Friend and dog walking

[totallytotallytoal]

My friend has a dog. I don't have a dog, never had and never will.

She asks me a lot if I want to go for a dog walk with her, This could be anything from a 30min to a 2 hour walk. She does indicate in advance where we are going, which then tells me how long it will be.

Does anyone else's friends ask them to go for dog walks, if they don't have a dog but the friend does, ? Is this an odd thing to do or perfectly normal ?

Seems perfectly normal to me. You can always say no!

Seems normal to me unless you actively dislike the dog. She’s asking if you’d like to go on a walk, it just so happens she will walk the dog at the same time.

Unless she’s asking you to go on the first thing walk at 5am or a 2 minute pop out for a wee - those would both be weird.

Perfectly normal. Before I had dogs I often walked with friends and their dogs. Now I have dogs, I walk them with friends who don't have dogs as well as one who does.

If you don't want to go, just decline.

I do that.

I have dogs, I have friends who don't have dogs, even though I have no idea how I ended up being friends with such misguided people.

They come for walks with us.

Would you feel better about it if she just said "do you want to come for a walk?" ? Doesn't seem odd to me at all.

Surely she’s just asking if you want to go for a walk with her, but because the dog is going, it happens to also be a dog walk?

Oh and I never ask them to do things with the dogs. The dogs are for me to deal with.

Why on earth would it be strange? Would it be ok if she asked you to go on a walk without a dog?

I have a dog and my friend doesn’t have a dog. She’s absolutely not a dog person but we walk regularly together. She really enjoys our walks and she always says she wouldn’t walk on her own.

Yes, this is completely normal. I go for dog walks with lots of my friends. And when I had a dog, friends would come with me!

Very normal. It’s just ‘do you want to go for a walk’ and she brings her dog and you don’t bring yours.

I thought you were going to say she keeps asking you to walk her dogs. Not just accompany her on a walk. If you want to go then go. If you don’t then don’t 🤷🏼‍♀️

So you expect her to walk the dog then go on a walk with you?

Surely you're just going for a walk and the dog just happens to be there??!!

Another day in the alter world that is mumsnet where asking a friend to go for a walk is considered weird!

Yes, I do this . I have a couple of friends who I invite along. Like your friend I tell them where we are going so they can dress accordingly. If we can, we manage a cup of tea or coffee after.

I do all the dog care and poop picking.

One of the highlights of my holiday a few years back when staying with my friend who lives overseas was going for walks with her dog up in the pine forests near where she lives.
An absolute pleasure enjoying the lovely scenery and the company of my friend and her brilliant character of a dog, whom she acquired because he adopted her. Unfortunately he is now very sadly deceased.

I just wish I had someone near me here who would let me share their dog walks . I'd love it!

It’s a lovely thing to do with a friend and benefits everyone

Yes, perfectly normal. What do you find abnormal about it OP? If your friend didn't have a dog but still invited you on a riverside/woodland walk (for example) would you still find it odd? I mean, you can always say no or choose only to go when it's not chucking it down with rain presumably?

It's normal. Even if it wasn't, why would it matter?

I love going for dog walks with friends. And I’m a cat person.

Quite possibly the weirdest question I have seen on here. It's a bit like 'friends asked me to go for a coffee with her but I don't normally drink coffee!' Or 'friend asked me to go to the pub with her is this normal?!'

Very normal. Time chatting with a friend whilst walking. You can say no if you don't want to go

😆

I had to read the OP a few times to make sure I hadn't missed anything 😂

Maybe you wouldn't normally go for a walk? I know that some people don't. But if you've got a dog then walking is probably a part of your day, and it's a great time to catch up with a friend and all have a bit of exercise. Otherwise catching up means sitting with them at home, or spending money. I walk with a friend every week with my dog. She's not keen on dogs but tolerates mine, but I know she enjoys the walk and the catch-up.

Why do you think it's odd? All you're doing is walking with a friend, that's not odd.

i often ask my friends if they want to join me for a dog walk, it’s an excuse for a chat really , whilst getting our steps/ exercise up . Wouldn’t be offended if they said no though