Shall we still chain dogs?

The Seimas is trying to ban keeping dogs on a chain. It is true that it would be possible to tie it up for a short time, but only for 2 hours, if longer, it will already be treated as animal torture, cruel behavior, and a fine from 150 to 2000 euros would be threatened. The people interviewed in our area express different opinions: for some, it is animal torture, others say that they have kept their dogs like this all their lives, others say it directly: this is the nonsense of the seymūns, and still others say that installing a dog aviary costs quite a bit, so, probably, will have to give up the dog.

It is better to let them into the shed than to build an expensive aviary

The interviewed senior citizen does not contain her anger, she says that the government does not have serious work to do, that they come up with all kinds of nonsense. “My puppy Sargis has been on a leash all his life, sometimes we only let him run in the yard. Cared for, eats not just anything, but what is tastier. I don’t think I don’t care or love him, but what am I going to do if I can’t keep him on track? I don’t know if it’s worth spending money on an aviary, the puppy is already old,” thinks pensioner Kazimiera. She says that she heard this news on TV and it was no joke that she got nervous when she thought, what is waiting for her Sargis? “I won’t be able to keep a yard guard anymore. Of course, he won’t save me if someone comes, but with his barking, he also tells me about a stranger in the yard, and if some fox is targeting my chickens. A good, watchful dog,” says the elderly woman. She prays to God that she has never hurt her Guardian, she really hasn’t: she doesn’t hurt her pet. On the other hand, she is already so used to the dog’s place near the house. They say that if Sargis was used to living in the room, she would rather let him into the shed than build an expensive aviary, but is it unlikely that old Sargis will get used to the shed?

You won’t have any problems: the puppy sleeps together

City dogs were more fortunate. They live in the dwellings of their masters.

Met Onutė, walking in the city park with baby Tobi, says that her daughter’s family bought her a puppy so that she wouldn’t be so sad alone. “As far as I can remember, village dogs were always tied up. It doesn’t surprise me. Will everyone now be able to provide them with the necessary conditions? Probably not, so the shelters will not fit everyone, how many of them will be so unnecessary. And there will be stray dogs in the forests and villages again,” she thinks. They are not worried about their dog, because he lives like a gentleman: they both go for walks together, live in an apartment, sleep in the owner’s bed.

He will not build an aviary from his pension

Another elderly lady says that she has one small puppy – a maid, another – a yard guard. “My pension is small, so I will definitely not build an aviary. I am happy that I feed myself, buy food for the puppies and pay my taxes. Even the children help,” she admits. She does not know if her children will agree to build an aviary for Ruji. “Then what will I have to do with him?” – the old woman does not know what to think. However, after thinking about it, she says that maybe no one will complain about her, and the police have never come to her yard. “Maybe they won’t go now?” – he hopes. Because she takes care of her pets: she is in a good mood and always has food and water.

It is necessary to educate people, to change their attitude towards their pets

Loreta Kolkienė, the owner of the dog kennel “Dzūkijos barzdukai”, says that she is in favor of dogs not being chained. “I’m for the welfare of dogs,” she says. However, he believes that this requirement should be implemented gradually: first of all, people need to be educated, to change their attitude towards their pets. She herself bought a breeding dog 7 years ago, she has had her own dog kennel for 5 years, she admits that during these 7 years even she has changed her attitude towards dogs. “Perhaps it was influenced by the seminars that I regularly go to. I communicate with kennels, with people who raise and train dogs”, she thinks. If it is normal for many people, or still for some people, that the dog is tied to a chain, because it used to be like that in the villages, and even now such cases really happen, it is not normal for Loreta. Now her attitude has changed drastically: she is against chaining dogs. “When you live with dogs, you start looking at them differently. If the dog is in pain, it seems that I am in pain too: you cry and go through it,” admits L. Kolkienė, owner of the dog kennel “Dzūkijos barzdukai”.

“It’s not good for a dog to be tied up 24 hours a day, all year long, after all, all its life,” he observes. It’s no secret that her mother’s dogs are also tied, her mother’s attitude towards four-legged friends is unlikely to change: she ties the dogs and feeds them with what is left from the dinner table. There are certainly still such people tied to the way in the villages. “Well, what will their life be like in 10 years?” the interviewer asks. It’s hot, the sun is shining, it’s raining, and there are blizzards, and the dog, tied to the kennel in outdoor conditions, can’t hide from the wind or the sleet, it’s even better if the kennel is not a hole. “When I was still a child, I was stuck with the image of people taking their dogs to the potato fields at my grandmother’s in the village and tying them there so that the wild boars wouldn’t eat the potatoes,” recalls Loreta.

She thinks that a dog really needs to run around in an aviary and that it doesn’t cost a lot to build one. The net is not expensive, even the wooden stakes, the roof – it is not a cosmic sum. “On the other hand, the needy and elderly could perhaps be helped and somewhat compensated, covering the costs of building an aviary. Maybe what kind of support would they provide? Or would they make discounts for aviary materials? Something should be done to make it easier for people to solve this problem and also to take care of animal welfare. And the children and grandchildren will help to build it,” the interviewer explains. According to her, many foreign countries have already implemented such a thing: you will definitely not see a dog on a chain. On the other hand, the aviary is not built for a year or two, it will stand for 20 years, and not one dog will be able to live in it. “Only, of course, the aviary needs to be built sufficiently spacious, because if you build a small one – 2 meters by 2, it’s of no use. If you close a bigger dog in a small aviary, it’s also torture for the dog,” he points out. The owner of the kennel says that there are dog breeds that need to get out, they need to go out, even if they live in an aviary. “After all, most people have fenced their yards, so they could let their puppies run there and there would be no big problems,” he says.

When asked if people will not take drastic measures and throw away their pets lightly or send them to shelters, Loreta says that when she was looking for her missing puppy, she really didn’t see many loose dogs in Lazdijai. “I would not like that to happen, although when I first heard this proposal of the Seimas, I don’t even know why, but the first thought that came to my mind was that there would be a lot of stray dogs,” he still admits. It can happen that it is better to let the dog run than to build an aviary, and then other problems will arise: the chicken will kill someone, God forbid, someone else will be bitten.

If the Seimas approves this proposal, the law would enter into force in 2027.