ASK DOG LADY: A crated dog may be a happy dog – The Salem News

Dear Dog Lady,

I love dogs. In fact, I love dogs so much that I don't own one. I have a house with a small yard, and I refuse to get a dog until I have a yard with space for him to enjoy his life. Unfortunately, you and many of your readers seem intent on having a dog whether it's good for the dog or not.

In a recent column, you responded to a woman whose dog was chewing everything in the house. Your advice to her was to keep the dog confined in a crate, in a room or behind a gate.

Consider the quality of life for this dog that nature designed to run and roam free. He will be severely confined inside a crate, or at best in a room, for the vast majority of his day, with at best an hour of exercise walking on a leash. This is a lifestyle we reserve for our worst criminals in solitary confinement.

A: Your well-reasoned letter makes perfect sense for you and your non-existent dog. However, for other people and their real and beloved pets, your prison scenario isnt the case. Many dogs are quite happy to be contained in crates or cages (the politically incorrect term for dog enclosures). These are the animals safe houses for peaceful, solitary confinement. Crates are also effective house-training tools.

In my response to the woman whose dog chewed everything, you might have also seen the sharp finger wag at the woman who had not properly trained her dog. We humans are responsible for our dogs success. We train them to live with us. We are the dunces if they flunk. Through their domesticated natures, dogs want to please us by fitting in. We should not fail them.

You are to be complimented for deciding your lifestyle cannot support a dog. You have thought it all out and you have made a good decision for you. Others would naturally disagree.

Dear Dog Lady,

All but one of my/our six dogs had been lucky happenings. I found one without having had to search. The latest, a rescue, was a dear but had health problems and the veterinarian couldnt help. I wonder where to begin looking for another? Now that I am old, I hope to find a small animal I will be able to lift without pain, and one that is more couch potato than border collie. Do you advise local shelters? National searches via the web? Newspaper ads? Theres luck, of course.

A: Local shelters are a good place to start, especially if you visit first and tell the staff about the sort of dog you seek. I love your description of more couch potato than border collie, which describes your ideal pet succinctly. If you make a connection with a shelter, perhaps make a donation, they will keep your request in mind. Naturally, theres always luck. Dogs come into peoples lives in the strangest and most wonderful ways. Keep your eyes open. Your heart sounds ready.

Monica Collins offers advice on pets, life and love. Ask a question or make a comment at askdoglady@gmail.com.

||||

More:
ASK DOG LADY: A crated dog may be a happy dog - The Salem News