To think this is cruel to dogs?

[liftitlikeitshot]

My friend has two chihuahuas who are around 4 or 5. She has an average size garden, enough for them to run about in which they do in the summer. However, we were talking the other day about how much I have to walk my Alsatian and was shocked to hear she doesn't walk her dogs every day.

Of course I know that chihuahuas need less exercise than my type of dog but she says she walks them 2-3 times per week if they're lucky and the rest of the time they just run about the garden and house and play together. She also said, 'I take them out loads in the car' ?? Not sure how that is relevant as obviously that isn't exercise.

AIBU to think that this is pretty cruel to those dogs? Should I say anything? I would offer to walk them when I walk mine but they aren't good with other dogs except each other.

All the people saying “ I don’t walk my dog every day for XYZ reason” is just people trying to avoid saying it’s “because I can’t be bothered”

It really isn't.

Exactly. And a three year old too!

I'm a dog walker and work with dogs daily - there is absolutely nothing wrong with skipping walks, and in fact if you have a nervous, highly-strung or reactive dog, it's recommended that you do so, so that your dog has a chance to relax and decompress at home.

Yes, walks are about more than physical exercise and I'm a huge advocate of "sniffaris" but dogs really don't need to be walked and "enriched" everyday. They've been domesticated for thousands of years, but the idea that they need twice daily structured walks is a very new phenomenon.

I have a large reactive dog with a serious and contagious skin condition, and hip dysplasia (due to skin he cannot have an operation). He cannot be in touch with other animals as he would pass on his condition (and it is untreatable...just manageable with medicated bathing etc). I adopted him in very poor condition, and have had the large garden landscaped to cater for his exercise needs. He is too big to control on a lead and wearing a harness would impact his skin too much. He has visits from my other dog but they have to be kept in separate areas for medical reasons. He has my children and me around for company. He has an amazing diet. While long meadow walks maybe ideal, some dogs won't benefit from that when they have behavioural or medical issues going on. He has a good life with company, good food, an outdoor space and is in a better place physically and emotionally than he was a year ago.

If they aren't good with other dogs then not walking them every day is a good thing. It allows them to decompress.
Ironically I also have an Alsatian, he is young and full of energy and can walk for miles if he wants to. But most days he just gets one walk rather than 2. He's reactive and anxious. He sometimes refuses to leave the house! When he does that, I just take him for a very quick toilet stop and then we go home. He trusts me now that I won't take him too far/he wont bump into dogs that we can get out for a toilet and go home. I do lots of brain games with him and he leads a very enriched life full of attention and fuss, but not as much walking as I thought I would do!!

Every dog requires different levels of activity.

I had a chihuahua a few years ago and he was walked 3/4 times a week, not every day. He didn’t enjoy walking and was happy to lay on the sofa all day for cuddles or play with his toys.

I have had a border collie that needed to be walked at least a hour each time 3 times a day with a lot of other activities indoors to keep her entertained. The breed has very high energy levels.

I now have a small spaniel with health conditions. She is walked maximum twice a week. Even then it’s only for 20 minutes max as she is usually worn out by then and refuses to walk any further. She has 2 nice size gardens to walk around each day during the week that she hardly steps foot in apart from going to the toilet. Her energy levels are a lot lower now she is elderly.

Dogs don't require a walk every single day, particularly smaller breeds. They're running and playing in the garden so they're getting exercise. Rides in the car are mental stimulation with different sights and smells. You said she does kongs and enrichment games too so they're absolutely fine. As long as they're fed, watered, loved and walked a few times a week, I definitely wouldn't bring it up to her and she's not a bad dog owner by the sounds of it.

I’d be more worried about the poor socialisation and training if they are ‘not good with other dogs’ and she’s not actively working to help them feel more comfortable

Ditto - I have 6 dogs who have free access to miles of free exercise in any direction and a huge enclosed garden. They rarely go out for more than 15/20 minutes at any one time.

Keep your nose out. The dogs will be used to this kind of routine, they won’t know any different. If they were destructive or anything then I could understand that they’d need more walks but what’s the issue if they aren’t and are otherwise happy dogs?

I also find it astounding the amount of owners who just don’t walk their dogs?
Part of having a dog for me is the enjoyment of walking him, great for my mental health and physical!

That being said I think it’s strange and not ideal but probably not cruel. If the dogs are happy and not destroying things through lack of stimulation I would be happy at that. I also have a GSD who gets walked 1-3 times in a day… however he is one lazy big boy and in all honesty I doubt he would care if he wasn’t walked for a day. He has acres of fields though as we have horses but chooses to lie on the back step sleeping!

My dogs don’t get walked everyday, neither are small breeds and one is a labrador. One of the reasons we don’t walk them everyday is so that when it’s hot they aren’t pestering to go out. When we take them out, we try to do a mix of on and off lead walks, so they don’t get to just run if they’re on a walk. We do a number of enrichment activities with our dogs. Today they won’t have a big walk. They’ve had a play with each other in the garden, had a play with DH in the garden, had free access to the garden all morning. They’ll be going away with DH tonight and they’ll have two short toilet walks when they get there but they’ll have a really full on day tomorrow and they need to rest. Just walking a dog shouldn’t be their only form of enrichment.

Our neighbour’s had a labrador and they walked it 3 times a day. Each walk was small, about 20 mins so 60 mins over the day but they didn’t cover a large distance, they would cover a couple of hundred metres each walk. They walked the same route every single time, didn’t let the dog off the lead and didn’t let the dog interact with other dogs. They didn’t do any training with the dog and got him to walk by throwing treats in front of him. They didn’t play with him although they would allow him constant access to the garden. Walking your dog every day doesn’t make you a good owner and not walking them everyday doesn’t make you a bad owner. It’s more complicated than that.

Just another lazy modern fad. Trophy dogs that you dont even need to be arsed to walk. Pick their shit up from the garden and everythings ok. Forget stimulation of the environment the live in. Forget exercise. Forget socialisation etc etc.

We have 2 dogs. They get 3 walks per day of which i do 2 30mins. They are off the lead for both of mine. Chasing balls. Rummaging through undergrowth. Being hissed at by swans.

I bet if dogs could talk and were given the choice, they wouldnt choose the same fucking garden/house with a few stimulating kong toys top of their list.

Well cared for dogs with their own garden? Don't be ridiculous, I am a rescuer, happy to share my examples of the animal cruelty I have witnessed but would be deleted for distressing content. Jesus, keep your sticky beak out of a non thing.

So judgemental. Trust me in my role I’ve seen cruel owners and she sounds sensible. You, however do not sound like a ‘friend’

I don't walk mine everyday. I have a reactive dog. Leaving the house/ garden is stressful for all of us.
We do sniffy games, brain games and some parkour in the garden most days. Some days I take them to the secure dog field which is sole use for them to have a mooch about in. About once a week we go for a 'normal' walk. Anything more than that and she would be a stressed out mess.

Some of the unhappiest dogs are the ones who are pounded around the pavements several times a day. No opportunities to stop and sniff. Or the dogs who owners think throwing balls/toys for them to retrieve is a remotely good idea!

She knows her dogs best you don't!

It’s very cruel. My dog gets a minimum of 2 hours a day out of the house come rain or shine. Don’t get a dog if you can’t give it the time it needs.

I'm laughing at the idea of dragging my dog out in the pissing rain for two hours. He will hold his pee in all day long to avoid having to put his delicate toes out in the rain. Dogs needs differ.

Said by someone who knows absolutely nothing about dogs!!!

I bet if dogs could talk and were given the choice, they wouldnt choose the same fucking garden/house with a few stimulating kong toys top of their list.

One of my dogs loves her walks but if she's not walking she does not want to be anywhere apart from the same garden/house = mainly my sofa. She whines to come home if we take her to someones house or say a pub garden. She does love her walks though.

On the contrary dogs being taken on "walks" is a pretty brand new phenomenon, considering they've been domesticated for almost 30,000 years now.

Go back 60 years and dogs in the UK just roamed the streets or mooched in the gardens. They didn't wear collars and harnesses, didn't get walked on a lead and certainly didn't get any form of purposeful enrichment or stimulation unless they were working dogs, and even they don't work daily.

The first professional dog walker (a chap named Jim in NYC) didn't even start his business until the 1960's. Modern dog ownership is VERY different to any kind of dog ownership we've ever seen in the past.

I'm not saying that dogs don't need exercise, but chihuahuas are, first and foremost, companion dogs. They have been bred over thousands of years to be company for people - they're not bred to run for miles or walk for hours and the vast majority simply wouldn't enjoy it. We're not talking about border collies here.

A small companion dog who is walked 2-3 times a week, has constant canine company and that has a nice garden to run and play in really isn't a dog that's being neglected or treated badly, by any stretch of the imagination.

My Friends little (getting on a bit) dog snarls at her if she says walkies and goes to her bed. She will happily walk around their garden. My Friend just comes with me and my pair.

So dog dependent
This exactly. I have a small dog and this breed can be both a homy dog not getting much exercise or going on walks for over 2 hours.

Mine is the latter. If she doesn't go out o e day, she will beg to go out the next, whatever the weather. She would very very very miserable if she was only taken out 2 or 3 times a week rather than the twice a day for 1h 1/2 minimum she gets.

Our neighbour's small dog is never ever taken out and you can tell it desperately wants too. He will escape and not want to go back home and cries every time it's left alone. I do feel for him.

It’s very cruel. My dog gets a minimum of 2 hours a day out of the house come rain or shine. Don’t get a dog if you can’t give it the time it needs

Most people have a job and a life. Sounds like you haven't enough to do.

They play in the garden, they go on walks at least 2/3 times a week (plus some unspecified outing in the car), they have each other for company, the owner engages with them for enrichment exercises. Sounds a damn sight better than my neighbour who takes his lab for a slog around the block (always in the same direction, always on the lead). They do it 3 times a day. They stop at the same 2 spots so neighbour can light a ciggie.

Both of them look as miserable as hell!