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 didn't know that!

I bet your dog loves that! How lucky

Do you find you need to up her food in the summer?

For us a big part of getting the dog was because we both enjoy walking anyway so it's not a hardship to me it's something I enjoy. As I nearly always do his longest walk (at least an hour maybe 2 at the weekend) first thing in the morning I feel it's sort of 'extra time'/ an add in to my day as I would just have stayed in bed before we got him. However our DC are teens so were left home alone in bed whilst DH and I did a long (mainly off lead) dog walk this morning and DD has taken ddog for a shorter sniffy walk this evening. He's a big dog (GSD size) so I think he does need a lot of walking and I would not have wanted a small dog that didn't like a proper big country hike.

Yes, I agree with you

I'd probably add that I walk for myself as much as my dogs, I'm diabetic and it really helps keep my blood sugars under control. I get really stroppy if the dogs aren't well or we can't walk for whatever reason. It's great for me that they jump up in anticipation every time I move just in case

Twice a day, rain or shine or snow or whatever 😂 small/medium x-breed with a fair bit of energy. He doesn’t poop in our garden unless he’s got an upset stomach so he absolutely has to be walked twice.. He also does much better with a regular routine, probably because he had 4 homes before his first birthday poor thing. This makes heat waves more difficult because he doesn’t want to wait until it’s cooler and safer for him and his thick coat.
We definitely could do longer walks which we will now with the lighter evenings but his evening walks have been limited by light over the winter as there’s only a few routes I can do with street lights
He does doggy day care once a week so I don’t walk him before that due to the time I drop him off but he plays out all day when he’s there.
Weekends we try and get him out for a long off lead walk because unfortunately there aren’t a lot of safe spaces to walk him off lead locally.
Sometimes I think to myself why did I commit to a dog breed that is suited to cold weather and rain instead of a little dog who hates rain because I hate rain but I suck it up and take him even when it’s torrential 😂 wouldn’t change him for the world in reality but it does cross my mind when my coat is dripping cold rain water inside my wellies 😅

I walk my Lab once per day. Usually about 45-60 mins before lunch. Then she's bushed and happily snoozes for the rest of the day or will play and have a potter round the garden. Then 2 days a week while I'm at work, she's at doggy daycare when she literally doesn't stop bouncing around from 9-5. My other shorter working days she'll have a big walk with the dog walker for at least an hour. So I figure on the days she gets a shorter walk with me, it all balances out.

She's 4, so I'd expect her to want to walk a lot more, but she doesn't seem bothered. On the lighter summer evenings we might do an extra late walk if she's seeming energetic. If it's really raining she usually doesn't want to go out at all. As in I'll get ready and clip the lead on and she'll just stop at the door and refuse to move. If it's just drizzly or light rain she's fine with that. She is usually a ball of energy before a walk, but on those very wet days she just doesn't want to and I'm not arguing!

Yes I enjoy walking too, having my dog has really added to my life in a lot of ways. It's more I've found it really hard making mum friends and I often have to turn down meeting in the afternoons because of the dog, which was ok up until DD started preschool in January where she goes for a few mornings a week now and suddenly we aren't getting to see people as much and I can't take her to afternoon toddler classes either and I'm quite lonely tbh!

OP please don't feel guilty about dragging your little one out on dog walks! As long as she's got an all weather suit and wellies on or well wrapped up in winter she'll be fine. We have a collie X - he needs an hour off lead plus two 30 min walks on lead each day to be relaxed and happy.
Our two kids have been taken out on dog walks in all weathers and are now really confident walkers / tree climbers / explorers. There's definite advantages to growing up with a dog - they spend a lot more time outdoors than kids who don't grow up with a dog. I think the trick is to make the walk an activity for the little one as well as the dog. We stop off at the play area and / or go with friends to make it more fun.

Aren't there any mums with dogs? You could start a dog walking and pre schoolers group!

I have two working lines Labradors - a 5 year old and his 5 month old brother. Both fit, healthy, calm and biddable.

I agree with PP that you can "overwalk" a Lab and end up with a dog which needs even more exercise.

We have no routine for walks. I don't want a dog whining at the front door because he thinks it's time for "his" walk! Some days they'll get an afternoon running around the countryside, other days they'll get half an hour in the park, or a 15 minute trot around the block. If it's torrential rain, they go out in the back garden. They might be walked three times a day or not at all - it depends entirely on what we're up to as a family.

I incorporate some training into every walk, whether that's heel work or retrieves. And we do little bits around the house... steadiness at thresholds, hunting for hidden treats. So they're using their brains too.

Don't beat yourself up OP. It sounds like you're doing plenty.

We didn't even have a dog when DD was young but MIL had 2 collies who often came to stay/ we walked and looked after them often and this gave DD a love of walking and of dogs. I would say it's a positive advantage for a child. My DD actually asks to go on a long walk as a recreational activity now aged nearly 17 and she walks the dog independently and is much better at training him than DH and I.

Spaniel sized mixed breed aged 9. Walked twice a day. Morning walk around 20 mins, evening walk about 30-40 mins. Weekend walks are longer in the afternoon -at least an hour.

I have a 3 year old working lab and he’s happy with an hour to an hour and a half over 2 walks a day plus agility once a week. The vast majority is off lead in the fields or on the beach and he runs like a greyhound so it’s enough to tire him out and he’s super chilled in the house. He’s black and struggles in any sort of heat though so if it’s hot he gets less.

are you saying you will preserve her joints by a 45 minute walk a day?
i thought it was too much exercise as a puppy that caused later problems?

I do feel guilty when the weather is really horrible and she tells me she doesn't want to, but it doesn't stop me from saying we have to. Luckily she doesn't moan too much.

This is a sensible approach. I am a very routine person so have definitely ended up with a dog who gives me "the look" and a nose nudge when it's "time"

can your other half or you your take your dog out in the evening occasionally and miss the afternoon?
can your morning walk be longer when lo is at nursery? @RedRobyn2021

@userxx he is a Jack Russell terrier. It takes us hours to get anywhere but it's his walk so happy to stand and wait for all the sniffs 😁

Labrador here. He's 7 and gets 40 minutes on the lead in the morning. He usually gets 30 mins in the evening and two hours a week off lead with other the dogwalker and other dogs when he goes bonkers!
We have a big garden and he's out there sniffing and chasing squirrels for a while most days.

No, I refer to having walked our current dog for 45 minutes a day, but now sometimes only walk her for 15 minutes a day if that's all she wants.
Anyone who has had a dog grow old on them will know - they can get stiff.
We no longer take our dog on very long walks (2 hours plus), on walks that involve excessive elevation, or play fetch with her (too much twisting and turning). She is also on YuMove supplements. This is all working really well to keep her limber.

DP would definitely take her out in the evening if I asked him to, but we don't get a lot of time together as it is and we are trying to conceive our second child. DD goes to sleep around 7:30 and DP is down by 8 after a shower, we go to bed for 10 because DD still doesn't sleep through at 3yo 🤦🏻‍♀️

I think you're idea about doing a longer walk when DD is at preschool might be a good idea. She's going to start doing an afternoon one day a week too so I can definitely do a longer walk then too.

Mine was a border terrier, maybe it's a terrier thing. Love the feisty little terrier breeds.

Twice a day about half and hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Always off the lead As much time in the garden as he wants.
Aged 13 retired working Labrador.
if it’s raining the humans are keener to walk than the dog. The only time he doesn’t get walked is if it’s really hot.

I feel I and the vast majority of people I know here in Ireland who own dogs are on another planet to the descriptions here. Loads of people I know pretty much never walk their dogs, others 2-3 times a week for about 45 minutes and the very conscientious might do an hour a day and are lauded for it (or considered to have an easy life if they have that much time to walk a dog!) I have a border collie and he gets maybe 2-3 longish walks a week (1.5 hours) 2 shorter ones (45 minutes) and he does 2 days at kennels where I assume he runs around. Where do people find time to do anything else with these hours and hours of walks every day? Some people must spend more time doing that than interacting with the humans in their lives 🙄.

OP, you could definitely ease off a bit with no harm done, you cannot revolve your life around a bloody dog.