Minimum garden size for setters / pointers

[Confuseddotcom12345]

Would appreciate advice from those in the know please?

I really love these dogs but my garden is small/medium at best. Is there a minimum size anyone would recommend for these types of medium sized breeds? I know they need a lot of exercise - I could walk plenty but surely a large garden would be better for them for other times? I can change my breed preference if necessary as I will want the dog to be happy.

Honestly, I really wouldn't worry about the size of the garden.

I'm a dog walker and walk loads of super-energetic breeds that live in houses with courtyards or concrete backyards - they're no worse off for it and all seem very happy.

Our dog gets walked for a couple of hours a day but still loves running around the garden at high speed, going out for a sniff about and will happily lie in the sunniest spot for ages. I think a garden with a bit of space makes life easier for the dog owner but you don't need a massive garden. Just enough for a change of scene, a sniff and a leg stretch.

Garden size doesn't really matter too much as it is no substitute for walks. They need to be out getting walked in different places for exercise and the mental stimulation of different sights, sounds and smells.

Are you getting a puppy?
I think gardens come into their own for young dogs to charge about playing.
If they can be off lead somewhere else to let off steam that will help.

We currently can't let our pointer off lead outside the garden because she is very prey driven so she sees a hare and she's off. A big garden means she can have a good run around outside of her walks.

We previously had a setter an the garden wasn't as important for her as she was more reliable off lead.

Neither of them are what I would call town dogs.

Thank you. Our garden is medium/small and we are semi rural with plenty of walks on the doorstep. I’m thinking it’s maybe a breed for later if we move to a larger garden sadly

We have a cocker & our garden is about 80ft from the end of the patio to the end of the garden, but narrow. He can get up to a good speed sprinting back and forth if he wants to zoom around, but he prefers following his nose around it instead. We get a lot of visiting foxes so it's like laying scent trails

It's no substitute for walks though & he can't go out unattended as we have two very vocal dachshunds a few doors down, without supervision/distraction the temptation for him to shout back at them is far too great!

We have a small-medium garden and it’s worked out fine with our pointer. We are semi-rural and have lots of countryside walks on our doorstep. When our pointer was being unreliable with recall, we’d use exercise fields to let her run off some steam.

I honestly wouldn’t let it put you off getting a Pointer, they are the very best dogs 🐶

A small to medium garden is fine if you’re rural and have walks nearby.
We have a Weimaraner and it’s fine

We're in a very dog loving city with al kinds of working breeds out and about every day. Most people don't have gardens. My dog will only go out for a pee and come straight back in and won't poo in garden so needs walked for that anyway. She won't play in the garden etc unless you're out there with her so having one is pointless 😆

If you are getting a pointer the garden size is the least of your worries They are dogs with a high prey drive and will need a lot of work on recall and focus on you.

Beautiful dogs and I am an experienced dog owner and always have high energy working breeds but would never ever have a pointer!

We have a v large garden for our v large dog. He doesn't go in it unless we're there with him, as he's just not that interested in being on his own. Dog and garden size don't necessarily need to correlate.

I have a German Pointer and a small garden (in temporary rented). She would love a larger garden for her after meal zoomies, but we are 2 minute walk away from miles and miles of fields, woods and rivers, where she can run and sniff to her hearts content. A bombproof recall is more important than a big garden, so they can be off lead for exercise.

@Confuseddotcom12345

Thank you. Our garden is medium/small and we are semi rural with plenty of walks on the doorstep. I’m thinking it’s maybe a breed for later if we move to a larger garden sadly

That sounds absolutely fine.

Dogs really don't need a big garden at all - in some cases it's a disadvantage as owners can be tempted to just let them play out there instead of walking them properly.

I know a family with three young dogs who've never been walked because "they have such a big garden there's no point".

Not saying you'd be an owner like that of course, but gardens really aren't that important in the grand scheme of things.

I know people do it, but I'm not sure how I'd manage without a garden, especially during the puppy stage - we have a working lab. We use the garden daily for training and games in addition to walks and it was invaluable when we were stuck in with kennel cough and pup was in season. I don't think you necessarily need a huge garden for a large dog, so small to medium might work. I would have liked a pointer but discounted for other reasons (the difficulties in getting a reliable recall mainly)

That’s my garden, it’s a couple of feet wider than it looks in that and is just longer than the length of the house. It’s bigger than my last garden and the yellow/cream dog is mine and the smallest one I’ve owned, like he’s about half the size of my previous two dogs.

It’s never been an issue, the garden is big enough to go to the toilet and play with me a bit and that’s all you really need tbh.

Oh and for size reference - the springer is a baby in that picture, lol, my dog is about collie sized.

Just in case anyone was looking going, what on Earth did you have that’s 4 x as big as a springer. they’re now the same weight though mine is a bit leggier than the springer.

I have two working-line gundogs and a tiny garden. Provided you're committed to giving your dog plenty of exercise, it's not too much of a problem. Training would be easier with my own 2 acres, but my dogs are happy and fulfilled.

Garden size is totally irrelevant if you are definitely going to be walking .

Enough room to sniff and toilet. What you will need is 6ft fences, they jump, climb and dig.

Pointers are not starter dogs. They have massive prey drive, need oodles of brain games and physical exercise plus a tendency to go self-employed. Separation anxiety is common.

If you are into scooter joring or canicross, like dog agility and are unlikely to leave the dog for more than two hours, they are great.

Is the garden fully secure?
In my view single dogs don't really get use out of a garden, unless for the occasional zoomies. A basic space is needed for morning wees, snoozing in the sun and some training, but all that can be achieved in a small space.
The most important thing is that the space is secure, so they don't need constant supervision if they were to go out there for a nap or with a chew or something.

I agree about it being secure. Not only from escaping perspective but also dognappers!

Our dog mostly uses our garden for sunbathing now 😂

Secure is all rescues or fostering organisations care about, that garden and my smaller previous one have passed home inspections for both...so...

You can’t see the fencing because it’s behind plants, but it was the first thing we did to the house because I had a foster dog with me when we moved in.

Thank you for all your replies that’s been really helpful for me

Get a setter, so much easier than a pointer! Ours barely uses our medium-sized garden at all. But he's out and about with us every day and gets at least two 40 min walks along with lots of car trips and mooching about which he loves.
The nicest dogs ever.