To never walk my dog?

[labradorcuddles3]

I was recently chatting to a friend who raised an eyebrow at the fact my dog never goes for typical walks round the street. But that’s because I have 3 horses and bring her to the stables with me everyday. We are there for at least 2-3 hours a day but often much longer and she gets to run about off the lead the entire time and can run about in the fields, or just generally run about at the stables. Sometimes there are other dogs for her to play with and sometimes she runs around with her best friend (a Shetland pony!) but sometimes she’s just happy to run and explore by herself. There’s also a big stream where she can play in (it’s not deep and she’s always supervised around water). She is usually exhausted with all the running, swimming, exploring, rolling in the muck heap (🤢) and just generally having fun. By around 2-3 hours she usually lies down and chills out and is knackered. When we get home she sleeps solidly.

this isn’t a humble brag about how my dog doesn’t get normal walks etc, but my friend said it would be better for her to get normal street walks too and our routine isn’t enough exercise for her.

she seems happy with our routine but if she’s missing out on other things by not going on normal street walks then I will find the time to squeeze it in. But if she’s happy, exhausted and getting 2-3 (usually more!) hours of exercise a day then I assumed that would be enough but I’m worried now that actually she needs more and I’ve not given her enough.

the only thing I can think of that she’s missing out on is practicing walking on a lead but she is fully trained in this and we do practice it sometimes as she is on the lead at horse shows. The other thing is she doesn’t always get other dogs to interact with as it’s hit or miss if the other dogs are at the yard or not.

basically I’m wondering if anyone knows should I be incorporating an on lead street walk into our routine or is my dog missing out on something by not having it?

Thank you in advance!

As long as she's getting some running in there and doesn't slow down, doggy heaven.

My dog would be in absolute heaven with that lifestyle your friend is being an idiot

The OP's dog is not a working dog though. Clearly every dog is different, but if my dogs were in the OP's field, they'd probably sniff around for 5 minutes then hang around by me waiting for something to happen.

Walking on different surfaces and at different inclines (hills etc) is great for maintaining health and working different muscles. It's not essential of course, but even if I had land, I'd still sometimes take my dogs to different places for a change of scene.

Your friend is one of those round the block dog walkers isn’t she. yeah it’s those dogs I feel sorry for.

Some dog owners are really self-righteous. There is a wrong way of doing things (not their way) or a right way (their way).

Maybe different dogs and different owners have different needs and solutions - whether or not it is deemed acceptable by some random on the internet.

As a dog owner you should be aware that smell is more important to dogs than sight. So going around the same block may look the same to you, but will vary to the dog (different smells because of other dogs and changes in the weather and time of year).

Also where i live it is basically illegal for dogs to be off lead. That hotbed of animal cruelty Sweden.

As with most dog threads on MN, this has posters popping up to make others feel bad, just because.....

When I saw your title I thought she never leaves the house so was prepared to reprimand you! But no it sounds like has a great life. The purpose of walking the dog is to provide her exercise and stimulation, which she’s getting by the bucket load. As she’s good on the lead I’d ignore your friend.

Of course it's not unreasonable. We don't walk DDog when we go down to stay at my parents' home. They have acres of land and always have their own dog plus dogs from family members on their holidays, so they just have free-run really, sometimes they'll be around my stepdad when he's gardening, or us when we are sitting out having a drink, and sometimes they'll just be off sniffing by themselves. When DDog has stayed there before while we've been on holiday, she's always lost weight when she comes back from all the running! Sounds like a lovely existance for a dog.

I hate street walks and almost never do them.

Certain people just have to have an (loudly voiced) opinion when it comes to other peoples dogs, like they know everything about all dogs. I have stopped listening to these types of people as they just give you paranoia about whether you are doing the right thing. If your dog seems happy and healthy to you (the person who knows them best), then great, that's all you need!
A family member attempted to lecture me at the weekend about how often I walk my dog (3 x a day) as I happened to mention that on rare occasions she might only get 2 walks. He then rambled on about how much exercise dogs need, blah blah blah. Which I found hilarious as their dogs rarely get regular walks and are fat and overfed on human food scraps from the table. My dog is walked loads every day and is super fit and healthy. I just sat there calmly blanking them out and ignoring how much of a hypocrite they were being. There is literally no point in even trying to explain yourself to these types of people, just ignore and move on.

Have faith in yourself OP, your dog's life sounds very similar to our dog's lives. Like a farm dog (they never get 'walked'), they have a life of Reilly which is the dream of other dogs who only get walks on their leads twice a day. They get to follow their noses, play, run, explore etc. If your dog is happy, obedient, and well, he is fine and you've no need to worry. That said, I have recently got myself a puppy of a breed which does require careful and consistent training and obedience training for it to have a happy life (unlimited and abundant amounts of energy/boisterousness/speed/affection/love/hunt - prey drive etc! and I am spending time with her on and off the lead to support this training. But if your dog is happy and content you're fine!

Our dogs have a similar life to yours, follow me everywhere while I do sheep / horses etc for 2 - 3 hours a day.

I also do try to take them on fairly regular walks to other places as well but these are always rural footpaths where for most of the time, they can be off the lead. It’s so important for dogs to be able to explore all the sensory possibilities at their own pace.

Forget what your friend says your dog has the perfect life bless

I think in your case, where your dog is getting hours of off-lead exercise in an interesting environment like fields and stables where there's plenty for her to do, smell and see, and other animals and people to interact with, it's fine for her not to have a formal walk, as it were. I'm assuming your dog can walk OK on the lead if you need her to? Obviously for the purposes of safety and control, she should be able to be walked on a lead on the rare occasions it might be necessary. But your dog is having lots of enjoyable and exciting outdoor exercise every day at a location away from the home, so she's doing fine in that respect!

Dogs need walks for a) exercise and b) mental stimulation and interaction. Your dog is getting those things in the same way that she would if you were taking her on a daily off-lead walk for an hour in the park or round a field, or on a regularly daily footpath route. It would certainly be nice to take her to new places now and again so she can experience new environments, but she's getting enough daily exercise and stimulation from her hours with you and the horses.

The people who get it wrong are the ones who think they don't need to walk their dog 'because she gets exercise running around the garden' or believe that the only kind of walk a dog needs is 15 minutes up to the corner shop and back on the lead.

It's perfectly possible to understand that sometimes dogs have problems that require them to be on the lead and also, at the same time, feel sorry for them.

I appreciate that it's necessary sometimes for a dog that would be danger to others and/or themselves if they were off-lead, and of course you as the owner don't really have an alternative in the case of your own dog - I don't think you're doing anything wrong. But I still feel sorry for your dog because obviously walks would be more enjoyable for her if she wasn't stressed by other dogs and could run around freely. It's nobody's fault and you're not a bad dog owner, but of course it's a shame for any dog to feel stress every time they see another dog.

I'm a vet and I street/lead walk my dogs once in a blue moon. They get 2-3 hours of exercise every day and it's all off lead - free running, sniffing, playing, swimming, with bits of training here and there. Dogs need training and appropriate physical and mental stimulation. Your dog's lifestyle sounds fantastic, I wouldn't change anything.

That's because you've conditioned your dog to do nothing unless you're leading it around. The op clearly said that her dog was very active while at the stables. It really not at issue.

First rule of mumsnet, you can't say you have a horses and then not post pics. we need to see all the animals involved to form a reliable opinion. secondly, not sure I would encourage the friendship between your dog and Shetland pony. the latter will be a hugely bad influence and teach your dog all kind of naughty tricks. this way, you will get twice as much cheekiness. they are probably conspiring all sorts behind your back.

ps ignore your friend... sounds like your dog has an active happy life

Same as any farm dog. They don't get taken 'on walks' either. Your lab is getting plenty of exercise, that's all that matters.

If your dog is happy and healthy what's the problem? Ut sounds more like how a dog would be behave "in the wild" anyway, one of my dogs would absolutely love that as he just likes to mooch about and sniff rather than do a long walk. It's whatever suits you and your dog that matters

Only came for the photo, to be honest.

<disappointed>

Sounds perfect. Lucky doggie!

I suppose maybe your friend might mean 121 time with your dog. I have two dogs and i bring them to a secure field to run around in together but I also do lead walks separately where we do different training so they both have quality time with me where they’re just focused on me.

I just asked my dog. He said can he come on this not a walk it sounds fab

I do the same with my dog. She does get other walks, but not every single day (other than a stroll round the block before bed).

She comes to the yard with me in the mornings and she has a good blast around up there and is always knackered. If she’s had a good couple of hours at the yard then it’s enough for her.

I usually take her into my pony’s field when I’m poo picking and she tears around, sniffing new smells, I chuck a ball for her, etc. Then she comes into the stable while I’m mucking out and causes
mayhem chasing shavings around. Her recall is fab so can be trusted out on yard-based hacks (our yard has some private tracks for hacking for liveries only). There’s also a couple of other dogs she likes to play with. She loves it.

I can count how many times my dog has ‘gone for a walk’. These times are usually when DH and I go out for a walk and he comes along.
As my name suggests he is a farm dog (Jack Russell) and spends his days running off lead around 70 acres. He has enough manners when on a lead and with other dogs so I’m not at all worried. It doesn’t sound like your dog is missing anything at all.

Same here - 6 dogs who never get walked but have at least 1 or 2 hours running around the fields while I put hay out and poo pick the horses. Wouldn’t occur to me to take them on lead walks.

I think it's fine. My sister lives in a very rural area in Portugal and has three dogs who are never 'walked' - my sister has loads of land and a small lake and they are in a valley surrounded by hills and scrubland that isn't really owned by anyone (well I'm sure it is, but it's not farmed or fenced off or anything - the nearest neighbours are a couple of miles away). The dogs run about all day, disappear off into the hills or go swimming and will also accompany my sister and nephew sometimes on horse rides. Plus they do have balls/sticks thrown for them and are trained etc.

Nobody that lives around there walks their dogs, as in a proper walk on a lead - it'd be met with bemusement by the locals!