Do you feel silly going for a walk by yourself without a dog?!

[C1239]

I love walking, quite like my own company, but I always feel silly going for a walk by myself! It would be much easier if I had a dog! Does anyone else feel like this or is it fine to go for a long walk by yourself?!

Wtf? No. Don't get a dog for this reason!

@crumpet makes a good point. When I’m out with my dog she’s often ahead or behind so I’d appear to be walking alone.

No, I regularly go for walks alone. I don't really care what other people think because it's good exercise. I do lots of things alone though. I prefer to go at my own pace and I can please myself by doing exactly what I want.

Most people are busy with their own lives and thoughts. There's no point in worrying about what they think. In most cases, they'll barely give you a second thought.

Nope!

Why do you need a purpose that’s not about you?

You’re taking exercise, why isn’t that enough

I walk alone all the time, I didn’t realise some thought it might be odd or unusual.
I have zero desire to own a dog, so it’ll always be just me 😁

Same, I feel self conscious and have avoided walking alone. Used to do it quite regularly but stopped during Covid times. I find I feel less self conscious if I carry a water bottle.

*It's not something to smugly judge as if its a totally weird concept to feel 'silly' as some of the oddly condescending responses suggest!

I've always loved going for walks on my own, even just to discover new areas local to me. Have a dog now, nearly 2 & it's great, he loves to be out. As I drive too, I like to go to new places & just walk, benefits him & me!
Give it a go & just discover what's around you.

I walk on my own every day briskly for about an hour or so just purely for exercise. I love it. Never occurred to me anyone would feel silly doing that….!

I can't believe that there are adults who feel self conscious when they walk alone. How do you people manage to get through day to day life?

OP of course you don't need a dog or any other reason to walk alone. Where do you get this idea? You probably don't sit in a Café alone either? Or go to the cinema alone? Newsflash - it doesn't matter what other people think.

I do about 30,000 steps or a good few hours every day. Listen to music and don't really notice or care about other people!

Why are you so dismissive of other people's feelings? You then run that on to slagging off the rest of their life?

@lovem thats impressive. How do you fit that in? Are you retired?

Before I had dogs, I would say no, enjoy your walk.

Now I have dogs and I feel guilty if I walk past a park without them, seeing all the squirrels seductively swaying their tails 😂

Walking on my own is my favourite thing to do

If I get out of the house, alone, without a small child, dog or husband my first thought isn't I look silly it's.... Freeeeedoooommmm.......

I've always walked alone happily but I also have always liked taking a book to coffee shop alone and wouldn't blink at going out for dinner alone so it's maybe just part of enjoying solitude. Which, again, with 2 under 5s and a dog is not a frequent occurrence

What?!
Why would you feel silly going for a walk by yourself? Loads of people go for a walk on their own near me.
I love walking by myself. My only challenge is avoiding the dog mess that irresponsible dog owners leave.
My favourite places to walk are those with the least amount of dogs.

Boring response. Why say this, is it even helpful? FFS....
Perhaps OP has skills and is confident in many ways about many things you can only dream of!!! Think on before making comments that only serve to undermine and ridicule. Very fucking supportive, not.

That's like saying you don't go to theme parks without children.

It's perfectly normal to walk without a dog.

Stop worrying what other people think, honestly they are too wrapped up in their own lives to dwell on you.

I find it helps to walk with a purpose or destination.

So for example, I will walk the 2 mile circuit with Lidl half way and find an excuse to need to pop in, like a bottle of milk or loaf of bread then walk the second half of the circuit home.

I hate wandering aimlessly I find it really boring and feel self conscious.

No I don't why should anybody women feel as individually feel like this at all?

I have the day to myself and just about to go out (with my dog) for a long, frosty walk. I will count how many walkers sans dogs are about!😀

@Lordofthebutterfloofs don’t wander, stride!

I have a dog so of course walk him regularly but he is getting on in years so I often go for a walk alone and get a good pace on. Invest in some good podcasts and crack on!

I voted that YABU however, I am a dog owner and when my 15 year old dog died last year, I did feel silly going for walks without a dog. I’ve gotten another dog since.