Abuse?

[.sarah]

There is a Weim. puppy named Buddy down the road that is almost always tied up outside. Today when we drove by he had a prong collor on instead of his regular flat collar, and I know that these are meant for training not for every day use. The tie-out isn't very big. They have him in the frontyard (which is small), but if they bought a bigger tie-out he could go in the backyard ... he has a fairly large backyard. Anyway, he has never slept outside, which I always thought was wonderful on their part. However, I think it just depends on what time the people go to bed. I have seen Buddy out there at 11:00 at night. He seems happy, but he is a puppy. I have taken Nova and Luka down there to play with him. Even Mandy likes him if she is in the right mood. I have only seen the guy take him for a walk once, however it was very late at night (10:00 or later) and if he walks him around that time every day I wouldn't know, since I am usually at home and I can't see his house unless if I walk out into the street. I have never seen a bowl of water out there, though on occasion I see them bring him ice (they say it's his favorite).

It doesn't seem like abuse to me anymore, though it did when they first got him. I know I remember seeing a Lab puppy, a Golden puppy, and a mixed breed puppy tied out there a few years ago (all at different times, and they got rid of them once they grew up) but, I think these people just moved in last year so I guess it must just be irony, unless if I'm thinking of another neighbor that moved.

Abuse, or just a need of education? I am more than willing to help this guy out, whether I have to gather money for a chainlink fence or kennel and a new collar and water bowl or whether I just need to talk to him. I know the wife said she had never had a dog before, but I am not sure about the husband. They also have small children, but I have yet to see them play with the dog though he got his name because he is the son's "buddy".

Like I said, he seems happy, VERY happy, but he is a Weim. and a puppy ... a combination that you will hardly ever see unhappy.

[caseysmom]

Well he should always have water available, no water is definetely abuse.

[.sarah]

Well he should always have water available, no water is definetely abuse.

That's what's always gotten me. Although, there are several bushes where a water bowl could be hiding. It just started getting chilly here a few weeks ago and I was just hoping that a bowl was in the bushes to avoid it heating up.

[poofy]

I hope so to..

[Miss Z]

I know how difficult these situations can be, especially if you know the people. There used to be some people living next door whom we suspected of neglecting their dogs, but without sufficient, solid proof that the dogs were suffering then there wasn't an awful lot we could do. And also, when people are your friends, it makes it more difficult to confront them about the problem.

[Alysser]

I really hope there is water in the bushes or something. No water is abuse. Maybe the guy needs some education. I would try to find out more.

[pnance]

It's always hard to figure out if you should push this or not and what to do. If you catch them outside maybe try to stike up a conversation and discuss dogs. This really works if you have yours with you. This way you might be able to figure out if this is abuse or just someone who needs to be educated as well as be able to slip in a few suggestions using your experience with your own dogs without coming out and saying they have no idea what there doing. We had a situation with our next door neighbor, who unfortunately was also our landlords son so we had to be extremely careful what we said or asked. Like you there were no definate signs of abuse. 1 dog was fairly skinny but not emaciated, and I couldn't see where the dogs had any food, water or shelter, but I also couldn't see the entire back yard. So we talked to him in casual conversation, asked about his dogs, etc. This way we found out they could slip under the house for shelter and where their food and water bowls were w/o offending anyone. Long story short, we ended up with 2 of his dogs after he disappeared for about a month.