Aug 12 2008
Unchain The Dogs
It’s hard for me not to get on my soapbox when I see a dog chained up in a yard. To me, it’s ridiculous to have a dog if you’re plan is to leave it chained up outside the majority of the day, with little to no interaction from or with you. In that case, I recommend a pet rock.
Thanks to some folks in Durham, North Carolina, I know I’m not alone.
The Coalition to Unchain Dogs recently celebrated the unchaining of their 100th dog.
This group of volunteers is amazing. They raise money and build fences for chained dogs in the community; provide support to and educate the community as to why chaining is cruel and dangerous and raise awareness of the physical, mental and emotional needs of dogs; and advocate for the passing of laws that disallow or severely restrict the chaining of dogs.
The Coalition has been adopted as a program of Independent Animal Rescue (IAR). Through this affiliation, they make sure that every dog receiving a fence also receives vaccinations and is spayed/neutered through IAR’s Community Spay/Neuter Program.
According to dog behaviorists:
- Dogs suffer from boredom, stress and loneliness on the end of a chain.
- Dogs are pack animals, thus they want and need socialization and companionship.
- Chained dogs are associated with crime and are used to guard drug houses and in dog fighting rings.
- The American Veterinary Medical Association warns that chaining a dog can contribute to aggressive behavior.
- The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture prohibits chaining as the primary means of confinement under the Animal Welfare Act.
- The Center for Disease Control states that chained dogs are 2.8 times more likely to bite than unchained dogs.
Nearly 100 state and local jurisdictions ban or severely restrict dog chaining.
That’s a good start, but we can do better!
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Thank you for writing about what is truly one of the most overlooked, misunderstood animal welfare issues out there: the plight of the perpetually chained “yard dog.” These animals suffer in ways that are unimaginable. Yet because the abuse to which they are subjected is a PROCESS (a lifetime of being chained by the neck) rather than an EVENT (say, a beating), this abuse goes largely unnoticed. Keeping dogs in such a fashion is antiquated and barbaric. Slowly, communities are passing laws, but even the most reasonable, flexible laws are being met with fierce resistance from hunters and breeders.
A perpetually chained dog often grows neurotic, aggressive and even insane from a life in solitary confinement. They are tormented by parasites, endure skull-cracking heat and cold, pace back and forth in the same patch of mud or dirt for years on end, and basically wait to die.
Could we come up with a more hideous form of torture for a social PACK animal like a dog if we tried?
Learn more at http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org. We are the only nationwide non profit focused exclusively on helping the chained (and caged) dogs and to educating about these issues.
thanks!
Monica
Chaining is not the only way.
People just don’t understand that dogs tend to become aggressive if they become frustrated and feel insecure.
Chaining a dog to a small area makes them feel defenseless and confined. They might as well just be backed into a corner. Their behavior reflects this…
I hate seeing dogs chained up…