Like Children, Dogs Shouldn't Be Kept Boxed Up out of Convenience, Group Says
For Immediate Release:
April 14, 2011
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
Vancouver, Wash. — On the heels of a Vancouver couple's arrest on charges of keeping two young autistic boys confined to a cage-like room, PETA is negotiating with area outdoor advertisers to display a billboard that will hit home in more ways than one. The ad shows a dog caged inside a crate—there is a growing trend of confining dogs all day for human convenience—next to the caption "No One Belongs in a Crate. Imagine How You'd Feel." PETA's point is that just as isolating a child can cause distress and long-lasting psychological harm, keeping a dog in a see-through box just because it's handy to do so deprives the animal of the companionship and freedom of movement that dogs, who are pack animals, need in order to thrive and be happy.
"If you wouldn't cage your child, you shouldn't cage your dog," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. "Dogs—like children—are highly social beings who need love, attention, exercise, and social interaction in order to mature normally, and forcing dogs to spend long hours in a crate deprives them of these basic necessities."
Although pet shops like to sell crates and trainers often recommend using crates to make life easy for people with dogs, studies have shown that long-term confinement is detrimental to the animals' physical and psychological well-being. Animals caged for extended periods can develop eating disorders and anti-social—even aggressive—behavior. They can also become withdrawn, hyperactive, or severely depressed. Also, crate training does not speed up the housebreaking process. Puppies don't develop full bladder control until they are approximately 6 months old. It's counterproductive to crate young puppies in the hope that they will "hold it." They are physically incapable of doing so, and they eventually urinate in their crates after experiencing great discomfort. Puppies who repeatedly soil their crates often lose the urge to keep them clean, which only prolongs the housebreaking process.
PETA supports humane, interactive dog training, which promotes and teaches guardians effective ways to communicate with their animal companions. Committed caretakers who complete training and continue to work with their dogs have no reason to imprison their well-behaved companions while they are away. And for long absences, they can hire a dog walker, leave the dog with someone who is at home, take the dog to doggie daycare, or get a "doggie door."
For more information, please visit PETA.org or click here.