18 Ways to Help a Chained Dog

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1. Bring your dog inside!  He will be so happy, and you will have a new, true friend. Dogs want to be inside with their "pack" - you! Read training tips to help your dog be a good “inside” dog.
   
   Inside dogs make the best guard dogs! It will take time for your dog to adjust to the new environment, but will be so worth it.
    
2. Get to know the dog’s guardian if you are concerned about someone else’s chained dog. Read tips on talking to an owner.
    
3. Report Cruelty: Call animal control, humane society, or sheriff. if you see a dog starving or in trouble.In most places, it's against the law to leave a dog without food, water or shelter.
   
   If your city doesn’t have an animal cruelty law, your state law will. Google "Your State Code" or "Your State Statutes." Visit our Laws page for more.

   After reporting - don’t be afraid to follow up! Keep calling authorities until the situation is resolved. If animal control doesn't respond, write a letter to your mayor, start a social media campaign, or call your tv station. The dog is counting on you to be his voice.
   
   

4. Build a fence. Fences give freedom and make it easy for you approach your dog, since he won't be jumping on a chain. Ask fencing companies for leftovers or post to social media asking for help with labor or supplies. Watch video or visit our Building Fences page.
    
5. If your dog can escape your fence:
   
   
   • Extend fence height with mesh fencing.
   • Attach bamboo fencing, which comes in 6-foot rolls, to existing fence. It’s hard to climb.
   • Install an electric fence. At pet and hardware stores you can buy electric fence kits for fenced and unfenced yards.
   • Install a "hot wire" to the top of your fence. Call a farm supply store for advice.
   • To stop diggers, bury chicken wire under the fence or put concrete blocks around it. You can dig a trough under the fence and fill it with concrete (along the whole fence or in "trouble spots").
      

6. Spaying and neutering will help the dog calm down and stay closer to home. Sterilization will NOT change your dog’s personality but provides health benefits.  Sterilized dogs still make great guard dogs and hunting dogs. Contact your humane society or SpayUSA at 1-800-248-SPAY (7729) |  SpayUSA@AnimalLeague.org.
    
7. Replace old collars with a new nylon collar. You should be able to fit two fingers between the dog's neck and the collar. If you need to add a hole to a collar, hammer a nail through it.
   
8. Provide food and fresh water every day. Put a bowl hole in the ground to keep it from tipping. Attach a bucket to a doghouse or fence with a bungee cord. Farm supply stores sell rubber livestock bowls that won't tip.
   
   
9. Provide warm shelter in winter
   
   
   • Dogs get cold like we do! If you can’t bring your dog in, fill doghouses with hay or cedar from farm supply stores.
   • To keep cold air out, cover the door with a plastic flap, car mat, piece of carpet, towel, or blanket.
   • Doghouses should be large enough for your dog to stand up and turn around, but small enough to trap body heat.
   • Wooden doghouses should be raised a few inches to keep out water. You can place it on concrete blocks.
   • Ensure water isn't frozen!
      
10. Provide shade and kiddie pool in summer. Doghouses get hot in summer! Create shade by stretching a tarp. Dogs enjoy cooling off in a baby pool!
     
11. Give toys and rawhides. A big rawhide from the grocery, ball, or even a knotted towel or ball provides fun!
     
12. Go on walks! Your dog will be so happy to get of the yard, and it’s great exercise for you!  Leash training will take some time, but it's so worth it! Harnesses that hook in front are a great way to control large, strong dogs.
    
    If the dog belongs to someone else, offer to walk the dog yourself!
     
13. Go to school! Obedience classes at pet stores can help your dog learn to be a good “inside” dog.
     
14. Protect from fleas and worms. Biting insets make life miserable. Pick up flea treatment at vet/grocery/pet store. Farm supply stores sell supplies cheaply. Heartworms could kill your dog - get preventative at the vet. fact sheet on parasites
     
15. Change the law in your community to ban chaining!

16. Share on social media or ask the Community Affairs person at your local TV station to air a PSA.
    
    Broncos' Chris Harris Takes 'Outdoor Dog' Challenge | Share on You Tube
    Chilly Dog | Share on You Tube
    Cold Backyard Dogs
    Cute Puppies Hate Chains
    Eve: Unchain Your Friends | Share on You Tube
    Justin Long Gives Voice to Lonely 'Outdoor Dogs'
    Justin Theroux Chained Dog |  Share on You TubeLance Briggs (Chicago Bears) Cold Dog
    Loretta Lynn Sings "I Wanna Be Free" Anti-Chaining
    Michael Strahan Cold Dog | Share on You Tube
    NFL's Glenn Dorsey: Be Your Dog’s Defender | Share on You Tube
    Rich Christensen ‘Chains Are for Crankshafts, Not Dogs’
    Russell Simmons Animal Cruelty
    Jason Taylor Anti Cruelty
    
    Public Service Announcements for TV: 
     
 
17. Distribute info!

• Document for owners of chained dogs; print all or some pages
• "Chained Dog's Plea" poem
• Send a letter to the editor or guest editorial to your local paper. You are welcome to use any or all of the editorial I wrote, change it up, and put your name on it.
• Visit our Laws page for chaining Q&A, photo sheet, PowerPoint & more
• Encourage educators to teach children why chaining is cruel
• Visit Dogs Deserve Better to get doorhangers & brochures.
• Get 20 chained dog brochures in Spanish for suggested $5 donation.
• Other resources: PETA Unchain Campaign and Humane Society Unchain Campaign

18. Take ONE STEP today toward helping a dog. You may not be able to save all the neglected dogs, but surely there is one thing you can do today to improve a dog's life!

Guard Dog, from Mutts comic strip. Used with permission.

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