Are you walking your dogs during this grotty, miserable weather?

[TheTecknician]

I don't have any pets but I wouldn't blame any person or pooch for staying indoors today while it is cold and drizzly. And muddy too. This morning I've only seen one dog and that was inside a local coffee shop. Plus a rather bedraggled-looking pony that was being walked in the direction of its stable. It was wet through.

Hopefully we'll have some sunshine tomorrow 😎.

There are of course certain dog breeds who need more exercise than their more sedentary cousins. It always amazes me where springer spaniels and pointer breeds get their boundless energy from, rain or shine. The outdoors is a way of life for Border collies.

Yes, I walk my working cocker in all weather conditions otherwise he is crazy. Well he is still crazy but after a long walk he calms down a little. We live in the country so walking him through the woods, fields and of the lead means every mile I walk, he has run 5 miles. Great recall so if we see another dog walker he come back to me to put him on the lead. My spaniel would walk 24/7 and he will pester me until I put on my wellies. Taps me on my legs to say, come on, I am ready to go.

Beautifully Brilliant Compassionate Comment 💚🤗🐕💚

Yep! I’m out in all weathers!

Me Too, We're Always Out Walking Whatever The Weather
💚🐕🐕💚

One of the best bits of advice I was given- 40+yrs ago - as a new dog owner - was to make sure I taught my dogs to settle in the house without a walk and to go to the loo wherever you tell them to. There will inevitably be a time when you can’t walk a dog, your illness / surgery or theirs, weather etc. Walks are on my terms, determined by me. No dog will suffer from missing the occasional walk.

I have working bred gundogs (retrievers) who will happily go out no matter how fierce the weather, and a couple of little ones who turn round and head back into the house if it’s wet outside. The retrievers have to be taught to settle in a way the small dogs don’t - but I do that by giving them clear visual clues - no dog walking gear put on, push back walk times to later and later in the day, and some days, maybe once every six weeks, deliberately no walk.

of course the dogs normally get walked, but a well trained dog will accept the limitations you give it - and that’s invaluable when they have to be confined - like after surgery - and you have to train those limitations in - otherwise they are training you to take them out when they demand it 🤷🏼‍♀️

I absolutely agree with this.

Our beagle misses a walk about once a month on average - not because we can't be arsed, or because we're lazy, but because inevitably there will be days where he can't be walked (injury, illness, dangerous weather) and it's vital that he knows a) not to expect it and b) how to settle without it.

He's also never stuck to a set schedule in terms of timings - some days he's out at 7am, other days he won't get out until after lunch. Some days he gets half an hour, others he'll be out for several hours. He almost never gets an evening walk but occasionally he does.

Not only does it give him variety but it also means he's not sitting and pestering me at 8.02 everyday because I normally walk him at 8. At weekends he can happily sleep in until 10am even though he's up at 7 in the week.