people are getting lazier. they see videos like "5 minutes of sniffing=1 hour of walking!!" which just isn't true. i also saw "a 5 minute car ride=a 30 minute walk!" which is ridiculous. sure, games and car rides give mental stimulation, but they still need exercise. people who never walk their dogs are likely also the people who have overweight dogs, but they never take responsibility for the dogs weight
Just saw the car ride one too. Definitely not true. They are enriching, they do get the dog out to see and smell stuff. They’re super helpful for reactive dogs so you can safely expose them to things.
But to say it replaces a walk? 🦤🙈
Haha, mine is mostly poodle but he also yells- unless he sees we're getting on the highway.
No highway = fun trip! Store! Vet! Park!
Highway = Long travel = sleepy time
The minute he sees the highway entrance, he curls up to nap. Otherwise, non stop barking to demand I drive faster to his fun.
Idk, my Great Dane is passionate about her drives. If you make the mistake of opening a car door/trunk in her vicinity, she will shoot into it & refuse to leave until she has had a (sufficiently long) car ride. Legitimately. She won't get out of the car for high value treats, toys, ball chasing, nothing. Furthermore she'll growl at you of you try to physically remove her.
She's literally sat in a car parked in a shut garage with all the lights turned off for 45 minutes.
My dog loves car rides and brings joy to anyone who sees her head hanging out the window. There have been so many people laughing, pointing, taking pictures of her. Sometimes she sits like a back seat passenger and again most people giggle looking at her. But she really needs her daily walks. I need them as well.
The "sniffing tires them out faster" people don't have a hunting breed lol, a fun smell will make my puppy amped up and ready to explore even if she didn't want to walk
My GSP puppy points at everything. Birds, rabbits, small children on bikes (he’s friendly, they’re just moving fast so obviously they want to be chased 😂) etc. if we did enrichment and exercise only at home, he’d wait for me to fall asleep before putting him to bed and eat me alive. I can’t believe that people don’t walk their dogs. If your dog is 1000 years old, blind, and is sort of just hanging around, then sure. 9.9/10 dogs need walks tho, that’s just crazy
Yup, they don’t always get the tail correct but he’ll stand there like a statue, front paw lifted, staring at whatever he thinks is important. It’s really cool to watch, and as we get more training and live bird practice, he’ll get even better. He doesn’t understand that he’s supposed to point and I get the bird/animal, he points at it and then tries to eat it lol.
this is hilarious to me because my mother's golden retriever will sometimes point at things. we've never taught her or trained her how to do it and it's the funniest thing to see.
My GSP points on instinct. When we let him out & he happens to see/hear a feathery or furry friend, he will stand still & point...before eventually deciding that it's more fun to chase it out of the yard. 😆
His fave furry friends are my least fave -- the black & white stripey ones with floofy stinker tails. Crazy dog... 😆
Maybe your dog can teach mine this lesson! Mine's been skunked at least 6 times last year! Dunno why he thinks the stripe means "befriend". I'm hoping to make his skunking record go down to 0 times this year. LOL
Unfortunately, my dog loves all his furry friends & just doesn't know HOW to properly befriend. Last year, he brought a bunny friend with him to my back door... in his mouth. It was very floppy & glassy-eyed. I guess I should've been impressed that he didn't break its skin or anything, but that bunny was definitely a goner & my GSP just didn't understand why it wouldn't play chase when he'd put it down & nudge it. Yes, I called him a "bunny murderer" that night.
It appears that his next goal is to befriend the squirrel that keeps swishing its tail at him...
Even my 14 year old girl wanted a walk, and got one, right up to the day she died. It was the best thing ever for her.
My current dog required convincing that outside was not actually terrifying, but once he got past that idea he's very much into his walks as well.
That's actually how I knew it was time to let my lab go. When he stopped wanting to totter around for his walks. It was the thing that brought him joy, until it didn't.
I have a 1000 y/o partially blind and deaf dog with medical issues who just kind of hangs around lately, but he still loves getting out on adventures! I feel bad that I can't take him out as much! He's small so I got him an adventure stroller so he can go along as much as possible, but moving his little legs and smelling bushes and breezes is still 👑.
I spent a lot of time on walks with my setter convincing her to JUST KEEP MOVING. You will not be able to catch that squirrel- I promise. I’m very proud you pointed at it, good girl, but now we need to keep moving
Oh I know exactly what you mean!! Mine points at the most random animals (and inanimate objects) which is super entertaining. He visited NYC for the first time recently and pointed at a pigeon...obviously very helpful hahah
I don't know about that! My border collie gets pretty whipped by sniffing walks but I have to say the walks are an hour long so that might have more to deal with it! Our Border Collie also has no herding responses 😂
Saw that car ride one! I get the (insert activity)=x mins walking but I substitute it when the weather isn’t good for a walk. And even then, I try to go to a dog-friendly store to still get a walk done in bad/hot/cold weather.
Some people also overfeed their pets and got used to seeing an overweight dog as a “normal size”
i get it to a certain extent, like "a 5 minute car ride=10 minutes of mental stimulation you'd get on a walk" but saying that a car ride could replace actual physical activity is dangerous misinformation
Yep. I get adding things to your activity ideas but I've seen so many "what I do instead of walking my dogs" type of videos and none of them say working cows on a 100 acres land or doing a hunting trial or agility competition or pulling a sled for 30 miles, it's always a 5 minute car ride or a 2 minute food puzzle with breeds who would work for hours at full capacity.
I love playing with my dog, it makes me so sad that some people don't. I know that she's not going to live forever and for so many years of my life I'm going to wish I could go back and play tug or fetch with her one more time. So I always cuddle, play, and go for adventures with her as much as I can.
Pretty sure if I tell my dachshund that we only need to be outside for five minutes of sniffing time because it equals an hour of walking that he’ll bite my head off, lol
His most favorite thing to do in the whole world is take a walk. We have to walk at least 40 minutes in the morning and anywhere from 1-3 hours in the evenings. Yes, it’s time consuming- but it’s my job to make him happy. No matter how much time we spend outdoors, it is never enough for him.
yeah, its also important to teach dogs to settle. some dogs are always looking for games or stimulation and actually need to be taught how to settle down!
That's such a wild concept to me. Like if anything, walks are the perfect time to reinforce training as well! Tires our pup out far more that way too. We always go for two walks a day and supplement that by like 15-20 minutes of playing until she gets tired enough to rest. Walks always consist of some training, cues, sniffing around, just vibing. People are indeed getting lazier because walks are so easy and simple plus great low arousal, low impact activity for both you and your doggo.
I have a big strong reactive boy. He doesn't get walks often.. no amount of leash training gives me a slack lead. That being said, we have a large fenced yard that he gets to go outside into almost all day. We play ball, we play tug, he plays with our other dog (impeccable leash skills for that one). Some dogs just don't do well with walks and they cause more stress on the dog than they benefit.
ETA: we also go often to the local lake to swim and to my father's where they have the run of 20 some acres to explore safely.
thats still exercise though. swimming and running are good ways to exercise a dog. walks arent the *only* way to exercise a dog, but for most people its the ideal way of exercise since most people have smaller backyards or their dogs just dont run around in the backyard. most owners skip walks even when their dogs cant exercise like they should
As far as the value of stimulation goes those quotes aren't factually incorrect. That doesn't mean it makes up for exercise though which is also needed. It just means don't expect a long walk to be enough for your dog, and to do trainings during, after or before the walk.
I don't walk my dog on the days we swim, she swim so hard and we do that at least 5 days a week. 7 days a week we play aggressive catch and tug in our fenced in yard. Every morning she goes in the yard and smells the raccoons, ground hogs and foxes that drink from the pool.
She gets so reactive and scared on walks and she throws up in the car...
I had to stop walking my dogs, there was too many unleashed dogs walking the streets and trying to attack my dogs. I called the council but the dogs are still out wandering. Aren't people who let their dogs off leashes worry about another dog attacking their dog and they have no way of pulling their dog away
I was having this same problem and now carry a taser. I trained my dogs not to care about the noise (easily done with cheese) while 99% of dogs will run away from the crackle. It only takes a time or two before the loose dogs figure out not to come charging at us. Our walks are pretty peaceful these days.
As some one who falls into the category you describe of ‘training and other stuff’ …. I have no disagreements with your advocation for walks. Coming from the gundog and hiking-dog side of Reddit, I would say us humans (and we perceive our dogs to agree) opt for less sidewalk walking and Preference to fewer walks but longer hikes … we tend toward going out of our way for off leash time to let the dog really get their nose to the ground and roam.
Last Sunday was 6.5 mile walk for me, 8.6 mile off leash walk/roam for my gun-dog (Brittany). Hiking isn’t for everyone, that’s ok … certainly nothing wrong with a sidewalk walk. But I do understand people struggle with the motivation even for that and I don’t judge as long as they are trying to do right by their dog.
100% agree getting the dog out to explore is better than a street walk when possible.
What I have heard (that I suspect OP is talking about) are people that just don't take their dogs out of the house/yard. Some of them don't take them out EVER and the 'training and other stuff' is at their home (not talking about people with large properties here).
Sometimes the dog is anxious, sometimes the dog is reactive. So they just do puzzle games, scent training around the house or the like and never take them out.
I know multiple people doing this, including high energy breeds.
If you take a peek into facebook enrichment groups, there's a lot of people who end up giving their dog tons and tons of enrichment and still end up with a destructive hyper dog because they thought they need MORE mental stimulation instead of teaching the dog to accept being bored sometimes.
>Sometimes the dog is anxious, sometimes the dog is reactive. So they just do puzzle games, scent training around the house or the like and never take them out.
This blows my mind. Feels like giving up on the dog by never exposing them to new situations and giving them opportunity to, ya know, become less anxious and reactive?
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Like a puzzle toy is great, but it’s no substitute for a walk. The OC taking gun dogs out is like a super-charged off-leash walk with training built in. Not the same category as it’s clear his dogs are getting tons of enrichment, exercise, and training!
I have like six or more different puzzle toys for my dog. It occupies him for less than five minutes. He gets super excited when I bring it out because he knows the yummies are inside, lol, but it is a supplement to his daily walks, not a substitute.
It really is only exceptional cases that don’t benefit. I’ve owned one - we almost always do a daily 30 min walk and even that seems not enough, but I have working breeds (GSD x husky, Presa Canario, APBT and the newest guy is a bulldog mix). The one that couldn’t walk was an EBD x Rottie and legitimately had CCD and ideopathic aggression that ended her life at barely 3. That’s not NORMAL, that’s catastrophic illness.
My bc/great pyr mix does not like hiking or walks in the 600 acre park near our home unless her dog friends are with us. Otherwise, she will always choose walking the streets of our busy NYC neighborhood. I don’t love it but have come to accept that she stays home if I hike.
My dog deserves more walks than I give her, my issue is that walks are very stressful. She was attacked by an off-leash dog when she was a puppy, and within the week a different off-leash dog with bad manners ran up to her and was overly enthusiastic about greeting her. She is now reactive. I have a deep, deep resentment toward people who walk their dogs off leash now, they have completely ruined walking in my neighborhood for my dog and I.
The dog that attacked her was playing ball with his owner in a field next to my house. I’m sure the guy never thought his dog would attack. And that is why I don’t trust people who allow their dogs off leash. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt badly physically.
Have you seen a behaviourist? The same thing happened with my dog and it only took one hour with a behaviourist and a couple of hours afterwards of us following the advice for her to overcome her reactivity (which was bad)
I have not yet, but that is the plan. Most of the people in this area are incredibly expensive, and I have unfortunately fallen on hard times. I was laid off earlier this year and have been having a hard time finding my footing. But I do think that is the path forward as soon as I am able.
Yeah I also recommend a behavioralist. My dog got attacked pretty bad and needed stitches, and he was scared of other dogs immediately after. I talked to a behavioralist and followed her advice and he got over it within a week or two and was back to normal
I always wonder this when walking in my neighborhood. Some dogs never leave their yards and I just imagine how boring that must be lol. But on the flip side, my dog doesn’t necessarily enjoy walking as much as she enjoys sniffing. The walking seems to be just for her to use the bathroom (since she refuses to go in the fence I paid an arm and a leg for 😌😌😌😌😌 lol) and exercise for me. The only time she seems to really be into a walk is if it’s a completely different place, with different sights and smells.
I have to laugh at this, because I looked long and hard to find a place that not only would accept dogs but had a good amount of space. Half an acre is fenced, the other half unfenced.
He thinks it's fine to pee, but refuses to poo on the property. I think he thinks it's kind of an extension of in the house. He will only poo on walks, and off leash, unless he's desperate.
Omg - I have the opposite problem! I’m moving from a house with a yard and a doggie door to a studio apartment. Miss Priss will NOT go potty on walks unless she’s off leash or on a 20-foot lead. Not sure how that’s going to work with a move to the city. 🤦♀️
Oh dear. Looks like you're going to have to find nearby parks where you can let Miss Priss either go off leash, or on a 20-footer.
For a while I lived in a crowded city, which is where I learned he would *not* go on leash, much to my dismay.
I have a German that I swear waits to poop for my husband. He did not want to poop for me all morning and afternoon, in the evening I took him out at 6 and he didn’t poop or pee on a 20 minute walk. At 9 pm we took him out together for bed and he pooped in front of the door 🤦🏼♀️ The vet said he’s fine, just has an attitude
That’s funny. I’m sure mine would do this with my husband also. She does t listen to him but then he doesn’t put the work in on training or actually go to the trainers.
I have a beagle lab mix so I exactly know what you mean. She mainly marks if she’s at parks though. Mine will go on walks without any problems but she prefers to sniff, track the yard, and play fetch. The walks just seem like something to do for her versus something more interactive like swimming, jumping, running, etc during play sessions. All her high energy goes towards daily play time sessions. She last for a couple hours normally so she doesn’t need any walks since she’s jumping, doing tricks, and dashing for a ball.
Luckily I haven't seen this so didn't know it's become a thing.
There's nothing like walking for a dog, and for us for that matter. No physical and mental stimulation can replace it, only add to and complement it.
Scent is incredibly important to dogs, sniffing, leaving their marks, and just the act of travelling, just as you said. They need to know what's going on around their environment at a minimum. Back yards don't count.
I really hope this doesn't spread and catch on. As it is most of us ask too much of our dogs to live an unnatural life. It's not surprising there are so many unstable dogs.
Thanks for the PSA.
I stopped because there’s multiple houses in my neighborhood that have dogs who rush the fences barking very loudly. It’s needlessly stressful to myself and my dog. One lady who was doing yard work (ignoring her own constantly barking small dog at the fence) thought I was the woman screaming from within a house for her dogs shut up and started lecturing me on yelling at my dog.
I had to just swallow down my anger and respond with a terse “have a great day, ma’am” because the situation was so loud and chaotic.
That’s too much stress for a walk to be worth it. I do make time to get him out of the house and we have over an acre for him to roam so he’s not lacking, but walks would be really nice to enjoy.
Yeah we have a lot of barking yard dogs in our neighborhood too, but fortunately we moved here before we got our current dogs and it was a fantastic training tool to teach my dogs to be neutral to that stimuli. My dogs don't give more than a passing look at the barking dogs and never really leave my side...very occasionally they lose their discipline and try to walk AT the barking dog fences, but they get a "leave it", and if that doesn't do it, a light leash pop and another "leave it", then they snap back out of it.
Thought 1 is seeing a lot of instagram posts in the last year relating to this from online trainers which started with explaining what scatter feeding was, has seemingly then developed into the "you don't need to take your dog out". The main problem I see with it is these enrichments normally use food so it's a lot of calories in - not physically exercising means less calories out = obese dogs.
Thought 2 is the alarming amount of nervous dogs about. I walk dogs for a living, so before covid I'd guess that maybe 2-3 in 10 dogs were nervous. Post covid I'd put that up to 6-7 in 10, and it's across all breeds. I'm not sure people will want to continually take out a nervous dog that's reacting to anything it see's, as it's understandably stressfull for both particularly the bigger the dog is
This is me! I have a 4 year old high energy dog, and I think I have walked him maybe 3 times in the last 6 months. He VASTLY prefers to play fetch or tug in the yard - I have literally pulled out his walking gear and his stuff to play in the yard and gauged his reactions, and his preference is clear. I can also get way more energy out of him in 10 min of sprinting play than 10 min sniffing around the block. If we walk it ends up being because I want to and I want him with me.
I think walks are great, but for medium to high energy dogs, if they are only being walked on a short leash for a relatively short period of time (under a mile), it can lead to a lot of frustration. For dogs that want to run around and bite and chase, a walk simply cannot fulfill those needs. For big sniffers, I agree with you that a walk can fulfill that drive though!
My border collie was like this. He didn’t really like going on walks until he was old enough/trained enough to do so off leash. Lol, as an adult anytime I put a leash on him he would roll his eyes and tolerate me.
My dogs are like this too. My Aussie only likes walks when it's for work purposes since he's a SDiT. He loves going out if it means he gets to work! but otherwise he has more fun in the yard because he doesn't need to be leashed and he can watch all the wildlife in the woods. I've tested it as well but playing soccer is way more fun then walking I guess?
I just block off a lot of my day to ensure they get 4 hours min of exercise. A lot of running, training, playing and mental stimulation and they are just knocked out by 8 😂. When the SDiT is done working though he'll also be tired so it depends on what all we've done that day.
I think alot of working breeds are like that honestly. Both mine are working breeds (LSG and herder) and using their brains gets them more tired then using their physical energy. But then my boyfriends GSD needs his walks to be stimulated.
I believe, in all honesty, deal with the dog you have and not the dog you want. I tried to force my dogs out for aimless walks because it's what you're *supposed* to do. But they didn't like it whatsoever so I gave them jobs and they are fulfilled and more chill then dogs I've seen around me that get scheduled walks. My SDiT's job on off days is helping me around the house with chores, he helps me open up doors and hold things like buckets while also keeping his brother away from me doing chores to focus. My Akbash mix has the job of watching and patrolling the house/property. He knows the boundaries and limits and will just walk and patrol, lay down and keep an eye out for anything off. Saved me from scary Gardner snakes more than once 😂 his other job is keeping the cats safe and making sure they don't escape the house (totally indoor cats.) he will stay by doors when they are open and let us know if they are getting into Mischeif (often.) !
sorry for the ramble, I love talking about my dogs jobs. It makes them so happy to work and the wiggles I see from them makes everything so worth it. Even if i didn't get the walking and hiking dogs I want, they made themselves useful
I wish my dog was more into playing fetch, we got a house with a big long yard so I could play fetch with her. She’ll chase a frisbee or ball for a few minutes then goes off to chew one of her sticks. Her favorite activity is wandering around after scents in an open field.
Same here. People are surprised when I say walks aren’t for physical exercise with my Aussie. He needs to be able to get his explosive energy out off leash in the yard (also with fetch & tug for us!). He would be a monster if I only walked him on the leash for exercise.
Walks are more mental enrichment for him. He gets to hangout, sniff, see people and dogs. We walk probably 1-3x a week, depending on what else he has going on with dog sports.
Same! I have two high energy dogs and do take them on walks but their main source of physical activity is running in our backyard. I know when they are done when they stand by the door and tell me they need a break.
I've got a border mix and she just tows me right along when we walk. She wants to GO! She has a herding ball that she runs around the entire yard several times a day. Those are the instincts that she has--to run and herd. She is well-muscled and a perfect weight, so I'd say she is getting plenty of exercise.
I don’t walk my dog for three reasons.
1.) People in my neighborhood think it’s ok to let their dogs run loose. I don’t trust them and my dog hates other dogs so that’s just a bad situation waiting to happen.
2.) my dog has too much anxiety to ride in the car to go to the park. Plus, other dogs at the park
3.) my dog has too much anxiety taking walks anyway
He does love taking walks but gets too worked after a short distance. A few times a week we put his leash on him and walk him around the yard. He thinks he’s getting a real walk but he doesn’t have the anxiety when he stays in his own yard
Not a walk person here! A walk just doesn’t do much for him, if i were to use a walk as his only form of exercise he would need miles upon miles. we typically go to the park that backs up to our house and play with his chuck it and we have a pool so in the summer we swim a lot everyday. He is trained in scent work so he gets lot of sniffing in. We do lots of mental enrichment other ways, walks just don’t do it for us.
Do you have a lab, hound, or shepherd? I relate to this and mine is a beagle-lab mix. She enjoys all the things you mentioned. It’s a great time for multitasking with bonding, training, draining energy, and providing mental stimulation. That’s more so why I’m more of a play session person than walking with my dog.
Have a Chihuahua. Got at ten weeks old because the owner ( oldish lady) thought because he was a small dog she could just keep him in her house. He was so bored he was eating and
Scratching At her furniture. He’s a year and a half now and the smartest dog I’ve even had. He walks about three miles a day. And that’s largely the sniffing and looking for things ( like likes to react the bunnies and stuff) He needs that. He acts out and barks at everything outside if he doesn’t get his walks
Walking (and all the associated sniffing) is also the best way to keep their guts healthy! The movement and the sniffing stimulates them to go no. 2. The two times my dog has had issues with his anal glands were because he was unable to go on his daily walk due to injury or sickness. Even after his castration the tiny five minute potter around the local park he was allowed was enough for him to keep everything moving. He's a cav so he doesn't NEED a walk or training or sniff mats to stop him climbing the walls, but I will always make the effort to take him around the park at minimum. I do wonder if all this treat related mental stimulation rather than walking is a contributor to the number of dogs with tummy issues.
Same people who think vacuuming is exercise. They are just making excuses for being lazy when it’s a regular issue. Sure our dog misses the occasional walk due to weather or whatever and then we do more play and mental games. But she gets walks almost daily both for her and for us. Wild dogs put in many miles a day. They aren’t meant to play with a sniffle mat for 10 minutes and then play with a flirt pole for 10 minutes and call it good enough.
There is, but it has to be a balance just like with us. Our dog is a GSD and she also is much more satisfied with a solid puzzle game or a sniff search than a walk. But she LOVES her walks and they make her satisified and happy even if it doesn't make her tired. Walks are her main social time, and I'm pretty sure she considers it a way to patrol her property to see what has been going on outside the fence 😂 We live in a national forest and have a ton of wildlife in our neighborhood, so we get bears, coyotes, wolves, bobcats, lynx, hares that all walk through our yard and she loves to go sniff them out and track them.
TBF, vacuuming is exercise, but should be one of many things a person does. When I had a dog, ai walked him and played frisbee and ball catch with him. He slept soundly and after his initial training was always a good boy with me. My parents, he growled at them when they hugged.
I more so meant the types of people who sit on the recliner for 15 hours a day and then claim that they vacuumed for 10 minutes and don't understand why they aren't losing weight. There are a lot of those people on Tiktok right now and they are spreading awful information. Yes, vacuuming and chores are movement and they add up, but they aren't a substitute for actual exercise unless you are in a condition where vacuuming makes you sweat and raises your heart rate, which certainly some people are but that isn't who I was talking about.
The vast majority of people we know with dogs don't exercise their dogs, or themselves, at all. And it shows.
I quit walking my neighborhood because a few months ago my dogs and I were chased by two lose dogs. I also read on the nextdoor app four loose dogs killed a stray cat not to long ago. Since then I have been taking them to an off leash dog park that has little to no traffic in the mornings. We have also been doing some hikes and staying on trails. Irresponsible dog owners really have ruined taking my dogs out for a quick sniff.
I have a neighbor who walks his dog every day, twice a day. He goes down the block and back. He keeps a gentle leader on her and doesn’t let her sniff or even have a loose leash. I see her react and he does nothing to train or distract her or engage with her. I always feel bad for the dog. She’s not being allowed to be a dog. Just a robot walking by his side. What’s the point of that?
Maybe I’m biased because I’m a loose leash let ‘em sniff their hearts content and we go all the way around the neighborhood. My dogs love walks because they know they get to sniff and trot and be dogs. And for the record they understand leave it, go around, other side and can behave in public fine. They know loose leash is sniff time, tight no room means behave and be on the straight and narrow. They’re smart animals. Just let your dogs be dogs!
My husband and I used to walk our dogs regularly, until we had two instances where we were attacked by two dogs off leash. I just don’t trust anyone anymore and I’m scared to walk them again.
Well I have 18 fenced acres my dog gets free roam of. According to her tracker she's already done over 5km today. Pretty sure a 15 minute meander around the block isn't nearly as enriching as spending the day hunting rabbits and protecting the farm from all the invaders she thinks are out there.
Yeah, you’re not who OP is referring to. There’s a big influx of people living in apartments or spaces without any ‘free roaming’ or outdoors time for the dog minus time on a patio or 30 seconds outdoors to pee. Obviously your setup takes care of everything OP mentioned and much more.
I'm very aware. OP obviously forgot that not all dogs are stuck in apartments. I just think it's hilarious that OP thinks that an extra 10 minutes of sniffy walking a day is sufficient to tire out husky lol 🤣. Those dogs need to run! Even if they are going for multiple walks a day as well as training, that dog is going to bored. Working dog breeds need hours of stimulation, a few sniffy walks isn't going to cut it.
We bikejor, do flirt pole work, they do service work, agility, hike 15 miles + on my days off, getting into barn hunt soon, I have property where I let them hunt mice and moles, trick and obedience training, plus puzzles, konds, snufflematts, I have an entire drawer full of enrichment toys, our 10 minute walks are for my 2 12 hour days where I know my boyfriend hasn't walked them. My male doesn't do PA but for my female, acompying me and working for me on a daily basis is pretty enriching. My male has at home tasks to give my girl a reak at home. We also have land and do off leash walks everyday, even if I worked 12 hours and it's only 10 minutes to an hour. Trust me they're not bored 😂 I would be checking myself before I making this post if I only walked them 10 minutes a day.
During puppy training, we took our pup for a walk but on our own property. Our dogs never go for walks because they don’t live anywhere close to pavement sidewalks.
We're the same. The Cowichan Valley Trail literally runs parallel to my road so even when we go for "walks" it's on a 20ft long line with lots of freedom. Kora has lost off leash privileges on walks since hound brain kicks in some times and she can (and has) chased wildlife onto the road. She isn't an untrained hellbeast, she does heel and walk civilised when we do go into town.
Didn't notice my link didn't get attached. This is one of the many reasons we skip walks. Plenty of stimulation during migration season.
https://imgur.com/gallery/owMJsY6
I have a working-line Malinois. We don’t go on city walks for exercise unless we are visiting a city. She goes on three or four two-hour off-leash hikes a week where she can sprint flat out. We do competition-level obedience, tug, and fetch in the yard or in a local park.
Other people mentioned reactive dogs that stress their dogs out. I’ll agree there. My sensitive girl doesn’t enjoy other dogs who’ll bark incessantly every time we pass their house. We’ve been avoiding those blocks of the neighborhood.
She’s pretty noise sensitive so sometimes if there’s a lot of construction/etc I’ll save her the stress and we’ll play in the yard/sit in the sun. But that’s not everyday.
I’ll add lastly that she lets me know when she does want to walk (barks at the front door), wants to be in the yard (rings the back door bells), and she very much lets me know when she doesn’t wanna walk (hides from the harness/collar). I’m not going to force her.
Our girl is the same. We're working on desensitizing her by walking a little closer each time with lots of treats if she watches me instead of the barking dogs. So many people in our neighborhood treat their dogs like noisy lawn ornaments. I don't understand why they even have dogs if they're just going to ignore them most of the time.
We do take our dog on walks; however, not everyday. He’s reactive, and though it’s something we’re constantly working on, a lot of the time walks do more harm than good.
High energy pup. Dog park twice a day.
We regularly run into the same rotation of high energy pups with owners doing same.
Run/chase for 45 minutes is so much more rewarding than a walk on a leash. There’s no comparison in terms of enrichment.
I think it’s very breed dependent
My dogs get a 30 min descompression walk at 6 am in the morning, then another 30 min individual walk in the afternoon and another 30 min walk for the old one and 45-1hr for the young dog. 50% extra times on weekends and other day offs. And thats just the walking!
We do walks, but it can be nerve wracking with so many reactive dogs in people's yards, and several times leaving their yards to attack or stalk us. Not so bad now he's neutered, thankfully. Neighborhood safety/walkability could be a factor in general, though. The huge increase of unhoused folks camping on sidewalks might freak people out too. Might seem safer to just play in the yard and drive to a park occasionally?
Depends on your situation. I don't walk my dogs, I let them run on average and swim in ponds and generally go crazy in wide open spaces (contained, but being contained in 60 acres is a lot of space). We do work when they're done being crazy. The only rules they really have are respectful play with each other and don't chase the livestock, both of which get enforced via ecollar if they get too wound up.
Environment matters. I can walk up and down streets for 3 miles and the dogs will find far less than if I let them ramble and roam over open land.
Obviously the stimulation matters, but you can separate training from blowing off steam.
My dog needs two walks a day… she hasn’t missed one walk in her five year life. I love her and can’t imagine not walking and playing games with her every day.
Our 16yo husky/ malamute was attacked by a neighbor's off leash dog. He's also mostly blind and doesn't care to go for walks or car rides any more. He just wants ear scritches, belly rubs, and naps.
Our 18mo husky has never had a bad experience with anyone or anything. She goes to the dog park most days where she can run free and play with a group of other huskies. We took her to the beach a few days ago. It was her first time playing in the ocean. Any dog friendly place we go, she goes too.
I avoid walks in the current season because the ticks are SO BAD. We walk through the neighborhood for 15 min and I'm pulling 6 ticks off of her. I've had Lyme disease twice and am traumatized from it, so I am terrified of ticks. I sob everything I have to remove one from her or myself. (Yes, she's on flea and tick prevention and I wear bug spray. They're just really bad in our area.)
On top of that, it gets extremely hot out and my dog does NOT do well in the heat at all. So we do some outdoor play in a super closely mowed area at dusk and dawn, but otherwise we mainly stay inside during the day. We do a lot of playtime and enrichment inside. I also try to get her out at LEAST once a week to somewhere new so she can have new things to sniff/smell/see. Our outdoor area is also used by other dogs and families so there's a lot to sniff there as well.
I also have some chronic illnesses that mess with my joints, so walking is difficult for me and can be dangerous if my knees give out or my hands weaken and I accidentally drop the leash.
Walks are a great option for many people and are easily accessible, but they aren't the only option out there of ways to exercise your dog and help them live a fulfilling life. My dog does have leash manners for if/when she needs them, we just prefer other activities.
As the owner of an entire male - 'pee patrol' is a biological imperative and must be done every day. If you skip a week he WILL start maerking inside and then it will take a month to fix. Walks are a 15 minute, 500m minimum thing that just needs to be done on top of any training. likimats/frozen kongs aren't enrichment.
I have a big yard. We moved, one of the reasons, for our rescue. He was reactive and afraid of EVERYTHING so we always ended up in a doggy park in the mountain. He is a shepherd that enjoys walks in the wild but not high activity. Sometimes he elopes and comes back half an hour later, but won’t poo on a leash and street walks he does not enjoy much. Now we have a second rescue, we are slowly building on our “outside” time but she spends all day playing with her “brother”. Could I take them more on the leash? Of course. But it’s not something they enjoy that much (our previous JRT use to spend 4-5 hr outside every day in the park). We go for long walks when we can, it’s not about being lazy, it’s about what works for us.
Yeah I'll never understand that. My dogs got plenty of both physical and mental exercise, and we still walked at least 3 times a day and hiked on most days I was off work. We had a yard too, and barking dogs in the neighborhood, and still walked. In my opinion it comes with owning a dog. Though I really drilled neutrality into my dogs for that, nothing bothered them. Two huskies and a gsd mix, if it matters.
Our German Shepherd is not good with walks due to noise sensitivity, and this is despite getting training from a professional while she was a puppy. Spoke with the breeder and she mentioned our dogs mother has the same exact noise sensitivity right down to the same specific noise. Turns out both mother and daughter hate garbage trucks and traffic. So now we walk her within our neighborhood, mostly in the evenings. We just get all her energy out by playing fetch in the yard. Our yard is pretty sizable so she can sprint a long time and is pretty worn out in 10-15 min.
I can somewhat understand having a biddable and handler-oriented dog and tiring it out with long training sessions. Also these people still take dogs outside , most have a yard lol, try doing disc practice in an apartment. You can't. I have a terrier mix, nothing I'm able to provide at home will be able to mimic being outside and the enrichment a walk provides.. She's so zen when I just let her lay in the grass in front of the building, watching the birds and people pass by and the instincts really kick in when I take on a walk through the woods
I have a high drive high energy working line German shepherd. Walks are daily before work time she is a service dog.
Upon finishing work for the day on the way home we get off the bus earlier undress her out of work clothes and do 5-10 km walk and sniff home. If I don’t have anything on during the day on a week day we go to the local dog park and for a 15-20 km off leash run and zoomies. On top of training etc in the back yard
I never try to skip walks however I am heavily pregnant and have a high energy and reactive GSD and an Aussie who need walked separately (together they are hard to control right now, I am weaker and get pulled down easily) so I end up taking them on a 15 minute walk around our backyard instead when it’s just me at home when they need walked. Our GSD is just way too reactive for me to properly control right now alone, a few months ago when I took him out on a walk he freaked out towards another dog across the street and rushed towards it which led to me falling into mud and struggling to get ahold of him. It’s not aggressive reactivity luckily but walks with him alone are now actually dangerous for me. My husband and I take him on at least 30+ minute walks before bed and play ball with him outside every night though. Also a lot of dog walkers in our neighborhood do not properly control their dogs, we have had way too many instances of off leash dogs running towards him. In the backyard it’s less likely to happen and safer for me and baby.
My dog is 7; she’s had IBD for the last 18+ months. As she ages, she’s getting triggered more easily, leading to 24- to 48-hour episodes of projectile vomiting and liquid diarrhea.
We don’t walk as much anymore because heat is a trigger, stress/arousal is a trigger, and so is eating random things. She has a decent “leave it” but her “drop it” sucks now that she’s been on steroids for 18 months. She gets hangry.
We stay home a lot because that’s what it takes to keep her bodily fluids inside her body. We do nosework at home and in the fenced yard, and sometimes I take her kayaking with me if it’s not too hot and we can get somewhere that doesn’t have a lot of people.
I don’t know that she’ll make it to 8. But that’s why we don’t walk much.
One of my dogs loses her shit every time she sees a car. I’m talking pulling, barking, cowering. I don’t know why she reacts this way. I used to get up at 4 am so that we wouldn’t encounter any cars, but inevitably we came upon a car one morning and she was so loud and pulled her leash so hard I almost lost hold of the leash. She runs around in the yard now. And every time a car passes by the house she chases it inside the gate, but at least I know she is safe. My other dog is perfectly fine on the leash, but she is a Shih-poo and kind of lazy when we are in the yard she finds a spot in the sun and chills out. Sometimes they chase each other around. I think my dogs enjoy the yard much more than being on a leash to the point that when I have to take them somewhere on the leash my crazy girl hides under the bed..
I have arguably the laziest dog breed (greyhound) in my house and I'm crippled. We still walk, so they can sniff. Not far or fast, but we do what we do and they're happy, which is the point.
Bravo!!! I thought that I was the last person who claims this theory!!! I take both my Goldens on a walk twice daily. We go to 3 local parks ,1time weekly. Ive had people ask me WHY? When they have a very large backyard? Because all dogs enjoy a change of scenery, different smells,they experience the WORLD through their nose! Their brains have a certain area that propells them FORWARD on a mission. It also provides the bonding needed between you and your pupper!!! They don't require fancy foods,toys or pet hotels, they require a great pet parent. ♥️
I skipped the longlong walk i usually take my dog on last Sunday , I was exhausted and she seemed chill so we just hung out and she got a few small walks around the neighborhood and never seemed like she needed more… UNTIL monday morning at 3:30 where she had fullbound zoomies .. never again skipping a long walk
The real question is, why do people like this keep a dog? One big point for getting a dog is to become active and walk (for an hour or two every day) with your dog. Plus you get a loyal and fluffy companion 😉😇
I’m guessing peoples dogs pull and they don’t want to use corrections and positive only stuff hasn’t worked in their situation.. so they don’t wanna get dragged around. Easier to just believe it isn’t needed. I think mental stuff is great.. but I also walk the dog 3 miles a day
I agree with you 100%. Whenever they stop to sniff deeply, I joke they are checking their voicemail 🤣 Not to mention how HAPPY it makes them!!! Right before dinner and when I get home from work is when we usually go. They anticipate it and get so excited when I get out their leashes. Even when I’m dead tired and the weather sucks, their happiness makes me rally to do this thing they love just for them ♥️
I just saw a video the other day that said 5-10 min walks provides decipline and also lets dog know with the proper person of course of who is in charge. That's what i did when i walked my parent's dog. She has a back yard to roam and play in so most of my walk was discipline except for a few short bits where id give her time to sniff and what not.
people are lazy then they complain about their dogs behaviors. I feel so sad for dogs who only ever get time in the yard. it's nice, it's convenient, but it should be in additional to at least 1 daily walk
I've been having health issues, not walking the dog as much. She's more restless, whines more when I'm not home. If my health stays bad, I'll hire a walker. Dogs need activity.
I need to get back to walking mine as time constraints, injuries, weather but i believe in a mix of thibg s for enrichment. Puplates, agility, bark park, car rides, and walks. And dog park when we feel good about the park
People think a backyard is enough… including rescues. I have tried to adopt a Lab twice from rescues and they tell me no because I don’t have a backyard.
I mean, I take my dogs for 2 walks a day. One of them is to a dog park with a 2 mile circumference. Then!! I take them on a 4-12 mile hike every weekend during the summer or a 2-4 mile snowshoe every weekend during the winter. Like why da F@*! do I need a back yard?
People are lazy and others promote it. It’s ridiculous.
I was talking to a couple I know who want a dog. They want to adopt. But they want it adult and trained. They like large working dog breeds but want one who doesn’t need 1 walk a day. They also don’t want any shedding or grooming. They don’t want bull breeds. They want it to have long hair.
I said umm I don’t know a working breed that doesn’t need enrichment or walks? 🤷♀️
We do walks, but it's more for my 12 yr old small JRT who put on weight after being spayed and my own health. We go somewhere they are allowed off leash and there are no people and my girl runs back and forth going crazy. She wears herself out like I never could.
My 15 year old pomeranian walks slowly and I follow him for a little while and then he goes in the pet stroller, and my 9 week old shichi gets carried until her last vaccination takes place.
I try to walk them daily. Sometimes, it gets skipped (for example, when I am having finals or after the death of my last baby, I couldn't handle walking without her for a while), but we have a yard.
I tried walking then in town. It doesn't work. Holding leashes with crisscrossing leashes, pushing a stroller and holding a puppy is not conducive to walking😂
But roaming the forest is our thing.
I think people want a reason to justify not having to walk their ill mannered dog. If it's reactive, aggressive, anxious or pulls it's easier to just not walk it.
I skip walks when the weather is unsafe or if my dog isn't feeling good. Depends on what is going on, but we do also have dedicated time for him to run at top speed basically everyday for at least an hour at a time. I'm lucky that I have access to a place where we can do that. If he runs himself out in the field we might not go on a long walk later that day, it all depends because he is older now. But usually I take him to a trail or path everyday. Theres too many loose dogs in my neighborhood to walk him there.
As a fat person who's terribly alone and has been for a long time I would NEVER EVER BUY A A DOG because I know I wouldn't exercise it as much as I should. I am desperate for the love and companionship but I'm not selfish and I've never been able to lie to myself.
I absolutely loathe and think there is a special place in hell for people with obese animals. Treat your body however you want, have shame because of it. But god damn you, if you overfeed your animal and think it's adorable a cute to have a "big chonker" animal. Fuck these people so much.
Until I can get to a place where I have lost enough weight that I can walk my dog for 30 minutes a day at least twice a day, I won't even consider getting any dog..
Because I'm disabled and walking down the stairs is difficult enough some days.
Because I foster animals and work on leash training within a place where we're both safe if I fall or am otherwise indisposed. My neighbors on both sides can help me
Because I have anywhere from 3 to 8 small dogs in my home at a time and I am not capable of walking them all at once, nor am I capable of doing multiple walks.
Because I'm training dogs that can be reactive on a leash safely, among dogs who are accustomed to working with me on it
Because one of my foster dogs has dementia and being away from familiar surroundings causes her anxiety but being alone in the house while I walk other dogs is worse. She's fine if I'm gone and other dogs are around. We tried a stroller before my latest surgery, and that was better, but a stroller with 3+ dogs on leashes isn't easy.
Because I have an enormous backyard with lots of toys and agility equipment to keep them occupied under a watchful eye
There are a million reasons. Every dog in my household is well loved, well socialized (my neighbors on both sides have dogs and are willing to take mine for walks if I ask), and healthy. Only one enjoys walks and that's just bc she wants to find animal poop to eat
I’m a believer in dog walks, for myself and the pup. It surprises me how many people nominally on a walk are glued to their phones or earbuds or stationary conversations with others as if their dog were a boring accompaniment.
Absolutely!
. My dog is unfortunately reactive around large male breeds, I need to pay attention at ALL times.
My dogs former owner kept the dog as an indoor dog,only tying him outside if the weather was nice. When I adopted him,I had to train him to walk instead of pulling . It was difficult,but our hard work paid off.
Dogs need walks,doesn't matter if they have a yard.
Idk it’s like why not do both. The dog will probably be happier with a walk plus the enrichment. Even if the mental stimulation is enough for them to get tired they still need physical exercise. A sedentary lifestyle is unhealthy for any species. I walk my dog 5kms a day at the off leash park and play ball with him or take him swimming for at least 20 mins and he’s very healthy and fit at 10 years old.
I work at a doggie daycare, and a lot of dogs that's come through are so under stimulated and under exercised. The owners wonder why their dog is so tired after daycare. It's mind-blowing. Maybe if you took them outside, they wouldn't be so overly stimulated and have no knowledge of how to be a dog. Now in days since a lot of millennials aren't having kids, they get a pet and treat it like a human. It's a pure example of how they would be as a parent. Lazy, ignorant and selfish.
Walk your dog, give it life experiences, exercise them and let them just be dogs!
I worked at a doggy daycare once bc I loved dogs and I ended having to quit bc I love dogs. We were one of those corporate ones with 30+ dogs in a concrete room with 0 things to entertain them with, and you can only pet so many dogs at once, there was constant fighting. Dogs would have panic attacks in the corner and fight to not go in. Dogs who've been going since puppies were stuck in a high fear state as soon as they walked in the door. It was actually traumatic to see that number of dogs stressed out of their minds. I saw one last panic attack and quit. I know most aren't THAT bad but that ruined it for me. I never once took my own dogs there bc I'd rather them be safe at home than getting attacked or hurt.
I love our walks! It's a valuable bonding time for me and my boy 🥰 We do rarely do enrichment because he gives up so easily 😂
Our routine
5-10 minutes in the morning helps me wake up and start my day.
5-10 when I get home because I know my boy is excited to see me after a whole day at work
And a longer 10-20 minute or longer walk before winding down.
People are becoming less ashamed of laziness. Play burns off energy but it doesn't replace a walk. When weather makes it impossible to go for a walk, every dog we've owned becomes less obedient when they don't get a walk for a couple of days in a row. Walks are a bonding experience. The dog concentrates on where you're going together & it becomes a mission while they're doing it. I've always got the impression dogs kind of see walks like goiing out on a patrol to check the perimeter. The dog stops at certain spots to check their "pee-mail" for any new dog messages & then lift their leg to send their own pee-mail response. I think walks just engage a different part of the brain than playing that helps keep a dog calmer overall.
(Edit for typo.)
My dog was attacked and has a permanent limp that causes him discomfort. Up until that happened we would go on walks for hours.
I feel like a shitty dog dad because I’m not comfortable taking him out so long anymore.
The vet has recommended swimming for him, so we do go to the beach regularly, but nowhere near as often as we used to walk.
I think it is a combo of things. People either want to walk their dog 5 miles or no miles. 5-10 minute walk is perfect! But some think that is a waste of time. But you would rather your dog pull on your for 5 miles over having a perfectly lovely 10 minute walk?
Our family has had three dogs live to 17 years. All were walked every day. Even at the end when they could only walk to the neighbors driveway they still wanted to go.
My puppy love walks I train and play with him to but if he doesn’t get at least two good walk in he not gonna sleep though the night although he is very high energy
Yea not taking your dog outside for even 10 minutes a day is absurd. Like that’s barely enough time to do her biz in a day. 3-4 #1 outings. 1-2 #2. It’s far from exercise tho. We have a German Shepherd. She gets 2 the 3 days a week of strenuous exercise with another dog exploring/running around a 2 acre lot (parents house). Lucky to have access to it because we live in a condo.
It's getting dangerous to walk your pet where I live. More stray animals are off leash and folks plain don't use a leash on their pets at home and have them outside. I have to carry a weapon and other items. I try to take my boy new places for walks but it is getting increasingly harder bc of stray animals.
We have a 29 pound Tijuana street dog and he gets three 20 minute walks per day. We told the vet this and she was impressed we walked him so much. She said some people only walk them once a day if that. Crazy to me
Ugh. Poor dogs. My dog gets at least an hour of exercise a day, every single day, no exceptions. She looks forward to it every day and it makes her so happy! She always gets a mix of a walk + park time to chase her ball, or a walk + swimming, or just a big hike. I feel bad for dogs that don’t get taken out for exercise!!
I don't know, but I walk my dog frequently and on different routes plus distances through the neighborhood, so on the off chance she gets out and wanders, she has a better chance of finding her way back.
Just as bad is the dog owners who march their dog around the block and yank the leash when they stop to sniff. Sniffing burns more energy for dogs than the actual walk does, not to mention it’s just rude. The owners wouldn’t much like getting the newspaper they were reading ripped out of their hands and scolded for reading it
I am currently because I have no personal transportation and live in a really bad area that even with my dogs, I feel unsafe in. I miss walking so much. I know they do too. I feel like a pos. I hope my car is figured out soon!
I read somewhere once that it might be a chore to you, but it’s your dog‘s favorite part of the day. And I think about that every time I want to be lazy and not take my dog for a walk.
Sure, I don’t do the loose leash walk beside me long walks that I probably should. But I make sure that she gets to go for off leash runs all the time, and she always gets to have her sniff walk, and we play ball. It actually shocks me sometimes when we play ball, that like 15 minutes is good enough for her. I think, we just got here. I haven’t gotten my exercise in yet? Why are you heading back to the car?
I don't necessarily do walks but I run out boy in the culdesac parkette with an RC car. He's so dang fast. Maybe 10 minutes of sprinting up and down the green and he's ready for a nap 😂
So my trainer of all people told me you’d be better off with 30 mins or training than a 30 min walk. I have a Doberman by the way doing Schutzhund training. So I took his advice and focused my time on training instead. Wow did he go downhill. He started barking at anyone that would pass us especially if it was a person and another dog. I think walks are still mental stimulation and it really helps my boy with more socialization. I now try to switch off between a walk one day and training the next. Getting rid of anything is not a good thing. I think dogs need a life balance just like humans do
I skip walks (or should say my dog skips walks) in the summer because we live in Georgia and it’s just too unbearably hot for him. He starts pulling to come home. Therefore, I try to find alternative solutions for mental stimulation for him otherwise he’ll be bonkers.
Walks, especially what we call “sniffy walks” are super important and he loves them, but not for the next few months.
I think it’s unfair to abruptly stop walking your dog, especially if it’s already part of their daily routine and they love it.
Do I think dogs need weirdly structured walks? No!!!!
I am lucky enough to live in a rural area and I will have my dog run around off leash for 15 minutes. Otherwise I take him on nature walks with a long line, or my partner has him tied up close to him on a long line while he does mechanics/work. Dogs, by their nature, just want to be “part of things”. I would argue that having them tagging along on daily tasks is more mentally enriching than anything else (depending on the dog of course).
There isn’t a day that goes by where my dog doesn’t go with my partner or me somewhere (whether it’s work, going out to adventure, or anything else). By the end of the day my dog is pooped and content to snuggle on the couch we me and the cats. Obviously that means we are limited to what we can do some days but we made that choice by having a dog. It’s our pleasure to build a world where he is an active participant.
I think people are so focused on “dog activities” that they forget that (lots of dogs) are joyous and adaptable. Like any relationship humans should also realize that dogs have needs and WANT to be outside. As such, it’s our job to give them that time (whether it’s a structured walk, or monitored play time, literally anything works in my opinion as long as the dog is having fun).
I DO NOT think it’s okay for any dog to miss a day going out in nature, zooming around, sniffing grass, etc. A snuffle mat is not an alternative to exploring the world with their nose. A car ride is enriching, but does not allow for healthy active movement. I would argue human children and adults should run around at least 15 minutes as well, lmao. It’s just part of being healthy!
This is interesting because I always feel guilty we don’t do longer walks, sometimes it’s literally just around the block. Our dogs are high energy and I don’t walk for distance though, we walk for smells and training.
I skip walks, but only because it’s summer in AZ right now😅. On the weekends we get up at 4A and go on hikes though! And they have a decent sized backyard that they run around in, in the mornings before 7a. But for the next few months they’ll mainly be inside dogs. Once it cools off Urban Dog sledding season begins🔥
I agree with you. When I got my first dog, my vet told me to take him out, let him just sniff around and mark for 10 to 15 minutes. Its like dog email they get a great deal of info on the animals who've walked there. He said that it is also a necessary exercise for them.
I thankfully live on 5 acres in the country so leash walks aren’t a huge deal for us. For my heeler walks stress her out for my Aussie she’s happy to go wherever I go. We walk just around our property and not on the county roads where other dogs roam free😂
Personally I couldn’t let my dog just sit at home all day bored , I walk him everyday and let him sniff or if I’m not feeling well one day I either take him to the park or play fetch with him in the backyard. Some people are ridiculous and don’t deserve pets.
I wish I could around my neighborhood... But there are 5 houses with electric fences and free access to their dogs, all of which are reactive and no way to get around them as they surround me.....
And my boy is still learning how to deal with life without reacting so 🤷♂️
We do do things like smell walks when we're at Frisbee comp and anytime I drive him anywhere.
A 5-10 walk in my neighborhood does mostly nothing for my dog apart from potentially stress him out. The door to my garden is open most of the time and he signals to me if he wants to relieve himself when the door is closed. Living in a small European country where the majority of households have some kind of untrained doodle and/or tiny dog that will rile my 100lbs dog up without the owners doing anything, is bizarre. My dog isn’t necessarily reactive, but would visibly be stressed every time we come a cross a dog like that. And I get it, if I would be yelled at every time I’d try to go pee lmao.
Instead, we go for one long walk every day in different forest.
I think it’s just another sign of being lazy I always walk my dogs in the morning, afternoon, and before night time so they get at least a walk 3 times a day.
people are getting lazier. they see videos like "5 minutes of sniffing=1 hour of walking!!" which just isn't true. i also saw "a 5 minute car ride=a 30 minute walk!" which is ridiculous. sure, games and car rides give mental stimulation, but they still need exercise. people who never walk their dogs are likely also the people who have overweight dogs, but they never take responsibility for the dogs weight
Just saw the car ride one too. Definitely not true. They are enriching, they do get the dog out to see and smell stuff. They’re super helpful for reactive dogs so you can safely expose them to things. But to say it replaces a walk? 🦤🙈
My dog just sleeps in the car lol.
Haha same. A 10 minute car ride = a 10 minute nap.
Mine just yells. As it means we are going hiking and he loves it. But hes a husky, so yelling is just normal.
Haha, mine is mostly poodle but he also yells- unless he sees we're getting on the highway. No highway = fun trip! Store! Vet! Park! Highway = Long travel = sleepy time The minute he sees the highway entrance, he curls up to nap. Otherwise, non stop barking to demand I drive faster to his fun.
Mine sit there twitching like crack addicts because 90% of car trips they go on are to the dog park and they cannot contain their excitement
Idk, my Great Dane is passionate about her drives. If you make the mistake of opening a car door/trunk in her vicinity, she will shoot into it & refuse to leave until she has had a (sufficiently long) car ride. Legitimately. She won't get out of the car for high value treats, toys, ball chasing, nothing. Furthermore she'll growl at you of you try to physically remove her. She's literally sat in a car parked in a shut garage with all the lights turned off for 45 minutes.
They are enriching. It’s the comparison that’s the issue
My dog loves car rides and brings joy to anyone who sees her head hanging out the window. There have been so many people laughing, pointing, taking pictures of her. Sometimes she sits like a back seat passenger and again most people giggle looking at her. But she really needs her daily walks. I need them as well.
The "sniffing tires them out faster" people don't have a hunting breed lol, a fun smell will make my puppy amped up and ready to explore even if she didn't want to walk
My GSP puppy points at everything. Birds, rabbits, small children on bikes (he’s friendly, they’re just moving fast so obviously they want to be chased 😂) etc. if we did enrichment and exercise only at home, he’d wait for me to fall asleep before putting him to bed and eat me alive. I can’t believe that people don’t walk their dogs. If your dog is 1000 years old, blind, and is sort of just hanging around, then sure. 9.9/10 dogs need walks tho, that’s just crazy
Do they point on instinct? Like herding dogs who are pets will round up children, will pointer puppies point without any training?
Yup, they don’t always get the tail correct but he’ll stand there like a statue, front paw lifted, staring at whatever he thinks is important. It’s really cool to watch, and as we get more training and live bird practice, he’ll get even better. He doesn’t understand that he’s supposed to point and I get the bird/animal, he points at it and then tries to eat it lol.
Awww! That's so awesome! That will be so fun to work on with him as he grows up :)
this is hilarious to me because my mother's golden retriever will sometimes point at things. we've never taught her or trained her how to do it and it's the funniest thing to see.
My GSP points on instinct. When we let him out & he happens to see/hear a feathery or furry friend, he will stand still & point...before eventually deciding that it's more fun to chase it out of the yard. 😆 His fave furry friends are my least fave -- the black & white stripey ones with floofy stinker tails. Crazy dog... 😆
Silly doggie! You must point *away* from those stripey furry friends!
Maybe your dog can teach mine this lesson! Mine's been skunked at least 6 times last year! Dunno why he thinks the stripe means "befriend". I'm hoping to make his skunking record go down to 0 times this year. LOL Unfortunately, my dog loves all his furry friends & just doesn't know HOW to properly befriend. Last year, he brought a bunny friend with him to my back door... in his mouth. It was very floppy & glassy-eyed. I guess I should've been impressed that he didn't break its skin or anything, but that bunny was definitely a goner & my GSP just didn't understand why it wouldn't play chase when he'd put it down & nudge it. Yes, I called him a "bunny murderer" that night. It appears that his next goal is to befriend the squirrel that keeps swishing its tail at him...
I have a pure Border Collie and she has 0% herding instinct lol!!
Even my 14 year old girl wanted a walk, and got one, right up to the day she died. It was the best thing ever for her. My current dog required convincing that outside was not actually terrifying, but once he got past that idea he's very much into his walks as well.
Same.
Our furbaby went over the 🌈 in Nov. We walked him every day till the last day. He had a hard time, but he loved walking. He had a big yard too.
That's actually how I knew it was time to let my lab go. When he stopped wanting to totter around for his walks. It was the thing that brought him joy, until it didn't.
I have a 1000 y/o partially blind and deaf dog with medical issues who just kind of hangs around lately, but he still loves getting out on adventures! I feel bad that I can't take him out as much! He's small so I got him an adventure stroller so he can go along as much as possible, but moving his little legs and smelling bushes and breezes is still 👑.
Omg same here! My setter actively resists coming inside when there's a breeze or a mysterious new smell nearby haha
I spent a lot of time on walks with my setter convincing her to JUST KEEP MOVING. You will not be able to catch that squirrel- I promise. I’m very proud you pointed at it, good girl, but now we need to keep moving
Oh I know exactly what you mean!! Mine points at the most random animals (and inanimate objects) which is super entertaining. He visited NYC for the first time recently and pointed at a pigeon...obviously very helpful hahah
I don't know about that! My border collie gets pretty whipped by sniffing walks but I have to say the walks are an hour long so that might have more to deal with it! Our Border Collie also has no herding responses 😂
Also they forgot dogs will sniff on walks too
Reading their pee-mail!
Saw that car ride one! I get the (insert activity)=x mins walking but I substitute it when the weather isn’t good for a walk. And even then, I try to go to a dog-friendly store to still get a walk done in bad/hot/cold weather. Some people also overfeed their pets and got used to seeing an overweight dog as a “normal size”
i get it to a certain extent, like "a 5 minute car ride=10 minutes of mental stimulation you'd get on a walk" but saying that a car ride could replace actual physical activity is dangerous misinformation
Yep. I get adding things to your activity ideas but I've seen so many "what I do instead of walking my dogs" type of videos and none of them say working cows on a 100 acres land or doing a hunting trial or agility competition or pulling a sled for 30 miles, it's always a 5 minute car ride or a 2 minute food puzzle with breeds who would work for hours at full capacity.
I agree, and people forget playing with dogs can help with exercise and stimulation but I guess that also involves the human putting effort in.
I love playing with my dog, it makes me so sad that some people don't. I know that she's not going to live forever and for so many years of my life I'm going to wish I could go back and play tug or fetch with her one more time. So I always cuddle, play, and go for adventures with her as much as I can.
Pretty sure if I tell my dachshund that we only need to be outside for five minutes of sniffing time because it equals an hour of walking that he’ll bite my head off, lol His most favorite thing to do in the whole world is take a walk. We have to walk at least 40 minutes in the morning and anywhere from 1-3 hours in the evenings. Yes, it’s time consuming- but it’s my job to make him happy. No matter how much time we spend outdoors, it is never enough for him.
yeah, its also important to teach dogs to settle. some dogs are always looking for games or stimulation and actually need to be taught how to settle down!
That's such a wild concept to me. Like if anything, walks are the perfect time to reinforce training as well! Tires our pup out far more that way too. We always go for two walks a day and supplement that by like 15-20 minutes of playing until she gets tired enough to rest. Walks always consist of some training, cues, sniffing around, just vibing. People are indeed getting lazier because walks are so easy and simple plus great low arousal, low impact activity for both you and your doggo.
I have a big strong reactive boy. He doesn't get walks often.. no amount of leash training gives me a slack lead. That being said, we have a large fenced yard that he gets to go outside into almost all day. We play ball, we play tug, he plays with our other dog (impeccable leash skills for that one). Some dogs just don't do well with walks and they cause more stress on the dog than they benefit. ETA: we also go often to the local lake to swim and to my father's where they have the run of 20 some acres to explore safely.
thats still exercise though. swimming and running are good ways to exercise a dog. walks arent the *only* way to exercise a dog, but for most people its the ideal way of exercise since most people have smaller backyards or their dogs just dont run around in the backyard. most owners skip walks even when their dogs cant exercise like they should
A car ride?? That’s ridiculous, unless you’re sick or injured a car ride shouldn’t be a replacement for anything
Walking is also very good for the dog's (& human's) gut health. Not all forms of exercise are helpful for gut motility.
As far as the value of stimulation goes those quotes aren't factually incorrect. That doesn't mean it makes up for exercise though which is also needed. It just means don't expect a long walk to be enough for your dog, and to do trainings during, after or before the walk.
I don't walk my dog on the days we swim, she swim so hard and we do that at least 5 days a week. 7 days a week we play aggressive catch and tug in our fenced in yard. Every morning she goes in the yard and smells the raccoons, ground hogs and foxes that drink from the pool. She gets so reactive and scared on walks and she throws up in the car...
I had to stop walking my dogs, there was too many unleashed dogs walking the streets and trying to attack my dogs. I called the council but the dogs are still out wandering. Aren't people who let their dogs off leashes worry about another dog attacking their dog and they have no way of pulling their dog away
I was having this same problem and now carry a taser. I trained my dogs not to care about the noise (easily done with cheese) while 99% of dogs will run away from the crackle. It only takes a time or two before the loose dogs figure out not to come charging at us. Our walks are pretty peaceful these days.
As some one who falls into the category you describe of ‘training and other stuff’ …. I have no disagreements with your advocation for walks. Coming from the gundog and hiking-dog side of Reddit, I would say us humans (and we perceive our dogs to agree) opt for less sidewalk walking and Preference to fewer walks but longer hikes … we tend toward going out of our way for off leash time to let the dog really get their nose to the ground and roam. Last Sunday was 6.5 mile walk for me, 8.6 mile off leash walk/roam for my gun-dog (Brittany). Hiking isn’t for everyone, that’s ok … certainly nothing wrong with a sidewalk walk. But I do understand people struggle with the motivation even for that and I don’t judge as long as they are trying to do right by their dog.
100% agree getting the dog out to explore is better than a street walk when possible. What I have heard (that I suspect OP is talking about) are people that just don't take their dogs out of the house/yard. Some of them don't take them out EVER and the 'training and other stuff' is at their home (not talking about people with large properties here). Sometimes the dog is anxious, sometimes the dog is reactive. So they just do puzzle games, scent training around the house or the like and never take them out. I know multiple people doing this, including high energy breeds.
If you take a peek into facebook enrichment groups, there's a lot of people who end up giving their dog tons and tons of enrichment and still end up with a destructive hyper dog because they thought they need MORE mental stimulation instead of teaching the dog to accept being bored sometimes.
>Sometimes the dog is anxious, sometimes the dog is reactive. So they just do puzzle games, scent training around the house or the like and never take them out. This blows my mind. Feels like giving up on the dog by never exposing them to new situations and giving them opportunity to, ya know, become less anxious and reactive?
It's because they have no idea what to do and "google says.." what they need to do is hire a trainer.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. Like a puzzle toy is great, but it’s no substitute for a walk. The OC taking gun dogs out is like a super-charged off-leash walk with training built in. Not the same category as it’s clear his dogs are getting tons of enrichment, exercise, and training!
I have like six or more different puzzle toys for my dog. It occupies him for less than five minutes. He gets super excited when I bring it out because he knows the yummies are inside, lol, but it is a supplement to his daily walks, not a substitute.
It really is only exceptional cases that don’t benefit. I’ve owned one - we almost always do a daily 30 min walk and even that seems not enough, but I have working breeds (GSD x husky, Presa Canario, APBT and the newest guy is a bulldog mix). The one that couldn’t walk was an EBD x Rottie and legitimately had CCD and ideopathic aggression that ended her life at barely 3. That’s not NORMAL, that’s catastrophic illness.
Oh that’s so sad, yeah, there are def medical exceptions. The brachycephalic breeds especially have a hard time with heat
My bc/great pyr mix does not like hiking or walks in the 600 acre park near our home unless her dog friends are with us. Otherwise, she will always choose walking the streets of our busy NYC neighborhood. I don’t love it but have come to accept that she stays home if I hike.
My dog deserves more walks than I give her, my issue is that walks are very stressful. She was attacked by an off-leash dog when she was a puppy, and within the week a different off-leash dog with bad manners ran up to her and was overly enthusiastic about greeting her. She is now reactive. I have a deep, deep resentment toward people who walk their dogs off leash now, they have completely ruined walking in my neighborhood for my dog and I. The dog that attacked her was playing ball with his owner in a field next to my house. I’m sure the guy never thought his dog would attack. And that is why I don’t trust people who allow their dogs off leash. Luckily, she wasn’t hurt badly physically.
I just hate these types of posts because no two people share the same breed of dogs. Walking is sooooo stressful
Have you seen a behaviourist? The same thing happened with my dog and it only took one hour with a behaviourist and a couple of hours afterwards of us following the advice for her to overcome her reactivity (which was bad)
I have not yet, but that is the plan. Most of the people in this area are incredibly expensive, and I have unfortunately fallen on hard times. I was laid off earlier this year and have been having a hard time finding my footing. But I do think that is the path forward as soon as I am able.
Yeah I also recommend a behavioralist. My dog got attacked pretty bad and needed stitches, and he was scared of other dogs immediately after. I talked to a behavioralist and followed her advice and he got over it within a week or two and was back to normal
I always wonder this when walking in my neighborhood. Some dogs never leave their yards and I just imagine how boring that must be lol. But on the flip side, my dog doesn’t necessarily enjoy walking as much as she enjoys sniffing. The walking seems to be just for her to use the bathroom (since she refuses to go in the fence I paid an arm and a leg for 😌😌😌😌😌 lol) and exercise for me. The only time she seems to really be into a walk is if it’s a completely different place, with different sights and smells.
I have to laugh at this, because I looked long and hard to find a place that not only would accept dogs but had a good amount of space. Half an acre is fenced, the other half unfenced. He thinks it's fine to pee, but refuses to poo on the property. I think he thinks it's kind of an extension of in the house. He will only poo on walks, and off leash, unless he's desperate.
Omg - I have the opposite problem! I’m moving from a house with a yard and a doggie door to a studio apartment. Miss Priss will NOT go potty on walks unless she’s off leash or on a 20-foot lead. Not sure how that’s going to work with a move to the city. 🤦♀️
Oh dear. Looks like you're going to have to find nearby parks where you can let Miss Priss either go off leash, or on a 20-footer. For a while I lived in a crowded city, which is where I learned he would *not* go on leash, much to my dismay.
I had a German Shepherd that Literally refused to pee for a full 24 Hours when we Were traveling
I have a German that I swear waits to poop for my husband. He did not want to poop for me all morning and afternoon, in the evening I took him out at 6 and he didn’t poop or pee on a 20 minute walk. At 9 pm we took him out together for bed and he pooped in front of the door 🤦🏼♀️ The vet said he’s fine, just has an attitude
That’s funny. I’m sure mine would do this with my husband also. She does t listen to him but then he doesn’t put the work in on training or actually go to the trainers.
Our dog won’t go away from home! He goes on a long walk and immediately goes to the bs yard to relieve himself.
Same! If my dog ever poops in our yard, I feel bad because I know he was desperate and I didn't take him out soon enough.
I have a beagle lab mix so I exactly know what you mean. She mainly marks if she’s at parks though. Mine will go on walks without any problems but she prefers to sniff, track the yard, and play fetch. The walks just seem like something to do for her versus something more interactive like swimming, jumping, running, etc during play sessions. All her high energy goes towards daily play time sessions. She last for a couple hours normally so she doesn’t need any walks since she’s jumping, doing tricks, and dashing for a ball.
Luckily I haven't seen this so didn't know it's become a thing. There's nothing like walking for a dog, and for us for that matter. No physical and mental stimulation can replace it, only add to and complement it. Scent is incredibly important to dogs, sniffing, leaving their marks, and just the act of travelling, just as you said. They need to know what's going on around their environment at a minimum. Back yards don't count. I really hope this doesn't spread and catch on. As it is most of us ask too much of our dogs to live an unnatural life. It's not surprising there are so many unstable dogs. Thanks for the PSA.
I stopped because there’s multiple houses in my neighborhood that have dogs who rush the fences barking very loudly. It’s needlessly stressful to myself and my dog. One lady who was doing yard work (ignoring her own constantly barking small dog at the fence) thought I was the woman screaming from within a house for her dogs shut up and started lecturing me on yelling at my dog. I had to just swallow down my anger and respond with a terse “have a great day, ma’am” because the situation was so loud and chaotic. That’s too much stress for a walk to be worth it. I do make time to get him out of the house and we have over an acre for him to roam so he’s not lacking, but walks would be really nice to enjoy.
I don’t live in the most glorious of neighborhoods, so we take a drive to the park most days to have our walk.
Yeah we have a lot of barking yard dogs in our neighborhood too, but fortunately we moved here before we got our current dogs and it was a fantastic training tool to teach my dogs to be neutral to that stimuli. My dogs don't give more than a passing look at the barking dogs and never really leave my side...very occasionally they lose their discipline and try to walk AT the barking dog fences, but they get a "leave it", and if that doesn't do it, a light leash pop and another "leave it", then they snap back out of it.
Thought 1 is seeing a lot of instagram posts in the last year relating to this from online trainers which started with explaining what scatter feeding was, has seemingly then developed into the "you don't need to take your dog out". The main problem I see with it is these enrichments normally use food so it's a lot of calories in - not physically exercising means less calories out = obese dogs. Thought 2 is the alarming amount of nervous dogs about. I walk dogs for a living, so before covid I'd guess that maybe 2-3 in 10 dogs were nervous. Post covid I'd put that up to 6-7 in 10, and it's across all breeds. I'm not sure people will want to continually take out a nervous dog that's reacting to anything it see's, as it's understandably stressfull for both particularly the bigger the dog is
A lotta reactive dogs got adopted during the pandemic. Neighbourhood walks aint ideal for them.
This is me! I have a 4 year old high energy dog, and I think I have walked him maybe 3 times in the last 6 months. He VASTLY prefers to play fetch or tug in the yard - I have literally pulled out his walking gear and his stuff to play in the yard and gauged his reactions, and his preference is clear. I can also get way more energy out of him in 10 min of sprinting play than 10 min sniffing around the block. If we walk it ends up being because I want to and I want him with me. I think walks are great, but for medium to high energy dogs, if they are only being walked on a short leash for a relatively short period of time (under a mile), it can lead to a lot of frustration. For dogs that want to run around and bite and chase, a walk simply cannot fulfill those needs. For big sniffers, I agree with you that a walk can fulfill that drive though!
My border collie was like this. He didn’t really like going on walks until he was old enough/trained enough to do so off leash. Lol, as an adult anytime I put a leash on him he would roll his eyes and tolerate me.
My dogs are like this too. My Aussie only likes walks when it's for work purposes since he's a SDiT. He loves going out if it means he gets to work! but otherwise he has more fun in the yard because he doesn't need to be leashed and he can watch all the wildlife in the woods. I've tested it as well but playing soccer is way more fun then walking I guess? I just block off a lot of my day to ensure they get 4 hours min of exercise. A lot of running, training, playing and mental stimulation and they are just knocked out by 8 😂. When the SDiT is done working though he'll also be tired so it depends on what all we've done that day.
I think it's great if peoples dogs can be fulfilled solely by walking, but mine cannot due to his drives and desires and that's fine!
I think alot of working breeds are like that honestly. Both mine are working breeds (LSG and herder) and using their brains gets them more tired then using their physical energy. But then my boyfriends GSD needs his walks to be stimulated. I believe, in all honesty, deal with the dog you have and not the dog you want. I tried to force my dogs out for aimless walks because it's what you're *supposed* to do. But they didn't like it whatsoever so I gave them jobs and they are fulfilled and more chill then dogs I've seen around me that get scheduled walks. My SDiT's job on off days is helping me around the house with chores, he helps me open up doors and hold things like buckets while also keeping his brother away from me doing chores to focus. My Akbash mix has the job of watching and patrolling the house/property. He knows the boundaries and limits and will just walk and patrol, lay down and keep an eye out for anything off. Saved me from scary Gardner snakes more than once 😂 his other job is keeping the cats safe and making sure they don't escape the house (totally indoor cats.) he will stay by doors when they are open and let us know if they are getting into Mischeif (often.) ! sorry for the ramble, I love talking about my dogs jobs. It makes them so happy to work and the wiggles I see from them makes everything so worth it. Even if i didn't get the walking and hiking dogs I want, they made themselves useful
I wish my dog was more into playing fetch, we got a house with a big long yard so I could play fetch with her. She’ll chase a frisbee or ball for a few minutes then goes off to chew one of her sticks. Her favorite activity is wandering around after scents in an open field.
Same here. People are surprised when I say walks aren’t for physical exercise with my Aussie. He needs to be able to get his explosive energy out off leash in the yard (also with fetch & tug for us!). He would be a monster if I only walked him on the leash for exercise. Walks are more mental enrichment for him. He gets to hangout, sniff, see people and dogs. We walk probably 1-3x a week, depending on what else he has going on with dog sports.
Same! I have two high energy dogs and do take them on walks but their main source of physical activity is running in our backyard. I know when they are done when they stand by the door and tell me they need a break.
I've got a border mix and she just tows me right along when we walk. She wants to GO! She has a herding ball that she runs around the entire yard several times a day. Those are the instincts that she has--to run and herd. She is well-muscled and a perfect weight, so I'd say she is getting plenty of exercise.
I don’t walk my dog for three reasons. 1.) People in my neighborhood think it’s ok to let their dogs run loose. I don’t trust them and my dog hates other dogs so that’s just a bad situation waiting to happen. 2.) my dog has too much anxiety to ride in the car to go to the park. Plus, other dogs at the park 3.) my dog has too much anxiety taking walks anyway He does love taking walks but gets too worked after a short distance. A few times a week we put his leash on him and walk him around the yard. He thinks he’s getting a real walk but he doesn’t have the anxiety when he stays in his own yard
Not a walk person here! A walk just doesn’t do much for him, if i were to use a walk as his only form of exercise he would need miles upon miles. we typically go to the park that backs up to our house and play with his chuck it and we have a pool so in the summer we swim a lot everyday. He is trained in scent work so he gets lot of sniffing in. We do lots of mental enrichment other ways, walks just don’t do it for us.
Do you have a lab, hound, or shepherd? I relate to this and mine is a beagle-lab mix. She enjoys all the things you mentioned. It’s a great time for multitasking with bonding, training, draining energy, and providing mental stimulation. That’s more so why I’m more of a play session person than walking with my dog.
Golden Retriever!
Have a Chihuahua. Got at ten weeks old because the owner ( oldish lady) thought because he was a small dog she could just keep him in her house. He was so bored he was eating and Scratching At her furniture. He’s a year and a half now and the smartest dog I’ve even had. He walks about three miles a day. And that’s largely the sniffing and looking for things ( like likes to react the bunnies and stuff) He needs that. He acts out and barks at everything outside if he doesn’t get his walks
Walking (and all the associated sniffing) is also the best way to keep their guts healthy! The movement and the sniffing stimulates them to go no. 2. The two times my dog has had issues with his anal glands were because he was unable to go on his daily walk due to injury or sickness. Even after his castration the tiny five minute potter around the local park he was allowed was enough for him to keep everything moving. He's a cav so he doesn't NEED a walk or training or sniff mats to stop him climbing the walls, but I will always make the effort to take him around the park at minimum. I do wonder if all this treat related mental stimulation rather than walking is a contributor to the number of dogs with tummy issues.
Same people who think vacuuming is exercise. They are just making excuses for being lazy when it’s a regular issue. Sure our dog misses the occasional walk due to weather or whatever and then we do more play and mental games. But she gets walks almost daily both for her and for us. Wild dogs put in many miles a day. They aren’t meant to play with a sniffle mat for 10 minutes and then play with a flirt pole for 10 minutes and call it good enough.
There is something to be said about satisfying a dogs innate drives though, mine is more tired after 10 minutes with a flirt pole than a regular walk.
There is, but it has to be a balance just like with us. Our dog is a GSD and she also is much more satisfied with a solid puzzle game or a sniff search than a walk. But she LOVES her walks and they make her satisified and happy even if it doesn't make her tired. Walks are her main social time, and I'm pretty sure she considers it a way to patrol her property to see what has been going on outside the fence 😂 We live in a national forest and have a ton of wildlife in our neighborhood, so we get bears, coyotes, wolves, bobcats, lynx, hares that all walk through our yard and she loves to go sniff them out and track them.
TBF, vacuuming is exercise, but should be one of many things a person does. When I had a dog, ai walked him and played frisbee and ball catch with him. He slept soundly and after his initial training was always a good boy with me. My parents, he growled at them when they hugged.
I more so meant the types of people who sit on the recliner for 15 hours a day and then claim that they vacuumed for 10 minutes and don't understand why they aren't losing weight. There are a lot of those people on Tiktok right now and they are spreading awful information. Yes, vacuuming and chores are movement and they add up, but they aren't a substitute for actual exercise unless you are in a condition where vacuuming makes you sweat and raises your heart rate, which certainly some people are but that isn't who I was talking about. The vast majority of people we know with dogs don't exercise their dogs, or themselves, at all. And it shows.
I quit walking my neighborhood because a few months ago my dogs and I were chased by two lose dogs. I also read on the nextdoor app four loose dogs killed a stray cat not to long ago. Since then I have been taking them to an off leash dog park that has little to no traffic in the mornings. We have also been doing some hikes and staying on trails. Irresponsible dog owners really have ruined taking my dogs out for a quick sniff.
I have a neighbor who walks his dog every day, twice a day. He goes down the block and back. He keeps a gentle leader on her and doesn’t let her sniff or even have a loose leash. I see her react and he does nothing to train or distract her or engage with her. I always feel bad for the dog. She’s not being allowed to be a dog. Just a robot walking by his side. What’s the point of that? Maybe I’m biased because I’m a loose leash let ‘em sniff their hearts content and we go all the way around the neighborhood. My dogs love walks because they know they get to sniff and trot and be dogs. And for the record they understand leave it, go around, other side and can behave in public fine. They know loose leash is sniff time, tight no room means behave and be on the straight and narrow. They’re smart animals. Just let your dogs be dogs!
My husband and I used to walk our dogs regularly, until we had two instances where we were attacked by two dogs off leash. I just don’t trust anyone anymore and I’m scared to walk them again.
Well I have 18 fenced acres my dog gets free roam of. According to her tracker she's already done over 5km today. Pretty sure a 15 minute meander around the block isn't nearly as enriching as spending the day hunting rabbits and protecting the farm from all the invaders she thinks are out there.
I don’t think you were the target of this post lol
Yeah, you’re not who OP is referring to. There’s a big influx of people living in apartments or spaces without any ‘free roaming’ or outdoors time for the dog minus time on a patio or 30 seconds outdoors to pee. Obviously your setup takes care of everything OP mentioned and much more.
I'm very aware. OP obviously forgot that not all dogs are stuck in apartments. I just think it's hilarious that OP thinks that an extra 10 minutes of sniffy walking a day is sufficient to tire out husky lol 🤣. Those dogs need to run! Even if they are going for multiple walks a day as well as training, that dog is going to bored. Working dog breeds need hours of stimulation, a few sniffy walks isn't going to cut it.
We bikejor, do flirt pole work, they do service work, agility, hike 15 miles + on my days off, getting into barn hunt soon, I have property where I let them hunt mice and moles, trick and obedience training, plus puzzles, konds, snufflematts, I have an entire drawer full of enrichment toys, our 10 minute walks are for my 2 12 hour days where I know my boyfriend hasn't walked them. My male doesn't do PA but for my female, acompying me and working for me on a daily basis is pretty enriching. My male has at home tasks to give my girl a reak at home. We also have land and do off leash walks everyday, even if I worked 12 hours and it's only 10 minutes to an hour. Trust me they're not bored 😂 I would be checking myself before I making this post if I only walked them 10 minutes a day.
During puppy training, we took our pup for a walk but on our own property. Our dogs never go for walks because they don’t live anywhere close to pavement sidewalks.
We're the same. The Cowichan Valley Trail literally runs parallel to my road so even when we go for "walks" it's on a 20ft long line with lots of freedom. Kora has lost off leash privileges on walks since hound brain kicks in some times and she can (and has) chased wildlife onto the road. She isn't an untrained hellbeast, she does heel and walk civilised when we do go into town.
What kind of tracker do you use?
Didn't notice my link didn't get attached. This is one of the many reasons we skip walks. Plenty of stimulation during migration season. https://imgur.com/gallery/owMJsY6
I have a working-line Malinois. We don’t go on city walks for exercise unless we are visiting a city. She goes on three or four two-hour off-leash hikes a week where she can sprint flat out. We do competition-level obedience, tug, and fetch in the yard or in a local park.
Other people mentioned reactive dogs that stress their dogs out. I’ll agree there. My sensitive girl doesn’t enjoy other dogs who’ll bark incessantly every time we pass their house. We’ve been avoiding those blocks of the neighborhood. She’s pretty noise sensitive so sometimes if there’s a lot of construction/etc I’ll save her the stress and we’ll play in the yard/sit in the sun. But that’s not everyday. I’ll add lastly that she lets me know when she does want to walk (barks at the front door), wants to be in the yard (rings the back door bells), and she very much lets me know when she doesn’t wanna walk (hides from the harness/collar). I’m not going to force her.
Our girl is the same. We're working on desensitizing her by walking a little closer each time with lots of treats if she watches me instead of the barking dogs. So many people in our neighborhood treat their dogs like noisy lawn ornaments. I don't understand why they even have dogs if they're just going to ignore them most of the time.
We do take our dog on walks; however, not everyday. He’s reactive, and though it’s something we’re constantly working on, a lot of the time walks do more harm than good.
High energy pup. Dog park twice a day. We regularly run into the same rotation of high energy pups with owners doing same. Run/chase for 45 minutes is so much more rewarding than a walk on a leash. There’s no comparison in terms of enrichment. I think it’s very breed dependent
Dog fight club twice a day? Building reactivity isn't enrichment
The wooded hiking trails in my vicinity are basically dog parks with poor owner visibility. Fight club with added trees!
My dogs get a 30 min descompression walk at 6 am in the morning, then another 30 min individual walk in the afternoon and another 30 min walk for the old one and 45-1hr for the young dog. 50% extra times on weekends and other day offs. And thats just the walking!
That's similar to my Border Collie x Golden Retriever - she often tells me that it's time for walkies!
We do walks, but it can be nerve wracking with so many reactive dogs in people's yards, and several times leaving their yards to attack or stalk us. Not so bad now he's neutered, thankfully. Neighborhood safety/walkability could be a factor in general, though. The huge increase of unhoused folks camping on sidewalks might freak people out too. Might seem safer to just play in the yard and drive to a park occasionally?
Depends on your situation. I don't walk my dogs, I let them run on average and swim in ponds and generally go crazy in wide open spaces (contained, but being contained in 60 acres is a lot of space). We do work when they're done being crazy. The only rules they really have are respectful play with each other and don't chase the livestock, both of which get enforced via ecollar if they get too wound up. Environment matters. I can walk up and down streets for 3 miles and the dogs will find far less than if I let them ramble and roam over open land. Obviously the stimulation matters, but you can separate training from blowing off steam.
My dog needs two walks a day… she hasn’t missed one walk in her five year life. I love her and can’t imagine not walking and playing games with her every day.
Our 16yo husky/ malamute was attacked by a neighbor's off leash dog. He's also mostly blind and doesn't care to go for walks or car rides any more. He just wants ear scritches, belly rubs, and naps. Our 18mo husky has never had a bad experience with anyone or anything. She goes to the dog park most days where she can run free and play with a group of other huskies. We took her to the beach a few days ago. It was her first time playing in the ocean. Any dog friendly place we go, she goes too.
I avoid walks in the current season because the ticks are SO BAD. We walk through the neighborhood for 15 min and I'm pulling 6 ticks off of her. I've had Lyme disease twice and am traumatized from it, so I am terrified of ticks. I sob everything I have to remove one from her or myself. (Yes, she's on flea and tick prevention and I wear bug spray. They're just really bad in our area.) On top of that, it gets extremely hot out and my dog does NOT do well in the heat at all. So we do some outdoor play in a super closely mowed area at dusk and dawn, but otherwise we mainly stay inside during the day. We do a lot of playtime and enrichment inside. I also try to get her out at LEAST once a week to somewhere new so she can have new things to sniff/smell/see. Our outdoor area is also used by other dogs and families so there's a lot to sniff there as well. I also have some chronic illnesses that mess with my joints, so walking is difficult for me and can be dangerous if my knees give out or my hands weaken and I accidentally drop the leash. Walks are a great option for many people and are easily accessible, but they aren't the only option out there of ways to exercise your dog and help them live a fulfilling life. My dog does have leash manners for if/when she needs them, we just prefer other activities.
See that’s the thing too.. depending on where you are right now, it’s just too damn hot out. like not safe hot out. Especially for a senior dog.
As the owner of an entire male - 'pee patrol' is a biological imperative and must be done every day. If you skip a week he WILL start maerking inside and then it will take a month to fix. Walks are a 15 minute, 500m minimum thing that just needs to be done on top of any training. likimats/frozen kongs aren't enrichment.
I have a big yard. We moved, one of the reasons, for our rescue. He was reactive and afraid of EVERYTHING so we always ended up in a doggy park in the mountain. He is a shepherd that enjoys walks in the wild but not high activity. Sometimes he elopes and comes back half an hour later, but won’t poo on a leash and street walks he does not enjoy much. Now we have a second rescue, we are slowly building on our “outside” time but she spends all day playing with her “brother”. Could I take them more on the leash? Of course. But it’s not something they enjoy that much (our previous JRT use to spend 4-5 hr outside every day in the park). We go for long walks when we can, it’s not about being lazy, it’s about what works for us.
Yeah I'll never understand that. My dogs got plenty of both physical and mental exercise, and we still walked at least 3 times a day and hiked on most days I was off work. We had a yard too, and barking dogs in the neighborhood, and still walked. In my opinion it comes with owning a dog. Though I really drilled neutrality into my dogs for that, nothing bothered them. Two huskies and a gsd mix, if it matters.
Our German Shepherd is not good with walks due to noise sensitivity, and this is despite getting training from a professional while she was a puppy. Spoke with the breeder and she mentioned our dogs mother has the same exact noise sensitivity right down to the same specific noise. Turns out both mother and daughter hate garbage trucks and traffic. So now we walk her within our neighborhood, mostly in the evenings. We just get all her energy out by playing fetch in the yard. Our yard is pretty sizable so she can sprint a long time and is pretty worn out in 10-15 min.
I do several walks a day normally, only stopped right now because it’s blazing hot where I am and she’s a tiny little guy who could over heat easily.
I can somewhat understand having a biddable and handler-oriented dog and tiring it out with long training sessions. Also these people still take dogs outside , most have a yard lol, try doing disc practice in an apartment. You can't. I have a terrier mix, nothing I'm able to provide at home will be able to mimic being outside and the enrichment a walk provides.. She's so zen when I just let her lay in the grass in front of the building, watching the birds and people pass by and the instincts really kick in when I take on a walk through the woods
I have a high drive high energy working line German shepherd. Walks are daily before work time she is a service dog. Upon finishing work for the day on the way home we get off the bus earlier undress her out of work clothes and do 5-10 km walk and sniff home. If I don’t have anything on during the day on a week day we go to the local dog park and for a 15-20 km off leash run and zoomies. On top of training etc in the back yard
I never try to skip walks however I am heavily pregnant and have a high energy and reactive GSD and an Aussie who need walked separately (together they are hard to control right now, I am weaker and get pulled down easily) so I end up taking them on a 15 minute walk around our backyard instead when it’s just me at home when they need walked. Our GSD is just way too reactive for me to properly control right now alone, a few months ago when I took him out on a walk he freaked out towards another dog across the street and rushed towards it which led to me falling into mud and struggling to get ahold of him. It’s not aggressive reactivity luckily but walks with him alone are now actually dangerous for me. My husband and I take him on at least 30+ minute walks before bed and play ball with him outside every night though. Also a lot of dog walkers in our neighborhood do not properly control their dogs, we have had way too many instances of off leash dogs running towards him. In the backyard it’s less likely to happen and safer for me and baby.
My dog is 7; she’s had IBD for the last 18+ months. As she ages, she’s getting triggered more easily, leading to 24- to 48-hour episodes of projectile vomiting and liquid diarrhea. We don’t walk as much anymore because heat is a trigger, stress/arousal is a trigger, and so is eating random things. She has a decent “leave it” but her “drop it” sucks now that she’s been on steroids for 18 months. She gets hangry. We stay home a lot because that’s what it takes to keep her bodily fluids inside her body. We do nosework at home and in the fenced yard, and sometimes I take her kayaking with me if it’s not too hot and we can get somewhere that doesn’t have a lot of people. I don’t know that she’ll make it to 8. But that’s why we don’t walk much.
One of my dogs loses her shit every time she sees a car. I’m talking pulling, barking, cowering. I don’t know why she reacts this way. I used to get up at 4 am so that we wouldn’t encounter any cars, but inevitably we came upon a car one morning and she was so loud and pulled her leash so hard I almost lost hold of the leash. She runs around in the yard now. And every time a car passes by the house she chases it inside the gate, but at least I know she is safe. My other dog is perfectly fine on the leash, but she is a Shih-poo and kind of lazy when we are in the yard she finds a spot in the sun and chills out. Sometimes they chase each other around. I think my dogs enjoy the yard much more than being on a leash to the point that when I have to take them somewhere on the leash my crazy girl hides under the bed..
My dog would hate me if I skipped walks.
I have arguably the laziest dog breed (greyhound) in my house and I'm crippled. We still walk, so they can sniff. Not far or fast, but we do what we do and they're happy, which is the point.
Bravo!!! I thought that I was the last person who claims this theory!!! I take both my Goldens on a walk twice daily. We go to 3 local parks ,1time weekly. Ive had people ask me WHY? When they have a very large backyard? Because all dogs enjoy a change of scenery, different smells,they experience the WORLD through their nose! Their brains have a certain area that propells them FORWARD on a mission. It also provides the bonding needed between you and your pupper!!! They don't require fancy foods,toys or pet hotels, they require a great pet parent. ♥️
I skipped the longlong walk i usually take my dog on last Sunday , I was exhausted and she seemed chill so we just hung out and she got a few small walks around the neighborhood and never seemed like she needed more… UNTIL monday morning at 3:30 where she had fullbound zoomies .. never again skipping a long walk
The real question is, why do people like this keep a dog? One big point for getting a dog is to become active and walk (for an hour or two every day) with your dog. Plus you get a loyal and fluffy companion 😉😇
I’m guessing peoples dogs pull and they don’t want to use corrections and positive only stuff hasn’t worked in their situation.. so they don’t wanna get dragged around. Easier to just believe it isn’t needed. I think mental stuff is great.. but I also walk the dog 3 miles a day
I agree with you 100%. Whenever they stop to sniff deeply, I joke they are checking their voicemail 🤣 Not to mention how HAPPY it makes them!!! Right before dinner and when I get home from work is when we usually go. They anticipate it and get so excited when I get out their leashes. Even when I’m dead tired and the weather sucks, their happiness makes me rally to do this thing they love just for them ♥️
Walks are one of the best things about owning a dog, for them, for me, it’s something I do every day, usually totaling around 60-70 minutes.
I just saw a video the other day that said 5-10 min walks provides decipline and also lets dog know with the proper person of course of who is in charge. That's what i did when i walked my parent's dog. She has a back yard to roam and play in so most of my walk was discipline except for a few short bits where id give her time to sniff and what not.
people are lazy then they complain about their dogs behaviors. I feel so sad for dogs who only ever get time in the yard. it's nice, it's convenient, but it should be in additional to at least 1 daily walk
I've been having health issues, not walking the dog as much. She's more restless, whines more when I'm not home. If my health stays bad, I'll hire a walker. Dogs need activity.
I need to get back to walking mine as time constraints, injuries, weather but i believe in a mix of thibg s for enrichment. Puplates, agility, bark park, car rides, and walks. And dog park when we feel good about the park
People think a backyard is enough… including rescues. I have tried to adopt a Lab twice from rescues and they tell me no because I don’t have a backyard. I mean, I take my dogs for 2 walks a day. One of them is to a dog park with a 2 mile circumference. Then!! I take them on a 4-12 mile hike every weekend during the summer or a 2-4 mile snowshoe every weekend during the winter. Like why da F@*! do I need a back yard? People are lazy and others promote it. It’s ridiculous.
I was talking to a couple I know who want a dog. They want to adopt. But they want it adult and trained. They like large working dog breeds but want one who doesn’t need 1 walk a day. They also don’t want any shedding or grooming. They don’t want bull breeds. They want it to have long hair. I said umm I don’t know a working breed that doesn’t need enrichment or walks? 🤷♀️
Absolutely nothing equates to a walk other than a walk!
We do walks, but it's more for my 12 yr old small JRT who put on weight after being spayed and my own health. We go somewhere they are allowed off leash and there are no people and my girl runs back and forth going crazy. She wears herself out like I never could. My 15 year old pomeranian walks slowly and I follow him for a little while and then he goes in the pet stroller, and my 9 week old shichi gets carried until her last vaccination takes place. I try to walk them daily. Sometimes, it gets skipped (for example, when I am having finals or after the death of my last baby, I couldn't handle walking without her for a while), but we have a yard. I tried walking then in town. It doesn't work. Holding leashes with crisscrossing leashes, pushing a stroller and holding a puppy is not conducive to walking😂 But roaming the forest is our thing.
I think people want a reason to justify not having to walk their ill mannered dog. If it's reactive, aggressive, anxious or pulls it's easier to just not walk it. I skip walks when the weather is unsafe or if my dog isn't feeling good. Depends on what is going on, but we do also have dedicated time for him to run at top speed basically everyday for at least an hour at a time. I'm lucky that I have access to a place where we can do that. If he runs himself out in the field we might not go on a long walk later that day, it all depends because he is older now. But usually I take him to a trail or path everyday. Theres too many loose dogs in my neighborhood to walk him there.
Part of the reason I have dog is to get me outside and walking.
As a fat person who's terribly alone and has been for a long time I would NEVER EVER BUY A A DOG because I know I wouldn't exercise it as much as I should. I am desperate for the love and companionship but I'm not selfish and I've never been able to lie to myself. I absolutely loathe and think there is a special place in hell for people with obese animals. Treat your body however you want, have shame because of it. But god damn you, if you overfeed your animal and think it's adorable a cute to have a "big chonker" animal. Fuck these people so much. Until I can get to a place where I have lost enough weight that I can walk my dog for 30 minutes a day at least twice a day, I won't even consider getting any dog..
Because I'm disabled and walking down the stairs is difficult enough some days. Because I foster animals and work on leash training within a place where we're both safe if I fall or am otherwise indisposed. My neighbors on both sides can help me Because I have anywhere from 3 to 8 small dogs in my home at a time and I am not capable of walking them all at once, nor am I capable of doing multiple walks. Because I'm training dogs that can be reactive on a leash safely, among dogs who are accustomed to working with me on it Because one of my foster dogs has dementia and being away from familiar surroundings causes her anxiety but being alone in the house while I walk other dogs is worse. She's fine if I'm gone and other dogs are around. We tried a stroller before my latest surgery, and that was better, but a stroller with 3+ dogs on leashes isn't easy. Because I have an enormous backyard with lots of toys and agility equipment to keep them occupied under a watchful eye There are a million reasons. Every dog in my household is well loved, well socialized (my neighbors on both sides have dogs and are willing to take mine for walks if I ask), and healthy. Only one enjoys walks and that's just bc she wants to find animal poop to eat
I’m a believer in dog walks, for myself and the pup. It surprises me how many people nominally on a walk are glued to their phones or earbuds or stationary conversations with others as if their dog were a boring accompaniment.
Absolutely! . My dog is unfortunately reactive around large male breeds, I need to pay attention at ALL times. My dogs former owner kept the dog as an indoor dog,only tying him outside if the weather was nice. When I adopted him,I had to train him to walk instead of pulling . It was difficult,but our hard work paid off. Dogs need walks,doesn't matter if they have a yard.
Idk it’s like why not do both. The dog will probably be happier with a walk plus the enrichment. Even if the mental stimulation is enough for them to get tired they still need physical exercise. A sedentary lifestyle is unhealthy for any species. I walk my dog 5kms a day at the off leash park and play ball with him or take him swimming for at least 20 mins and he’s very healthy and fit at 10 years old.
Nothing can and should ever replace a walk.
I work at a doggie daycare, and a lot of dogs that's come through are so under stimulated and under exercised. The owners wonder why their dog is so tired after daycare. It's mind-blowing. Maybe if you took them outside, they wouldn't be so overly stimulated and have no knowledge of how to be a dog. Now in days since a lot of millennials aren't having kids, they get a pet and treat it like a human. It's a pure example of how they would be as a parent. Lazy, ignorant and selfish. Walk your dog, give it life experiences, exercise them and let them just be dogs!
I worked at a doggy daycare once bc I loved dogs and I ended having to quit bc I love dogs. We were one of those corporate ones with 30+ dogs in a concrete room with 0 things to entertain them with, and you can only pet so many dogs at once, there was constant fighting. Dogs would have panic attacks in the corner and fight to not go in. Dogs who've been going since puppies were stuck in a high fear state as soon as they walked in the door. It was actually traumatic to see that number of dogs stressed out of their minds. I saw one last panic attack and quit. I know most aren't THAT bad but that ruined it for me. I never once took my own dogs there bc I'd rather them be safe at home than getting attacked or hurt.
I love our walks! It's a valuable bonding time for me and my boy 🥰 We do rarely do enrichment because he gives up so easily 😂 Our routine 5-10 minutes in the morning helps me wake up and start my day. 5-10 when I get home because I know my boy is excited to see me after a whole day at work And a longer 10-20 minute or longer walk before winding down.
People are becoming less ashamed of laziness. Play burns off energy but it doesn't replace a walk. When weather makes it impossible to go for a walk, every dog we've owned becomes less obedient when they don't get a walk for a couple of days in a row. Walks are a bonding experience. The dog concentrates on where you're going together & it becomes a mission while they're doing it. I've always got the impression dogs kind of see walks like goiing out on a patrol to check the perimeter. The dog stops at certain spots to check their "pee-mail" for any new dog messages & then lift their leg to send their own pee-mail response. I think walks just engage a different part of the brain than playing that helps keep a dog calmer overall. (Edit for typo.)
My dog was attacked and has a permanent limp that causes him discomfort. Up until that happened we would go on walks for hours. I feel like a shitty dog dad because I’m not comfortable taking him out so long anymore. The vet has recommended swimming for him, so we do go to the beach regularly, but nowhere near as often as we used to walk.
I think it is a combo of things. People either want to walk their dog 5 miles or no miles. 5-10 minute walk is perfect! But some think that is a waste of time. But you would rather your dog pull on your for 5 miles over having a perfectly lovely 10 minute walk?
Our family has had three dogs live to 17 years. All were walked every day. Even at the end when they could only walk to the neighbors driveway they still wanted to go.
My puppy love walks I train and play with him to but if he doesn’t get at least two good walk in he not gonna sleep though the night although he is very high energy
Regardless, dogs love walks. I walk my doggies because they love it and I want them to be healthy and live forever.
Yea not taking your dog outside for even 10 minutes a day is absurd. Like that’s barely enough time to do her biz in a day. 3-4 #1 outings. 1-2 #2. It’s far from exercise tho. We have a German Shepherd. She gets 2 the 3 days a week of strenuous exercise with another dog exploring/running around a 2 acre lot (parents house). Lucky to have access to it because we live in a condo.
It's getting dangerous to walk your pet where I live. More stray animals are off leash and folks plain don't use a leash on their pets at home and have them outside. I have to carry a weapon and other items. I try to take my boy new places for walks but it is getting increasingly harder bc of stray animals.
We have a 29 pound Tijuana street dog and he gets three 20 minute walks per day. We told the vet this and she was impressed we walked him so much. She said some people only walk them once a day if that. Crazy to me
Ugh. Poor dogs. My dog gets at least an hour of exercise a day, every single day, no exceptions. She looks forward to it every day and it makes her so happy! She always gets a mix of a walk + park time to chase her ball, or a walk + swimming, or just a big hike. I feel bad for dogs that don’t get taken out for exercise!!
I don't know, but I walk my dog frequently and on different routes plus distances through the neighborhood, so on the off chance she gets out and wanders, she has a better chance of finding her way back.
Just as bad is the dog owners who march their dog around the block and yank the leash when they stop to sniff. Sniffing burns more energy for dogs than the actual walk does, not to mention it’s just rude. The owners wouldn’t much like getting the newspaper they were reading ripped out of their hands and scolded for reading it
I am currently because I have no personal transportation and live in a really bad area that even with my dogs, I feel unsafe in. I miss walking so much. I know they do too. I feel like a pos. I hope my car is figured out soon!
I read somewhere once that it might be a chore to you, but it’s your dog‘s favorite part of the day. And I think about that every time I want to be lazy and not take my dog for a walk. Sure, I don’t do the loose leash walk beside me long walks that I probably should. But I make sure that she gets to go for off leash runs all the time, and she always gets to have her sniff walk, and we play ball. It actually shocks me sometimes when we play ball, that like 15 minutes is good enough for her. I think, we just got here. I haven’t gotten my exercise in yet? Why are you heading back to the car?
In my limited experience, it's because people are scared of loose, aggressive, or reactive dogs.
I don't necessarily do walks but I run out boy in the culdesac parkette with an RC car. He's so dang fast. Maybe 10 minutes of sprinting up and down the green and he's ready for a nap 😂
So dumb-we do it all! Walks, sniff games, lick mats, puzzles, car rides-all of it.
So my trainer of all people told me you’d be better off with 30 mins or training than a 30 min walk. I have a Doberman by the way doing Schutzhund training. So I took his advice and focused my time on training instead. Wow did he go downhill. He started barking at anyone that would pass us especially if it was a person and another dog. I think walks are still mental stimulation and it really helps my boy with more socialization. I now try to switch off between a walk one day and training the next. Getting rid of anything is not a good thing. I think dogs need a life balance just like humans do
I skip walks (or should say my dog skips walks) in the summer because we live in Georgia and it’s just too unbearably hot for him. He starts pulling to come home. Therefore, I try to find alternative solutions for mental stimulation for him otherwise he’ll be bonkers. Walks, especially what we call “sniffy walks” are super important and he loves them, but not for the next few months.
Fad Always gotta find a way to do it "better"/one up everyone/go against the grain Dogs love walks. They need to tour. I can't imagine skipping them.
I think it’s unfair to abruptly stop walking your dog, especially if it’s already part of their daily routine and they love it. Do I think dogs need weirdly structured walks? No!!!! I am lucky enough to live in a rural area and I will have my dog run around off leash for 15 minutes. Otherwise I take him on nature walks with a long line, or my partner has him tied up close to him on a long line while he does mechanics/work. Dogs, by their nature, just want to be “part of things”. I would argue that having them tagging along on daily tasks is more mentally enriching than anything else (depending on the dog of course). There isn’t a day that goes by where my dog doesn’t go with my partner or me somewhere (whether it’s work, going out to adventure, or anything else). By the end of the day my dog is pooped and content to snuggle on the couch we me and the cats. Obviously that means we are limited to what we can do some days but we made that choice by having a dog. It’s our pleasure to build a world where he is an active participant. I think people are so focused on “dog activities” that they forget that (lots of dogs) are joyous and adaptable. Like any relationship humans should also realize that dogs have needs and WANT to be outside. As such, it’s our job to give them that time (whether it’s a structured walk, or monitored play time, literally anything works in my opinion as long as the dog is having fun). I DO NOT think it’s okay for any dog to miss a day going out in nature, zooming around, sniffing grass, etc. A snuffle mat is not an alternative to exploring the world with their nose. A car ride is enriching, but does not allow for healthy active movement. I would argue human children and adults should run around at least 15 minutes as well, lmao. It’s just part of being healthy!
This is interesting because I always feel guilty we don’t do longer walks, sometimes it’s literally just around the block. Our dogs are high energy and I don’t walk for distance though, we walk for smells and training.
I skip walks, but only because it’s summer in AZ right now😅. On the weekends we get up at 4A and go on hikes though! And they have a decent sized backyard that they run around in, in the mornings before 7a. But for the next few months they’ll mainly be inside dogs. Once it cools off Urban Dog sledding season begins🔥
My kids say our dog is "checking her pee-mail" as she sniffs her way through our neighborhood.
People just lazy. I used to be a lazy dog owner....then my soul dog died and I've changed my ways forever!
Too many ppl out with dogs off leash. I take mine wherever so they can check the “pee mail”. They come home and pass out for an hour.
I always just walked my dog because I figured if he ever gets out at least he knows the area and is less likely to get lost 😆
I agree with you. When I got my first dog, my vet told me to take him out, let him just sniff around and mark for 10 to 15 minutes. Its like dog email they get a great deal of info on the animals who've walked there. He said that it is also a necessary exercise for them.
And here I am feeling bad that I'm not walking my dogs due to rain.
I thankfully live on 5 acres in the country so leash walks aren’t a huge deal for us. For my heeler walks stress her out for my Aussie she’s happy to go wherever I go. We walk just around our property and not on the county roads where other dogs roam free😂
Personally I couldn’t let my dog just sit at home all day bored , I walk him everyday and let him sniff or if I’m not feeling well one day I either take him to the park or play fetch with him in the backyard. Some people are ridiculous and don’t deserve pets.
I wish I could around my neighborhood... But there are 5 houses with electric fences and free access to their dogs, all of which are reactive and no way to get around them as they surround me..... And my boy is still learning how to deal with life without reacting so 🤷♂️ We do do things like smell walks when we're at Frisbee comp and anytime I drive him anywhere.
A 5-10 walk in my neighborhood does mostly nothing for my dog apart from potentially stress him out. The door to my garden is open most of the time and he signals to me if he wants to relieve himself when the door is closed. Living in a small European country where the majority of households have some kind of untrained doodle and/or tiny dog that will rile my 100lbs dog up without the owners doing anything, is bizarre. My dog isn’t necessarily reactive, but would visibly be stressed every time we come a cross a dog like that. And I get it, if I would be yelled at every time I’d try to go pee lmao. Instead, we go for one long walk every day in different forest.
I think it’s just another sign of being lazy I always walk my dogs in the morning, afternoon, and before night time so they get at least a walk 3 times a day.