Hello!
My name is Rachel, and I joined this forum a few minutes ago because I have concerns about my neighbor's dog and I'm not sure if I'm over-reacting or not. I'm actually a cat lover. I have 3 cats. I've never owned any dog in my life before, and I don't know how to care for them. So, this is why I need the help of you guys on this forum..
This dog is a German Shepperd mix, and he's left outside most of the time. I had to call the cops on my neighbor's once because it was 3 in the morning, and all I could hear was the dog howling, crying and scratching at their screen door to be let in. The neighbor's yelled at the cops when they showed up, but eventually took their dog in. A few days after that, they placed a wooden board in front of their porch so that their dog couldn't get up to scratch at their door.
Since then, the dog hasn't been left out overnight anymore. However, he is outside for large periods of time. Usually from 8 - 9 AM until about 5, 6, 7 and sometimes 8 PM at night. There's no food, no water or no shelter (besides under the porch) of any sort. The dog tends to bark and howl to be let in, and usually his owner will open the door and yell at him to be quiet. The dog usually spends his time sitting // sleeping on the porch, in front of the door. I don't see his owner out there much with him at all, and he doesn't have any toys to keep him occupied either. I've seen his owner go outside once or twice to clean up after the dog's waste, but the owner didn't pay much attention to the dog at all. The dog also stayed away from her, but he didn't look scared at all. She pet him for about a minute on her way back in, and shut the door on him again.
Sometimes he's left out when it's really cold out, or really snowy outside.
He also has a prong collar on him, and I think it's placed on him wrong. I read that prong collars are supposed to be placed right under his chin, and this dog's prong collar is almost at his shoulder blades. I went outside today to check if the prongs are digging into his skin, but I couldn't tell because the collar was too tight and I didn't want to pull on it in case I hurt him.
He is friendly towards me. He lets me pet him. He whines when I leave. It makes me wonder if he lacks a lot of affection. I'm not sure if he gets walked or not, and of course I'm not sure how he's treated inside. All I see is what goes on outside.
I have called the SPCA in my city, and someone came to look at the dog. She took a look for about 2 seconds, and then left and nothing was done about it. Myself and a few of my friends called the SPCA back, and we were told the because of the type of dog he is, it's okay for him to be outside all of the time. I did mention the food, water, shelter and prong collar to them. They told me the prong collar was harmless, and not to worry about it. But if the dog is lacking attention and is outside for the most part, why does he need that type of collar on him? Aren't prong collars made only to be left on during training, and taken off afterwards?
I'm not too sure what to do from here. I was hoping the SPCA in my city would take him so I could adopt him and show him love and care, but nothing is being done. I was told that unless there were signs of physical abuse, there was nothing they could do.
I've attached a few pictures to this thread, to show you what the dog and prong collar look like, and etc.
Would you please let me know if this situation is in fact okay for the dog, and if I'm just over-reacting? I have been outside to pet him, show him attention and to give him dog treats so I don't know if my attachment to him is in fact clouding my judgement or not.
Thank you in advance to anyone who read this, and to anyone who can give me some insight.
My name is Rachel, and I joined this forum a few minutes ago because I have concerns about my neighbor's dog and I'm not sure if I'm over-reacting or not. I'm actually a cat lover. I have 3 cats. I've never owned any dog in my life before, and I don't know how to care for them. So, this is why I need the help of you guys on this forum..
This dog is a German Shepperd mix, and he's left outside most of the time. I had to call the cops on my neighbor's once because it was 3 in the morning, and all I could hear was the dog howling, crying and scratching at their screen door to be let in. The neighbor's yelled at the cops when they showed up, but eventually took their dog in. A few days after that, they placed a wooden board in front of their porch so that their dog couldn't get up to scratch at their door.
Since then, the dog hasn't been left out overnight anymore. However, he is outside for large periods of time. Usually from 8 - 9 AM until about 5, 6, 7 and sometimes 8 PM at night. There's no food, no water or no shelter (besides under the porch) of any sort. The dog tends to bark and howl to be let in, and usually his owner will open the door and yell at him to be quiet. The dog usually spends his time sitting // sleeping on the porch, in front of the door. I don't see his owner out there much with him at all, and he doesn't have any toys to keep him occupied either. I've seen his owner go outside once or twice to clean up after the dog's waste, but the owner didn't pay much attention to the dog at all. The dog also stayed away from her, but he didn't look scared at all. She pet him for about a minute on her way back in, and shut the door on him again.
Sometimes he's left out when it's really cold out, or really snowy outside.
He also has a prong collar on him, and I think it's placed on him wrong. I read that prong collars are supposed to be placed right under his chin, and this dog's prong collar is almost at his shoulder blades. I went outside today to check if the prongs are digging into his skin, but I couldn't tell because the collar was too tight and I didn't want to pull on it in case I hurt him.
He is friendly towards me. He lets me pet him. He whines when I leave. It makes me wonder if he lacks a lot of affection. I'm not sure if he gets walked or not, and of course I'm not sure how he's treated inside. All I see is what goes on outside.
I have called the SPCA in my city, and someone came to look at the dog. She took a look for about 2 seconds, and then left and nothing was done about it. Myself and a few of my friends called the SPCA back, and we were told the because of the type of dog he is, it's okay for him to be outside all of the time. I did mention the food, water, shelter and prong collar to them. They told me the prong collar was harmless, and not to worry about it. But if the dog is lacking attention and is outside for the most part, why does he need that type of collar on him? Aren't prong collars made only to be left on during training, and taken off afterwards?
I'm not too sure what to do from here. I was hoping the SPCA in my city would take him so I could adopt him and show him love and care, but nothing is being done. I was told that unless there were signs of physical abuse, there was nothing they could do.
I've attached a few pictures to this thread, to show you what the dog and prong collar look like, and etc.
Would you please let me know if this situation is in fact okay for the dog, and if I'm just over-reacting? I have been outside to pet him, show him attention and to give him dog treats so I don't know if my attachment to him is in fact clouding my judgement or not.
Thank you in advance to anyone who read this, and to anyone who can give me some insight.




