How bad is it to not (regularly) walk dog?

Well no one is going to prosecute someone for thsi…and I guess many people have ‘yard’ dogs ( which never go out) …..but I think it’s very sad….out dog love the smells….he loves his regular walks…..and he loves new walks…..he’s a proper towny…….loves town and city walks best…..although he did climb snowdonia this year at age 11.5 years 😊….his idea of a good day out is taking the train to Liverpool….he gets so excited 🤣
my neighbour doesn’t really walk her dog….maybe a couple of times a month….she has started to a bit more now as she said he was starting to turn his back and look at the wall and she thought he might be a bit depressed

My last dog was a doberman and he needed walking for miles. My current dog is a toy breed and playing outside is enough most days, we do complex games though like scentwork. She is an indoorsy girl and would mostly rather stay on the sofa than go on long walks. It's great when I'm busy but a shame that she can't manage 6 hours hikes at the weekend as I'm very outdoorsy haha. It depends on the dog and their age etc, tajt said even around the block once or twice a day for mental stimulation would be better than nothing.

Maybe offer to walk the dog if they can't

Generally most dogs will need to go out for walks or they will go absolutely crazy.

But on an individual level there will be some that are not so fussed and be happy enough if they have plenty of stimulation and a garden.

Thats very sad.
Dogs need to leave the home environment for walks ideally twice a day. Their sense of smell is so much more highly tuned that the endless sniffing along pavements and of other dogs and basically everywhere they go is like them reading a newspaper or having a doggie chat. Its good for their mental health and exercise is good for physical health.

Could you suggest that the exitable dog would love to go for ealkies and would benefit from a bit of exercise off lead in a park or on lead around the area.
I presume the lazy owners haven't bothered to train the dog to recall so will say it never comes back. If no one had taught you to read you couldnt do that either.

The RSPCA won't care. But it isn't OK for a younger, excitable dog. An old, small, not very active dog, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. But dogs love walks; sniffing, meeting other dogs, pooing.

Your friend is right. Not to walk the dog is a miserable thing to do and may well lead to behaviour problems later.

My friend who is a big dog lover says large gardens are great for playing and relaxing, but in general a dog will also need a walk as it’s good socialisation for them and enrichment with new smells, people etc.