Your dog loves to sunbathe and watch people and animals in
the neighborhood. A little fresh air is wonderful for Doggie, and he loves being outside and getting some exercise. If you don’t have a fenced backyard, a
tie-out seems like a reasonable alternative, right? You only leave him for a couple hours at
most, and you provide fresh water and shelter.
So what’s the big deal about leaving Doggie on a tie-out?
Protective and Guarding Traits
Let’s look at it from the dog’s perspective. Every dog, no matter the size or breed, has
instinctive characteristic that make him a dog.
An ingrained canine trait is a need to protect his belongings and space
from trespassers. When your dog is loose
in the house, the house becomes his territory and he wants to protect it. When your dog is contained in a fenced-in
backyard, the backyard becomes his territory.
When your dog is on a tie-out, the neighborhood becomes his territory. His need to defend doesn’t stop at the end
of his chain, and this can cause some serious barrier frustration. The other major issue becomes who your dog
sees as “part of his group” and who is considered a trespasser.
Barrier Frustration
For some dogs, especially puppies and young dogs, everyone
and everything is their friend. They
want to meet, play and explore with humans and other dogs. However,
the tie-out doesn’t let friendly dogs meet other people and dogs. Instead, it builds frustration that they can
never quite reach the thing they want. The
result of pent-up frustration is an increase in stress hormones such as adrenaline,
which can take days—that’s right, days--
to work its way out of Doggie’s system!
This stressful situation is magnified in dogs who don’t want to meet
others, but feel the need to protect their territory and themselves.
Trespassers Beware
Some dogs are suspicious of anyone or anything different. They may not like other dogs, men in hats, squirrels,
people in uniforms, or kids on bikes. . . the list goes on. For these dogs, the tie-out chain protects
passersby, but makes the dog feel vulnerable and in need of protecting itself
and its territory. Doggie protects himself
by barking ferociously, charging to the end of his tie-out, and acting
threatening. His bluff almost always
works, as the person (or dog) walking past will keep on walking. Over time, this behavior becomes habitual so
that anytime Doggie sees a trespassing person or animal, he will act ferocious
to scare them off. In essence, the
tie-out creates an aggressive-acting dog, who may or may not know how to truly
defend himself in a fight. For these
dogs, the tie-out is absolutely one of the worst things you can do for their long-term
health and well-being.
Better Alternatives
It takes more work, but the best alternative is to go
outside and spend time playing with Doggie. You
can play “fetch” using a long leash, tossing the ball first in one direction
and then the other, or you can take your dog for a nice long walk. If you are physically unable to exercise
Doggie, consider hiring a professional dog walker to walk him for you. If
Doggie has issues with other people or dogs, find a good trainer or behaviorist
who can help you work through those issues in a positive way. Please be aware that painful or harsh
training methods will cause Doggie to react even more negatively and/or
fearfully to the world around him.
If exercising your dog outside is not an option, then by all
means, he can get some exercise in the house.
You can let him play “nose games” by hiding a few biscuits or kibble
around a room and letting him find them using his nose. You
can also stand at the top of the stairs and toss a small treat downstairs; after
he retrieves the treat he has to return to you for another small treat. Finally, mental games can be a workout of
their own for Doggie—check out a book on Clicker training and try to teach him
some tricks!
No comments:
Post a Comment