Why have a dog if you cant be arsed to walk it?

[FreyaFromTheFens]

I have 2 large breed dogs that need a lot of exercise, running off lead for a couple of hours a day minimum. We go twice a day every day no excuse.

I very rarely meet other dog walkers in bad weather and on facebook in the dog groups i'm in so many people were asking for advise on keeping dogs sane as they wouldn't be getting walks due to the bad weather!

Dogs thrive on being outside and need to run, sniff and interact with other dogs. I understand there are exceptions to this, elderly/sick or nervous dogs but generally they need to get out in all weathers.

Just put a fucking coat on and walk them, it's only rain and then the dog will settle. Hiding dry dog food in a toy is no substitute! 🙄

I know i'm not being unreasonable but want to know why you are if you don't walk in the rain?

@PyreneanAubrie where I live they're not even called crates, a lot of people call them cages. I've got nothing against others using them but ffs I didn't adopt a massive greyhound to 'put him in a cage' 🙄I also agree with you on the hair dressers and what if people who don't like dogs want to relax during their appointment, it's selfish.

Yep, I totally agree.

I'm all for taking dogs to appropriate places - beer gardens, country pubs, pet shops - but where on earth is the benefit in taking one to a hairdressers?

Apologies, that was so far down in the repeated quoted posts. I thought you were referring to where she said groomers which was what was quoted on your post. No need to be snarky.

My dogs would love the first 5 minutes at the hairdressers with all the attention then be desperate to leave. There is no need to take dogs everywhere.

lol, in fairness, I was only responding to your rather snarky comment asking me what on earth I was talking about

I don't walk my dog when its raining, I hate the rain and so does he. Skipping a walk occasionally does no harm whatsoever to the average family dog.

I know it’s so become the norm to have dogs in small gardens with no outlet to express themselves. My previous next door neighbour had two Rottweilers who lived on a gravel drive with a kennel who never went out ☹️ They would slam themselves against the gate and fight with each other if you went past as so frustrated and bored it’s no life for any dog to be cooped up without walks.

I haven’t ignored that at all but dogs do need to leave the house/garden to be content and happy. See my previous point regarding elderly, sick or nervous dogs.

Yep my life revolves around my dogs and running and having fun in the field is far more important than watching family life and having their ears fondled - they get that too 🙄
Dogs rely on us as owners to provide the very best for them but if you think they can just suck it up then you’re guilty of being a shit owner. Don’t worry there are plenty of you.

Garden is 2 acres plus have 5 acres of horse fields but the walks/running are additional to that.
Before I lived here I had two big dogs and a tiny garden but they had 2 long off lead runs and a short field walk at lunchtime. In my opinion you give what you want to but too many people don’t give enough and in bad weather nothing at all.

Yep me too 😁 Some people just want a certain dog though and don’t care if they can provide the right life for it, as long as it looks good on the school run though hey? 🙄

Yes, of course, anyone pointing out that different dogs have different needs are 'shit owners'.

That’s brilliant ❤️ I do the same, drive to different walks to give them variety and meet other dogs for a play or sniff new areas. What a lovely life your dog has 😊

There is nothing wrong with not walking your dog when it's raining, particularly so for a dog who doesn't feel comfortable in rain/wind. I'd urge anyone in that situation to ignore the opinion of nosy self appointed walk police and instead take their lead from their own dog.
Mental stimulation can be more satisfying for some dogs than running aimlessly in a field; there is simply NO such thing as a one size fits all.

DDog won't go out in heavy rain if she's given the choice. On middling rain days like today, she'll go out and have a good sniffy walk (everything seems to require more sniffing when it's wet), but will pull towards home after only about 30mins.

But she doesn't sulk or act up if there's the odd day or two where she hardly goes out (indeed if she's been inspecting the weather from the back door, she seems very happy to spend her time, as she is doing now, snuggled on the sofa)

I see it as part of their overall life - the odd day in really doesn't matter if the rest of the time they are happy and their needs are met. So some days you'd see us out on a 10k run, others out on walks (both on and off lead, depending where we are), sometimes popping in to shops when she comes with me when I'm running errands, and sometimes you wouldn't see us at all as she goes to work with DH and has a lovely time interacting with all and sundry there.

My dog refuses to even go out for a pee if the rain is heavy.
No dog suffers due to not being walked in bad weather. On very hot days, it is dangerous to take your dog out. No one says that is cruel.
All dogs are different though. Some need a ton of exercise, and some are ok with a little potter in the local park. My hound is very old, and likes a slow sniffy walk in the local park. She refuses to do that if it is raining. She prefers to hide under a blanket on my sofa.

There is a pretty smug superior tone often when talking about dogs.

The self-righteousness is a bit much. Not everyone else is bad dog owner if they don't follow the unwritten rules.

It constantly amazes me how different dogs' personalities are. Lots of different ways of treating them too.

In regard to the rain: Wait for it to pass. No big deal.

If your name is appropriate @FreyaFromTheFens you’ll know how much flooding we’ve had round here. Every dog walk is under water. We take one of our Jack Russells out to the cricket pitch for ball exercise, the other flatly refuses point blank to go out in the rain.

I hate crating as well to previous posters mentioning it. It's actually illegal in some countries which should tell you something.

We are all talking about rain at the moment because it's throwing it down across most of the UK, but I will also admit that I don't walk my dog in the snow either. As I mentioned earlier it's a toy breed and it's tiny and would absolutely freeze even with a coat it. Ddog cannot stand stand the cold she gets all weird and shivery. I suppose it's different if you have a husky, but assuming it's safe to walk all breeds in the freezing cold is madness.

I used to have a doberman who has now passed, could walk in him a blizzard despite his short coat and he would have been fine.

I hate running so fair point 😁

I dunno have you seen dogs these days?. It's rare to find one who will go out in bad weather. Never known it as a kid. It's all coats and steamed chicken and can't possibly go out and get my feet wet.

Me and a colleague were creased this morning, watching some sort of doodle plant itself down with a hard stare until it's owner gave in and picked it up and carried it. It looked very pleased with itself

I up until recently owned a large breed renowned for despising rain. Owners joked that they would literally think it would kill them stone dead the way they reacted if a drop hit their face and that their bladder quadrupled on a rainy day. I remember having to push DDog out the door and close it telling her she wasn’t getting back in until she did the toilet which she would very quickly do as close to the house as possible. Say walk and open the door to rain and she would run the other way.

When she was younger on a nice day she could happily walk 10K no problem even have a swim but even the threat of rain all bets were off.

I do get where the OP is coming from though, round here there seems to be a lot of small pug/dachshund/Lhasa Apso type dogs that are hardly ever walked, maybe once a week on a Sunday afternoon in Summer always on an extendi-lead, never allowed to get dirty, darting in and out of trees chasing imaginary squirrels. My neighbour has two like this.

I am glad you recognise it! Reason in all things. Some dogs are all weather marathon runners. Some aren't. The important thing is owners meet their dogs needs!

Yes we are in the fens and there is some recent flooding but also higher areas so luckily hasn’t affected where we can walk 😊

Came on to say the same about my 4 year old staffy!!

As a breed, I've found they tend not to like the rain. At. All.

Our old staff used to run home quickly if even so much as started to spit with rain when we were out .

(Still the best breed ever)

Agreed 😊 I admit I generalised my initial post so it’s been good to see so many different responses and I do understand that certain dogs hate the rain but it just makes me cross to know so many able dogs that don’t mind wet weather aren’t walked as their owners don’t like it or can’t be bothered to take them out in it.
Thank you for all your responses, here’s to soggy dogs and soggy knickers! 😆