To think this is really cruel?

[RosieGuacamosie]

My friend got a lockdown puppy last summer and is now having to go back to work in the office and is planning to leave her dog in a crate whilst she’s at work. I offered her the details of my dog Walker but at £15/day apparently that’s too expensive. I understand £75 a week is a lot of money but surely that should have been thought of at the time she got the dog?

I think it’s bad enough leaving a dog in the kitchen for 8 hours on it’s own, but to leave it in a crate seems extra cruel.

Am I being precious and the dog will actually sleep most of the time which is what everyone else seems to be saying? Friend pointed out it’s no different to leaving the dog downstairs whilst she sleeps for 8 hours.

[muddyford]

Yes, very cruel. The dog is alone all night (fine) then all day (cruel). Why do morons like this have a dog at all?

[peppermintpat]

It's cruel and very common. Years ago I lived next door to someone who commuted to London leaving their dog crated for 12 hours a day. They wondered why it couldn't be trained and went absolutely mental at the sight of people and other dogs. I hated knowing it was in there and offered to walk it for them. It was so out of control that I began to dread the favour. I moved away some months after anyway.

[toffeebutterpopcorn]

@Spanielsarepainless

Yes, very cruel. The dog is alone all night (fine) then all day (cruel). Why do morons like this have a dog at all?

Because they want a cuuuuuute puppy. Aw cuuute puppy.... it’ll be ok when we have to go back to work... the dog will sit there like a toy until they get home...

I’d love a dog - if I can wangle permanently working from home we might even get one but there is no way I’d do this if there is a chance I will go back to the office (unless I could sweet talk my boss into letting me bring the dog too).

That’s because I’m acting like a responsible grown up...

[DaphneDuBois]

She is absolutely disgusting. I’m pissed off reading this. No dog should be crated for more than four hours during the day. No dog should be left alone all day without a dog walker coming to attend to it. She’s plain lazy training for not training it or arranging an area for the dog so can be left out of a crate. Even a kitchen with a closed door or a pen would be better. It needs to be able to walk about and stretch its legs. How is it mean to hold on all day if it needs the toilet? She needs to rehome it so it actually has a life with people who give a shit about it. It’s just plain cruel and selfish.

[DaphneDuBois]

^ignore typos

[Scratchpostkitty]

How awful. That poor dog. This is going to happen a lot with all these lockdown puppies.
The RSPCA will be useless. Unless it's dying of starvation or it's leg's hanging off or something, forget it. Their welfare standards are incredibly low.

[Footloosefancyfree]

Shocking commiting to having a dog, next dog barks constantly. My dc wanted a dog and realistically we could as there's about an hour between me starting work and dh leaving for home however a dog is a massive commitment and it wouldn't be fair on the poor animal.

[suzy2b]

when I worked and had a dog (still have a dog) I had and still do a dog flap so they can go out when they want to and they love love lying out in the sun

[Purplealienpuke]

I wouldn't bother trying to report it to anyone as shit as it is....
I tried reporting my dickhead neighbour who is leaving their large breed working type dog home alone all day. It howls. ALL FUCKING DAY! I tried local council and reported it to local animal charity. Neither of which are bothered apparently...
Council said I can take a private prosecution and animal charity (yes that one) said its not more than 12 hours in a day so they'll do nothing.
So nobody actually gives a shiny shit about animal welfare apparently 🤷🏻‍♀️
If you can't get your selfish friend to do something responsible for her poor dog then count on anyone else helping 😪😪😪😪

[KaleSlayer]

So nobody actually gives a shiny shit about animal welfare apparently

It’s just a total lack of resources and it’s so difficult to get a prosecution even in extreme cases. 😔

[pepsicolagirl]

Willing to bet that dog will be destructive, "untrainable" and just a fuckong nightmare within the month.

16 hours in solitary, restricted confinement will see it become seriously tightly wound.

This is not going to end well for anyone and your so called friend should not keep pets with the lack of empathy she is demonstrating here

[Isthistherealthing]

I’m wishing I hadn’t read this 😢 It’s made me sick to the stomach imagining that poor dog shut up in a cage for most of the day and night. Is there anything you can do to persuade her not to do this? Has she discussed it with the dog’s vet?

[retirementrocks]

Fucking irresponsible to not think about what happens when she goes back to work.
It is bloody cruel.

[WingingItSince1973]

@Isthistherealthing me too. I feel so so sad for this poor dog. My 2 dogs don't lie in one position for an hour let alone 8. They sleep where they are comy the most and move around the house to suit them. My parents have a cockerpoo and she is absolutely beautiful but is very energetic and absolutely needs human interaction most of the time. They wouldn't dream of leaving her for hours on end let alone in a crate. I wonder OP will your friend be too tired to give her a decent walk after work each night and spend hours playing and cuddling her? If she needs to rehome her my parents have been looking for another cockerpoo. Obviously she will think she knows best by the sound of it. Please help as much as you can to make her see this poor dog will be suffering so much x

[Blueink]

This is really unfair (at best) on a dog. She was very selfish to get a dog given her lifestyle. Paying for the dog to be walked is minimal & insufficient if she works outside the home full time. She needs to prioritise the dog who is now dependent on her (unfortunately) and not herself.

[Blueink]

To add, my friend ended up ‘adopting’ a dog that had been kept in a crate while the owner went to work & is now either with her or her family, never left alone. It was a horrible life, it had a lasting effect & the dog remains very clingy. At least the previous owner realised their unsuitability to look after a dog.

[Blacksheepcat]

Unbelievably cruel. Tell her so and persuade her to rehome the poor pup, it deserves some quality of life ffs

[Isthistherealthing]

@WingingItSince1973 It’s heartbreaking isn’t it. I just can’t imagine a dog being in such an enclosed space for that long. Really hope this ends well and that poor dog doesn’t have to endure unnecessary suffering 😢

[Blacktothepink]

Yanbu, sadly I bet this will be the fate of many ‘lockdown’ puppies ☹️

[PickleChipsareyummy]

Wow, is this hideously selfish person a good friend? Are you close enough to say hang on, that’s not right - you need to rehome if you can’t afford to make provision for its proper care. If you’re not that good friends, I would name and shame on Facebook, what’s app groups but perhaps you could send a link to this page to her instead and say, look, 100(ish) people think you’re an unfeeling selfish arsehole who doesn’t care about her dog’s physical and mental health. Let her chew on that and she might decide to rehome.

[Usernamerequired]

Poor dog may as well be in a pound if locked in cage for hours every day. It might end up tearing the house apart if left alone but many do not and simply find somewhere to lie, eat and toilet. A crate all day would not be suitable for these basic needs. The neighbours might hear the poor pup howl and bark all day and phone the local council once left alone 😭

[Usernamerequired]

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

So many of us on MN said it this time last year - all the lockdown puppies will be in shelters or leading miserable lives right about now

True! An awful lot of people haven’t had registered with vets either as they planned to return to rescue or ‘lose’ the pet. So many have just been dumped on the road side. Yet a lot still selling for extortionate prices online. Breaks my heart

[Rhubarbina]

Please, please do something if you can, OP, I just can’t bear the thought of this poor pip and all these other dogs we’re hearing about in crates for selfish people’s convenience. How can anyone go off to work for the day and not feel sick with guilt or a sense of what they’re doing is cruel??! It’s disappointing there’s no really useful resource for help; I was actually crying some nights over Christmas about a dog that is tethered and kept in minimal conditions a couple of gardens away, essentially as a guard dog (though God knows why, my area is nothing special) and the poor thing was howling and crying. I approached other neighbours to see if they knew more about it; only one other cared about its welfare, others were either not bothered or scared of retaliation from this ours than pleasant household (as was I) and neither the RSPCA not Council would want to know. For the RSPCA calls were only for animals in immediate danger and currently injured and the Council deferred back to RSPCA unless it is a noise issue (yes I found the howling and crying disturbing because it upsets me think of a dog suffering but that wasn’t their point) and so I didn’t have a valid case, the owners did just enough to cover their arses from a welfare point of view. All that to say, animals are hard done by and nothing can prevent it, other than individuals trying to persuade people to rethink, I hope your friend can be persuaded.

[Tillygetsit]

I have 3 dogs including a 9mth old pup. My house is wrecked because of pup and I wouldn't have it any other way. Dogs are not accessories ffs. That is DESPICABLE behaviour. Poor poor dog. I'd contact Dogs Trust for some advice.

[Homehaircuts]

Poor thing I don't think people think things through when getting a dog sometimes! She could try website called 'borrow my dog" (I think) My friend who doesn't want a full time dog of their own at the moment (mainly does it for her child who loves dogs), takes it out for walks etc the two hours she has it, with her child after nursery. Apparently this dog gets looked after by another person 2 other afternoons for free too, it's a voluntarily thing.