Daily walks necessary?

Fundog · Post by **Fundog** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:58 am

Just had to add my own two cents, since this seems to be such a popular topic. Being that I live in a desert community, a lot of residents have xeriscaping, with gravel. Being motivated by scent, my dog cannot resist following her nose into other people's yards. But I realize that having her mess up their gravel, whether she potties or not, is irritating to the homeowners. So to prevent this, I try to walk her down the middle of the street, if there are no cars coming. This keeps her more focused and less distracted, since she can't get to all those great scents. In addition, allowing your dog to pee on someone's lawn is likely to kill the grass, which also irritates the people who take such great pride in having a perfectly manicured lawn. Instead, I make sure to visit "public" lawns and paths where dogs are welcome to potty, and clean up after her. Every now and then, she has been seized by the immediate urge to void, and has gone right in the middle of the street-- this is rare, but it just goes to show, if a dog really has to go, he/she can go just about anywhere, if there is no other option. She doesn't have to go in someone's yard.

jeljohns · Post by **jeljohns** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 4:13 pm

Daily walking is a MUST. When my dogs don't get enough exercise it really effects their mood. They are more destructive and tend to bicker with each other. I almost never see other people walking their dogs in my neighborhood, but you see lots of frustrated dogs behind fences. I feel bad for them. Dogs need excitement too! How would these people feel if they were kept in the same room day after day with nothing new?

gotdogs · Post by **gotdogs** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:51 am

I don't like it when you go to parks and step in other dogs poo. I don't like it when people who are headed up to the trail behind my house, let their dogs go poo or pee on my front lawn. My dogs don't go there and I don't feel theirs needs to be either. I also hate it when they use my trash can to dump their poo in. I actually have a sign on it this year that reads " not a public poo can".

I don't allow my dogs on anyones lawn. yes, the may poo or pee on the far edge of sidewalk but never on the lawn. sometimes it is a fine line between lawn and sidewalk but that is usually where they go. Although timber and gizzy are taken to go potty before we go for a walk. My dogs have never pooed or peed at the school when we have gone there to walk and hang out while the kids played.

As far as exercise, I think all dogs should get the recommended amount of walking in for their breed. I don't wear pants I wear skirts and dresses all year. I live where we get lots of snow and what nots. I have a husky. I also own a pair of sky pants for those cold winter days. I may not go around the block as our sidewalks are too dangerous. but I walk up and down our street which is a dead end. we do this for a few minutes with gizzy three times a day for short walks. usually to mail box twice then inside again. Of course timber the husky goes out for an hour at a time 4 times a day. gives me time to warm up. If it is too cold we go for shorter times and gizzy goes out to potty only. as gizzy is a chihuahua.

there is ways around bad weather. I have been laughed at many times walking my dogs with my purple umbrella soaked to the bone. I have been laughed at for my ski pants but you know something? my dogs are happy ones. and I have lost weight and that makes me happy. by the way. doesn't exercise help with anxiety and depression? got to love the bonding time with the pets as well during this time.

just my two cents

mum24dog · Post by **mum24dog** » Sun May 10, 2009 5:46 am

Gershep1 wrote:
Mattie wrote:When we let a dog be adopted, exercise is part of the agreement, if the dog doesn't get the necessary exercise we have the right to take the dog back. There will be times when a dog can't be exercised like when the dog is ill or injured, same with the owners, but generally, it is a condition that people adopt dogs from us that they are given the right amount of exercise for the dog's breed.
That's great but, again, how do you know? Do the exercise police file a report? The rescue breeds I work with really need exercise on a daily basis for their overall physical and mental health, but it's difficult to find perfect owners. Given the number of homeless dogs, I'd take a chance on the caring, loving and honest person who cannot promise the utmost exercise. People who really do their very best are better than no home at all in my humble "o." Other than difficult cases, dogs are pretty adaptable about meeting people half way as long as the people are caring and responsible owners.

I'm coming to this thread very late but I think your approach is very sensible.
Too often we read hard and fast rules that X breed must have Y number of hours exercise every day when it's nonsense really. What any dog needs is sufficient exercise (both physical and mental) to prevent behavioural and health problems, and this can often be less than some people imagine. Too much exercise can create a super fit dog that demands more and more exercise.
I don't believe that our lives should be ruled by our dogs' exercise needs -the amount some people say they give borders on the obsessive.
All my dogs are energetic types that compete in agility but if I don't get to take them out they just settle down and sleep - even my working bred BC.
On a good day of normal exercise he never gets more than an hour and the others less. That's not to say that I would recommend that to everyone but it works for us. If mine are getting twitchy and I'm short of time 5-10 mins clicker training in the garden usually fixes it.
I don't believe in routine either, as this can cause problems if you have to depart from it. My dogs take what comes when it comes.

Pam

Mattie · Post by **Mattie** » Sun May 10, 2009 6:16 am

I agree with you Pam, exercise can take many forms and a 2 hour or more off lead running isn't necessary, in fact mine never get that.

Somedays I can't walk my dogs because I am not physically able to but my dogs get exercise. All I have to do with Bonnie is say "Fetch", and she will run up and down the room with something in her mouth, someone taught her this before I got her. Thowing a ball can exercise them or training. Many people don't exercise the mind but over exercise physically, it has to be balanced.

When you have several dog they also exercise themselves by playing and racing round the garden so taking them out on walks is just a change of scenery. When I am away in my caravan my dogs are happy to look out of the window to see all the different people.

When I took the phone calls for the rescue I would make it clear that exercise was not off lead running for several hours but could be done other ways.

spydre · Post by **spydre** » Mon May 11, 2009 10:13 pm

Truthfully, when I walk Dodger - I think he enjoys it more for the visual/sensory information/stimulus (he's not seeing the same old thing, he's learning about other dogs in the neighborhood, and he gets to see the park which has smells that not even the street has. After one of our walks, he is just pooped, even if it's short, because of all the input. He even met a new dog on our walk today. Well, not new - we'd been passing by that dog's yard ever since we got Dodger. This time the dog was not tethered, and was barking not in a "I'm protecting my turf", but in a "I want to play" way. I THINK this was a boxer, but I"m not positive, but it was very large. The poor family had a fence in the yard that didn't even come up to my waist - so if the dog wanted out, he wouldn't have a problem getting there, but he was well trained to his boundaries. The dog was putting his feet on the top of his fence, and seemed to want to meet, so I took Dodger over to the fence, and then greeted each other, and licked through the fence, and then they both peed on each other, lol.

Kristen · Post by **Kristen** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 10:37 pm

I walk my dogs at least once a day, or I throw stuffed toys and balls for them in our fenced-in yard. Here's my questions: what are dog parks? There are 3 parks not far from where I live, but they have leash laws. I can't let my girls have any off-lead time, except our yard. New places would probably be more stimulating. They barely want to get off the porch in the yard.

Fundog · Post by **Fundog** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 12:27 am

Kristen, a "dog park" is designated, fenced off location, either an entire park or even just a swatch of turf fenced off in a corner of a big city park, solely for the purpose of allowing dog owners to bring their dogs to run off-leash and socialize with other dogs. The designs range from utterly simple (just a fenced off bit of turf and nothing else) to huge and elaborate (multiple areas for various activities and types of dogs, water stations, wading pools, agility equipment, etc.). Some of the more cosmopolitan and "trendy" cities have several dog parks, and are more likely to have at least one really awesome totally doggy- designed park. There are still several cities who do not have a dog park at all. My own city just got a very simple dog park (just a one acre section of turf fenced off in a large family park) two years ago, and another one has just been built and is expected to open any day. And in the small "bedroom community" in which I actually live, another off-leash park was just opened up. It is not grassed, but is actually a very large (several acres) fenced wilderness area, where we have been given permission to let our dogs off-leash. Although it lacks some of the nicer amenities that are common to most dog parks (grass and water), it does offer large active dogs a better place to run, sniff and explore, with all the native plants and wildlife in the area.

suttonsue · Post by **suttonsue** » Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:46 am

I was interested in this topic because I have a collie/rottie cross about 3 years old, whom I've had for six months. I've got to have a foot operation mix October and have been thinking of ways to have her walked to ensure sufficient exercise. One alternative is the local outdoor doggie day care centre but she isn't very sociable. She settles so well at home and seems to want to be with me rather than other dogs.

Now for the daft part. I consulted an animal communicator as to what she would like during this 6 week period. I gave the ac no other information other than breed and age and what she told me about her character was spot on. She said that she would rather be with me with very limited exercise than playing with other dogs. And that she would bring fetch articles back to me to help me rather that drop them a few yards away. This is what she always does normally.
now been to doggie day care for three mornings over three weeks and each time she has shown a more and more playful nature with no growling at the last visit. So in this case I think 'Mom' will know best and she will go a few days a week to the 'nursery' whilst I have my foot in the air.