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Tied Out, Penned In, or Crated Up-- That’s No Way to Treat a

Best Friend!

Mary Renck Jalongo

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From the day they are born, dogs are pack animals. This means that they want to be in the company of other dogs or people instead of being all alone.

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People are pack animals too. Dogs became our best friends because they know how to join up with the human pack that we call a family.

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Just like people, dogs do not want to be left by themselves or stay in the same place all of the time.

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When a dog is tied outside, left in a pen, or kept in a crate most of the time, it can get sad. If the dog is teased it can get mean.

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When dogs are kept apart from the family it is easy to forget about them. Sometimes the dog’s water bowl will freeze or get knocked over, leaving it so thirsty. Sometimes people even forget to feed the dog and it is terribly hungry with no way to get food.

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Dogs that are isolated usually are not bathed or groomed. They get dirty and smelly and get fleas or ticks. Before long, nobody wants to be around them.

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Most of dogs that are separated from people made messes or mistakes. A dog left alone with nothing to do will get worse, not better. The few times that it sees someone or is set free it will get excited, jump up on people, and run around like wild. It is not the dog’s fault. Nobody took the time to teach them.

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This isn’t fair to the dog. It was never given a chance to show you what a good companion it can be.

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What makes a dog a good friend? Just like you, it likes to play, get affection, and learn new things. A dog wants you to be its leader. It wants to please you and go places with you. If you teach it how to behave then you can have so much fun together.

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When you bring a dog home, you make a promise. That promise is treat your dog with patience and kindness, give it fresh water and good food, teach it what it needs to know, keep it clean and healthy, and give it plenty of exercise.

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Exercise does not mean that a dog should be allowed to run all over the place without the human pack members nearby. A dog left to roam often gets into trouble or is hit by cars on the road. The solution is training.

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What if you don’t know how to train a dog? There are ways to find out. You can read books and find information online, watch television programs and dog training videos or DVDs, ask people who have well-trained dogs to help you, or take your dog to socialization and obedience classes.

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Your dog learns to love and trust you as you teach it to walk on a leash, stay close by, and come when you call. Being tied out, penned in, or crated up all of the time is cruel treatment for a pack animal.

A family is the best place for a dog!