Please please be careful tying your dog

[Cara]

We were at a horse farm this afternoon, and the owners temporarily tied their Kuvasz dog to keep him safely out of the way of the horses. We were all within 15 feet of him, but through a doorway. When we got up to leave, we found he was dead and had strangled. Nobody heard a thing, and he had been checked on just ten minutes before.

Please, if you have to tie your dog out then take precautions. Use a flat buckle/clip collar or harness, never ever use a choke chain. Never leave a choke chain on a dog period. Be sure they're away from anything that they can tangle in or with, including loose dogs. Be sure there's nothing nearby that they can hang themselves on (such as doghouses, or fences to jump). And please be sure they have shade and water.

This was one of the most distressing things I have ever seen, the dog was perfectly healthy and need not have died this afternoon. The owners are devastated, and furious with themselves.

ETA Collars on dogs in crates can also be dangerous. There is the possibility that their tags will get caught in a ventilation hole or space between the wires.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

How sad.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

Ahhh Gee ! How sad..thank you for the reminder...

What was he tied to? Did he have a choke chain on?

 

[tonkatuff]

How awful.... but happens much too often! I was at a horse show years ago where someone left their dog tied in their horse trailer...we came around the corner and the poor dog was hanging over the back doors to the trailer, dead. She has enough rope to get over the doors but not make it to the ground

 

[key west chick]

Not to highjack, but since we are talking about tying animals, and horses, please be careful when you leave a halter on a pastured horse. My DD's horse was boarded where they left halters on to help bring them in. She was rubbing her face on a tree and got the check piece hung on a thick little branch nub. The tree had its lower branches trimmed but not all the way to the trunk. It was stinking out far enough to get hung on and she twisted around, lost her footing, fell, and snapped her neck. Someone saw the whole thing happen. It happened so fast she couldnt even get off her horse and to try to help. My DD was devasted and hasn't had a horse since.

 

[Cara]

Yes I couldn't agree more. I hate to see horses turned out in halters. Even if the horse isn't killed or severely injured, it can still frighten itself badly enough that it's very difficult to put anything on its head again.

 

[Nikki28]

Thank you for posting this. Those poor people I would be beside myself.

 

[Imp]

I think this is a great reminder. This happens far more than people realize. When I was a teenager I had a collie that fell out of a pickup bed, and managed to break its neck. To this day 40+ years later I can still envision her running in circles in the hwy. Mom getting hysterical and Dad crying.

Imp- oddly enough it happened pulling out of the vets driveway.

Sorry you had see that Cara.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

A few years ago-
I had a mare that I had just gotten a few weeks earlier and she was totally wild. It took 4 men and 3 hours to get her to my house...she tried to kill herself in the trailer. Six hours after I unloaded her, calmy started to build a relationship with her, brushed her, and that evening I could sit on her....something I don't recommend doing btw unless you are an experienced horseperson or a nut like me who thinks she can ride any horse....Anywho - A few weeks later I was totally in love with this mare. Solid black gaited TWH. She was awesome but still very dangerous at this point. At dark while feeding her out in the yard my sister (who never comes by) shows up and as I walked off I patted her on the butt - BIG mistake to do while she was eating and to be behind her - I was in flip flops and I saw her flinching to kick and I instantly fell to the ground trying to avoid it because my flip flops were slipping and she nailed me in the head. My DH flew over grabbed me up and took me inside...My sisters BF ties the mare to the tree. I come to and instantly fly back outsided because they said they tied her and she was already dead in less than 10 minutes - she had hung herself. I was devastated and didn't even ride for about 6 months after that........... --- and I just broke down telling this over

I loved that horse -

This doesn't just apply to dogs being tied -

 

[Cara]

My husband thinks i'm a nut, but I was always taught these basic tips when tying a horse, and I will not ever do anything different because it doesn't feel right to me.

I won't tie a horse to anything solid, I tie a piece of baling twine around the fence/whatever and tie the lead rope to that. He thinks i'm crazy because a horse could learn to pull back and get away, but i'd rather that than have a panicked or injured horse to deal with. Equally I will not ever tie a horse by the reins. I just can't leave a horse in a trailer or stall with a bridle on.

I'm probably over-cautious, but i'd hate to have a preventable accident.