To think dogs might not mind a couple of days chilling at home too

[Needanewphonenow]

We have an almost 11 year old wonderful dog, she’s young at heart and still has a good amount of energy, her back legs get sore if she runs/swims too much, so can’t run after the ball hundreds of times, like she did when younger. In recent weeks, she’s been out with us everyday for long walks…trips to the beach to chase the ball and swim in a nearby lake, 2 hr walks in the woods etc. The last couple of days have been storms and lots of wind and rain, plus we’ve all been quite fluey, so I’ve been just dropping Dd at school then coming home and staying in, my lovely dog has been lay beside me on the sofa with a blanket and the fire on, she’s been sleeping for two days all day really and quite happy.
Took her out today after school with Dd with our wellies on and Ddog got a good run around, I saw one of the neighbours walking her dogs, we had small talk about the recent weather and I said that it was the first time out in a couple of days for Ddog, she was shocked and said does she not go out everyday, I said usually, but occasionally she’ll stay in
Aibu a mean dog owner??

Fabulous! What breed is he? Looks lurcher/mastiff?

My dog avoids going out. Any hint that a walk is on the cards and she hides. Once out, she is fine but I have to catch her first. Some days I just give up trying 😡

I have very fit dogs and give them a day off if I can't be bothered, they deal with it just fine. People who walk them 10 miles a day or 5 times a day or whatever are batshit to me, there's much better things you can be doing with your time vs doing that every day. That's 2h+ of your time per day on a dog EVERY DAY and the dog comes to expect it. I think people are getting a bit too indulgent on their dogs and forget that they're a dog and guilt themselves into constantly outdoing themselves.

Weirder when people justify it by saying it's a working breed and that's why they do it when they have no work for the dog to do, they have that energy because they should be used for a job much more intensive than running around, can't see the sense in buying a working breed because you think you want a certain breed when all you're doing is sacrificing multiple hours of your day for the dog's entire life instead of making a more sensible decision and leaving working dogs to people who work them.

Some people are very wedded to 'every dog must be walked every day', but, dogs have different personalities and likes/dislikes and some don't like walks every day while some do.
Like someone else mentioned, due to me working varied shifts, we don't have a set routine with the dogs and therefore they don't expect anything at any particular time of day. If I can't sleep in half an hour I might take them out for a bit, maybe in the car and out somewhere for a quick pee and sniff, maybe just around the village where the street lights are, some days we'll go twice to different places, some days we don't go at all.
Regardless of walks they get interaction/play/training/sniffly games every day because I like doing it as much as they do!

They're very settled and take their cues from us, going in the garden, playing, going out for a walk or in the car. To be honest I think walking a dog every day, but then leaving it to amuse itself the rest of the time is probably worse. Ours just seem to want to be with us and do what we're doing, whatever that is.

Oh and edited to say they do take themselves off at times to chill and be on their own, even away from each other, when I've been off work for more than a couple of days and we've been home and with them constantly, I get the distinct impression that they want their 'alone time' as they take themselves off to chill in a part of the house we're not in.

Our 10 year old arthritic ridgeback is absolutely disgusted if we even suggest a walk at the moment. She goes out does her business as quick as she can on the paving stone as close to the house as she can and straight back in. She has a coat on indoors as she has very short hair that’s bald on her belly so feels the cold so much.

Ridgeback are well known for refusing to go out if it’s raining, they actually believe they will melt. If it’s rains and she’s out she will turn to face home and refuse to budge unless we go home immediately.

At the moment she gets 20 mins a day and that enough for her, she’s on palliative care and if she doesn’t want to go out she gets to do want she wants, she’s an old lady she deserves it.

We have two - lab and spaniel. Both incredibly fit working dogs. Once a week, usually after they've been working the day before, they have a slob day with me on the sofa. They both love it. Tbh if I'm ill or we are busy they are perfectly happy to miss a day, but then they get do much exercise and stimulation normally it makes up for it!

To clarify - ours are gundogs. My span is my beating dog and will cover easy 9/10
Miles out working and my DPs lab is his peg dog. Both will be out 7 - 4/5 when working. Lab js out every week, span and I do 2 x week.

And I did have a wonderful greyhound who had won 6k in his career racing. He used to plant and refuse to go out of the drive if he didn't want a walk 😂 his only love was the sofa! He'd earned it.

I have three and they usually go out for at least 2 walks a day , sometimes three.
One though hates the rain and will refuse so he will stay home and the brother will coat up and walk his usual whether it's rain/ sleet / snow.
They let me know , I try on a Sunday to have a lazier day we go out later after a lay in
I think all dogs are different and you do what suits them :)

Same here, ours as well.

Our trainer said among the most well adjusted dogs are those belonging to homeless people who walk slowly alongside their human for miles and miles, taking random routes, and stopping regularly for rests.

I don’t know how true that is but I think walking is important for physical and psychological fitness, for humans and dogs alike. And it’s also important for er, gastric through-put surely?

Our dogs very much like to discover new routes and new smells on a fairly regular basis.

I think our vet said that adult dogs should get 13 or so hours of sleep a day at least, so that leaves eleven hours of time when they are awake and it must be boring if they are inside doing not a lot for that amount of time . It depends on the household though. Regular walks are very important if the dog is alone for a good part of the day.

I am sure the odd day without a walk wouldn’t matter once in a while but in general I think enough walking so that their claws don’t need trimming is good and also it’s important to be in natural light with the sun on their backs . It’s equally important not to walk too much or to go on the same walk every day. Variety is key.

Also those saying that dogs know what they need. Yes to a certain extent but there’s a balance to be struck surely? One of my dogs is convinced he needs an entire block of hare pâté on brown toast for dinner every night but that doesn’t mean he’s getting it.

@NewYearNewPyjamas have a read up on dogs and buckets! Sounds odd but it makes a lot of sense - if your dog is anxious or fearful on walks and you keep taking them on walks without time to "recover", their bucket never empties and they get increasingly stressed.

Give them a day off so they can stay "safe" at home, and that stress comes right down and gives them a chance to rest.

Our trainer said among the most well adjusted dogs are those belonging to homeless people who walk slowly alongside their human for miles and miles, taking random routes, and stopping regularly for rests.

Is that because of the exercise or because they have company 24:7?

Think it depends on breed and age but I totally get what you’re saying. Humans have days at home too and we cope just fine so why not dogs?

We take ours out to go potty daily obviously but we only go for proper runs/dog park walks every second day. He was a puppy during Covid so that was daily forest walks/beach swims but his energy needs aren’t as high now.

our dog will dig her heels in and refuse to go out if she doesn’t feel like it. She usually has 2 long off lead walks a day, rivers, the sea etc etc ….but if she’s not feeling it she just won’t go. she’s 4.

I think she sometimes just likes a lazy day.

previous dogs would always be skipping around the door as soon as they saw their lead or you said walk….

@rainymays

The 10 miles a day our dog does is with my husband at work. No additional to his working life. He needs to walk the crops/fields and take samples and the dog capers around him.

I wonder if it's an age thing?
When young, mine would have ripped the house apart if not taken on a 10 mile walk at least. But at the weekend we took them round a massive reservoir on the Saturday and come Sunday they really weren't up to going out again. I even got the pushbike out to see if that would work. They love running alongside, me I dont love it, but anything for the dogs.
They are 9 now.

So OP no, not unreasonable for odd days. Remember a couple of summers ago, 39 degree heat for weeks. Couldn't take them out during the day, didnt always want to get up at 4am just to walk them. They survived.

Can't quote:

I was a year or so ago on a canine training course and whilst one day a week off walking is now recommended by some trainers (especially for dogs who have high energy/low stress thresholds), rescues etc.. it is also said that a dog who only ever has their own garden to exercise in, is like reading a child the same story book over and over again as the scents they have access to, don't change.*
*
But in a decent size outside space with some nature and small wild animals passing through it will change as much as the same walk day after day which is what a lot of dogs get.

We have an 18 month old working Springer Spaniel (as a pet...her parents were farm/gun dogs but we don't work her). As you can imagine she's an incredibly fit and active dog and has lots of energy.

She gets one hour offlead daily - in woods and Countryside so high enrichment for a Springer, not an empty field type place. Plus 1 or 2 5 minute toilet walks around the block. On weekends and holidays she often comes somewhere with us for the day.

Sometimes, probably once every ten days, she skips a day. It makes no difference to her behaviour, she's happy to play ball indoors with one of the dc, curl up and nap.

Personally I think the amount of walking some people do with dogs is excessive. Three or four big walks a day, 2 or 3 + hours...bonkers.

Don't get me wrong, ddog is certainly capable of that. She'd go all day. But she doesn't need to. Even for a working springer breed, an hour of excellent quality off lead exercise a day, in addition to being around people 90% of the time, training, random ball throws and tug of war sessions at home is absolutely enough. She's calm, healthy, content and in excellent physical condition (pure muscle).

@stargirl1701 do you mind me asking what your DH does? Is he an agronomist or something? Sounds like a fab job!

Surely it just depends on the breed, personality and age.

My dog gets 2 walks a day, but both are under 1 hour (45 mins in the morning, 30 mins in the afternoon) with lots of opportunities for sniffing. With longer walks during the weekend. This feels about right for us and she is very content.

Because she is fairly young, and because shd loves her walks, I wouldn't skip a day. But that is no judgement on the op.

We don't have a dog as I don't have the time to walk daily but we look after friends /family dogs when they go away so think we get the best of both worlds

A boxer who get walked a lot at home will get a short walk/ball throwing with me and then playing with mini blondes 6 / this can go on for a few days

When goes home owner always says collapses and sleeps for ages so obv get enough exercise

At work years ago as a nanny I had a gorgeous dog - great Swiss mountain dog. Huge. Was so lazy.

Hated wet paws. Would avoid mud /puddles and if raining would literally wee on the doorstep and run back infront of the fire 😂

Weirdly enough tho loved snow and would run about in it madly