up the road from us a couple take there lab out every day for about an hour for the rest of the day the poor boy is locked in his cage she will not let him in the garden as she says he is wild,and ruins her garden i have tried to educate her on welfare issues but she is not interested ,what should i do,as i am worried about this poor dog.

Sheila.

Ok so the dog gets a walk at some stage in the day, thats good. BUT it can't spend the rest of the day cooped up in a cage, as the weather gets warmer this is going to cause distress, besides all of the distress of being confined

You have spoken to this couple and they seem not keen to take your advice. It sounds very much to me that they have bitten off more than they could chew, they have landed themselves with an animal that needs more than they can give it.

I would tactfully suggest to these people that they would be better off with a fish in a tank, unless they are prepared to spend time with the dog giving training and exercise then they should not be dog owners.

Failing that if you see evidence of the dog in distress or confined for long periods of time I would contact the RSPCA (crossed fingers here)

The new legislation introduced in April 2007 states that a pet "has to be allowed to behave normally" or something very similar.  It's on the DEFRA website.  They are eligible for prosecution.