Is this animal cruelty?

[Binky]

Hi Everyone,

This weekend I heard two stories about crated dogs and am wondering if this is considered animal cruelty and if any of you all have any suggestions on what I might do.
A friend of mine lives with a girl who has a 2 year old dog.  The dog is not trained in any way.  The dog is left crated from 7am-6pm without water,food, toys or even a blanket.  At 6pm, the roomate gets home, takes the dog out, then LEAVES again for her second job, after which she often goes out and stays out until 6am!!!!  Obviously, my friend is trying to take better care of the dog-taking her for walks, playing, etc, but she works long hours too and doesn't really want a dog.
My cousin also told me a similar story about her ex-roomate!  Why do these people have dogs??  What should my firend do?  I don't know if this is a case for animal welfare, but even if it is, my friend does not want to call and jeopardize her already strained friendship with her roomate.  Any ideas?  I am so upset about these poor animals and I can't help but think that this is a commanly practiced, accepted way of cruelty.  Since everyone on this site so obviously loves their dogs, I doubt anyone here wouyld do this, but just in case, please reconsider dog ownership if this is how you think an animal can be treated.

[RedyreRottweilers]

Perhaps a good thing to do would be to offer this very busy person some other resources and methods of confining her dog more humanely for long periods.

I routinely use an exercise pen set up in my kitchen for older puppies who are not yet housetrained.

I put a bed on one end, and toys, water, etc, and on the other end I put some newspapers for potty duty.

You can hook the pen to the crate so that the pup has access to the crate and the expen as well.

This is a much better option for some dogs whose owners must be away for longer hours.

You might also do a little friendly research for her, and provide the names and numbers of a couple of pet sitting or dog walking services for her.

Sometimes people just have not considered other options, and will appeciate some good constructive help.

[BabsT]

Regardless of crating, it is sad that the dog is alone for the majority of the day   I personally would never leave a dog in a crate that long...3 hours is max for me unless she is in bed for the night...Maybe make a suggestion or leave a note explaining why it isnt a good idea but remember you get more with honey than vinegar so be educational not confrontationa l

[Binky]

Thank you for your suggestions.  I hadn't thought of suggesting a pet sitter/walker.  I would never rudely confront her, but I just had to rant a little!  I just don't know why some people insist on having animals when they do not have the time or inclination to care for them.  I will get in touch with my friend and igve her some ideas.

[ZooCrew]

Well, not to start anything here, but I used to crate Keiko for long periods during the day a number of years ago.  Of course this wasn't a regular thing, but during the summer months, I worked two full time jobs.  She was crated from 6:45-4, and if I had time I would ciome home and take her out.  Then go to my second job from 5-9:45.  I would have a friend come and take her out if I was not able to come home b/t jobs.

Gating her off was not an option for me b/c my entire apartment was carpet, except for the tiny bathroom.  She has an enourmous crate.  Once she was older, she was let out on occasion to roam the apartment, but not always b/c she used to have pretty bad separation anxiety.

I am not proud of doing this, but I could not afford a petsitter as I could barely afford rent.  Your friend's roommate is lucky to have a friend like her to help her out.  I'm just glad now I don't have to worry about these kinds of things, as I get to choose my own hours now.

[BOXERSRULE]

hi everyone im new but i love it here,i use crates at night,and when i leave no longer thn 2 hrs if im gonna be gone longer,i give my neighbor the keys she then lets them out and takes them for walks and gives them play times.i been breeding/showing boxers now for  years. it hurts my feelings if im gone to long but thats me i feel like im leaving my children lol

[ZooCrew]

I love that pic of you little one.  The expression on the face is priceless.   

[BOXERSRULE]

  thank you her name is gidget shes a ham just turne 4 months old today  shes a great little pup.we got her a doggie cake lol she was scared of it at first then dove in and ate lol

[Binky]

Those boxers are so cute!
Anyway, I hope I did not offend anyone with the crate thing.  We crate Binky when we go out and like ZooCrew, before we had our own business and worked regular jobs, the other dogs were crated during the day.  However, this girl NEVER spends any time with the dog.  When she's not at work she's out partying and doesn't even come home to check on the dog.  Also, the reason the dog is crated is because she has never taken any time to train the poor thing.
My friend gently suggested the pet sitter idea and her roomate told her to "Mind your own business/ but will you please take the dog out when you get home?"  AHHHHHH!!!!

[GYPSY JAZMINE]

Those boxers are so cute!
Anyway, I hope I did not offend anyone with the crate thing.  We crate Binky when we go out and like ZooCrew, before we had our own business and worked regular jobs, the other dogs were crated during the day.  However, this girl NEVER spends any time with the dog.  When she's not at work she's out partying and doesn't even come home to check on the dog.  Also, the reason the dog is crated is because she has never taken any time to train the poor thing.
My friend gently suggested the pet sitter idea and her roomate told her to "Mind your own business/ but will you please take the dog out when you get home?"  AHHHHHH!!!!

At this point I'd do see if your friend can do some work on training the dog & then find it a good home...then tell her roommate it ran away.

[BOXERSRULE]

thank you i love boxers lol i understand on the crate thing

[Binky]

Hmmmm...I like how you think Gypsy Jazmine!  Not a bad idea.  I don't know if my friend could train the dog (she's really not a dog person) but the  "ran away" thing has a certain appeal.  The roomate probably wouldn't even notice for a couple days!

[Summer]

What an awful situation!!!!!!

Maybe we can all find that girl and beat her up.

Normally I would consider it unethical but the "oops the dog ran away" angle might not be a bad idea.  Just make sure the dog ends up in a no-kill shelter or something.

ARGGHHH!