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?

Well, it depends on the size of the garden and what you do with it. Two dogs in a decent sized garden can burn off a lot of steam chasing balls, playing with each other and their toys.

I personally wouldn’t restrict my dog like that and I do believe walks are an important part of a dogs’ life but I’m just not convinced that they need the prescriptive x amount of walks a day for at least x amount of time that humans try and impose on them.

Most dogs are walked when they are for their humans benefit and to make sure their dogs are tired and happy to be left alone 🤷‍♀️

The way I see it, and I didn't always see it this way but have learned, is that exercise is to dogs what food is to a food-addict.
They need it but in moderation.
And the exercise that some people give their dogs (eg using ball launchers) is like unhealthy food to a food-addict. They are better off without it if alternatives are found.
Getting the balance right for your unique dog is key.

poor dogs

The only time not to walk dogs is in middle of summer during hours when pavements are very hot. Walk them very early and very late at night when pavements a bit cooler.

My personal (def. non-professional) view is that it would be better if they experienced some new environments, I.e., walks taking different routes, as well. I wouldn’t personally take on two high-energy dogs if I couldn’t provide that. But they’re generally well looked-after.

I would say the dogs are bored. Labs are intelligent breeds and need physical and mental stimulation. They need to be walked or excecised every day and have some mental stimulation activities every day. I'm surprised they are not destructive if not properly exercised and stimulated. The dogs are probably using the escaping as their enrichment activity.

As a PP said it is absolutely fine not to walk farm/ yard/ actively working dogs who will probably roam miles and engage in mentally stimulating tasks as part of their work.

Elderly dogs do still need a little walk or exercise every day. Dogs with severe anxiety do still need to be walked or excecised but at quieter times of the day or in more secluded surroundings where the likelihood of experiencing triggers is reduced. This should also form part of their training program/ rehabilitation program to help them to build up to becoming confident in busier surroundings .

The only dogs that shouldn't be walked every day are those that the vet has advised rest and recovery for or female dogs in heat.

Are they well looked after though? I would disagree, unless she lives on a farm with acres of land to for them to run free, then she is not doing a great job of looking after them. I love dogs but I don't have them because I wouldn't want to commitment of walking them daily in winter time . It's unfair on the dogs.

Yes even the smaller ones. My neighbours mini pins go out for walks. It’s cruel not to walk them.

@Icecreamandcoffee I agree with most of what you say, but I'm not going to force my elderly dog on a walk, if he doesn't want to go 🤷‍♀️. Not that I could force him, even if I tried!

You can't genuinely be a dog walker if you think that chasing balls is good for dogs?! It's absolutely terrible for them and has been the number one cause of joint problems in so many dogs.

Where did I say chasing balls was good for dogs?

Chasing balls becomes an issue when dogs aren't warmed up properly and when people use ball launchers, so the dogs are twisting, turning and making unnatural movements, putting strain on their joints. Two dogs playing together with a ball in the garden isn't remotely the same thing.

Yes they do and if all my neighbours on my street who own the small yappy rats dogs could understand that, maybe the rats dogs wouldn't yap and bark and try and run away everytime the door is opened

Dogs get a lot from the smells on a walk not just exercise. It gives them info on the neighbourhood... Like reading the Sunday papers 😅 It's a shame to deprive them x

Well I bet you will all think I’m really neglectful then! Mine go out 2 maybe 3 times a week. She is a reactive rescue who cannot cope being walked in public. Too many idiot owners allowing their dogs repeatedly run up to her on the lead to risk it now. She used to literally shake with fear when her harness came out.
So I now take her to a variety of secure fields where she has the freedom to explore, sniff and have fun free from worries about people and other dogs. I take them twice a week. Today we were there for 2 hours. She has come home muddy and exhausted. Tomorrow she will have a rest and probably not do much. She will then have another field trip over the weekend and a walk round the block early next week.
But she also has free run of the house and garden. Does 4-5 physio sessions at home a week and scent work.

She is not remotely neglected. She has a huge amount of time and energy and love poured into her every day. But that doesn’t equal pavement pounding every day purely for the sake of “she needs a walk” which is both stressful and frightening for her.

OP unless you know why she is not walking them it is hard to say. Having a difficult dog is really hard and you are judged constantly by people who don’t understand and think you just have a poorly behaved dog.

@Ihavelostthegame She’s said that running around the large garden is enough for them. I don’t think there’s another reason, although I could be wrong and there’s something that I’m not aware of.

I have one lab mix and one full lab. How are these dogs not hyper and trashing her house? 😂 mine get walked 3 times a day and they are still very high energy

I went upstairs earlier to change the beds , one came with me to “help” by doing zoomie twirls on the bed I was trying to put the sheet onto and when I came back down the other one was emptying a bin bag. This was after they had been out over the field chasing a ball. The full lab has been known to zoom up the stairs, into a bedroom, parkour off the wall and zoom back down the stairs over and over. I cannot imagine how bad he would be without his walks

@Ihavelostthegame

I think you can tell when people can't be arsed to look after a dog properly / walk them...
Your case is different and you do the field thing and enrichment activities etc. Thankyou for rescuing a dog :)

Our dog is almost 10 now so is definitely slowing down, but she loved her walks.

there is a house down the road with two dogs and I see them walk rarely, could count on one hand in five years how many times I’ve seen them on the road . they are dumped outside all year round when the owners are at work and I feel sorry for them, especially in the cold and rain, we’ve had a lot of rain this winter
i always stop and talk to them, give them a rub

Yes, although for some dogs, mental stimulation at home can be better. If your dog is elderly or infirm, or super-anxious and reactive, it really can be better for them to limit walks and work harder on home-based activities. Just playing in the garden, however, is absolutely not good enough for active, healthy dogs.

I walk our dog twice a day very rurally and it’s lethal, we have to step into ditches and up against hedges. He gets played with daily in the garden too and if I ever get sick/ hurt that’ll be his only form of exercise as I’m the only one that can walk him safely around here. It’s not always feasible for people to go on set walks daily, fine if you live in a town or estate

Personally I don’t prescribe to the attitude that all dogs need x walks per day otherwise it’s neglectful. Dogs all have different needs. We’ve had dogs that needed lots of exercise and dogs that needed far less. One that loved the water and would swim all day if we let him, loved a bath too and another that detested it so much she wouldn’t go out in the rain, would actively avoid puddles even when it had stoped and wouldn’t walk on wet grass. We’ve had dogs that would sit by the door waiting to go out before you were even ready and dogs that needed encouraging off the sofa, ones that would happily walk for hours and others that had had enough after 30 mins and would sit down. One that stopped and sniffed everything others that were too interested in people to care what had recently pee’d up the lamppost.

Two labs together in a large garden would absolutely be burning off energy. Have you ever seen labs play? Plus the company of an owner who’s at home most of the day. Lots of people I know who have a strict routine with their dogs take them on the exact same route every bloody day anyway. I’m not sure that offers much more stimulation. For the record I don’t think it’s ok to not walk your dogs at all, I just find this rigid attitude towards walking a bit strange.

@OhBettyCalmDown I agree that they can play hard in the garden, I was just genuinely surprised that she doesn’t walk them too. I don’t think I know anyone else who doesn’t walk their dog(s) or have them walked (aside from working farm dogs). Her area has decent pavements and some nice paths, I wouldn’t be able to resist walking my dog on them tbh. But then I do like a walk myself :-).

@OhBettyCalmDown i have five Goldens and a large garden. They still absolutely need a walk. It’s not about burning off energy, it’s about stimulating them, socialising them and being a responsible owner.

OPs friend has taken the easy, lazy and negligent route of dog ownership.

In general, I agree with you. But it does depend on age and breed. Some of my teeny ones are older now and have lost their enthusiasm for walks. I get the leads out and they tootle off back to bed 🤣🤣 I do take them a couple of times a week, to keep them fit, but the rest of the time they are quite happy pootling around our land. My big dogs though need at least an hour, every single day, rain or shine. We have about 6 acres but that isn’t enough, they need to get out and about to run off their energy, even the old ones. Without it, they are manic.

It’s incredibly hard to walk a reactive dog.

We have an 11 yr old Zuchon who is incredible with my disabled DC. But outside the house he’s willing and ready to fight everyone and everything!

He hates other people and other dogs, and last week he squared up to a bus!

Hes always been protective, I’ve seen a lot of other owners of this breed say similar. I think COVID was the turning point for us as it was manageable until then.

Interestingly, when we take him to the vet (muzzled), he’ll be grumpy with everyone - unless we leave the room. If we aren’t there he’s quite compliant and docile. The vet said he’s just over-protective.

The problem I have is that near me there seems to be a lot of reactive dogs that are walked late at night - some of them big XL Bully types!! I often go for a long walk myself at around 9.30pm so I see them all. There are a lot of dogs round here (we’re semi-rural).

My boy has never had much exercise tolerance. The block we walk round is 0.5km. Halfway round that - less actually - and he’s done in, plodding, and very close to just sitting on the floor!

There are four of us at home every day. My DC are 16 and home educated (both SEN). DP is disabled and hasn’t been able to work for 3yrs (neurological disease). I work but I’m self-employed and often work late at night. We also have my DM and step-dad in the annexe. Until last month there was also one of our dog’s litter mates in the annexe with my mum - the only dog my dog will tolerate. Even then he used to get possessive and barky at times. But they used to play together. Sadly we had to have Mum’s dog PTS last month due to kidney failure.

I would love to walk my dog more. I’m out walking every day anyway. But he’s a twat around people, dogs, and everything else 😂 We have no secure fields nearby. Luckily we have a decent-sized garden that he has free access to so he can get up to a full sprint out there. And he gets a lot more stimulation and input than many other dogs as he’s never left on his own and there are lots of us always around. And he does get walked!

I think this is the point that @faerylights was making - walks are important and preferable, but company and stimulation around the home is important as well. Too many people think that walking their dog twice a day makes them a good owner but they need much more than that.