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What's Best for Our Best Friend?

By Kimberly Burr

If Fido could read, Fido would read this.

As we know, Fido mostly yearns to be noticed, to give and get lots of attention, and to eat! Sleeping, running, and rolling in the cool grass are some more of the normal activities for which our best friends are built.

Because most Californian’s understand the makeup of pets and wish that the normal and simple ways of our animals be the standard to which industry and owners live up to, a few laws were passed to help maintain that normalcy where it is not well understood.

One such guiding principle is that dogs must not be chained for more than 3 hours in any 24-four hour period. This makes sense insofar as dogs are four legged bundles of energy and are very sociable. Chaining a dog is not only not normal for Fido, it can have a bad affect on Fido - including claws that grow into the foot pads causing pain and crippling, severe loneliness, and even aggression.

In addition, chained extensively, animals live in their own feces, urine, flies and other bacteria. Among other things, this makes Fido smell bad and unattractive to the owner increasing the isolation of Fido from the attention and interactions Fido needs and wants.

If a running line or trolley line is utilized while Fido is briefly chained up, it cannot have a choke or pinch collar around Fido’s neck. This is probably obvious. Such devices are very painful and potentially lethal to Fido. Working with Fido to get Fido used to a trolley system, that allows Fido to move around much more, will help Fido learn to slow down when the line is reaching the end rather than have Fido snap the line and the throat unnecessarily.

In case you were wondering about dogs on leashes, “nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit a person from walking a dog with a hand-held leash.” (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 122335). Although not a requirement, nothing would make Fido happier than going out on a leash with YOU, romping around with buddies at the dog park, or tearing around a big field, a lake, or river once in a while. That of course would not be a bad day for Mommy or Daddy either.

Additional interesting information for pet owners can be found at www.animallaw.info/statutes/us/california.

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