How often do you really walk your dog?

[RedRobyn2021]

We have a small Labrador, a working lab type, she is 5yo and we live rurally. She's walked twice a day off lead about 35-40 minutes in the morning and then an hour in the afternoon (it would be less but I go with my 3yo daughter and it takes longer with her). Lots of ball, sniffing, chasing the occasional hare/deer/pheasant.

Mornings are a rush from the moment the alarm goes off at 6am as my DP has to be out to work for 7:50am. I do find it takes over our afternoons, I feel like I can't take DD to meet friends on afternoons because the dog has to be walked.

When I talk to friends or other people I know the general impression I get is that their dogs are only walked once a day (if they are lucky). Am I just making things harder for myself? I've taken DD out in all weathers (boiling sun, snow, rain, hail), even as a baby, to walk our dog.

I am also intruiged by this, as I take my two small dogs out 3 times a day 30 minutes , once last quick walk.Last time is very short walk up the road for a pee.
How often do the dogs pee? Do they go in their gardens, to the toilet?
Sorry to derail your thread, am I doing too much walking?

I would have thought that at five years old you could convert one of his two walks into a little sniffy walk. One big energy burner, plus one quiet short walk.

When my children were small, the dog's second walk was just to the school and back at pick-up time. So, only a mile or so (unless I went on an offlead detour on the way to the school) but quite a lot of time out of the house, standing around while I waited, chatted, etc)

3 year old beagle cross. Depends on what else we are doing and the walks! He always gets at least one walk a day, which will be an hour. He will often get a second 20 min round the block walk on lead. But we do a big variety- once a week we do an hour long pack walk. Those are on lead but he's absolutely knackered afterwards because it stimulates him mentally to be calm around the other dogs more than just running round off lead. Some of our walks he plays with lots of other dogs, some he is more on his own, and I'm increasingly trying to give him more interesting on lead walks. We also do man trailing which absolutely exhausts him, and sometimes we visit friends with dogs where they play a lot. We did scent work which I wasn't that keen on but gave me some ideas of scent games to play at home. He has unlimited time in the (quite large and interesting) garden.

I guess it's a long winded way of saying I've found the best thing is to mix it up for him. I don't want him expecting multiple walks a day or miles and miles. Equally I want him to be happy and fulfilled! And I think he is. Lots of people are thrilled to tell you how to look after your dog but you live with them and know when they are content. I've tried to get a balance of physical and mental stimulation so he's happy and I'm not constantly walking!

I've got a 15 month old mongrel who is a mixture of working breeds (gsd, collie, saluki) who has a weird attitude to walks. Most dogs I see on leads are walking in a continuous straight line, or off-lead hurrying after their owners who are walking in a determined straight line. She stops allll the time. Loves to lie down and watch dogs, birds etc. Stops to sniff. Lies down when dogs approach.

So she tends to be out of the house for around 1 and a quarter hours late morning then 45 minutes early evening (give or take, we don't actually have a routine), but never walks the whole time.

Can manage a longer walk when we go places at the weekend. Does gallop around fields most days but tires quickly if she's really going for it (she's fast) so maybe only for 15 minutes or so (I don't want her joints to get damaged).

Added to that will play in the garden with the kids, has things to chew daily, sometimes a kong or licky mat, and is otherwise calm and snoozing.

Once a day, but he's 14. When he was younger twice, when I first got him and before I had kids.

It varies in terms of number, length, location, activity while we’re on them etc - he’s always walked at least twice a day though.

The thing is OP a lot of people don't give their dogs what they need - and a lot of people might have older dogs or breeds that don't need much exercise. You couldn't compare a pugs needs to your working lab for example.

If you wanted something that needed less walking then you should have chosen a different breed. Personally I'd never get a working breed as a pet unless I was going to do agility or something more than just a a couple of walks a day with it.

I agree that you're definitely doing the minimum - if your dog had only one walk a day then it would have 23 hours a day in your house doing very little. That is not how a working dog should be living. Although it's not clear from what you've written whether your dog has two walks in the morning or two walks total. If you're doing 3 walks a day then that's what I would expect for a working lab. I dog sit and any dog I have is taken out for three walks a day no matter the size or breed, I have never had a dog that wasn't extremely happy to be out.

You can't possibly suggest that because some people never walk their dog that must mean that it's ok for you to not meet your dogs needs? That if other people treat their pets really poorly then it ok for you to do a bit of a rubbish job too? On a positive note it's fantastic exercise for your dd.

Golden Retriever
7 years
Morning 1.25-1.5 hours but sometimes more. Yesterday did 1hr 45 min.
Afternoon - an hour.

Don't always go twice but I'd say 5/7 days average we do.

Mine get walked 3 times a day but yes like you I have work colleagues who don't seem to walk theirs much or just round the block. We are trying to cut our older dogs walks down as she is losing weight, but it's hard as she sees the other dog going and wants to go too.

It has always struck me that the accounts I read on MN about the amount of time people spend walking their dogs are way, way out of kilter with what I see all around me in terms of how long friends and neighbours walk their dogs for.
I don't think anyone is being dishonest; I just think that the accounts on MN often come from people who are feeling really happy (at the time of posting) with the amount of time they are walking for.
People who have let things slide, or who are going through a phase of shorter walks because life is too busy are probably much less likely to reply.
Certainly in my village it is really common for dogs to have two short walks of less than twenty minutes on busy/working days. And then big romps on the weekend etc.

Border collie owner. 3 walks every day but when I’m out and about he comes and we do a lot of days out so can be more. First one is off lead over the hills and vales (it puts me in the right head space for the day!). On lead sniffy walk middle of day and usually an hour on and off lead in the evening. I do a lot of training on the off lead walks as he needs a job to do as he’s a working breed. So his brain gets tired as well as my legs! I think it depends on the dog. I’ve always had collies as I’m outdoorsy and so is he.

Once a day off lead for an hour in the week. At weekends it’s either a longer walk or nothing at all…….shes a bit of a couch potato so if the weather is shit or I’m busy and she misses a day she’s ok with that.

3yo lab and he’s walked once a day, but we have a large garden / field and he has a turn about that a couple of times a day in addition/ spends a fair amount of time outside with me and the kids. He also does dog training classes once or twice a week instead of a walk, which is great mental stimulation.

I don’t understand where people have the time to spend multiple hours per day on dog walks. Mine gets an hour per day from me but then everything else is him tagging along with the family. Seems happy enough and generally well behaved.

More people walk past my house (village, 2 roads away from farmland) with dogs than without, often several times a day, often round a very small block. I have had mostly collies,that are taken out in the car,beach in winter,drier months,local forests,woods,and get an hour plus running off lead. My last one was 17,last different breed was a Phalene,who was PTS January 23 and almost 18.my vet of over 20 years said what I am doing works for them, keep doing it
We've had dog flaps for 25 years, they have 100ft of garden for them selves, the rest is fenced off for veg growing. We have indoor games,training sessions. Anyone read "Don't walk your dog"?

Op don't feel bad. You've no idea if the people posting here work, have kids, are carers for elderly parents, retired, sahp etc unless they tell you. If you haven't got time to walk a dog for 4 hours a day it doesn't mean you're a bad dog owner.

Someone else having the time to walk and play with their dog for 8 hours a day doesn't mean you're doing the bare minimum for your dog. Who in the real world has time to do all that with a pet dog unless they have no kids or other commitments?

If your dog is happy and healthy, not stressed or destructive then crack on.

I got a small breed toy dog because i wanted it to fit into our life, not to make the dog the centre of our universe.

my dog gets 45 minutes to an hour a day walking with some additional playtime and brain games. Perfectly happy and healthy.

We have a six year old beagle and he gets one walk a day of about an hour - that could be as early as 6am or as late as 2pm. We never did a set routine as I didn't want a dog who pestered for a walk or one who clock-watched and expected to go out at a certain time everyday.

Very occasionally he'll get a second walk (I'm a dog walker so sometimes he comes out with me in the afternoons if I have to work) but it doesn't make any difference to his behaviour and sometimes I think he'd rather stay in bed

He also gets his breakfast and bedtime snack scattered around the house to "find", plus some other kind of mental enrichment like a chew or training everyday.

I personally don't know anyone who takes their dogs out as much as people on MN claim to be necessary. Once a day seems normal, maybe twice for young, energetic breeds.

My dog is small but energetic,.we walk 20 minutes in the morning and she will have a play with neighbours dogs in the local park if we meet them. Lunchtime will be another play date or a much longer hours walk and she will play ball in the garden.

We take her to play dates at the local dog park and she goes most places with us if dog friendly so she gets lots of different experiences

3 yr old working type yellow Lab. She has a short Wee Walk between 7 and 7.30, as she won’t toilet in the garden (has refused since 18 months and waiting her out won’t work, she’d rather explode).
Minimum 2 - 3 hours a day in a working week, split up into whatever combo works best for me/DH (who works at home). Semi rural paths, longline training, sniffy woodlands. Training sessions, short and brain-engaging (scent games, fetching toys etc).
Doggy daycare 2 days a week, with outside space, agility room and 2 walks a day - they do build in ‘rest’ periods around that, so not a mad free for all like some places can be.
Weekends and holiday it’s usually more, as she’s out and about with us most places. She can do a whole day on the fells no problem but is also good bimbling around towns, Roman ruins etc. lake swimming is her absolute dream day, loves to swim with me.
Proper couch potato in the house! Usually reluctant to get off the furniture for an evening Wee Walk, but tough, the garden is available instead if she ever changes her mind

We got a dog that matched our lifestyle. Whether we’d manage a working Lab in 20 years or so I don’t know, but for now she suits us down to the ground.

i like to think so,
one dc has his own dog now
one dd is very keen on outdoor exercise

6 year old pitbull here, either twice a day or a big long walk (up a big hill for example on the weekend), I'll say I'm not bothered about the length of a walk for me it's more how much running about she can do/play/must be off lead. And if life happens and she only gets out once a day, life has happened, it's not a big deal.
She hates the rain so will refuse to hang about for too long in it, lucky for me :D

In the week - two walks of about 40 minutes each
Weekend one big walk 90 mins - 2hrs

Weekends
2 hour walk around midday

Week days
75 - 120 minutes in the morning.
25 minutes in the evening.

I currently WFH. My working hours will increase soon and it will no longer be from home. I am worried how we will fit it all in. I don't think it will be possible to get much of a walk in before work.

Little terrier, 18mo, he gets min 2 walks a day, generally amounting to 2h a day. Often he'll have a third little sniffy walk of just 10-15 mins.

This said, it depends on the weather. If it's raining, we might have a day off

Working gundogs here. Twenty minutes each early morning, an hour minimum late morning then younger one gets fifteen minutes after supper. Every day.

I used to do about 30-45min in morning and half an hour late afternoon and they had free access to the garden. They are miniature labradoodles (about working cocker size). They are now 12 and 14 and definitely in the summer the older dog can't do more than 20- 30 minutes if it's hot out. If it's pouring with rain it can be a very short walk indeed! But today my son took them for two one hour walks and they enjoyed it. But he doesn't live at home so that's unusual. We live in leafy part of London.