What's your dog's daily routine?

[KeepSmiling83]

Hi,

I feel like I am posting lots of questions at the moment but I am trying to get a good idea of what owning a dog is like before we make the decision to get one.

So what is your daily routine with your dog? How much time do you spend walking them, playing with them, how much do they sleep, are left alone etc? What does a typical day look like? (e.g get up at 7am, play for 15 mins then breakfast etc)

I realise it may vary depending on the breed so would be really helpful if you could say what breed your dog is too.

Thank you!

The lab:
6am: Hears DH's alarm goes off, races to his side and gives him the 'oh boy oh boy is it happening? Is it really happening? I'm soooo excited, I think it's happening' face
6.10am: DH and DDog go for a 4-5 mile run
6.45am: DDog gets breakfast and goes back to bed
7:15am: DC and I come downstairs. DDog hauls herself out of bed to clean up the floor after breakfast. Goes back to bed
8:30am: Our nanny walks DDog and DC to the station with me, they have a 20 min run around the park
9am-1pm: at home with DC or alone, depending on what DC are doing that day
1-3pm: Cuddles up on the sofa with our nanny during nap time
3-4pm: Potter around the park if the weather is nice, stay at home if it isn't
6pm: DH and I get home, DDog gets fed and then gets back on the sofa for a cuddle
10pm: last wee of the day, bedtime either on our bed or her bed

The other thing to consider is when you're out of your day to day routine. When the family are doing something that doesn't suit the dog. Holidays, day trips etc. It's ideal if you have a family member or friends who's available to help out.

Who are available to help out

14 month old beagle. On days we're home with him (four days a week) his routine is as below. The other three days he goes to daycare.

7am - wake up, toilet, mooch about.
8/8.30 - walk. This is either off or on lead and normally takes about 90 minutes or so. Sometimes more if the weather is good, less if it's foul outside.
10:00 - home and has a chew. Spends the rest of the day mooching around at home or sleeping. Plays in the garden a bit, maybe we'll play tug or fetch. Often do some training in there as well.
19:00 - dinner and then he gets another chew, then he normally crashes out after that. He's currently snoring under a blanket by my feet and will probably stay there until bed.
23:00 - toilet, then straight up to bed. He sleeps in with us and will then sleep all night.

He's nowhere near as intense as I thought he'd be (now he's out of the puppy stage). As long as he has a good walk, some chews or toys to keep him occupied and companionship, he's absolutely fine. He'd happily go for more walks if they were offered but we've never wanted to get into that routine with him.

I do think for the most part, dogs adapt to what you can give them. Yes, some breeds like huskies need loads of exercise but most dogs will be happy with one long (or two short) walks a day plus some play and company from you. I could never be the kind of owner who is out 3-4 times a day with their dog!

7am - dogs 1, 2 and 3 - turfed out into front garden. Dogs 4, 5, 6 and 7 released from utility room into back garden (4+5 feign sleep, 6+7 greet the day with rapturous joy).

7.30 1, 2, 3 whine to come in. Tea and fag (me). 1, 2, 3 and 6 join me in feeding horses. 7 sulks. Bread man arrives. All go crazy - as if the poor man is not there every single bloody day.

9am. All fed. Major operation as half are gannets and half are wimps.

9.30. 4+5 chase the bread man's van (he's been gone an hour but they are convinced they will catch him one day).

10am. Peace reigns.

10.01. A butterfly farts. Utter chaos and a chorus that Simon Cowell would gold button.

10.30. Silence (earplugs are magic).

6pm. 7 is invited to go for a walk. Refuses as he might miss tea.

7pm. All snigger as mother loads wheelbarrow with copious shits littering the garden.

11pm, one last BGT rehearsal then places take for marathon snooze. Dog 1 spreadeagled on my bed. Growls when I squeeze in. Give up and go to the spare room. Dog 1 follows....

5 month old Vizsla. Geriatric Border Terrier.
5.45am: I get up and remove them from the sofa for a wee in the garden. They are not impressed and go back to sleep.
I put the Vizsla’s raw food in to defrost and go back to bed for half an hour.

6.15am. Feed everybody. Then everyone goes back in the garden for a poo.

6.45am. In the car to work.

7.15am. Get to work. Either stay in the car and sleep or go in their covered run, depending on temperature. If cold, stay in car.

9.15am. Go for a 20-30 minute off lead walk round fields.

9.30am. Back in car/run.

11am. Set off home for lunch. Hang out for a bit on the sofa.

2pm. Back to work with the Vizsla, terrier sleeps on the sofa.

4pm. Training walk for the puppy.

5pm. In the run

6.30pm. Home. Dinner. Hang out on the sofa til bedtime. Out for a wee. Back on the sofa til morning.

I currently have a pup so it's quite different to my previous hound so thought it might be helpful for you to have the difference as I'm hoping MuppetPup will eventually have a similar routine to my previous hound.

Adult hound routine:
7am - I wake up - hound on bed fast asleep where he stayed until I'm washed, showered, dressed and on days where I wash my hair, he knew and didn't come downstairs until he heard the hairdryer put away in the drawer downstairs.
7.30am - out for an off-lead walk to the local field of 40 mins or so.
8.10am - back home and a quick nibble on some food and a drink and then into car and off to work with me
8.30-lunchtime - he snoozes on his bed under my desk with odd bits of fuss and treats;
lunchtime - on-lead walk to a park where he gets to run about a bit off lead for half an hour or so again.
lunchtime-6pm - he snoozes on his bed under my desk with intermittent fuss and treats.
6pm - home and a bit of a mooch about the garden and he has some dinner. We eat and he lay on his bed while we ate and if we sat chatting too long after we'd finished, he started to let us know by means of meaningful looks or whimpers that it was time for us to clear the plates so he could get some tasty leftover bits of chicken or lamb or whatever meat we were having.
8pm-11pm he snoozes on the sofa with us in the living room
11pm he starts to tell me it's time to go to bed with meaningful looks and if I ignore those then he just gets up and heads to bed. I let him out for his last week anywhere from 11pm to midnight and he would then sleep soundly until 7am or at the weekend whenever I wake up.

Pup - currently 14 weeks:
5-7am - pup will wake a possibly need a wee but sometimes sleeps through - if they wake at 5 or 6, it's a quick wee outside and then back to bed. He's now sleeping on my bed as he sleeps better there and I get more sleep. He slept through until 8am this morning from about 11pm last night
7-7.30am I try to get ready while keeping an eye on pup - he sometimes now lies on my bed chewing his antler while I get ready but I tend to take him to the bathroom with me while I shower or brush teeth as I can see he's not toileting in the house - he's pretty solid on house training but I still like to keep a hawk eye on him at this time in the morning.
7.30am to 8.10 am - on-lead walk to field and then off lead walk and run about and we work on recall, sit, checking in with me, heel work, loose lead work, fetching the ball and he gets to play and interact with other dogs.
8.15am I leave for work and my Mum is over to look after him in the day
6.30pm I arrive home and we eat dinner and I try to get MuppetPup to stay on his bed so lots of rewards when he stays on his bed. He doesn't get left overs yet as don't want to upset his tummy
7.30pm to 8.15pm - we go for a decent off lead walk through woods, by rivers, on open land and he runs and sniffs and we do more recall work and heel work and getting his attention work. This would be when he'd be going crazy in the house so I prefer to let him run off this energy outside so he's calmer when home.
8.30-9pm, he falls asleep on the sofa or sometimes goes crazy for a bit and chews everything he's not supposed to and runs about - I'm finding the more I get his exercise just right the more he just falls asleep - the craziness tends to happen if he's overtired.
10.30pm - I let him out for his last wee and we go upstairs to bed. He sometimes follows me in the bathroom while I brush my teeth but I'm encouraging him to stay on my bed with a chew while I'm in the bathroom.

Weekends I take him to training class on a Saturday - he comes to cafes with us or pubs with us and basically goes wherever we go and we get some nice walks in too. In cafes or pubs he can be a pain in the arse and keep whining and not settling so I just get up, take him for a quick walk round the block leaving rest of family at table and then return - a bit like having a toddler. He'll learn in time and he's getting better.

Dogs are the best - he just makes me happy each day by just being so enthusiastic to run and chase a ball or feel the grass under his paws. His enthusiasm for life and his family is infectious. They give so much.

6.30 dog starts barking, hoping it will make newspapers arrive in letter box. Dog gets repeatedly shhd and told to get back in his bed. Gets let out into garden for wee if he asks.
7.30 newspapers arrive in letter box. Dog flies upstairs and boings up and down 20 times trying to get newspapers, then escorts me taking newspapers to MIL's room (MIL, 85, sleeps through whole saga).
8.30 out for walk and ballplay.
9 30 Breakfast
10am I start work in my studio, Dog sleeps preferably in patch of sunlight somewhere. Comes for head stroke and see what I'm up to now and again, or to go and supervise garden.
1.30 I break for lunch. Dog has scrap of games or cheese.
Back to work, dog sleeps.
3.30-4pm dog indicates walk and football is in order. We walk for an hour or two, including agility in rock pools on the beach if the tide is out. If it's the weekend we take some meaty chunks and water for dog as we end up in a pub where there are usually lots of other dogs. Walk home. Dog wants to play with disembowelled toys, ex-squeaky raindeer for half an hour and then he is out for the count. He always sleeps in his own bed but in our room, and is waiting hopefully for bedtime signs from 9pm onwards. Sometimes he gives up on us and takes himself to bed.
And repeat. 365 days a year.

Dog is a 6 year old Jack Russell.

Here are a couple of things I wish someone had told me to do before we got our dog.

Twice a day, no matter what the weather, no matter how busy you are, whether you are ill, can’t be bothered, etc, go out for a walk 2 x a day, minimum 20 minutes each time, but ideally 45 mins to an hour.

Every time you go out, work, shopping, cinema, dinner, wedding, etc, set an alarm for three hours and get home.

For each day you can’t do the above put away £20 to cover cost of dog walker/sitter.

I love my dog to bits but having had him, I’d never get another.

8 month old lab/min poodle cross.

6.30: out for pee.
6.45: breakfast
7-9: playing, getting into trouble, chewing, training.
9am: 30 min walk as he won't poo in the garden
9.30-12: more chewing and terrorising
12pm: an hour off lead run followed by lunch and more pooping.
1-3: nap time (yay)
3-4: playing, barking, brain games, chewing, toilet roll hunting, training.
4.30: 30min on lead walk/leash training/pooping
5.30: dinner, zoomies, chewing.
8pm: brush, cuddles, farting.
11pm: 15 min walk round the block for last pee/poop and sleepy time.

I work from home so our middle aged BT's weekly routine goes:

7am human alarm goes off; DDog into bedroom to check all still alive, then back to his bed
7.30am outside for wee; breakfast
7.45am back to bed to sleep off breakfast
9.20am hysterical barking to warn of approaching intruder (postman)
11.30-12.30 long walk around local footpaths for extrusion of exactly three poos (picked up, obvs)
1pm nap
3.30pm out in garden for a run around and also to shriek at birds, trees, bats, grass, cars in next village, ghosts, etc
6pm DH home from work, possible second shorter walk before supper
7pm supper
10pm slinks off to bed

This is his routine which he's doggedly (hee!) sticking to despite the arrival of a new dog who requires more regular loo breaks while she gets the hang of housetraining. He's very happy to be left at home with a Kong and QVC on the tv if I have to go out for a few hours; she's less so, but we're working up to it gradually.

6am up and out for wee, checks everyone is still alive and moves from bed to sofa.
7-8am Walk off lead over fields.
8am Breakfast after which she retreats to the sofa again.
Has access to the garden at all times, sometimes she will wonder out, but more often than not she'll just doze indoors. Around midday we play if she wants to, she has ropes agility and balls outside.
Afternoon is more dozing.
Then dinner about 5pm.
7-8pm she goes for another walk and sometimes a swim depending on the weather.
Then more sleep!

She's a lurcher so very lazy and would happily do nothing at all....ever!.....so if the weather is bad/cold we sometimes just stay in and around the garden. She isn't left for more than 4 hours, if we go out for longer a friend takes her out. She also goes to agility class once a week and we take her to the beach etc when possible.

Our dogs have no real routine (due to noone at home having a regular routine) but are rarely left alone at home and have good length walk or free running (1-2 hours, sometimes more) most days - this is very important. They are a nightmare without exercise. Otherwise they generally go out when we go out and stay in when we stay in. Young one goes training once a week which I am supposed to supplement with regular practice, which has been shamefully neglected recently due to family upheavals, but will be getting back to. Have a young Dalmatian and middle aged jack Russell.

Wake up at 7.45 in my super king size bed. I have 6in one side, DH has 6in other side. Between us, 2 little, fluffy terriers ate spread eagled on their backs. I get up carefully so not to wake them.

They come down at about 9, after the fuss of feeding 6 cats, hoovering, tidying up, cooking etc is over.

We walk over the woods and fields from 9.30 to 10.30, often with friends and their dogs.

My boy crashes out after a milky bone. My girl follows me as I potter around. I talk to her alot and she helps me a bit ie fetching stuff I purposely leave out, to stimulate her. If I've worked the night shift I'll nap from 11 to 1pm.

At 1.30 ish I put down commercial dog food with a side of tinned fish or a bit of whatever we're having later (good quality meat). Half the days, its ignored and the cats eat it.

3 to 5 I generally sit and catch up on TV or nap if I'm doing a night shift later. This involves close cuddling. I'll brush both dogs every other day.

We walk from 5.30 to 6.30. Slow, sniffy road walks every other day to keep their claws short, woods and fields the other days.

DH and DD get home varying times each day and dogs go crazy to see them

Fresh food given when we eat then onto sofa for more cuddling x brushing.

Dogs use cat flap to get into garden whenever they want to. They have free run of house.

They come to bed with us and a chewy treat at 11pm.

Much longer walks at weekends and dog friendly holidays three times a year. Left alone rarely, maybe 1 to 2 hrs one saturday a month.

We’ve got three papillons (toy breed) aged between 9.5 and 3.5.

6am-9am (depending on what time our alarms go off) wake up and instantly run around like lunatics demanding to go out for a wee (they sleep in our bedrooms and have access to water overnight)

Spend the next hour outside sniffing everywhere to see what’s been in the garden overnight (could be cats, birds, wild rabbits, possums, kangaroos)

After an hour of sniffing, running around and tiring themselves out it’s a quick feed and a drink then a snooze on the sofa for an hour or so.

Anytime between 8am and 11am it’s in the car for an hours walk along the riverbank or the beach.

The afternoon is spent outside chasing wild rabbits, sniffing, sleeping on the back of the sofa, barking at the cows in the back field and chasing each other around the house.

Dinner is anytime between 6pm and 7pm (depending on when breakfast was) then it’s back outside for an hour sniffing and lounging in the sun (summer only).

By 8pm the oldest two are ready for bed so we get lots of passive aggressive huffing around and pointed glares at the bedroom doors. They generally give up after 15 mins and go and sleep on DS bed while the youngest one sleeps on the arm of my chair.

The eldest goes to bed with DD2 at about 9pm while the other two wait till we go to bed at around midnight. Then of course we have to do the whole”wake up, it’s time for bed” while trying to put them on a lead for their before bed bathroom break.

They’re so lazy but it suits us down to the ground, not sure how we’ll manage with the new puppy at the end of the year!

Should say our back garden is over an acre so they have plenty of space to exhaust themselves in which is why they only get one walk a day at the moment.

Week day
6:00 up and breakfast
6:30 - 7:45 out 3 days to the beach for offload and a swim, 2 days walk to the park
7:45- 8:30 cuddles then follow me around as I get ready for work.
8: 40 I leave for work, settle dog in his room with his long.
9:45 DH back fim first part of his split shift, dog gets on couch
Lunchtime- chasing a ball around the garden and/ or snoozing in the garden
2: 45 back in his room. DH 2nd part of split shift.
5 PM I'm back - whizzes around the garden like a lion, then out for a walk for 3/4 of an hour ish.
6 dinner - then play, cuddles, mooching around, looking for tummy tickles.
8 ish - asleep
10 ish all go to bed.
Weekends longer walks & more off lead, unlimited cuddles.

Christ almighty that was a lot of autocorrects

• offlead *Kong *from *loon

No routine. They get up when I get up. Eat a couple of times a day and get walked / run round the fields. I find no routine makes dogs more chilled as long as they are walked, fed and generally just tired!

7 month old Staffordshire bull terrier

7am- up to toilet
7am-9am snooze on someone’s lap.
9am breakfast
9-11 play in the garden, chew fence, eat grass, eat own poo if unsupervised.
11am walk on long lead ( learning recall)
11-3 potters in the garden plays with epic amount of toys and training
3pm walk on lead
4 pm begins the scratching at the door, in, out, in, out, in, out to the garden,
5pm tea
5:30 incessant squeaking of her squeaky toy from the minute neighbours starts until it finishes. Interspersed with tail chasing and generally filming her self around the room.
6-7:30 snoozing
7:30 zoomies around the living room, barking, baby shark snapping.
7:30-9 repeat in out in out in out in out routine
9pm poo break and snoozing laid out over me preferably with me in the most uncomfortable position
10:30 BED

The only days she is more settled are doggy day care and play session followed by training class....she’s exhausted, it’s bliss!

Puppies are hard work!

6 year old terrier littermates, neutered boys.
They slept a LOT right from being puppies.

Normal week day, OH at work. They quite often don't even come downstairs until past noon, usually because the postman has woken them up and they have to charge to the front door to kill him.
Current record for staying in bed is 5pm. Yes, PM.
When they do get up, they often go to sleep on the sofa. Eventually, one of them will decide they are hungry and go to their feeding mat and I will give them 'breakfast', though it is usually past lunchtime. They like to wander in the garden, or find a sunny spot and go to sleep (again).
They get a decent walk in the afternoon, one or two hours, with a fair amount of galloping about but more of a gentle potter if the weather is warm.
They begin to drop large hints about dinner around 5.30pm usually, then after they have been fed they like to play a game of fetch, or generally have some sort of interaction/training.
By 7pm, the biggest boy is usually upstairs in bed, and his brother will alternate between sitting on our laps or stretching out in front of the fire.
Our previous dog was a stickler for us being up at 6.30am for breakfast and a walk, so these two have been quite a shock to the system. Nobody ever believes quite how lazy they are until they come to stay and see it for themselves.
The vet always comments on how fit and well they are, so clearly their lifestyle suits them.
Weekends are slightly more varied as we often go out for the day, but I still reckon they sleep 16 to 18 hours a day.

Thank you so much for all these replies. It's so interesting to see how different all the routines are!!

I had in my head that you never got a moments peace with a puppy/dog and I was a bit apprehensive. Don't get me wrong - I know it's very hard - but it is nice to hear that it's not constant and you can have some nice relaxed times with them!

6:30 - 7:00 am dog wakes me up by woofing at me or jumping on the bed and attacking my eyeballs (this happens 7 days per week without fail!)
If DD is at her Dads then 7:00 - 7:15am I make coffee and drink as much coffee before the pestering begins.
7:20am I give in and go and get my clothes on and dog steals anything I take off, bites my toes and generally behaves like a dick head.
7:30am out for a walk.

8:30am back from walk and play ball in the garden.
8:45am sit at my desk with my breakfast and dog slopes off to his favourite chair.
9:00am - 3pm dog snoozes, woofs at postment, occasionally goes out the back and generally does his own stuff. He comes and bothers me for some lunch when I am eating and might come and sit in the beanbag by my desk but mostly he is quiet.
3pm dog starts pestering for a walk (more woofing, toe chewing, shoe stealing and generally being a dick).
4pm kid gets home and we go out for a walk together with crazy dog.
5pm back from walk and dog gets dinner.

5:15pm - 6pm I make dinner and throw balls
6pm - people eat and dog pesters
6:30pm - 7:30pm I spend time with kid and dog (playing, chewing and chatting).
7:30pm kid bedtime (dog helps by sitting in the middle of it all).
8pm kid goes to sleep and sometimes dog stays up with her. Sometimes he comes back down to do more chewing and playing with me.
9pm dog goes back to his chair and drops off.
10pm I send dog out for a wee (and he sits on the back patio not doing a wee until I let him back in).
10:30pm - bedtime for me and dog (back to his chair!)

If DD is not at her Dad's dog is a shit until 8:15am when we go out to take DD to school. Dog walker arrives when I am out and he goes off for a few hours of fun. Then sleeps until 3pm when he starts his afternoon pestering.

Should have said dog is a 15 month old Bichon Frise.