to say it's not fair to leave your dog at home inside all day.

[kiwi97]

My neighbour who doesn't work & suffers from
depression & other issues never seems to take her Dog out for regular walks. She only has a roof terrace and I know some people have a limited space for animals. But surely this isn't fair for the dog not to be walk everyday.

seeing as she's depressed maybe you could offer to take him out for a walk for her ?

bet that would really help her.

It isn't fair to lock it outside so it will yap all day either. my neighbours do this and it is so irritating

I know it's not fair for people to suffer from Mental Health, but she is just lazy & there's no excuse.

Also sort of depends on type of dog and age etc.
But a daily walk of some sort is good for dog, and also good for the owner too...bit of activity can lift the mood etc.
Can be hard to get motivated though, especially if the weathe risn't promising.
Or perhaps the dog isn't the best behaved an dyou are just misisng the walks? We used to walk our stranger-phobic dog at about midnight to avoid too many people! (he's better now!)

You say she suffers from depression.
That's not just being lazy.
I think Lauriefairycake's suggestion of offering to take the dog out for a walk for her is an excellent one.

No, she has depression - you really need to rethink calling someone lazy

Yuck

Have a nip over to the depressed thread and read about what people are going through.

And then have a think about developing empathy.

We have 2 dogs and I suffer with depression and anxiety.
Its been so bad at times I havent been able to leave the house to walk the dogs and its been left to my dh to do it.

Yes dogs need a walk but this lady is ill.

I think it may do her good to walk the dog. a dog needs exercise. to not exercise it (unless it has a physical reason to struggle walking) is cruel and mentally damaging to them. They need stimulation just as we do, otherwise they become depressed too.

Depression does not equate with laziness.

Our dogs are walked every day but I bet people think we don't walk them because DP gets up and takes them out first thing. It's usually still dark.

Very judgemental. As others have said, why not pop round to say hello and offer some help walking them?

And before I get jumped on, sometimes I struggle to get my arse out of the door to walk my dog too - depressive feelings leading to apathy leading to lethargy etc. but I know that if I shut my dog up then I am wasting her life and also that when I do get out, I will briefly feel less guilty, more motivated and part of the human race again and a good person.

Even better, you could go with her so she gets out, the dogs get out and she has some company. Now that would be a really nice thing to offer.

It's very hard to do even the things that will help us to feel better when we are depressed. At least she is around with her dog all day. Much less bad than the dog being left alone.

True that is an excellent idea. But I don't really get on with my neighbour not because she stuffers from depression, she's not a nice lady. So what I've said about her beening lazy, has nothing to do with her depression.

the dog having company is important but it cant replace the dog having exercise and fresh stimulation ie scents etc

Binkle, you're absolutely right - she may feel better if she took him for a walk

but she may not be well enough to even do that at the moment

I for one have no issue with what you've said (agree with all you've said) but I do have an issue with the OP using the word lazy against someone with depression.

Why don't you like her then kiwi? If its nothing to do with her dog or being depressed?

Symptomatic of Depression is apathy and poor motivation so actually maybe this is reason why she does not walk dogs. Bit of emapthy eh

True it's good to have the company from the dog & it's important for them both.

How do you know that she never walks the dog. You can't know what she does 24/7, surely.

Glad that the poor depressed woman can't read your opinion of her - judgey judgey.

If she is depressed it is possible that she simply cannot bear to get up and go out. If she had the rational thought that to take the dog for a walk would make her feel better, she wouldn't be depressed.

Have some empathy.

Perhaps you could be nice to her, it has to start somewhere.

She may be very lonely and ill (depressed) so perhaps she doesn't seem very nice. Perhaps she can feel/see the contempt that you hold her in and is, quite rightly, responding to that.

Perhaps once you have started by saying a friendly 'hello' you could offer to get her a few bits at the shop etc as she is not going out. Then once trust has been established you could suggest a fab charity called The Cinnamon Trust who may be able to come in and walk her dog for her.

We are all too quick in this country to mourn the loss of 'community' (which leads to many problems) how many of us are actually 'putting something back'?

I 2nd the fact that she's "not a nice lady" quite possibly being down to her depression.

[applauds norty]

Did you know her before she became depressed? Because then you could say that she is not a nice person and it is not related to her depression.

People who are depressed are ILL. It changes how they see themselves, how they see the world, and how they act.

I don't want to say that you don't understand depression, because I simply don't know you. It might be that you know a lot about it, and have been able to analyse her to reach your conclusion. In which case, who am I to say you know nothing?

But as long as you know it is not like being sad. People say they are depressed, when they mean they are unhappy or fed up.

It's become a very overused word...."my fridge is on the blink again, I'm so depressed."
"I can't fit into my jeans after Christmas, I'm so depressed."

Actual depression is a crippling condition that changes everything about you.

Thank you IARC