Backyard Dogs
By JennPerez
@JennPerez (24)
United States
April 13, 2007 8:05am CST
You see one in every community, a dog tied day after day to a back porch or fence, lying lonely on a bed of packed dirt. The water bowl, if there is one, is usually empty or just beyond reach. Abondoned, but chained up the backyard dogs cannot move to comfort or shelter them selves. In winter they shiver, in summer they languish....year round they suffer.
Of course, dogs can be forced to live outside, alone from thier human pack, but to force this kind of life on a dog is one of the worst things you can do. Being alone goes against the dog's most basic instinct.If you doubt this, think of all the whining, barking, and clawing dogs you have seen tied alone outside. These dogs are trying desperately to get the attention of thier human families.
People who keep thier dogs constantly tied outside ratiionalize it, saying they do spend time with them. But even the most well-meaning among them do not spend significant time with thier animal companions. Under the best of circumstances, the backyard dog gets a bowl of food and water, a quick pat on the head and maybe a few minutes of contact with another living being each day.
Dogs can offer people the gifts of steadfast devotion, abiding love, and joyful companionship. Unless people accept these offerings and take the time to return them in kind, it would be best not to get a dog. A sad,lonely, bewildered dog tied out back only suffers, what sort of person wants to maintain suffering?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@simran1430 (1790)
• India
13 Apr 07
Here are some tips to keep him entertained .
How can a lump of melting ice help to solve boredom? Try the following: - The Stuffed Kong: A Kong Toy is a three level, rubber pyramid that bounces unpredictably, however, it also has a hole through the centre. This makes it like a bone with intelligence. Kongs can have a delayed action. Fill it with a good brand of canned dog food or with fresh mince. Then freeze it! Give this to your dog as you leave for work. While it will be boring initially, as it defrosts some time later it will become an island of joy for your pooch in the middle of the day. - Milk and Soup Ice Blocks: Get some tetra packs of lactose free pet milk from your supermarket. Put them all in the freezer. Each day open a pack and put the frozen milk in a bowl for your dog (or cat). The milk will defrost gradually giving your pet a slow-release reward. Do the same with soup by making up a nutritious broth for your dog, or simply dissolve some vegemite or a stock cube in warm water. Freeze it in a plastic cup or the bottom of a milk carton and place it in a bowl for your dog as you leave. - Frozen Clangers: This is a neat trick. Get two lengths of bacon rind, a raw bone and a plastic cup -place the ends of the rinds into the cup and fill it with water, then freeze it. The rinds will now be joined only by the frozen water. As you leave, tie one end of a bacon rind to a branch of a tree well above dog height. Secure the other rind to the bone by sticking it through a hole in the flesh and tying a knot. The bone will now be suspended in mid air by the bacon rinds, joined only by the ice. When the ice has melted, the bone will fall to the ground giving your dog an unexpected food treat. While it is easier to use string instead of the bacon rind, the rind is safer as your dog might eat the string. The rinds can also be frozen into a Kong ball so that the Kong, filled with food, drops to the ground as it defrosts.
