Quote: connie sutherland

Yes.... but guard dogs aren't tied up.

But yes, I imagine they did think that tying the dog and being so far off the road made it safe. :>(

Farm dogs are often loose while the owner is home, and tied when not. I meant farm dogs more than "guard", but even a guard dog loose behind an iron/chain fence would've fallen into the same fate.

One of my dogs (the one I have had longest) is trained not to take food outdoors except from me. The mail carrier hands me the treat, etc.

Their bowls (indoors) are free, and my hand or my "OK" for outdoor food. But I do STRONGLY suspect that the others would take anything eagerly from anyone if I wasn't right there ......

 Quote: David Eagle

This owner failed his dog.

I have to say I agree with David. Guard dog, farm dog, family pet -- bottom line is that the dog was left in a vulnerable position by the owner.

I learned my lesson as a child when our family dog tethered in the backyard was attacked by a roaming neighborhood dog that had gotten loose. We were home but just couldn't stop the fight before our dog was seriously injured. He died at the vet later that day.

Nevertheless, this poisoning is horrible as it was a premeditated act by a human on a vulnerable animal -- and that's absolutely heartbreaking.

If the s.o.b. went that far out of their way to poison an animal, why would it make any differance how the animal was kept? While I'm not a fan of tieing dogs, would it matter in this case if the dog was in a kennel or even kept in the house? The $@*^head would throw the meat over the kennel fence or just leave it laying on the ground in the back yard for the dog to find.
So let's not gang up on the victim here, there is some really warped twisted individual out in rural Texas, and they are probably low on the radar screen. That is until they graduate to something higher on the priority list. So what I think we should do is pray that this sicko walks up the wrong driveway, walks in front of a bus, or has his car stall on the railroad tracks. Because guys, a piece of meat can be lieing anywhere, under the park bench, on the back trail, or in the next hedge row and 99.9% of 'our' dogs will inhale it as soon as they find it.
We don't need to find a bad guy, he's the shadow in our dreams and now he's running loose in Texas. Don't blame the victim.
Randy

I am with you Randy. Blaming the owner here is pointless. I live a mile off the highway and my nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile a way over a hill.

If someone wanted to, they could get to my dogs as well. No matter if I have implemented the "don't take food from strangers" I think my dogs would resist at first, but the longer it sat there and me not home, they would eventually give out and eat it.

 Quote: Carol Boche

I am with you Randy. Blaming the owner here is pointless. I live a mile off the highway and my nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile a way over a hill.

You're right.

But I'm still a huge non-fan of leaving a dog tied out in an open yard with the owners gone. Poisoning is not the only concern.

Rather than ganging up on the victim, I see this as an awareness thing for other owners.

I totally agree, Carol, because it's a dogs nature to do that. What I was questioning wasn't whether the dog should have been trained better, but whether they should have been kept better. Nature and genetics can always overcome training, given sufficient incentive. I realize that keeping a dog crated indoors is not practical for all owners, and to be honest I don't know what the right answer is.

For me, the right answer is this: My dogs health is my responsibility. That means I do NOT risk it by allowing unsupervised "outside time". This isn't practical for everyone, it isn't the right answer for everyone, but I couldn't do any less by my dogs.

 Quote: connie sutherland

 Quote: carol boche

I am with you Randy. Blaming the owner here is pointless. I live a mile off the highway and my nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile a way over a hill.

You're right.

But I'm still a huge non-fan of leaving a dog tied out in an open yard with the owners gone. Poisoning is not the only concern.

Rather than ganging up on the victim, I see this as an awareness thing for other owners.

I agree. Awareness is key.

I do not agree with tying a dog out or leaving them loose at all.

My dogs are all kenneled when I am gone and the kennels were made with "escapees" in mind.

With as many dogs as I have, keeping them crated in the house (which I would do if my hubby would let me) is kind of out of the question.
However, my community is pretty good and I do not advertise a whole lot on what I do other than search and rescue.

farms and rural homes alot of times have dogs for different reasons than those in cities or towns.

my relatives in Arkansas had dog hutches for all their dogs but they didn't pen any of them except one or two that would try and start fights...those were penned until time to hunt or go for a walk in the woods for fun.

You couldn't see my great grandfather's house from the road at all and at night you couldn't see the dirt road driveway, either.

If someone wants to kill dogs in this manner the only way to stop them is put the dogs inside the house.

My first dog was poisoned by someone throwing tainted meat over into the backyard. I was 4 years old. My dad didn't tell me until I was a teenager.

No body agrees with tieing a dog outside or to run unsupervised. The larger issue is the sicko. This tainted stuff could be ANYWHERE. We all work and exercise our dogs in the great big wide open world, and I for one can not say mine would not scarf down any piece of meat found, be it road kill or god forbid something intended to harm. And my dog and I live/work together 24/7. So once again, let's not go off on some holier thou trip about how a dog should be housed and maintained. Pray this poor sick individual is put out of their misery with a Greyhound bus or a piano from the fourth story apartment.
Randy