Do dogs get walked less in winter

[disneyspendingmoney]

This is my first winter with dogs and I find walking them to be a bit of a chore. But I've noticed a lot less dogs out and about, I initially out this down to it being dark most of the time when I'm out with mine or us my dog walking routine a bit excessive.
6am I take them for 20min toilet walk, then at 7:40 I walk them and dc2 to school, drop dc2 off at 8 and walk them till 8:30, then go to work. 1pm I pop home and give them a 20min toilet walk. DC1 gives them a 20min toilet walk at 4, then at 6:30 I take them out until 8. Then at about 10:45 give them a 45min bedtime walk.

I've started to notice that there are hardly any dogs out and about, I've encountered none this evening, which is quite good really as ddog2 seems to wind other dogs up.

Is there something I don't know about winter dog walking?

Allegedly they are shiba inu, don't look anything like the ones I've seen on YouTube though.

My X wasn't one for due diligence, the paperwork, that I saw before she took it was all in Cyrillic and the vet said the chips weren't in English. So at most I can say they are Spitz types with pointy ears and curly tails. I so look forward to the day she can take them off my hands. But then the dcs would be concerned for the dogs saftey.

Mine gets the same number of walks (3 a day) but they're shorter when the weather is bad. He's not a breed with high exercise needs.

sollyfromsurrey

I get home at 4:30 shortly after the dcs get home from school between then and 6:30 I alternate between forcing homework and making supper I put the food Infront of the dcs and then walk the dogs.

That's when the dcs can watch shite on TV and dick about as kids do.

Mine still get their two walks per day,(unless it's raining hard-they hate the rain!), but often at least one of those walks will be a brisk half an hour instead of the usual 1 hour amble. I think your dogs are very lucky op but maybe they're getting too much of a good thing,and you must be exhausted! Are they standing at the door with their legs crossed at 6am or do you think they might be able to hold on til the school run? I also think half an hour would be plenty for both the evening walk and the bedtime walk.

Sounds a bit excessive. My mixed breed 10kg dog gets 20 mins at 7am, let out for a wee at 1pm, 45 min off lead run/walk at 4pm and a round the block 5 min toilet walk at 10pm ish. Same whatever the season or weather.

My greyhound gets on average one walk per week in winter. She won't go out if it's cold, wet, or dark. My dog walkers come round and play her audio books in winter as she refuses to walk with them. She'll pee in our yard and that's the extent of her ventures outside.

Every year it's the same. She hibernates until spring. As soon as the sun comes back out she's mad for the walks again.

My dog's walks are often a bit shorter in the winter because she just refuses to stay out for long if the weather isn't up to her standard of acceptability. I'd be happy to walk more but I'm not going to drag her against her will.

She doesn't like the heat so I tend to walk her late in the summer, once the evening has cooled down, but she's another dog who doesn't like the dark so late walks in the winter don't work for us.

The amount of walking you're doing does sound excessive and unnecessary

And as for reporting you to the RSPCA? Does she seriously think that they will send someone out on a report of a dog being walked for less than 4 hours a day, they won't even respond if dogs aren't being walked at all. She's being ridiculous and I suspect, is playing you rather.

Cut the walking down by half, you'll still be doing enough, and a hell of a lot more than most dog get or need.

Just make sure they still get enough wee breaks but an adult dog shouldn't need a great many wee breaks during the day.

Also, I see I'm not the only one who notices the increase in poo left on the ground in winter.

I've lived in a couple of different places since I've had her and I notice it every winter. People just don't pick up their poo. Drives me mad.

To be honest it sounds like you have an ex problem rather than a dog problem
^^
This a hundred fold. I think you are doing amazingly well to give your dogs so much attention, whilst holding down a job and looking after your kids,and don't let your ex get into your head and make you think otherwise. She's the one that's cocked up,not you

D Princess Dog went 11 hours overnight between toileting as we all slept in this morning. She still was In no rush to get out there and relieve herself!

My dog lives his walks so no difference for us between winter and summer. We ve been lucky that there hasn't been many persistently rainy days this year so far though.

Thus morning has been a pain, an actual painful experience.

A couple if days ago I slipped on some stairs and jarred my back, fucking shitty karrimore outdoor shoes that are fucking useless when it's wet. Karrimore is absolute bollocks kit.

Every stop and sniff and pull on the leads jarred my back over and over again. I'll end up being a co-codamol junkie at this rate.

Same in summer and winter. Maybe more in winter because the beaches are empty & ddog loves a beach. I found this hot summer more restrictive really than the winter. Dog doesn’t notice rain or mud and I have waterproof trousers etc.

In terms of wee breaks, always offer ddog the garden when we get up but he often refuses and waits for his walk which may not be until 9.30 / I do offer the garden several times in that case)

We have a dog walker during the week so they get the same regardless. At the weekends it's definitely more of a chore in winter but they only get one walk of about 40 minutes - they're beagles and one is approaching 10 and the other has hip dysplasia so it's enough for them.. your schedule sounds very tough going!

There is lots of information online about Shiba Inu and their general care requirements. It’s not a dog I’ve even heard of tbh. Seems they can be indoor dogs or more active.