Dogs needing less exercise

[custardbear]

Hi
Just wondered who had dogs that require some exercise but not huge walks every day.

Both my husband and I are very used to dogs as had them in our families since we were born essentially. We've never had our own as we both work full time and felt unfair to keep a dog as we worked away from the house so they'd be alone all day

My DH new job is working from home, even post Covid so feel we'd like a family dog. We have 8&12 year old children

We wanted a dog that doesn't need huge walks as we're time poor, And our garden is ok size wise but not really good enough space for a larger dog as unfair on the dog.

I was thinking a teddy bear type dog like a Daisy dog or similar - DD wants a husky so had to tell her no immediately as we don't have enough garden or time for one. DS wants a pug but I really don't like them at all. Had many terriers as kids so avoiding these - any thoughts from the MN dog massive?
Thanks

I was thinking a teddy bear type dog like a Daisy dog or similar what does this even mean?

Shih Tzu, Bischons, Chihuahuas, Dachshund, Cavaliers are all small and low energy.

We wanted a dog that doesn't need huge walks as we're time poor, And our garden is ok size wise but not really good enough space for a larger dog as unfair on the dog.

What do you mean by huge walks? ALL young dogs need decent amounts of exercise, otherwise they can become destructive and vocal when bored.

I also don't understand what you mean by a "daisy dog"?

From a quick google, Daisy dogs appear to be a mix of Bichon, Poodle and Shih-tzu.

I would be concerned that if you are too time poor to walk a dog enough, you wouldn’t have the amount of time available to raise a pup. They really do take up all day, every day, as they need constant attention, training and care. It’s time consuming and exhausting, but the rewards are massive. If you are able to give them that level of commitment, you end up with a fantastic companion. If not, that’s when things can go horribly wrong and very often the reason a lot of dogs end up in rescues by the time they are teenagers.

It’s great that you are thinking it through and asking questions, rather than just jumping in. Can you give us some idea of the amount of time you would have to commit to caring for, walking and training a dog, as that might help people give the most appropriate advice?

I have a golden retriever. She loves a good few miles around the woods but is quite happy some days with a half hour lead walk. Her priority is cuddling 😂

Ok - we've both had dogs in the past so completely understand the basics - if my message wasn't clear enough I was asking about dogs that perhaps need two or three 20 minute walks a day, plus a medium size garden to use when needed also - rather than be an irresponsible dog owner who gets a dogs requiring two hours of full on exercise, plus extra walks, large garden too, a more active dog, which would be irresponsible as we don't have time for this

Teddy bear type dogs, yes, smaller dogs like Shih tzu/poodle/Bichon cross (Daisy), poodle (we had a poodle when I was a teenager but she was walked for a few hours every day), King Charles etc ... asking for advice from people with this type of dog who can give some friendly advice
Thanks

Greyhound or lurcher.

Mine will go out for as long as we want but will equally sleep all day on just a one hour walk.

He rarely bothers with the garden as he hates getting up to pee, especially in winter.

We have 2 westies and a Jack Russell and they're great if you don't have time for massive long walks. They will happily go on longer walks but equally content playing in the garden and chasing each other there if they have excess energy. We've also found them to be fantastic with our DD (6months) and our nieces and nephews (once we explained to the kids how to behave with them as they don't have dogs of their own and wound the dogs up but didn't want them jumping on them 🤦‍♀️😆)

Don’t get a border collie, 3 long walks today.

A retired greyhound, perhaps? They tend to be couch potatoes!

Yorkshire terrier. Not quite a typical terrier- the mousing/ratting instinct is strong but otherwise great little family dogs. If you treat them like dogs and not accessories :)

As for the “teddy bear dogs” - poodles, shi tzu’s, bichons, maltese etc are all great. Avoid crosses as finding one that isn’t puppy farmed and 3x the price of a pedigree is near impossible.

Most young dogs will need more than twenty minutes at a time, even if they are a generally laid back breed. That being said, all of those "teddy bear" breeds are lovely if well-bred and should make good family pets. You could always hire a dog walker for a longer walk if you feel like you couldn't manage it?

If you're not fussed on the look, cairn terriers are fantastic little dogs. Good temperaments, great in the house, not very vocal - can walk for hours but are equally happy with less.

I also have a golden retriever and he would definitely not be happy with only a short walk and cuddles - more like two big ones for him I’m afraid.

I’ve also heard a retired greyhound is an excellent choice for those who only want to do one 20 minute walk followed by an entire day on the sofa. Wish I’d got one like that.

@PuppyMonkey

I also have a golden retriever and he would definitely not be happy with only a short walk and cuddles - more like two big ones for him I’m afraid.

I’ve also heard a retired greyhound is an excellent choice for those who only want to do one 20 minute walk followed by an entire day on the sofa. Wish I’d got one like that.

Same. My friends goldie runs marathons with us!

@vanillandhoney

Most young dogs will need more than twenty minutes at a time, even if they are a generally laid back breed. That being said, all of those "teddy bear" breeds are lovely if well-bred and should make good family pets. You could always hire a dog walker for a longer walk if you feel like you couldn't manage it?

If you're not fussed on the look, cairn terriers are fantastic little dogs. Good temperaments, great in the house, not very vocal - can walk for hours but are equally happy with less.

Cairns bark a lot. They were bred for hunting rats and are a very capable of it. Mine loved long walks and wouldn't have been too happy with short walks all the time. They also liked to find the stinkiest animal carcass or poo and roll in it, a lot! Great little dogs but incredibly stubborn I told one of mine off once and she deliberately looked at me, walked over and pooped in my empty shoe.

Cairns bark a lot. They were bred for hunting rats and are a very capable of it. Mine loved long walks and wouldn't have been too happy with short walks all the time. They also liked to find the stinkiest animal carcass or poo and roll in it, a lot! Great little dogs but incredibly stubborn I told one of mine off once and she deliberately looked at me, walked over and pooped in my empty shoe.

I've walked a cairn daily since July and she only ever barks at the door, otherwise she's totally silent. I suspect it depends on the dog!

Yes - I suspect she wouldn't be happy with lots of short walks which is why I suggested a dog walker. I don't think ANY young dog would be happy with the length of walk the OP is suggesting tbh. Maybe a greyhound but that doesn't fit in with anything else she wants

I think walking any young dog for 20 minutes at a time on a long-term basis is going to be a bit of a recipe for disaster tbh. It's just not enough.

Cavalier King Charles spaniel

I wouldn't worry about your garden size as most dogs do not entertain themselves in the garden and generally have no interest in the garden if their humans aren't in it.
Having a garden is handy for toilet training and last pees before bed but otherwise doesn't really comprise part of the dog's day.

I have a toy cavapoo. It’s a mumsnet horror dog, he is not puppy farmed. This is a fact. He is happy calm and a total pleasure. He is a happy with 20 minutes round the block as he is with 2 hours across the fields. I tend to usually give him about 40 minutes a day and it’s ample.

My little dog is a shih ztu /Jack Russell cross. He's perfectly happy with 20 mins a day during the week and a longer walk at weekends.

We have a retired greyhound and she is so lazy! I take her for a 20 min walk at lunch time and try to take her out in the evening for another one but if the weather conditions are not perfect she darts back to her bed!
It's great not having the guilt of 'oh I must take the dog out' even if it's pouring as a lot of the time she really can't be bothered.

Thanks for all the positive responses

My DH does run a lot but again due to being responsible he doesn't t want to base a dog around that because he likely wouldn't do a massive run every day, probably only 4-5 times a week so not enough for an energetic dog (I can't see the same dog doing biking or weights the days he does other exercise 😆)

We're time poor but can invest short term
Time with a puppy - we have experience with this type of situation having had puppies, kittens and foals before

Greyhounds are a bit big and lolloppy for me, I'd love a retriever or Samoid but feel It would need too much walking hence thinking little teddy dog
Had terriers before (westie Scottie yorky) and also shih tzu and poodle which we liked, hence thinking of these little cross breeds

Would you be able to afford a dog walker to come in at lunchtime?

You could then do 20 minutes morning and evening, and the walker could take them for a longer walk in the middle of the day. I'm a dog walker and charge £10 an hour for something like that :)

Following this as researching breeds at the moment and we are not really long walkers in our family. Maybe a couple of hours at the weekend, but not a couple of hours every day. My thoughts are a whippet - happy with a couple of 30 mins walk each day during the week but longer at weekends

I’d love a hound type dog but truthfully we aren’t really a walking family and just wouldn’t do 2 hours plus a day so a hound or a gun dog just not right for us