I have only been living in my house for five months now and our neighbors have a dog.... it looks like a gold lab. Anyway the poor dog is chained in the backyard on a chain that is about five / six feet long and he has a doghouse. I feel so bad for that dog and I am always tellin Eric that I wish I could go play with him. I go running just about every day and I always want to take him with me. This weekend our neighbors were having company and some of them had kids and were out in the backyard on the swingset (I was outside cleaning our patio furniture, I wasn't spying) but the poor dog was barking and strangling hisself to get to them and they kept telling him to HUSH and SHUTUP . And while they were on the back patio at the grill he was barking and strangling hisself, he wanted to get over there and be with those people so bad, and they just would yell at him to hush. I have never seen these people play with this dog they do pay him attention every once in a while and he looks very healthy, It is just he is a big dog and I don't think it is fair to him to leave him on that chain all the time. Now I have never spoken to my neighbors, I'm kinda shy and i'm not really good at meeting new people, but I want to know would it be rude or even an option to ask them if I could take their dog running with me?

That is where i need yalls advice......... how do you think I could go about asking them if I could play with their dog or take him running with me / OR SHOULD I AT ALL?? I would just feel ackward because I've never really spoken to them before except exchanging hello's yard from yard.

Thanks in advance,
You guys are always a lot of help.