Is it cruel to leave a dog outside all day?

[Glittertips]

I am currently a few days in to a month long hospital stay. From my room I can see in to a few gardens which back on to the hospital grounds. On the first day I noticed a husky in one of the gardens and on day two it dawned on me that he was outside in the garden every single time I looked out the window.

Having been in for a few days now I realise the owner is leaving the husky outside all day when she is at work, even once she is home he doesn’t tend to go inside until around 8pm. I don’t have a full view in to the garden as the view is obscured by a tree, but from what I can see he lies on the decking most of the day.

I feel like it’s cruel leaving the dog outside all day, in all weathers (I don’t know if it has access to food and water - I sure hope so) but my partner made the point that it’s no different from people leaving their dogs in the house all day while they’re at work and at least this dog can go to the toilet.

Should I mind my own business? Should I call the RSPCA?

YABU = mind your business, its not cruel
YANBU = poor dog, call the RSPCA

Are you sure the bit circled isn’t his/her kennel/shed?

Out of all the husky owners I know only one has a dog that prefers to be inside than out. The rest have their gardens set up so the dog can be out all day or dog flap so the dog can come and go from the garden.

A upset husky will certainly let you and the world know about it. If the owners been gone longer than normal their maybe an emergency or such that’s cropped up.

Hmm.

I had a Samoyed for many years (related to husky). I was mostly a sahm while we had him and he loathed being inside. Loved being outside at all times.

He really did need stimulation though otherwise he got bored and destructive.

Assuming the husky has food and water he probably prefers being outside to being inside. Some owners do put in dog flaps so their dog can access inside at will but a husky is quite big for that.

The main problem is likely to be he is bored and will get destructive.

Also its nots like you can see the front door. Anyone could be coming in and out so there maybe someone in the house but the dog isn’t asking to come in.

On their own outside? Are you sure about that.

It's hard to say without knowing if he is cared for with food water and love when they get home. They may walk him before they leave him. Our dog lays outside when we are at work but his walked first thing and his loved and cared for and walked again in the evening and sits with us all evening too Does he look like his well fed ?

@steff13 I’m not, Mumsnet is notorious for dog hating.

Those people are the ones who are cruel, treating animals like children. You are making so many assumptions in this thread, many of which are true for some dogs but absolutely not for all dogs. Get over yourself.

Update, after 13 hours on its own in the garden the owner arrived home 30 mins ago. I can see the back door and it hasn’t been opened to let the dog in or check on it 😢.

The shed in the picture I posted earlier doesn’t appear to be open. Not that I’ve looked out the window for 13 hours straight today, but any time I have looked out the husky is either lying on the deck, pacing the deck, or standing by the gate

Oh no that's very sad poor dog.

Poor dog will be bored stupid. Our yard dog (livery yard) preferred being outside and would find the last patches of snow to lie on-she’s a malamute x, but she was entertained all day, ‘helping’ to catch in, turn out, she had company all day.

I’d say the RSPCA won’t care, I’m afraid.

My dogs can come in and out as doors are kept open (I wfh), they usually want to be wherever I am.
One of my cats though - she prefers to be outside most of the time. She's happy to be out in the driving rain too - she's come in for dinner looking like she's been swimming! There's a cat flap if the door is shut and she has no issue using it, she just likes being out.
More than the dog in question being outside is that it's on his own. I don't see how people who work outside of home can have a dog.

We used to have a Husky - he loved to be outside at ALL hours and in ALL weathers. He had food, water and shelter outside but still would choose to lie at the gate and watch the world go by. He would wake us up at 2, 3 , 4am until we let him back outside. He never barked unless he wanted in and that was only one 'woof'

Many a time the RSPCA came to visit after a neighbour repeatedly reported us, but they said we weren't doing anything wrong and the dog was clearly well cared for - just that the little sod wouldn't use his kennel and would happily lie out in thunderstorms, snow storms, hailstone and sunshine.

You've made assumptions on something you can only see from a window. Ours had shelter, water, food, treats (plus those our neighbours fed him!), walked for 3 times a day, given long runs on the burn where we live, regularly taken to the beach and was regularly taken out with us when visiting family, but he was 'always locked outside' to anyone who passed the house. He was an excellent door wedge and deterrent too, lying against the gate so cold callers wouldn't come to the house 🤣

From experience huskys are outdoor dogs. They prefer being outside no matter the weather. As long as theyve got water and are fed etc there's not alot anyone will do.

Ours isn’t a husky but he does the solo one woof when he wants out, when he’s hungry he doesn’t a grumble. I don’t know how but he knows the time of day so when it’s getting close to 3pm & he knows our son will be home from school soon (he gets school transport) he whines by the front door. Then about 8pm when he wants a treat he barks at you, single bark then a few seconds later another single bark & so on until you get it. Then when he thinks it’s bedtime he’ll pace between the sofa & the stairs whining at you until you go to bed & take him upstairs with you. Its so funny how we know what our dogs bark means

Husky’s do tend to get warm in houses. But leaving them outside all day alone is not really fair either. RSPCA/SSPCA are not interested if dog has access to food/ water and shelter and is in ok condition. Possible you can’t see all these things from your window. So it is maybe worth a call for it to be investigated. Also if the dog only has access to the decking - this may be unsuitable as decking can heat up in the sun and if the dog is unable to move is a risk of heat stroke.
However I think RSPCA/SSPCA will not investigate if you are unable to give an address. So might be worth asking your partner to see if he can work out the address for the property you are seeing.
it may all be fine but it may not. So at least if you pass on the info you have done the right thing.

One of my dogs moves outside for the summer. It's his choice. He still gets walked, can come in whenever he wants, comes in for meals etc. It's just the minute the days start getting longer he wants to be outside. I think its weird but he is who he is. I often invite him in and he just looks at me like I'm the weird one. I come home and don't check on him sometimes too because he is well aware of when I get home, he hears the gate and barks if he wants in. I do work from home though so am around a lot of the time.

I know two people that had huskies and both said they lived outside the full 24 hours! Had kennels but apparently they didn’t want to be inside at all (think they’d tried having them as house dogs at some point) and these were two totally different people who both said the same thing!

It's probably cruel in the British sense of a family pet. Interestingly the working huskies in Finland I've seen all live outside and they told us they hate being inside/getting too warm, even when it's -25 there. Also some people want a dog to guard their property (farm dogs etc). So if the dog has a purpose like that, I can also understand it and the farm dogs I grew up with had a kennel but just preferred pottering around outside, they weren't allowed in the house at all.
If its more that it's a family pet they can't be bothered with and just shove it in the garden all day and night, that's not really OK but not cruel enough for the rspca I suspect, if it's fed etc.

It's a husky. What do you think it's bred to do? Where did his ancestors sleep for the last few hundred years? Controversially, it's probably happier outside than in as long as it has water and shelter from the rain.

I have 5 dogs and they live outside 100% of the time. They are fed outside, have a large garden and access to two brick outbuildings for shelter. In the outbuildings they have have sofas to sleep on. They never come in the house. They are all walked 2/3 miles a day aswell. People might call me cruel for not letting them in the house, but to me dogs are dogs and should be treated as pets and not humanised. They are fed, walked, are watered and have shelter. That's good enough imo.

I have friends which own both a husky/malamute mix and a chocolate lab.

The husky wants out more in the winter than the lab. While the lab wants out more in the summer than the husky. Each dog breed is different and requires different attention.

Leave the dog alone. Be worried if you don't see it for a few days.

You’re making huge assumptions. You don’t know the dog or what its likes and dislikes are. What works for your dog won’t work for mine they are all individual. Maybe get a crossword book to kill your time rather than watching someone’s dog in their private garden for hours on end.

I suppose that being a husky it would be happier outside than trapped indoors, but it is sad that the poor dog is getting so little attention and stimulation. These are lovely dogs and I can't understand why anyone would get one and then leave it alone all day.

A neighbour did this, their two dogs howled and barked all day everyday. It sent everyone around potty. If they were inside it would still send their direct neighbours potty. Dogs can get very bored when their owners are out all day everyday. These people worked 7 days a week which is impressive for them, not for the dogs.

I think this is where my concern comes from. It’s reassuring to read that this breed of dog is more than happy to spend the day outside however it’s concerning to me that the dog gets no interaction and doesn’t appear to be walked or get any sort of mental stimulation. It must be so bored and in desperate need of a good run around!

The dog lies on the deck all day, for hours and hours on end then gets let inside at around 9.30/10 (and I don’t see it then being taken for a walk or anything at that time)