Question about Golden Retrievers.

[rg_girlca]

There is a neighbour of ours that has an adorable 4 month old Golden Retriever and he leaves it outside on the balcony for a couple of hours during the day and I have also seen it out at night. They live on the second floor and the balcony is small. Now, our temperatures right now are around -4C = 25F with a windchill factor of -10C = 14F and at night it is even colder. The puppy has only a blanket to lay on.
Since I don't know too much about dogs as I am more of a cat person, my question is, "Is this okay for a puppy to be out in this kind of weather?"
It saddens me so much to see this little puppy standing at the door looking in.


Thank you for any response.

[sammy101]

no,thats not right for any dog.The puppy doesnt even have a doghouse?

[conans_in_heaven]

I don't think so! my neighbor does the same thing to there poor pup! they have been doing better ONLY because the animal control came out to there house 3 TIMES! Call animal control if the dog has none of or lacks these things:

1. food and water
2. shelter
3.care (fur all matted, stuff like that)


Better be safe than sorry

Hope this helped!

~amanda

[Glacier]

He can probably handle those temps, but it's not right. A blanket gets wet and doesn't provide much warmth. If it's windy or wet he's got no shelter from that. Plus Goldens are very people orientated dogs. They need to be their with their humans. A puppy especially needs to be with people in order to get socialized properly and not develop behavior problems when he grows up. All dogs need human contact, but some breeds need even more than others. A husky can be fairly indepedant for example. I've never met an independant Goldie! They are happiest curled up beside their family.

[rg_girlca]

Thank you for your responses.

I don't know if he/she has food or water as I can't see up to the second floor.
He/she has no shelter from the wind, only a blanket. His fur looks good. I'm can't really say either if this puppy is being walked or not, as I have never seen him out being walked.

I know a few people who have older Goldies and they say they love being out in the colder weather, but for a puppy, I thought this was a little extreme to be left out for a couple of hours.

I will call our Animal Control and see if they will check on it.

[dab_20]

That is NOT ok! I would call animal control. Although I don't think they are breaking any laws (depends where you live) that really isn't right.

What the heck is the point in getting a dog if you leave it outside to freeze?!? Even though Goldens may like the cold weather it doesn't mean you should leave them out to get lonely. Dogs are pack animals and they thrive on human attention. They need people to be happy. I coulden't even imagine what my dogs would do if they had to sit outside all day.

[Alysser]

No, that is obsolutley horrible.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Ugghh, this stuff makes me sooo upset... I just have to say, Why in the world do people even get animals if they are not going to care for them, and leave them outside all day??

[LuvGold00]

That's terrible! I hope Animal Control can do something about them, poor puppy!

[Flatcoatluver]

omg so does the puppy pee and poop on the balcony too!!!

[Kfamr]

Like someone else said, Dogs MUST have shelter at all times. Wether is a wooden box or a dog igloo - it is against the law to "own" a dog without giving it shelter.


Hopefully animal control will do something about it.

[elizabethann]

Ugghh, this stuff makes me sooo upset... I just have to say, Why in the world do people even get animals if they are not going to care for them, and leave them outside all day??

My thoughts exactly. Also, the peeing & pooping is what I was thinking about as well. Please call animal control. This puppy should be in the house, warm and well cared for. It needs to socialized with humans and other dogs.
Do they ever walk it?

Please call a.c. and keep us posted.

[catsanddogs]

That is NOT ok! I would call animal control. Although I don't think they are breaking any laws (depends where you live) that really isn't right.

What the heck is the point in getting a dog if you leave it outside to freeze?!? Even though Goldens may like the cold weather it doesn't mean you should leave them out to get lonely. Dogs are pack animals and they thrive on human attention. They need people to be happy. I coulden't even imagine what my dogs would do if they had to sit outside all day.

I agree - my golden, who after 12 yrs we put down last month loved the cold weather BUT he did not like being outside too long with out us. Goldens are family dogs, they love hanging with their people. And dogs, like kids, don't know how to behave if they are not taught!

[rg_girlca]

Thank you all for your replies.

Catsanddogs, I am very sorry on the loss of your beloved dog.
May he Rest In Peace.

I totally agree with everyone that the puppy needs to interact with his owners. I made a point yesterday and most of today to check about every half hour on the situation and this is how it went. I would stand and watch for about 10 minutes. Puppy was let outside this morning around 7:30 and let back in around 8:45. Then was let out again at 10:00 and let back in at 11:30. Out at 2:30 and is still out at this time. It was laying on the blanket chewing on a bone or toy.
The puppy doesn't seem to bark or whine when it is out. As for pooping or peeing on the balcony, I can't really say if it does or not, as I haven't seen it squatting at the times I have been watching. Maybe this is the way these stupid people are toilet training the puppy, who knows.
Regardless, I still don't like to see it standing at the door looking in.

Now, I also finally got a hold of the Animal Control and they told me that since the puppy is NOT out all day and the weather isn't too bad at the moment and it has a blanket to lay on, that there is nothing really that they can do about it. But, if I do see that the puppy IS out all day and the temperature has reached freezing, then they will come out to check on it. They also said that from the sounds of it, the situation seems to bother me more than it does the puppy and that the puppy probably enjoys being outside.
This is true that it does bother me as I also think that it should be in the house.

Thank you all again for your replies and I also agree that if you are going to get an animal, be responsible and give it the attention, love and care that it so rightly deserves, don't just put it outside.