Neighbours' new dog howling and crying: what can I do?

[heydoggie]

Our neighbours to the back seem to have got a new dog at the weekend. I am WFH from a bedroom overlooking and for the past two days the dog has been outside, in the garden, howling, crying and whining for the vast majority of the time between 9 and 5 (I thankfully move to another part of the house then).

I can see there's a crate outside, so I guess maybe the plan is for it to be an outside dog? We have v small 'gardens' (yards really) with no grass so not sure how that works. Looks to be a greyhound/lurcher, and not a puppy. I am finding it impossible to work listening to the whining, and don't know if what they're doing is cruel or if this is a natural adjustment process.

So: if you have a new dog, is it ok to leave them out the back all the time? Is this an adjustment period? Is there any kind of legitimate training technique that would involve leaving a dog outside and seemingly ignoring it for hours? It went quiet around lunchtime, and shortly after I assume the kids came home from school, so my guess is the dog had company/was allowed inside then, but they were 45 min gaps of silence in the middle of a day of howling. I don't know if they have much better glazing and can't hear it or if they are going out, or if they are equally tortured and ignoring it but it is incredibly distressing to listen to.

I only know them to nod to but they are very friendly with a lot of other neighbours so I can't stick a note in/knock on the door and say 'what are you doing, some of us are trying to work?' I'd feel much better knowing this could just be initial teething problems. Does anyone have any thoughts or advise?

In my opinion, not OK to leave any dog in the back all day (and presumably they do so all night too) though I have noticed that some Eastern European people think it is OK as that is the norm in their home country. If it is a rescue, the rescue would not accept it being kept like that (so, if you find it is and where it came from, you could let the rescue know). The poor thing is new as well so may never have been kept outside before. Can you see - does it have warm bedding, water and food? Is the crate waterproof/weatherproof? Is it tied up or loose?

I don't think it will stop howling as it is clearly very unhappy (and lonely). You will, hopefully, get lots of advice from others, but I would see if you can check what facilities it has (as per my queries above) and also drop them a note, explaining that it is distressed and noisy all day, which prevents you working - they may not realise it would do that. If it does not have those facilities, you could try reporting to RSPCA (but they are unlikely to be very helpful - worth a try anyway and could perhaps get other neighbours to report to RSPCA individually, which may carry more weight) and if noise persists, also tell dog warden/council. You might find there is a local dog owners group on FaceBook in your area - if so, worth letting them know as they are usually concerned about such things.

Not tied up, crate is a wire crate with a blanket on top. Dog has clearly been brought into the house the last hour, I don't know if its sleeping out there but actually I suspect not as we would almost certainly hear it at nightime.

Part of me wonders if they're hoping to keep it outside while they're working, maybe so it doesn't make noise/isn't disruptive? They seem to be a very nice family, two school-aged children, a lot of neighbours have dogs but they are much smaller dogs and v rarely make noise. I'm inclined to think maybe they're doing some misguided attempt at training it rather than being cruel. They have a ring doorbell so I couldn't sneak a note in the door, and don't think it would go down well to have a word a few days in. The only saving grace is its nearly Christmas so they'll presumably be off and will either have no excuse not to realise the noise or will fall into a new routine with the dog indoors they might then keep up in the new year.

I actually have no issue with dogs living outside, but it's very much dependent on the breed, the individual dog, and the set-up involved.

But this is not a well-thought out situation. I suspect they've got the dog, gone to work and left it in the garden with no thought to it's welfare. The break in the middle of the day is possibly a dog walker or someone coming back on their lunch break.

IMO what they're doing is incredibly cruel. The dog is clearly distressed and unhappy being left. I don't know the solution, though.