British dog owners vs Americans (or any other country)?

canadian here :O)

i do believe in crating but within reason and as a training tool and i do not believe in crating a dog over night, especially if it has been crated in the day, that is just harsh ... my first dog i did not crate and he took a long time to housebreak and he chewed up and damaged stuff (which i acknowledge was due to my lack of dog training skills, i was only 20) ... my second dog i arranged my work schedule so she would be crated four hours a day approximately for her first year, and she was housebroken in four days and did not chew up anything that was not hers ... so i am pro crating if done right ... i do not believe in buying an 8 week old puppy friday night and then leaving it alone monday to friday because a person has to work ... a pup is like a newborn and requires care and accommodations need to be made ...

one interesting thing about crating, i once posted that i crated my dog and i said to not leave the dog with water in the crate ... a woman from australia emailed me and told me i was cruel and if i lived in her country that is animal cruelty, a dog must have water 24/7, and she said that is law where she lives, and i just do not agree a dog can not go without water for part of a day ...

i personally think it is fine to leave a dog (not a puppy) home alone for a normal workday ... if we stop full time workers from owning pets, millions more dogs would have to be put down ... a dog with an owner who works full time and commits to walking, exercising, playing, loving, sheltering, feeding and basically caring for a dog, i do not think it is a problem for a dog to be left alone ... when i worked full time i had my dog on webcam ... i only ever saw her sleeping and one time getting a drink in three years !!!

i think some dogs can stay outside but i don't think they should stay outside 24/7 ... to me dogs are a part of the family and while some dogs would appreciate afternoons in the backyard, most dogs i know would prefer to be with their family ... and where i live there are rebel rescue groups that "rescue" backyard dogs (i.e. steal dogs) so it would make me nervous to leave my dog alone outside unattended ... even my dog was stolen twice right from my patio, less than 20 feet from my sofa ...

i believe in spaying/neutering because there are too many dogs being killed ... but i also believe it is a personal choice ... i don't think it should be mandatory (well maybe for some dogs) ... but for me, i am never going to breed my dog so why would i want to deal with her going into heat ... and i find the most male dogs that are not neutered are not neutered for the wrong reason, and that is because the male owner has testicle issues ... they think the dog won't look "male" or won't be tough, or whatever, get those chopped off if those are the reasons ... i think if it is a pet with no intention of breeding, neutering is a good idea ... i have read some cons lately to spaying/neutering which are interesting but i don't think it has convinced me yet to not fix any dog i may have ...

rabies vaccinating is not law in canada ... where i live in canada the chances of getting rabies is by being bit by a bat ... since i have yet to see a bat ever where i live in twenty years, i am going to assume the risk is not great ... my dog never receives any vaccines (she had the puppy shots and a couple boosters and that is it) but i did have her titres measures last april and she still has enough antibodies to fight rabies (something for all those sheep owners who do what the vet says and vaccinate yearly, i feel those owners are hurting their dogs through ignorance) ...

Within the US, there is tremendous variety from county to county, state to state, and region to region.

For example, two counties over they have mandatory spay and neuter, but not where I live.

In some areas it is common to tie a dog out, but where I live I have never seen a dog tied out - dogs are confined in fenced yards, and mostly walked on a leash.

When I first moved out here the population was sparse, and most of the dogs ran loose. My own dogs would do a turn around the neighborhood in the morning, hunt a little on the hundred acres behind me, and then settle in at home the rest of the day.

I have noticed that in the UK there seems to be a general horror of training tools like prong collars. Not so much in the area where I live.

I also seems to me that dogs in the UK kill people more frequently than here, but that might be because it is more broadly reported, or because we have so many chihuahuas. :o)

I use crates sparingly.....mostly the first week with new foster dogs that are not housebroken.

My own dogs are never crated, with the exception of the chi, who sometimes picks fights with my Westie. I frequently crate her while I am gone for less than five hours.

I dont buy the "dogs sleep all day and love their crates" story......mine certainly dont.

When I am working, my dogs are confined to one room with a dog-door to the outside. That way if I need to work late or run errands, I dont need to worry.

hummm I don't know allot about British methodology or the laws.

I think that most other countries are more interested in the function of the dog then the US. Germany doesn't care as much about conformation as they do breeding for a purpose. If you look at Crufts, even though it is a conformation show there is allot of functional dogs that can preform the purpose that it was bred for.

In the US I guess you could say the PC approach seems to outweigh everything.

As far as crate training- I have crates for emergencies like weather evacuations. I have never crated my dogs. I will block off the kitchen or laundry room until the dog if through the puppy chewing and until the dog is housebroken. I have nothing against using one for puppy house-training and creating a safe refuse when the person is not home. But I don't think it is a natural environment for a dog. If you are home then the dog should be playing and outside getting exercise.IMO.

As for how long a dog can be left at home. That depends on their bladder. My experience is the dogs curl up and snooze until we come home.

The outside thing it depends on the weather and if the dog is still trained and exercised it also depends on the breed, you aren't going to leave a Chihuahua outside. I don't think a dog get the proper exercise when they are left outside alone all the time, but this depends on the owner.

The only laws that I know of from other countries are things like the BSL which seems to be becoming world wide. you can have stupid breeders and owners in all areas of the globe.

Gees my answer seems way of topic, blame it on lack of sleep.

I live in Ireland so i cannot comment on British or American values when it comes to dogs.

I think opinions on what unfairness is are very individual to each person. Too individual to generalize. To me cruelty is clear cut... is the dog being beaten and hurt for no reason, is it being starved, restricted of water or left without adaquete shelter for it's body/coat type?? To me those things are cruelty.

I've never crated a dog, never heard of them before YA. I don't think they're of any detriment to a dog i just wouldn't require one to house train my dog or teach it manners.

Kennels are regularly used here. My neighbours border collie pup has lived in a kennel since it came home at 6 weeks. I was expecting a bit of a neurotic mess at this point, but, the dog is doing fine and is loving fighting with flowerpots and giant plastic flowers...

The only people who would really have inside dogs all the time are those who own toy and companion breeds. The weather here now isn't really suitable for someone to leave a chihuahua outside in a kennel...

I have no issue with roaming dogs. There are many here and they just ignore you and ignore other dogs on leads. The dog warden will only pick them up if they are causing a nuisance or wandering in the city centre. In residential and rural areas they don't bother coming out unless called about a dangerous or nuisance dog.

We are also the capital of puppy mills in Europe [and one of the most notorious places for dog fighting]. In the Rep. of Ireland there are breeder licenses required if you own 6 or more intact b-tches of breeding age regardless of whether or not you breed. This law doesn't apply to racing or hunting dog kennels.

We don't have mandatory S/N. Dogs are rarely fixed, usually either for medical reason or if someone has bought a b-tch and already has an intact male in the house and it is done for convenience sake. Females i would say are fixed on a larger scale than males as a whole.

In Northern Ireland there are banned dog breeds [APBT, Dogo, Fila & Tosa] but in the Rep. there are no dogs that have been banned or restricted except in some city council properties.

I am pretty sure there are lead laws here but hardly anyone abides by them so they are a 'silent' law'. Licenses for all dogs used to be mandatory, pretty sure that has been scapped too. I had a license for one year but never got it renewed.

I could add dressing dogs up, to your list.

Having been around here for a while, it's apparent to me that there are differences in how people view what's 'right' when keeping any animal really, country to country. But I'd also like to say that things are changing, all over the world, these days. Anybody, for example, who thinks the British, as a nation, love their animals, needs to think again!!! There are some truly horrendous things going on these days, from simple 'no commitment' - get it one day and chuck it out the next, to downright cruelty.

To address your examples, from my UK (but having lived in Canada for 15 years) perspective

1. Crating. I first was introduced to using these when we landed in Canada - showing. Only one benched show, in Toronto, at that time so crates were essential. To be honest, since then I'd not be without mine. BUT the way some people are apparently using them is not on my agenda, by a mile. Training aid, yes. Place of safety for a puppy when things need to be done around the house, absolutely yes. Leaving them crated virtually 24/7, no way

Home alone. Well acknowledging that the stay at home mum is a thing of the past, and I was faced with this out in Canada when selling my puppies before I ever came back to the UK, this is a nightmare and coupled with the over-use of crates, currently my number one pet peeve. My views are well documented already around here. 'Nuff said.

Keeping a dog outside. Not for me. Can't see the point. And I think, show-breeding kennels apart, most in the UK don't do this.

Form altering surgeries. I'm all for spaying (if that's form altering). Not for castration other than for medical reasons. I am for docking because it was necessary, for a reason, in traditionally docked breeds and the tail injuries, needing amputation now happening among those breeds, is unnecessary had docking by a professional, been kept. I loath cropping however. Dew claws - I used to have them taken off my puppies, until I almost lost one. I now don't, but my buy-in Whippet had her's taken off, and I can see why, watching her run.

I think it's dangerous to compare UK dog owners with American owners however, because there are good, not so good, and downright bad, all across the world.

My 2-bits worth.

We live in Canada.

I am fine with the use of crates and I think they can be a great housebreaking tool, we however don't use them unless we are travelling.

We both work 8 hour days. My hubby goes home for lunch so they get a pee break halfway through the day.

I think it is fine to keep a dog outside providing it can withstand the weather. (ex. a Greyhound should not be kept outside in freezing weather. And a dog should not be exposed to extreme heat that it cannot withstand.) They should have shelter and basic needs like food and water should be met. The dog should be cleaned up after and not running around in its own filth and should be properly exercised.

I am more than fine with cropping and docking.

No mandatory muzzle laws here unless your dog has a history of aggression. In our community we do have mandatory leash laws. Living in Ontario, we do however have a BSL against Pit bulls.

Coming from a UK-er, here i think the US and the UK are different in many ways when owning dogs.

The biggest thing i would say is laws. The famous Dangerous Dogs Act- i know this has happened in a way in a lot of states in American and Australia but the DDA is for the whole of the UK. The DDA has made changes in the last few years but dog breeds are still banned nonetheless.

How long to leave a dog home alone.

I think many here leave their dog home alone. There really are no "stay at home mums" anymore, and, unless they work from home, the parents are at work and the kids are at school. No one there for the dog, therefore the dog is left. Generally you have your standard hours to the vast majority of times the dog is left for 6-8 hours on average. Seeing as so many people do it, i doubt they have a problem with it. My dogs are very lucky..too lucky ;) My dad owns his own business..my mum works there with him, the dogs go there and spend the day with them until i get home, then their stuck with me.

Altering surgeries.

I think that S/Ning is pretty popular over here. I don't like it, i don't like unnecessary surgery but the amount of S/N ops. my sister gets to help out in/observe in every week is pretty big. 3-4 s/ns a week (most likely more) that's 16 S/Ns a month...192 S/Ns a year in just the ONE Vet Surgery. It's not mandatory but people do it!

I also think, now correct me if i'm wrong fellow UK-ers, certain training tools are viewed differently. Things like e-collars & prongs aren't very popular/known. You don't see them in pet shops and you hardly see ANY trainers using them.

Where to get a dog.

You hardly hear of puppy farms. Of COURSE they're around, i'm not saying that. There aren't many pet shops (around Scotland anyway) that sell puppies "in house"..that doesn't stop them advertising though. & i think only certain parts are aloud to anyway (i'm not entirely sure about the "legal" side of it). However, they are just as accessible as the are over in the US, Aus, etc.

As for leash laws different areas have different rules. There is no overall LAW that requires our dog to be leashed, nor does my area have that rule. But i do know of some places that have leash laws..rules.

I asked a similar question quite awhile back. It is interesting how much it varies.

I think laws would depend more on states/provinces or even cities/towns as opposed to countries.

I have noticed that US/Canada tend to be for crating. I find from the answers here, it is not popular in Australia.

In a lot of Europe, it is common for dogs to live outside. Many countries over there are also very tolerant of dogs, for example, roaming or being taken places.

US/Canada, leaving a dog outside is seen as cruel (I do not agree).

I will be interested to see other answers.

I grew up in Ireland and moved to the states and the laws seem to be about the same. Licenses, collars, picking up after your dogs, being on leads, etc. The only difference I know about (and I could be wrong, this could also be a law in the states), is that "aggressive" breeds (aka pits, dobes, rotties, akitas, etc.) have to be muzzled in public. But, I've never seen that actually enforced by the warden. I think most people had the same views on cruelty, but obviously that would differ from person to person.

I'm in Canada

Kenneling

I kennel my indoor dogs at night until they are a year old, then they get to sleep on the bed or floor. I also kennel my puppies when I leave the house and my adult gets to be loose in the house. I only kennel my adult dog when we go to other people's houses and leave the house, and in the car.

Leaving them at home

I currently do not have a job so I'm home almost all the time but I will leave them at home for a couple hours while going grocery shopping. If we are leaving to go to another town or the city we take the small dogs with us and leave them at my Dad's house or take them with us. My large dogs stay outside when we leave the house.

Outside dogs

I have 2 large heavy coated dogs that I wish I could leave outside most of the time, but because we currently live in town they can't. They used to stay outside all day and come inside at night but we got a barking complaint and if it happens again we'll get a fine. We plan on moving next spring/summer and they will become mostly outdoor dogs.

Docking/Cropping

I am pro-dock/crop if it's done by a vet or experienced person. There is nothing I hate more then to see a bully breed with mangled ears from a DIY ear crop. I had my first litter of puppies this spring, they are purebred Australian Shepherds and had them docked by my vet at 26 hours old and I am very happy I did. I actually don't like when people breed docked breeds and leave the tails intact, if you don't like docking, don't breed them. If they make tail docking illegal here and if I breed again, I'll do the tails myself with help from an Aussie breeder friend of mine.