We'd walk our dogs once a day, no more or less really. Usually a total of about mile round trip. The street I live on is basically a large circle, so it's pretty convenient and it's away from busy traffic. The thing is though, I had three dogs and they didn't behave very well whenever we'd try to walk them together, so we usually took them each individually. Then throughout the day, we let them play in the yard (chained up), but they're mostly house dogs.
"Is there any running involved or just walking?" Um, there was running involved when one of them would get out of their collar ;-). But seriously though, they loved going for walks and all, but they would always get really excited over seeing other animals and other people, I always got nervous one of them would accidentally jump out in front of a car or something - so I always kept them close.
Where I used to live, there is an unused concreted area along the railway track. In the morning, I would load up my dogs on my three-wheeler and take them there for a run. Usually Dark Lady, the Dobermann, would come back with me. Benjamin, the old Thousand Way mix, will come home on his own when he's ready.
I walk mine at least 2 times a day - once in the morning and once in the evening. If I can fit her in for a third walk somewhere during the day, I always will try, I'll take her just around the block or down the post office.
How often you walk your dog really depends on the size and breed though.
I walk Misha at least once a day. I try to go for 20 minutes if I can. I have arthritis in my feet, so it depends if it is a good day or not. Either way, she gets a walk. On days where the weather is good, I try to fit in a second walk in the afternoon. Right now, it is a little too warm to walk her in the afternoon.
I think all dogs would like to have at least one walk every day. They need to get out, sniff the bushes, and explore who has been in the neighborhood. Even when my Lab got older and had arthritis she so enjoyed going for a walk. I would take her out twice a day for 5-10 minutes. Just enough so she could "read" the neighborhood news.
I have found that Misha is much easier to live with when she gets her walk. It burns off so much energy. Even on rainy days when we can only sneak out for 5 minutes it does her some good. It's just enough of a break that she doesn't drive us crazy.
I like to take mine out once a day, but it gets very hot here. By the time it cools off,sometimes I don't have time. It makes me feel bad when I don't take them though, they do need to get out and see the area.
The exercise is an important thing, it burns off energy and it helps keep them healthy.
I walk my lab twice a day and one of those is more of a run. We run for about two miles. We started out going about half a mile and have worked our way up. It is great exercise for both her and me!
When I had a dog, I would walk her two to three times a day. Once when I got up in the morning, the second at lunch (when I would work night) and at night when I got back home from work.
It would each be about 30 minutes, but a lot of the time she would just sit on the ground and wait. She was cute because she would sit in one spot and then signal she wanted to go back home.
We have to go for potty breaks and then exercise so that they get tired. Pent up energy can keep them awake all night long and they'll bark, howl and whimper just to get in the house which at the moment is a no-dog zone because of the renovations.
Fortunately, I don't have problems with long walks. The dog himself will lead me home if he gets bored or too tired of it, which is usually between 5-15 minutes after leaving the gate.
I don't walk my dog as often as I should. I walk her every other day for sure, but in reality she needs to be walked several times a day. She just has so much energy!
I usually just walk her a few blocks around my neighborhood. I try to go to the dog park once a week just to allow her to get some energy out for her to run around and play with other dogs. She definitely needs more of this. I just wish we lived a little bit closer to the dog park so we could go more often.
09-19-2012, 02:06 AM, (This post was last modified: 09-19-2012, 02:07 AM by sandooch.)
I, too, don't walk Gigi as often as I should. It's been over 90 degrees or higher here for the last 3-4 weeks, too uncomfortable for both of us. Plus, I don't live in the best of neighborhoods. The people who do walk their dogs here walk Pitbulls and big dogs that, quite literally, scard the heck out of me. They looks as if Gigi would make a tasty snack for them. lol But we do have a huge backyard that I let Gigi run around in and play with her back there for 20-30 minutes at a time. Wouldn't this be enough exercise for her?
I walk my dogs 2-3 times per day weather permitting, about a mile each time. They're extremely high energy dogs with extremely high endurance. Because of them, I've gotten in shape. Before I had gotten them, I never would have thought I could walk 2 or 3 miles in a day, but now it's a daily occurrence (and that's not counting all the play time as well.) Both of my dogs are young, about 2 and 3 years old, so they're even more high energy, but they don't get all their energy out just playing with each other. I think they need the walks as a sort of routine thing and to get out of the regular yard and see other things.
I try to get out for a walk with my dogs every day. If not, then I play with them indoors. I need the walk, just as much as my dogs do. So, I think I enjoy the walk just as much as they do. I also like to take them to a dog park where I can take them off their leash and let them run. I run and they chase me and sometimes, they run and I chase them. Or try to chase them. They are very good at coming when I call them and never wander nor run off. So, I feel safe about letting them run around free in the dog park.
Dogs need fresh air, so I do try to get them outdoors every day.
I remember those days of walking my dog during the hot and sweaty days, also having to wake up early to walk her on the coldest days--which sucked. Unfortunately, I no longer have her but when I did I tried walking her twice a day. I really enjoyed it and she seemed to enjoy it as well. Once they're outside it seems as if they don't want to come back inside.
