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.

There’s far more to dog ownership than a daily walk. People need not be pious because they take their large, high energy dog for a daily long walk. 🙄Mine is a small breed but needs a huge amount of daily training - including brain activities and mental stimulation - or he gets bored. I happen to walk mine daily because, selfishly, it’s my “me time”. However, he needs so much other mental stimulation and he’s not left alone very often and he has a lot of human input as well as dog socialisation. I would honestly say he gets the most benefit from kongs, puzzles,
lick mats, brain training games and lots of human interaction than from his walks. I didn’t walk him on those couple of days when it was 32 degrees and he was absolutely fine.

LOL do you know what cruel actually means?

not all dogs need a walk every day

and that isn’t because there owners cba

I work full time and I do have a life. If you want a dog you have to make sure you can give them the time they need. They are not on demand entertainment for you to forget about and only bother with on your own terms…

Completely depends on the circumstances. I have 8 dogs. Don't walk them but we live on an acre and they chase each other around often. Plus I go throw balls and chase after them too. They get heaps of exercise and have plenty of company. They spend a good deal of time indoors curled up on lounges when I'm inside. They aren't deprived. But a larger dog in a suburban backyard yes it should be walked. Small dogs in a large backyard or dogs on a large property that get plenty of exercise it's fine. As long as they are well looked after and not locked outside chained up all day I can't see the issue.

Cruel. You're throwing that word around quite easily. Go watch some puppies with mango worms on YouTube and maybe reevaluate.

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.

DDog loves zoomies or proper running at the dog park but walks? He hides behind whatever family member looks most static and acts like the walker is trying to murder him. If he had his way we'd spend about 90% of our time on the sofa with him, 9% pulling on his toy, 1% flat out running and zoomies. No actual walking. Like an animal.

I think it's a sight hound thing.

@MrsTerryPratchett Yep ours is the same she gets 2 or 3 walks a week and mostly under duress. If it's raining not a hope in hell she loves zoomies but just walking not a merry chance in hell she actually refuses to budge if we have walked for 5 mins and she hasn't had a ball chase (all our zooming locations are within a 5 min walk) and will then pull to go home!

all our zooming locations are within a 5 min walk

We have one nearby but the other, better, one is a drive. And he only really wants to go in the car if there is a quorum of the family with him.

I mean I love him but bloody hell.

Mind your own business and go and look up the definition of Cruel in the Oxford English Dictionary.

And maybe consider taking up a hobby.

I can’t speak for other dogs but all of mine have lived for walks. Occasionally I am not able to walk him and he is fine but would be cruel not to take him out most days. I walk him 1-2 hours a day. I do have a fairly large garden but it isn’t as interesting for him as walks.

even when we spend time with my boyfriend and his dog, both dogs still get super excited about going for a walk.

I understand where you're coming from, but this care may be breed specific.
I owned a beloved chihuahua who often refused to walk. Sometimes the only way I could exercise her was to carry her away from home so she'd walk back to the house 😂She also didn't appreciate the dog park, despite my best efforts, and loved nothing better than sunning herself in the garden (provided with a blanket, of course). I now have a pug who lives for her walks.

I have a pack of 4 toy dogs. They roam the entire house and have a dog-door into the security-fenced backyard that is available 24/7. They are never walked. I am in a wheelchair and cannot nor can I afford dog walkers either.
(Before anyone starts, I can and do pay for vet care, groomers, and high quality food and needed medication.) Also they have lots of toys in rotation.
They play with each other and with all the enrichment toys that are available. When I am taken out for a drive I take one of them with me. Three of them love car rides and one hates them.
Different breeds have different needs. There

😂 I don't think people really understand just how lazy some sighthounds are (working breed lurchers aside from that one!)

If you want a dog you have to make sure you can give them the time they need. They are not on demand entertainment for you to forget about and only bother with on your own terms…

I don't disagree. But not all dogs need or want daily walks.

I'm a dog walker and walk all sorts of dogs from wolf dogs to terriers - and let me tell you, plenty of them will plant their bums and refuse to walk in the rain, or the wind, or the heat...

What do you think is more cruel? Listening to your dog and allowing them to stay home that day, or physically dragging them out for a walk because you have some weird belief that all dogs need multiple long walks everyday? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes, all dogs need exercise, company and stimulation but that doesn't necessarily need to be in the form of daily walks.

We have a rescue Lhasa Apso- she’d never been walked before we got her.

I walk her daily but she hates being out in the rain or if it’s windy. She hates the mud. She’s been known to sit down on a walk if it starts to rain & I have to carry her home or back to the car if we’ve been in the woods or playing fields.

If it’s raining she lies in her bed & refuses to get out if I call her for a walk.

Also she refuses to walk in the evening & we play games with her instead either in the garden or house. Again weather dependent.

All dogs needs are different. I grew up with a Dalmatian - she had way more energy.

Given they are tiny dogs and have a garden I’d say that’s fine.

Many people think those who work full time shouldn’t be dog owners. They say what’s the point in having a dog if you’re out all day, 5 days a week. I happen to not agree but you can see where I’m going with this….

It's fine! They're running in the garden. People are so OTT and judgemental about dogs in the UK, it's ridiculous.

I have a tiny 3kg dog and don’t walk her every day. If I don’t we play in our massive garden or enrichment with a kong/hide treats etc. She is walking them so there’s no issue other than you being a busy body!

Chihuahuas need 30 minutes of exercise a day. They are getting that. Different breeds need different amounts of exercise. When I had a GS I had a neighbour telling me daily that I was over walking her, because she'd been told that by a vet when she had a Pomeranian and was trying to go on long walks. I fell out with her in the end.

@Peterpatter, do you have a chihuahua? You can damage the bones of some breeds if you over walk. Exercise isn't just walking. Some breeds just need company and stimulation most days in the form of playing in the garden.

We don't always walk daily. It's good for dogs to change things up. Walks at different times, other enrichment stuff, on lead, off lead, chilled and calm days.

I think you are probably BU based on the breed.

I have a springer spaniel and always have so daily walks are and absolute must, and usually involve a swim wherever possible too.

But chihuahuas have titchy little legs. I can well imagine that playing in the garden could meet their needs. I also think she's saying they are stimulated when she takes them out in the car which is probably important too.

YABU

I have a westie who doesn't get walked every day as she doesn't want it. Some days she'll happily walk, orhers days we'll get a couple of houses down the street and she flops down and refuses to move any further.

I'm a huge advocate for daily walking, it's just what I've always done. My dogs would hate not to be walked every day, they thrive on it. In fact they're walked twice a day!

I would say most dogs need this, they need a change in scenery and mental stimulation.

I've always believed that all dogs, irrespective of breed/size should get the opportunity to get out of the house/garden every day.

But if her dogs are happy then 🤷🏼‍♀️

I'd say she probably knows best, but then a lot of dog owners are utterly clueless so who knows.

Read a well informed piece years ago (nope, can’t remember where 😁) that suggested walking dogs is a human construct and that in the wild they use energy only when they need too.
two tiny dogs playing in an average sized garden seems perfectly adequate.
Our terrier was very happy to just wander in and out at will on hot days. She’s happily walk forever in autumn/winter, though.
I see way too many panting, uncomfortable looking dogs out in the heat of the day when they’d be much better off at home.