Given you don’t have the faintest bit of actual information about this and are working entirely on presumption, I think your behavior has officially descended to Concern Troll level and I’d appreciate it if you’d cut it out.
There was absolutely no reason for you to compare this healthy and well-fed dog, who you have not actually seen caged for more than a minute, to someone physically attacking an animal – except for your own need to escalate and therefore feel like you’re doing something noble. (I mean, if we’re going to bring in random anecdotes, I once saw somebody scream abuse over a video of farm kittens falling FOUR INCHES off the end of a slide. Though come to think of it, they were a bit more reserved and polite about it.)
The only animal being abused here for certain is the high horse that’s currently being forced to endure your weight.
And you have seen this dog for more than a minute and have concluded it’s healthy and well fed. There is more to feeding a dog to make it healthy in body and mind. Does it ever see a vet? What, exactly is he fed? I never said he was physically attacked. I said he was denied the socialization dogs thrive on. Also, I was never impolite in my comments. Call me a concern troll. If it means anything, I was a service dog trainer. And if it means anything else, check out some blogs dedicated to 21st century dog behavior and enlightened, progressive training and living with them. “Concern Troll”, yes, and proud of it. Empathy is a good trait in my book.
If the dog was continuing to do this when people weren’t present, I’d agree with you.
But as you said: You’re guessing. We’re all guessing. We don’t have enough information to reach a firm conclusion either way. He may instead have been trained/encouraged to dance and be doing the trick because it has reliably earned him attention/reward in the past.
Reason to investigate? Sure, just because that enclosure is smaller than I like. On the other hand, I know a shepherd who spends a great deal of his outdoors time on his owners’ property, which is at most a 1200 square foot space around the house plus a bit more space on the porch, and seems pretty happy about it – he’s got half the neighborhood humans trained to retrieve the balls he deliberately “loses” past the fence., and when he isn’t playing that game he lounges on the porch (usually alone) and watches the world go by. He does get lots of attention from his humans when they’re home, and he does travel with them sometimes, and he seems perfectly happy with this.
I’m also reminded of a lady who described her greyhound as “a 40-mile-per-hour couch potato”.
So: Is the video reason to investigate? Yes, perhaps. It it reason to assume the worst? Sorry, but We Don’t Know and I don’t see enough there to cause me to assume.
I’ve seen so many dogs penned in the same small enclosures in France. The only time they get out is during hunting season. Yes, they’re fed. No, they don’t see vets. Is that a life? At least your friend’s dog gets some interaction and play from his people and neighbors. A dog doesn’t have to live on a large estate to fulfill its physical and exercise needs as long as it gets daily walks, play, training, mental stimulation, and a peaceful and consistent living environment living with its people.
Yeah, never heard of stereotypy before, but I was thinking an animal going nuts from confinement and lack of stimulation will probably try all sorts of things to survive each minute, being less bearable than the last…
Concern trolling aside, one thing is certain; dogs are very adept at discovering what gets them attention and praise and will repeat that activity if they think it will get them what they want.
