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.

I house sit sometimes. I house sat for a woman with two dogs. I was told one was fine but the other was destructive. I took both out long walks every day and both just mooched around and slept at home. I am convinced the dog that was labelled destructive just gets little or no exercise every day.

I don't think the people who live opposite me walk their terrier very much. It's left on its own all day and often overnight too at weekends.

Their dog also makes a god awful racket when they do come home and if anyone walks past or knocks on the door. (It's a pretty quiet street so doesn't happen that often).

I think it has outdoor access as it has a kennel in the back garden and often barks from behind the fence when I go out to my car.

I am at home a lot and it's just a pattern I've come to notice over 3 years without when really trying. I sort of assumed I was probably wrong but reading this thread, I think I'm probably right.

I don't think it's super common, I only know one person who doesn't walk their dog most days. Ours get 2 walks a day, I bring them before work and normally don't see a lot of people, and my husband brings them at night. I work from home but only get a short lunch break. I've gone other times on occasion and seen neighbours who make comments like "it's nice to see them getting a walk"...

I know a woman who runs an unofficial cat sanctuary. As well as keeping about 15 cats in a 2 bedroom house, she owns several dogs and dog sits for extra cash. She never exercises the dogs, only drives out occasionally for 10 minutes to toilet them at most, apart from that they poo all over her garden. She quite often stays indoor all day, even in fine weather. She screams and swears horribly at the dogs constantly (she was screaming at one of the dogs yesterday, calling it a 'sloppy bitch') and you can smell the house from outside. Rspca not interested unfortunately as they're fed and taken to the vets sometimes. Makes me so angry that she claims she a caring animal lover, it couldn't be further from the truth. She's taken to accusing neighbours' fencing of hurting her cats, in order to get donations from the public, despite her own garden being full of junk, sharp wire and hazards and the cats living in filthy over crowded conditions.

🙈

I have a colleague who has 2 small dogs in a fairly small upstairs flat. She’s told me that the dogs have never left the flat in their entire life. I’m not a crazy dog lover but it made me so sad 😞

Isn’t that awful :( what a shitty life for a dog!

Seeing lots of 'RSPCA don't care' comments. I've reported a few animals to the RSPCA in my life and they've never done anything. Are they not very proactive?

The RSPCA can only work within the confines of the law - if a dog has shelter, food and water, and isn't being abused or visibly neglected, there's very little they can do about it. It's not illegal not to walk your dog.

My son made the comment about our neighbour once.

I often saw the dog being walked. I was leaving the house around the same time as the next door neighbour, and my son wasn't.

i don't know about your neighbour. I've never seen them walk their dog either 😉

Yeah our old neighbour had a german shephard they never walked. Our houses backed straight onto a huge bloody field as well! I think they only got it as a guard dog and weren't really doggy people. My dad once offered to walk it with our dogs but they declined. They did have quite a big garden but it's still wrong. Our dogs would get about 3 long walks a day from my dad-and sometimes an extra one if I took them as well. I'm lazy so I would struggle to walk them twice daily especially in the morning and Winter (which is why I don't have a dog now) but to walk a dog rarely or never is ridiculous.

My small energetic breed looks to the untrained eye like she’s fit and well. She has severe spine disease and can’t walk very far without being in pain. So she gets a short walk 2/3 times a week because anymore and she spends the evening and next day barely able to move.

Im not saying this is always the case but it’s not always as black and white as it looks

Omg you sound like my neighbour who tried to lecture me on not walking our dog. I felt like saying seriously, you walk your fucking giant dog briefly twice a day with a muzzle because he can’t socialise with other dogs. Yes they have a yard, half the size of ours, the rest of the time it sits barking and howling at people walking past. It’s never around new people. Our beautiful girl gets free run of the house and bigger yard, she has 3 energetic kids chasing her and throwing balls, we regularly have people in the house, lots of kids that she loves playing with, she’s constantly on the go at home, crashing as soon as the kids are in bed. Twice a week, sometime more she gets dropped off at kennels by 8 am where she spends the day socialising with dozens of other dog, she gets walks in muddy fields for hours, by streams and when not being walk is in a big paddock playing with dog toys and her doggy friends. We pick her up between 4 & 6pm and she has a giant smile on her face. We do this so she’s getting socialised with other dogs and people and has plenty of exercise. As well as a break from her loud human siblings. We do take her out but usually in the car and she will have a run around the park of some other grassy area we just don’t walk her around the streets, I hate all the dog shit on our streets and antisocial dogs everywhere we look. I’m also conscious I’m not physically able to restrain her or help her if there were issues with other dogs. DCs are too young to walk and DH can’t do it every day.

We take her on family trips, she’s taken to dog friendly cafes & bars too.

At the end of the day our girl is far better behaved, socialised and fitter than the neighbours dog.

The neighbours wouldn’t have a clue that she’s out all day, they don’t see her leaving or coming home, they just assume because they don’t see us passing their window with her that we are neglecting her.

@AliceMcK and you sound so not judgmental.

Why get a dog you can’t physically restrain?

There is always one who singles out one bit of a post, completely ignoring the rest, my dog is extremely well exercised and behaved without my need to put her or I in a situation where I physically needs to restrain or protect her 🙄

Why because my neighbour judged me without knowing the facts, I’m not allowed to actually say well if you want to compare, here the fuck you go…

I don't walk my dog everyday as she gets overwhelmed. When I got her she hadn't been properly socialised and is a very nervous dog. She is getting better (it is a very slow process), but she will regularly just refuse to walk, sometimes we can't even get her past the front gate. Often on walks something will startle her and she will try and hide in bushes/jump over walls to get away and we have to take her back home. So she spends a lot of time in the garden. I don't give a fuck what the neighbours think though. They are probably on Mumsnet slagging me off for not walking my dog every day 😂

My next door neighbours have at least 3 dogs that are never ever walked. We are terraced so u can hear the door go (no other way out) and my desk faces the window so il watching all day in a way. I'm out 3 times a day with mine with a varied schedule and never ever seen them.
Have met all the other dogs on the street in walks so it's just them but it definitely does happen.

The family opposite us never walk their two dogs either. They never walk themselves either.

You didn’t answer my question though?

I used to live next door to a family who never walked their massive German shepherd. Almost never saw it in the garden either. It barked incessantly and they never answered when I'd go round to try and complain! And, most times I knew they were in (could hear them talking through the wall!). I felt awful for that poor dog, but it was infuriating to listen to. With hindsight I wish I'd reported them, even if the RSPCA couldn't have done anything.

Some people are just neglectful and/or lazy. I'd love a dog, but I know we just don't have the time to give one the attention it would need. Sadly I have to live vicariously through other people's 😕

@AliceMcK Why are you judging your neighbour for having a large dog that wears a muzzle when you have a large dog you can't physically manage if you have to "restrain" it, why do you have to restrain it? Wonder what type of breed it is 😂

Of course because you have to know every detail of my life, well here you go, when we got our girl we didn’t know I was in the early stages of Muscular dystrophy in my dominant arm which has slowly gotten worse and most likely will continue to other parts of my body. Which is why as a dog owner I’m extremely careful and conscious of where I take her on my own.

Or should I have just gotten rid of her?

I wasn’t until she openly judged me!