Am I an EVIL dog owner?!

[taffy101]

Combined taking dd to drs today with walking my dog. Tied her to bench outside the surgery and when i came out a woman had untied her!!!! i asked had she escaped but she said no, she was standing on ice and why did i use a choke chain as thet went out with the ark. i took my dog off her and walkedoff without a word but she carriedon. 'You wouldn't tie your daughter up outside in the cold" "perhaps you should consider walking dog seperately to going to drs' (ffs wish i had the time). Told her i didn't want to discuss it (didn't want a big row inftont of 3y0 dd)and went on my way, Panicked tho cos had to tie dog up outside chemist and local shop - thought she was going to get dognapped!

Are choke chains cruel?
I'm sure my dog would rather be outside than cooped up in house, Its positively rude in our house to pop to the shops wiyhout taking the dog! I think the dogs this woman needs to worry about are ones that don't get walked atall.Ggrrr...

Am i cruel or is she just mad? (think my friend got accosted by same woman last summer for tying dog outside shop too - no ice then just ranting about dog looking bored or something fgs)

I think the lady needs to get a life, your dog sounds well looked after. I assume it gets 'walks' that are aside from going to the shops sometimes. she should mind her own business

thanks rhino - my dog does get normal walks too but to walk to the village without her coming too is just a waste of a walk!

Agree, she needs to calm down. Very irresponsible of her to untie a 'strange' dog.

Choke chains are seen as cruel by some (most) people. But many trainers say they are only cruel if mis-used. There is a way of putting them on that means they tighten if the dog pulls, then loosen as the stop pulling, and another way that mean sthey tighten and do not loosen very well (something to do with the chain and loop being P shaped or 9 shaped, but can't quite recall which is which)

rhino lol at yor childminder post to snowflakes teehee

thanks taffy

jessajam - think my dog used to be a bit of a puller before i even met dh (is his dog really) but doesn't pull now so choke chain is having no effect anyway i think we just still use it cos thats what is there tbh.
think i might take deardog with me to playgroup at 3pm and see if mad woman still about - could put socks on the doggy!

There is nothing wrong with tying a dog up outside a shop for a short time whith you having him/her in sight BUT you must never tie a dog up with a choke chain. If they panic they will strangle themselves. I know the same arguement could go for normal collars but usually a dog can manage to slip their heads through when they panic.

..and yes dogs prefer to be outside to being locked in the house but being tied up in a strange place can make them feel very insecure.

So, I do think the lady had a point but it wasn't very well made.

I am a dog owner and parent myself so I do understand how difficult it is to get everything done.

...just thought of another thing. Does your dog wear a choke chain because he/she pulls on the lead?

There are various techniques to stop them pulling and for a quick fix you could try a 'Halti', sort of like a head collar, and then you could use that for the walk and use a normal collar for tying him/her up.

I use a choke chain for my two. Doesn't make much difference to the pulling tbh. They wouldn't take to Halti's however much I persevered.

The old lady sounds a bit bonkers. There's an old lady who ties her two dogs up outside church while she goes in for the service. It often goes over an hour! I never understand why she just doesn't leave them at home. They were there when it was quite hot, I was quite worried about them.

Very rude of her and especially stupid to untie her. On the other hand, depending on where you live, tying a dog up outside somewhere for any length of time does put them at risk of being nicked. It has been a big problem round here and now I notice there is a sign up in the vet warning people about it as several local dogs have gone 'missing' this way. For this reason I never leave my dogs alone outside anywhere, same as I wouldn't leave my handbag (OK, well not exactly the same... ).

As for not leaving her outside for a few minutes because it's cold, she's talking nonsense IMHO.

I don't like choke chains though, sorry.

I personally don't like a choke chain, but only because my collie developed a bald spot.
I always tied my dogs up on a plain collar.
(Picture here on correct way to put on a choke chain)
I tie my dog outside where I can see him, and can get to him quickly if I have to. I don't like leaving him out of my view.
I hate it when people interfere though. Once an old dear untied him to 'untangle' his lead at which point he high-tailed into the shop to find me, dragging her behind him!!
Don't think she'll do that again

Clearly the woman was mad. ;-)

I use a trials lead which is pretty similar to the choke but made from rope rather than chain..

Tie up outside shops - why not.

As for too cold - I'll post a picture here in a bit of my dog with icicles on him!! She needs to get a life! ;-)

Maybe next time you tie him up you should leave him a little picnic hamper, thermos and a newspaper old hag can keep him company while you go to the supermarket! (local shops can be so expensive!) Good job she doesn't live near me, my dog thinks anyone coming near him is fair game for pretending to be a scarf around their neck He's probably as mad as the old dear.

Wow! Mad as a hatter. You did the right thing in just walking away, not sure that my surging pregnancy hormomes would have left me so dignified though - I'd either have burst into tears or tore a strip off her for being so nosey and not having a clue as to how well looked after my dog is. Grrr, busy bodies - so where was her dog (if she's such an animal lover?) stuck at home!

You are to be commended for taking your dog out and about with you.
Choke chains are generally accepted as not being a good thing though.