I read an article in the Washington Post the other day about walking your dog. The gist of the article was that failing to take your dog on walks can be detrimental to your dog’s physical and emotional well being.
I agree – and I suspect the majority of dog owners don’t walk their dogs regularly.
I’m not judging anyone. Even I, a dedicated dog owner who strongly believes in the benefits of dog walking, who loves going for walks with my dogs, who lives in a beautiful area for walking, who is healthy and has healthy dogs . . . even I often fail to walk my dogs.
I was a lot better about walking my dogs regularly when 8-year-old Woody was young and needed daily exercise in order to behave well at home. When he was a youngster, he needed double-digit miles per week of off-leash running if I didn’t want the house to be chewed apart. Today, though, he’s perfectly behaved whether we get out for walks or not.
Two-year-old Boone has been lower-maintenance. He would love more walks than he gets, but he doesn’t fall apart behaviorally if he doesn’t get them.
I do have the advantage of living on two completely fenced acres, and my dogs can run and play outside any time they want. They do play daily chase games and do a few laps of the property every day – but the overall mileage of those activities isn’t anything like a walk. And the stimulation they get from exploring our property isn’t nearly as enriching as going someplace else and sniffing new places and seeing new things.
Is it the fact that I live in a rural area? I feel like it’s far more common for people who live in urban and suburban areas to walk their dogs daily than for us rural dwellers?
Does the number of dogs that a person owns affect how often they get walked? I wonder if owning more than one dog decreases or increases the number of walks the dogs receive.
What about you guys? How often do you walk your dogs, and what factors affect your dog-walking habits?
This is a very sensitive subject to me and I cringe over how often I see people’s excuses regarding their reactive dogs don’t get walked or socialized because of being reactive. Sorry to sound judgmental but I can say from experience with a reactive dog from puppyhood, who we socialized, went to puppy classes and exposed him to all kinds of things, people and other dogs, it can be managed.
Our reactive dog (70% Great Pyr, 30% Aus cattle dog & bassett hound) now goes on daily hikes with a dog walker and a large group of dogs and loves it.
But with that said when we do walk on leash around town every night, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, he still gets leash-aggressive sometimes towards other dogs and some people. Not all the time though. We don’t know what triggers it. But it doesn’t stop us from taking him out. The more you do it, the more desensitized they become. Win-win.
Finally, he is very protective at home and we’re fine with that. He doesn’t mix with company although over time if he gets to know someone consistently, he’s okay.
So bottom line, our dog would go out of his mind if he didn’t get those walks and hikes everyday twice a day.
I feel so sorry for the dogs that don’t get walked and the stimulation they desperately need for quality of life.
I walk my dog twice a day, no matter what, except maybe ice storms or tornadoes/thunder. The morning walk is on lead in the neighborhood. The walk is for him, so he gets to sniff and potty, as well as visit with other walkers. The evening walk is at a state park or university campus, off lead, in isolated areas. Although I have a large fenced yard, it just isn’t the same as being free. Good leash manners are important, or the walks become unpleasant for both dog and handler. I suspect some folks don’t walk their dogs, because they haven’t trained them not to pull. And off lead work requires a good recall, which takes a ton of practice.
Unfortunately, I live in an area that is very high density with lots of traffic and dogs. A walk is quite stressful on my dogs and I feel a bit dangerous. Even just going around the block without crossing any streets there are barking dogs as we walk by. It doesn’t bother Diana as much as Freyja, who is a rescue. They are limited to running in the front and back yard, the front yard they bark at passing pedestrians. I know this isn’t good but neither is the neighborhood and I prefer passersby to know that a large dog lives here. I don’t want them to know both are marshmallows. I do take the dogs to the dog park on Fridays and they run around, greet all the owners and play with their friends for an hour or more. I know it isn’t the same as a walk but it has to do between rare occasions when we can drive somewhere where they can get a proper walk. Exercise they get. The stimulation of smells and socializing are limited to the dog park and those rare walks.
I have had Brittanys for several decades and got used to long walks. I aim for 2 hours a day- mostly off leash.
All of these comments, and in particular the one above this, have made me so happy. Thanks, everyone. –NK
Thank you for your article! I have a 62 lb., 3 yr old, GSD/husky rescue who loves his walks, 2x a day. But, they are HIS walks, where he gets to sniff and explore, greet friends, and research new things. He has a high prey drive and needed to learn “leave-it” to successfully navigate our trails and neighborhood without going bonkers. Training has been key to walks that are enjoyable for both of us without pulling his senior guardians over. But walks are not enough for this high energy, intelligent youngster. He gets yard time and a smorgasbord of fetch time, hide and seek with stuffies, food puzzles, and always training. I have just auditioned “Scent Work” with him. He loves it and it is a perfect pairing for walks. We are all living our best lives.
I have an 80lb Irish Setter, who, as a young puppy, was confined to the house with a broken toe for 12 weeks. Then Covid hit. So socialization basically never happened. He’s leash trained and walks perfectly, UNLESS he’s sees a dog, cat, squirrel, etc. I’m 74 and he can yank me to the ground. I eventually had to stop because it was always a scary experience, hiding behind cars and doing my best to avoid other dogs. I have a large, fenced backyard, dedicated to dogs, with jumps and balls and toys, etc.. We’re out there at least once a day plus he gets lots of attention the rest of the time. I saw the same Washington Post article…it about did me in. He’s perfectly happy, but I know it’s not enough, so seeing these comments and knowing I’m not alone does make me feel better. Dogs are such adaptable, wonderful creatures. On the plus side, i also have a 9 y.o. 65lb Gordon Setter who gets to go for a walk twice a day, rain or shine.
I do believe that walking your dogs every day is the gold standard of caring for your dogs…..but now that I am a 74 year old widow I don’t walk them. I have 4 dogs…..3 littles and a medium …Harper. Harper pulled me down in 2020 and I broke my humerus and tore my rotator cuff. I do have a large fenced yard and they are seldom alone for long. They run and jump and play…..and we cuddle together on the living room sofa…..and I cook for them…..but I do feel guilty about not walking them anymore.
I loved your column. You show such common sense combined with expertise. Thank YOU!
We have a husky mix who lived as a stray for some unknown amount of time. He survived on chickens, squirrels and cats, I’m guessing, and I have seen him eat mole crickets, so I know he was desperate enough to do that in the lean times.
We have had him for approximately 2 years. He has a very high energy level and is super athletic, and since I’m 69 and my husband is 72, we bought a golf cart for his exercise. We run him twice a day for a minimum of 3 miles on each outing, alternating between letting him sniff the side of the roads and running full out. We have no local dog parks (our house is quite rural), but we occasionally drive an hour to one and he adores socializing and meeting with other dogs. Off leash he is just the fastest thing around. Because of his background as a stray, we keep him on a leash at all times when outdoors; he isn’t trustworthy around cats, squirrels and the local muscovy ducks.
I’ve seen him kill one of those ducks before (he flat broke the metal on his long leash), so we are extremely careful to keep him contained.
Overall, I think exercise is SO key to a dog’s sense of well-being. When we have nice weather, we often give our dog a walk in addition to his two running/sniffing outings.