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.

This is what I do too, sometimes a bit later in the winter but generally out by 5:30am and then lots of puzzles, training & enrichment as well. I find it weird that everyone seems to know the movement of their neighbours so well.

I often wonder this. Dogs are great but they're also a huge burden. So many people get them and then realise they can't be arsed with the hassle so just shove them out of the way and don't really bother with them.

When that dog eventually dies, rather than saying that's a weight off our shoulders, they go and get a new puppy?! WHY?!!

My scumbag of a NDN has a beautiful frenchie. His ex - who is now separated from and she's moved out - got her on a whim "for the Insta pictures " when she was a cute pup. I think they walked her a few times in the first week.

Dog has stayed with him as she's not allowed them in new rented home (neither is he but by the by) and she is never taken for a walk. Ever. I'm sure most of the street wouldn't even know she exists as she barely barks.

Even worse, not only does he leave her most days 7am-9pm due to his work. But he regularly leaves her overnight and when he fucks off with his mates for a long weekend. In those cases some one at least. Comes to feed her and let her in the garden once a day. Bonus for us is that as she only ever goes toilet in the garden and he's a lazy Twat who doesn't often pick up it means their garden is often covered in shit. This has now attracted rats which via his property have gained access to ours. That's a whole other thread thou.

It's actually really upsetting to think of her by herself so often. I've not reported him as it's obvious who would have and we have our hands full with other issues with him to have the fall out of that too.

I genuinely think the only reason he won't rehome her is because she probably cost so much to buy

My next door neighbour got a dog. It basically lived in a crate. You could hear the metal banging. The dog was rarely walked. Then one day the noise stopped. I'm hoping he was rehomed.

Playing devil's advocate here... are you sure they can be walked?
I have three dogs. Only one has daily walks. I tend to take in the slightly broken ones. One of mine has bad hip problems and cannot walk often. The other had an operation and we've been told by the vet not to walk her.

Frenchwoman next door definitely very mobile. Occasionally when he is on the front getting kids in the car she manages to get out and runs around the garden like a nutter. If I'm on the front too (as our shared fence has come down so she's able to wander over) I'll make a mad fuss of her and she runs about on ours too. Tramples my planting but small price to pay to see her happy and actually being a a dog.

Until he notices and shouts at her to get in

This is very common unfortunately as I know people who do this.

However, one time my neighbour had a go at me for never walking my dog even though she used to get 2 long walks a day and plenty of access to the garden.
She was the type to take hers out in the boiling heat or icy roads multiple times a day tho.

So I don’t assume anything but if I feel a pet is being mistreated then I will report it.

My dad's dog is dead now, but it never used to be walked. It was a big, strong dog and he couldn't handle it after his stroke. He does have a large paddock attached to the house though and the dog had free reign of the house, garden and paddock. He'd spend time each day throwing a ball for him in the paddock. I think it was a reasonable life for it really, but perhaps a bit boring.

My catsitter told me she knows of people who go on holiday for up to a month and leave their dog on its own, just being fed once a day.

We have awful neighbours. They have a very large boxer dog that never leaves the house, except to shit in their unmown garden, next to all the cigarette and spliff ends. She barks all day when the adult is out of the house. We even offered to take her out as my DDs love dogs, but no

Oh that’s so sad those poor dogs! 😔

Our neighbours have a border collie who they never walk. It's so sad seeing her twirling in circles in the garden and barking for hours.

They're a family with grown up kids and none of them have regular jobs so there's no excuse. The mum has alluded to it once or twice- oh she doesn't get walked much but there's nothing that can be done about that, it's not practical, and I need a dog for my mental health etc etc 🙄

That is just so sad and appalling. If I knew that was happening I would have to report it. Shame catsitter isn't a dog lover.

I know a woman who bought a collie
They live in the world's smallest 2 bed house and within a week of buying the poor thing,they where going on holiday
She asked family to have him,but they said no
She asked at work but we all said no (she's known to be a cf)
I asked what the hell she was playing at,buying a dog,while knowing she was going away and why didn't she put it in kennels?
'Dunno' Is all I got back
So she went anyway,leaving the poor 13 week pup on its own but someone went every other day to feed it
She went mental when she got home and it had been toileting all over the house and had eaten her sofa,table and rug (not sure what she thought was going to happen)
She refuses to take it to the vet or walk it but as it looks cute on her insta,she won't get rid
It has bitten her step kids and is really badly behaved due to a lack of walking,training and sheer boredom
It'll be her fault if it does hurt someone
It's a gorgeous dog but I give it another year before she gets rid

One of my friends never used to take her dogs for a walk, including a springer spaniel. She was lucky that he was quite a calm spaniel (relatively!) as most springers would have shredded her house without exercise/enrichment.

When I used to dog sit I'd take him out for a walk each day and he'd be absolutely knackered, he was so unfit.

Both her dogs died reasonably young for their breeds.

Our NDN have a small dog that never gets walked either. He doesn't even go out the front of their house. In the winter he must only go in the garden to use the toilet as we don't hear him in the winter at all. We hear him a lot in the summer, but I can count the times I've actually seen him on one hand and they've lived there 5 years.

They regularly go out for walks with friends and their kids, but leave the dog behind!

So, while the majority of dog owners I know do take their dogs out at least once a day, I think you're right that it's more common than people realise that there are people that don't walk their dogs at all. It's because you don't see them, that you don't realise!

I feel sorry for the dogs if they aren’t getting walked much/at all and their garden is paved. It must be so hot on their paws in the summer. I feel so bad that some animals never feel grass under their feet ☹️
That said, I live next to several noisy dogs and WFH. They are out in the garden a lot but in the few years I’ve lived here I’ve seen them on a walk less than 10 times. I assume they get walked everyday even though I don’t see it because I do think it’s rare for young and able-bodied people to not walk dogs

Sadly exceptionally common. I have moved around a lot so lots of addresses. I had one neighbour with a German shepherd in the garden with a dog shelter. I contacted the rspca as never in the house or walked was told that’s fine they won’t help. Was even outside in snow. At same address neighbour the other side had same breed of dog was either in house or garden never walked. I lived there 5 years.

another address neighbour had two dogs were walked maybe once a year and when she did walk them, when a friend visited, she had to use a piece of rope as no lead or collar. Smallish dog used to escape and come over to ours. Had to call the rspca as dogs were left three days alone, normally lady was in 247 so out of character. Was told she’d never leave them as they knew her and I was mistaken. I lived there 3 years.

nowadays I have neighbours with two rescue dogs who get scared and react by barking. They are not looked after well imho. Left for 7 hrs each day some days get a round the block walk maybe three times a week if that. If husband is at home he shuts them outside for 9 hours where they bark continuously as scared. The wife whose dogs they are is probably trying her best though.

I have a close friend whose last dog was never walked. I stayed and even offered to walk the dog (I was a dog owner at the time to a bigger breed) and got told no dog pulls too much so doesn’t get walked. I was relieved when dog had passed and they were not getting anymore tbh as didn’t look after other pets well either. Same family now have an adult child who has moved home with a puppy. I’m not going to visit and see the puppy not being walked will break my heart.

Oh and for the dog walker who commented. I know a dog Walker, who’s fab at their job. But same person who is the dog Walker has own dogs and they are not walked!!! I know this 100% even though sounds unbelievable as I know their parent who told me in confidence as parent worries about the dogs being stuck at home all day whilst owner is out walking other dogs.dog walkers partner is also imho not appropriate to be near dogs as I saw him do something nasty to one of their dogs many many years ago. I should have stood up to the partner and taken the dog but it was at a family event.

so I’ve lived in different towns all over the country and this has happened everywhere.

I believe you OP. We had neighbours like this. The only time I saw their dogs being walked was when neighbour decided to offer her (primary school aged) child as a "dog walker" for him to earn pocket money. There was an elaborate show of walking their dogs round the block which seemed to take an hour. It's exactly half a mile.

It's a shame for the dogs, they seemed to become antisocial and territorial.

Definitely happens.

An Aunt of mine has always had dogs (1 or 2 at a time) and they literally never walk them - just let them out onto the tiny, grassless patio in the day time. I always found it so strange, especially as they had young adult kids still living at home that could have easily walked them. One of them is in their 30's now and still never gets of their arse for the poor thing.

I remember one of the dogs becoming really ill years ago and them paying out thousands for operations and treatment. They were devastated and so worried about losing the dog but then when the message came back that the issue was caused by poor diet and not enough exercise they were kind of flippant about it.

I will never understand how you can claim to love an animal and then just refuse to do what's best for it.

I'm really rather happy to be NC with them, now.

Unless you’re stood at your window 24 hours a day how do you know?

We walk ours about once a week. We do live on a small acreage though, so they can run as much as they want, and we throw them a ball regularly.

I had a family member claim they couldn't walk the dog as he was "agoraphobic"!!!

Yes I agree this is common, and this thread proves it. As for the people saying 'How would you know unless you watch them 24/7??' - well the law of probability would say that if you live within sight of their house, eventually you'd see them walking their dog. It's improbable to suggest they just always happen to walk them at a time you happen not to be there or happen not to be looking (even weekends and through lockdown).

For my part, I live in a group of 4 houses. One doesn't have dogs. We have two dogs, walked daily. The other houses have two dogs and three dogs and I've never seen any of them being walked. They'd all have to walk past our house to go anywhere and we've lived here eight years so it just ain't happening. The nearest house to us - the dogs bark a lot, unsurprisingly.

One of my dogs is a toy breed and she loves to walk and run. Boundless energy. Dogs need to walk and exercise and sniff and pant and explore.

I have a neighbour that has a dog, they never take it for walks, just let it in the garden - the only time I see it go on a lead is when they are taking it from the house to the car if they are going away and taking it to someone's house. Shocking, one of them works in animal care.....

My in laws don’t walk their small breed dog. Apparently him running round the house is enough.