All dogs need walking, don’t they?

[BruFord]

I only have experience of our current small breed dog so I have limited knowledge of how much exercise dogs need. But all of them need walking, don’t they? A quick online search tells me that they do, to a greater or lesser extent.

I’m wondering after a conversation with a friend who has two Lab mixes. Apparently, she doesn’t walk them, they run around in her large garden. They keep escaping though and my guess is that they’re bored and need more exercise.

We’ve always walked our small dog, he tires more easily now he’s older, but definitely still needs it. I find it bizarre not to walk a dog or use a dog walker if you can’t do it. Surely that’s the norm?

Yes, not just for exercise but for mental stimulation.
Poor dogs.

Of course it is. We've just lost our best boy and his greatest joy was his walks. Sniffing his pee mails and running as fast as his little legs would carry him from and then back again to us.

Its a privilege and honour to own a dog and share their joy, how can she not let them have a walk even once a day?

Yes

Poor dogs.

My lab gets 2. X 45 min per day plus chance to run round garden and games/puzzles. Those poor dogs

From my very limited observations I am really surprised by the number of people who have dogs but hardly ever walk them (maybe once a week).

I agree that it’s odd. She isn’t elderly or infirm either, I don’t get it at all.

My dog is elderly now but even he gets restless if he isn’t walked.

My dog needs a good sprint every day let alone a walk. Our garden is big enough to stretch your legs but not big enough for a run. The garden must surely be very dull: dogs need to sniff and explore.

It's infuriating when people behave like this - so unfair on the dogs. But it doesn't meet the threshold for cruelty so there's nothing you can do.

The dogs I've known over the year who weren't "walked" were farm/yard dogs who have acres and acres to explore each day. Otherwise they need to be out and about on a more formal walk each and every day, preferably more than once per day.

@FluffMagnet Yes, farm dogs work hard, they get plenty of exercise.

I have a friend who has I’d say a couple of acres of land and they live on a long private road. Their dog and the neighbours dog spend a lot of time running between each others gardens and around them. They’re healthy enough and do spend most of the day out and about.

My dogs are small (Lhasa Apso) but they are walked every day. Dogs need to be exercised not only for that purpose but also the mental stimulation. With the number of exercise fields springing up everywhere there is no excuse. If you don’t like walking at least take your dog to a dog park where they can safely run around. These poor dogs must be going crazy!

She’s just lazy, and a shitty, irresponsible, neglectful dog owner - nothing odd about it, sadly, there are plenty of them around 🤷‍♀️

Yes, twice a day imo.

@EnjoythemoneyJane I used the word odd, because I honestly don’t think she realizes that just running around even a large garden isn’t enough for them. She definitely cares about them. 🤷

All dogs need walked,

I dislike people who get dogs but don’t look after them properly, my neighbours have 2 dogs and I could count on one hand how many times they have been walked in the year they have lived here. They get out the back and our gardens are tiny.

its such a shame.

Yes, with one exception, if you live on a large plot of land, by large I mean acres, many farm dogs don’t do leads, they have freedom to roam. (Though I know a sheepdog who did like to accompany his farmer to the pub, even if he wasn’t invited he would turn up having run the 3 miles down the road!)

A trainer said most need regular off-lead exercise, as in just walking round the block with them on a lead isn't enough. Obviously if they're sick/it's very hot then they don't need to go every day.
I suppose if you live somewhere with a massive garden/attached to a wood or beach or whatever, and they can run around with other dogs, it might be ok, but most of us don't.
Not ideal life for those labs, but so many dogs are in kennels (after the lockdowns, lots of uncaring people got/bred dogs and rescue societies are saying they're still seeing the impact now) that things could be even worse for them if she was made to give them up.

Christ. The week after my dogs operation he wasn't allowed walks and the house was practically a smouldering pile of rubble. If he never got walked I'm pretty sure we'd all be dead by now.

Genuinely hate on people who don't want to look after their dogs and then complain when the dog does something bad!

I know someone who has a tiny bungalow and at one point had 3 massive dogs and cats, they never get out apart from a garden which isnt big... one dog being a military style dog (malinoise) and the poor dog showed lots of signs it wasn't happy with the lack of stimulation etc and ended up tearing one of the cats to shreds. That poor dog got put to sleep, she was only 1.5 years. I met the dog and she was full of potential with the right owner.
The woman has had the RSPCA phoned on her alot apparently and they don't do anything. She still has 2 massive dogs.

Don't get me started on the gumtree adverts... bring back dog licenses!

Yes, I think this is probably the one exception. That and incredibly reactive dogs who have access to a large, private outdoor space- Id argue that it would be okay to only do brief training/socialising walks with those dogs if they find it really stressful to be out in public, even in quiet areas.

We have a whippet and general guide is they need about an hour of walking a day. She gets an hour absolute minimum on some days, but mostly more like 2 hours, sometimes 3. She gets so excited when she knows we're off for a walk, its the best part of her day as it is for many dogs.

Americans seem to have a weird attitude to walking their dogs, from what I can see on reddit; alot of them are only walked a couple of times a week, because they have big backyards. Still wrong imo

It sounds as though they are bored, as you say, and need more exercise and also mental stimulation. My Labs have always had an hour and a half a day walking plus some ongoing training for their enjoyment and mine.

Yes, unless they're very elderly or have some kind of injury.

We don't walk our elderly whippet. He's 15 and just doesn't want to go. We try every so often and he'll refuse to walk past the end of the drive.

He's very happy rotating sleeping spots around the house and sunbathing in the garden.

My 9 week old Lab is currently snoozing on my knee, I can't wait to be able to get out and about walking with him! People who don't want to walk a dog shouldn't have a dog!