Our dog only really gets walked once a day - is it enough?

[DeborahAnnabelToo]

An hour off lead walk in the mid morning generally. Then some ball-chasing in the garden after work or some brain games, frozen Kongs etc. Occasionally a walk round the block for a sniff but not that often. She's 20 months old. Is it enough? She seems ok with it and settles down to zonk out for the night between 8 and 9pm.

I would have expected a 20min walk round the block every evening as well? It’s good for owners too .

Sounds fine - ours mostly gets one walk a day too at 19 months old.

Personally I don't think dogs need hours and hours of exercise - obviously there are some exceptions to that, but walking a dog for hours on end only creates a fit dog who needs lots of exercise to be tired.

One good walk a day plus training/chews/brain games is fine. Sometimes he gets more when my FIL takes him out but it's not everyday - and he seems absolutely fine whether he gets one or not.

It also depends what type of dog

We usually only do one. But we have a huge back garden where they can also go wild!

My dog really doesn’t enjoy walking but I drag her out every day once or twice! Sometimes she runs about for a minute or two but mostly just sniffs everything! I think no two dogs are the same.

Kind of depends on the kind of dog you have xx

if she's not climbing the walls or getting giddy in the garden, or up to general household mischief then fine.

Our current dog is hugely lazy, two nice long walks on consecutive days and he is worn out! He is hugely relaxed and laid back! lazy AF

I've also found a walk at his pace with the opportunity to sniff everything often tires him out more than a long run about the beach.

It all depends OP. Mine has had two today but normally gets the one for 1:30-2hours sometimes 3. She gets constant attention throughout the day, and is rarely alone. I often wonder this, but she’s very content and when she isn’t by god we know about it.

Depends on the dog.

Ours refuses to go out if the weather is remotely wet cold or windy

It depends on the dog.

If they're happy, not bored, not being destructive and are happy to settle in the evening then they're probably fine.

If they start getting bored, apathetic or destructive then that's probably a sign they need more stimulation.

Ours gets a longer walk in the morning and a good run/play with her doggy pals. She then comes with me for the afternoon school run and that's it for the day.

Very rarely she might be quite energetic in the late evening so I take her out for a quick walk/sniff, but that's very rare.

Depends on the breed, but they'll let you know if they want more exercise (ours does, but as I say, not often).

Depends on the dog. Our st Bernard cross goes out with me first thing and often just sits down in the road if he doesn't feel like going out with our dog walker later in the day! He is only 3 but would happily sleep in all day.

I never stick to religiously timed walks. It only creates dogs that won’t settle easily.

I walk mine once a day, sometimes twice who knows. Sometimes we go out all day and on a rare occasion (such as extreme heat) not at all.

Sometimes I spend a lot of time with them but others they are left while I do whatever it is I’m busy with. None of them demand attention and I couldn’t stand that.

My dogs are happy, settled and relaxed. No stressing dogs whining at doors here so it seems to work.

She's a cross staff. Runs like a maniac on walks. She gets lots of attention on the 2 days I don't work and weekends. Dog walker 3 days a week and snoozes happily until kids get in from school around 3.30 (I have a doggy cam so can see she's just asleep).

I walk mine once a day, for varying times at varying times not always the same route. He does not want to go on more than that really
He is a small terrier

We had a behaviourist come a couple of months ago to help with the adolescent phase of our newer dog and she surprised us by saying that she thought 40 minutes once a day was enough. We have large breed dogs. But what she said was every couple of hours do brain games with both the old boy ( almost 11) and the youngster ( 15 months now) as the brain stimulation tires them out. So that's what we do. It was helpful as older boy has arthritis and a long walk isn't ideal and as long as they get lots of time to sniff around as well as rush around like mad things they seem okay and I'm less stressed on the one walk. I had to really prise ideas for brain games out of her but of course it's just training stuff!

Sounds fine.
Mine enjoy brain games and training as much as walks.
As long as they are getting out and enjoying some exercise and sniffs, and the rest of the day involves them in various ways it doesn’t have to be walks - in fact too much exercise and stimulation can cause them to become overaroused and hyperactive.

Thanks for the responses 😊

I never stick to religiously timed walks. It only creates dogs that won’t settle easily.

Yeah I definitely agree with this. Mine sometimes has 40 minutes, sometimes he's out all day. Sometimes his walk is at 6am, sometimes midday - there's no routine so he doesn't whinge! Walks happen when I decide, not when he does.

My two only get one walk a day in the morning. Usually 45 min+

THey then get access to the garden as often as they need for toileting and if we're out doing jobs, they can run around as they please.

Poodle thinks this is more than enough. Collie would prefer more but I don't entirely have enough hours in the day to do everything as it is.

Mine go out together for a 30-35 min walk some time before 9am, then out again together for a shorter 20 min walk before supper - this is to accommodate the older, arthritic dog. The younger, bouncier Tigger cross dog usually gets another walk in the middle of all that, especially if she's ramping up the naughtiness.

I suspect there is a certain amount of elasticity to how much exercise a dog needs (or prefers), as well as variation between individual, breeds, ages, fitness levels.

Ultimately, if your dog is physically healthy and mentally sound then you're doing ok. If you're dog is displaying stress, boredom or anxiety behaviours (excessive pacing, licking, vocalisation, reactivity etc) then you might want to reassess how much and how you are walking them. Just changing that may not be the whole answer - or even any of the answer - but can help as part of a wider change.

A dog that has low level stress because its needs are not being met may well be less able than normal to cope with specific stress, such as moving house, meeting children, seeing the postman etc.

A dog that is exposed to regular stress because it is being walked too often or in a way that doesn't suit it, may be the same as above.

If you're dog is generally happy, relaxed, able to settle and cope reasonably well with unexpected or ad hoc stressors, etc then you are probably giving him/her the right level of exercise (and other things).

If you want to walk your dog more often and doing so still results in a happy, chilled dog then great. Ditto less. There are plenty of reactive dogs for whom a few days of not being walked at all following 'an event' would help lower adrenaline levels down to a point where they can once again start to cope a bit better.

Collies are an interesting example because I see a fair number that have excessing nerves or anxiety on a walk and wonder if this is because the frequency or manner of walking does not suit them. In fact, now I think on it, I cannot recall ever meeting a collie that wasn't nervous or anxious in some way but they must exist. Typically their neurological physicality is always used as the 'extreme' example in texts I've read (e.g. highest levels of dopamine receptors of all breeds) but this may be cliche or laziness on the part of the authors, because of their reputation as high-demand, so your experience fucks makes an interesting comparison.

Sounds fine to me - especially for the breed.

She sounds happy to me - I know dogs that never get a walk ☹️ she gets played with as well. It's fine.

Mine only gets one walk a day during the week, usually on the school run which is about 40 minutes there and back.

As soon as we get back he comes out.

But at the weekends he's out for anything from an hour to 5 hours including lots of swimming.

He seems perfectly happy with it the way things are