out for the day do you really expect them to take the dog everywhere they go or not go out at all!

If it makes some posters feel better to imagine the dog is being walked but the OP never sees that, then go ahead and think that. It is unlikely, however.
If your instinct tells you something g is not right, then go by your instinct. Oh and do the same if you have concerns about a child being treated badly.

Why do those awful people have dogs?
Rhetorical.

The RSPCA will do precisely nothing. The dog has food and shelter so they won't be interested.

My neighbor has 9 dogs that are never ever walked. One lives 24/7 in the conservatory. There is nothing that can be done.

Oh, imagine living in a conservatory in this heat! Poor dog!

Boogie, I don't know, the howling and barking, seems to have become worse recently. Maybe because the dog is older and doesn't like being alone.
He's a medium sized mixed breed and definitely looks like he needs exercise. Don't all dogs deserve at least a trot around the block, just to sniff and stretch their legs?

I'm not sure about the "not been socialised with other dogs" argument for not offering to walk him

Mine weren't really socialised around other dogs until I started walking them. Apart from 5 half-hearted training sessions ...

Why don't you just offer to talk him for a walk? It'd do him a world of good. See how he copes on the lead. You're absolutely right that he won't bark or try to escape as much.

Why should the OP have to take him for a walk? I certainly couldn't offer to take my neighbour's three massive dogs. I'm in a wheelchair. They are able bodied, she is a SAHM who is at home all day after the school run and she has three older teenagers who are perfectly capable. They just don't want to walk them.