To think this is more common than people realise

[OfficeProbx]

I live opposite an able bodied woman in her 30’s, with a teenage daughter. Shes self employed and home a lot. They had an old dog and got a new dog a few years ago - in lockdown. I can hear them barking from the house.

I have never, not once, ever seen them walk either of these dogs. I only know they exist as they are noisy and she has mentioned them in passing before. I’ve seen them once when they got out of the front door - dogs are not disabled and both a small breed that is very energetic.

a relative had a dog she rarely walked, just let out into the garden every few hours. Eventually she rehomed the dog as it became destructive.

I have a dog and I cannot imagine the misery I would inflict on it to never be walked. It makes me feel so sad for the dog.

I guess I might not always be home to see them walk the dog so might be wrong that it is walked at times, but I actually think this is something that is more common than people realise but people don’t admit to it. You have all the best intentions but then life gets busy and you assume the dog is fine just running around your tiny garden and before you know it, you haven’t walked your dog in months.

Anyone who is paying you to work with their dog is not going to be in the category of dog owners who don't look after their pets well.

This post is as naive as a skiing instructor saying "I work with hundreds of children and they all have good shoes, clean clothes and plenty of food" on a thread about why free school meals and other interventions are needed for children in poverty.

The dogs you see are not the dogs that this post is about.

My over-the-road neighbour is the same @OfficeProbx - got a dog in lockdown and never walks it. No idea how common it is. There are about 10 dog owners on our street and I regularly see about half of them out and about with their dogs. I wouldn't know either way for most of them but I can be confident I would know if the over-the-road neighbour's dog ever left the premises and have never observed it happening in the last 3.5 years.

I feel pretty confident it’s not walked either, the young dog. I’ve seen the neighbour walking to the shops but without the dog. So it’s not like I don’t see her. I see her quite frequently coming and going, just have never seen her with the dog. Or her daughter either. I don’t walk at regular times on weekends so I would expect over a number of years to have seen them at least once. We live in an area that’s ideal for dog walking

I know a family member of my husbands who never walked their dogs. They would be let out in the garden to do their stuff but other than that never went out. The family member loved the dogs but still,wouldn't walk them or pay for them to be walked. The dogs were very badly behaved. One of the dogs was a springer spanial too so seemed even worse as they are usual so full of energy and happy.

"I look after dogs for a living. I must have dealt with over 500 dog owners. They all walk their dogs. So I think it's quite rare, tbh."

Bless you. Of course those paying for dog care services walk their dogs. The ones that don't won't be paying for you will they?

My neighbours don't walk their two daschunds, they just step out onto the drive while the dogs do their business then straight back in. My ex neighbours on the other side had 3 yorkies. Never ever walked. One used to escape through the window occasionally.

Few people don’t walk their dog at all…but lots of people don’t adequately exercise their dog.

There’s several posters on mumsnet (doghouse) that have golden retrievers who are adamant that 40 minutes a day is enough. Theres someone else who has a Collie in a flat ffs.

People seem unable to understand that just because the dog isn’t going insane doesn’t mean it’s happy. They can kid themselves all they want, but they’re not fit to own a dog if they have a breed like that if they can’t be arsed to properly exercise and care for it. But, people are fundamentally selfish and don’t give two fucks about their pets (mostly) and just seen them as accessories.

You're right OP, this is more common than people think. I have known a lot of people not walk their dogs, but just let them roam in the back garden, however small it is.
When I was growing up, back in the 70s, we had the family dog. He was a Westie and he got 3 long walks a day, then in between he was able to roam round our large back garden. He went everywhere we did. We never had holidays abroad, always UK based, dog friendly ones.
Everyone was out walking their dogs back then, it was a chance to socialise.
In my opinion, if you don't have enough time to devote to caring for any animal properly, you shouldn't consider getting one. And I don't think these "designer" breeds have helped. That's not pet owning, that's a status symbol. And it's just having an animal for the sake of it.
I have a friend who spends 6 months or more of the year, with her husband at their villa abroad. They have had it for years and they have also had new animals, both cats and dogs, here in the UK, since they've had it too. The dog spends more time I kennels than with family! And the cats in the cattery! That really doesn't sit right with me.

My first thoughts entirely.

It's weird because a big part of the reason we got a dog was that we enjoy walking and were looking forward to sharing that with a dog! Why do people bother with a dog otherwise?

My neighbour has a small garden and just lets her small dog out when he wants to go out. She will take him out on a lead occasionally if she has to go somewhere but not for a regular walk. My hunch is that lots of people with small dogs don’t bother as a standard routine.

Yup, I know someone who has 3 small dogs that are never walked. They also volunteer for one of these Eastern Europe dog rescues, vetting potential adoptees and fostering the poor dogs. They are clearly unhappy doggies and the main reason I wouldn’t adopt from one of these ‘rescue’ organisations. I also used to work with someone who had no problem admitting that she never walked her collie. I just don’t get it, why get a dog?

House next door to us have 3 dogs that I've seen being walked once in 4 years, they have quite a small garden which gets covered in poo and they just clear it once a week or so, gross! I WFH and I can hear the dogs howling every time anything with a siren or a loud bike/truck etc goes past. They are not too noisy otherwise but I just feel so sorry for them, one is a collie type similar to ours so really not suited to being stuck in a house all the time. They are an able bodied couple with teenagers living there too, the dogs could easily be walked every day.
We walk ours at least twice a day come rain or shine so it really annoys me that they don't bother!

I do a lot of midnight dog walks. If your neighbor works from home she might be keeping odd hours

If you've ever watched My 600 lb Life, they ALL have dogs. You know none of them are getting walked.

People could say this for myself but she is walked. I just walk her at a different time each day. She’s 2kg so doesn’t require a long walk at all.
she also goes to doggy day care 2 days a week while I’m in the office so I don’t walk her those days.
Normally I’m out at the weekends too so she comes with me and I don’t walk her if she’s been out and about with me all day either as there’s no need.

God this is awful. Those poor dogs

Lots of people are rubbish owners - and I agree those who pay for a walker and less likely to fall into that camp.

Basically I think lots of people want a warm toy to cuddle when they fancy, not an animal with needs and wants and preferences of its own.

Agree totally that this is common, especially for people with dog proof gardens. I think it’s horrible.

I can see how it happens. Laziness and entitlement.

Maybe they don‘t like cats but want a companion?

i had an old aunt who didn’t walk her dog. She also didn’t let him inside, he was on a line in the yard, not even free running and slept in a barn.
i was a kid but i wish i had taken him on walks every day instead of irregular walks. He was so sweet and upon coming home he‘d lie down on the street because he didn‘t want to go back.

Let’s be honest though if there were stricter rules around dog ownership and criteria for owners then more then half of dog owners wouldn’t be allowed one 🤷‍♀️

My exes family also had a dog „guarding“ the company property. Also a sweet dog, but almost never walked once the kids lost interest.

i also once stayed with an australian family for a while and i don‘t remember them ever walking their dog..
so 3 dogs/families that i know of do/did this and none of them were „weird“ in other ways. Simply no understanding for animal welfare.

My neighbours got a dog during lockdown - a small shitzu type thing.
I thought it was an odd choice, as they aren't particularly active as a family.
I could count on one hand the amount of times I saw them take that dog out on a walk (and I would know, because they are incapable of walking around the boundary of my driveway, so I get a notification from our ring camera every time they left.)
My office overlooks their back garden, so I would see the dog in the garden a lot, on a long line that was attached to their patio doors so it didn't even have full run of the garden.
I was keeping an eye on things, but luckily the had the good sense to rehome the dog before it got to the point where I'd have to step in

I used to work with a woman who had 3 dogs
She was proud of the fact she never walked them
They stopped being cute pups so she'd get rid and buy new ones
She was proud that they never saw a vet either as she 'couldn't afford one'
She's an horrible parent with feral kids which I'm sure are linked
She should have been sterilised and banned from owning pets

Energetic, small breeds do need to be walked.
However, some other ones, English Bulldog I can think about, just like chilling (literally) around and laying about.
Neighbours have couple of old Spaniels and they rarely do walk them ...
When I had a small dog as a kid, he hated to be walked in the rain 😁