Do You Think It Is Cruel /neglectful

[dee lee]

My GR comes running with me or gets a long session at the offlead park playing fetch everyday. I like to keep her (and me) fit and healthy.

I do take her walking onlead with me in the morning to school drop off and to a cafe, but that's just because I think its nice for her to be out and about. She certainly seems to enjoy it, but I wouldn't rely on that as her only source of exercise. Walking just isn't enough for her.

My previous staffy x was walked every single morning on lead for over an hour because she was DA. Then she was back in the yard.

We didnt have much choice, but it was far from what I would have liked to do. I look at what I can do with my current dog and think how much better quality her life is.

I dont think its cruel not to walk a dog everyday if you are on acreage. Though I'd hope that the dog would get some form of interaction with its owner/s.

[wuffles]

Depends on the dog.

My two both need to get out of the house daily or at least a few times a week. They LOVE getting out and about, they love the smells, the socialisation, the exercise, everything about walks.

Even though my big boy would not be destructive or bored at home, he just loves walks so much that I think he would still need them a few times a week even if we were on acreage.

[Gayle.]

Yesterday I was outside for about 6 hours, cleaning out a shed, caring for chooks, gardening, tidying up around the place and the dogs were with me every step of the way. We took a few breaks on a bench under a shady tree, me with a book and a drink, them with a dog bickie each and they napped at my feet.

After dinner I leashed up the youngest one and took him out with the bike because I needed to teach him to run beside the bike. No teaching required, he's a natural so we biked a few blocks then came home.

Daughter wanted to walk around the corner to visit a friend so she leashed up another dog and took her because it was getting dark and she doesn't like to walk alone in the dark. Husband was doing work in his shed, building some wall framing for our renovations, one of the dogs was right there watching every move he made.

Two slept in our room, and when the midnight shoe monster can be trusted not to eat my shoes, he can sleep back in there too.

This is a pretty normal day for my dogs, although it's a bit more condensed when we're at work and they stay home. Combined with two top quality meals a day, regular grooming, obedience club training, trials and dog shows, plus outings in the car......how is this a cruel existence?

[Little Gifts]

I was just thinking back to how I exercised my dogs when I lived on acreage and realised we went for very long off leash meanders most days then. The area I lived in was being developed and I used to like to go and check out the new houses being built. There was zero traffic so we'd just go walking and being nosy until it starting getting dark and then head back home. The dogs would be running here and there chasing things in the long grass and checking to see if there were any horse hoove clippings to eat.

I'm lucky here in the suburbs now to have a very large park and creek right near me so I don't have to walk past houses with dogs barking at fences. I have had to split walks now though because I have a 16+ staffy that loves to walk but can't go far. We bought her a dog pram so she could come with the other dogs but she refuses to use it. She tends to just get a slow walk around the block and lord knows where she gets all that piddle from but she makes it last the whole walk!

[Ozstar]

oops double post

Edited December 29, 2010 by Ozstar Kennels

[Ozstar]

oops comp glitch

Edited December 29, 2010 by Ozstar Kennels

[Ozstar]

oops comp glitch bad

Edited December 29, 2010 by Ozstar Kennels

[Ozstar]

I don't walk my dogs around my neighbourhood any more as there are far to many uncontrolled dogs and owners.

I live on an acre and my guys get plenty of stimulation, be it hunting down a lizard sent, playing ball, show/ob training etc.

Every now and again I will take them to the off leash park if there is no one else there.

My dogs do a lot of this with us such as going down the river for a swim in summer, fishing in the boat, going to markets etc.

I do feel sorry for dogs that are just left outside and have no interaction with their owners.

Leanne

[Sydoo]

My mother lives on a million acres and their pet dog never gets 'walked' as such. She gets a lot of human interaction from both family and staff and accompanies them around the houses and nearby yards. She could easily go months without seeing another canine though...just the odd lost/dumped camp dog. They do take her further afield when it is practical and safe to do so - I suppose that is just as much an outing as me taking Billie to the beach.

If something happened to both of us, one of Billie's options is to live on the station. I made that decision knowing that while she loves getting out and about here, I'm satisfied she would have enough stimulation there to outweigh the loss of neighbourhood walks.

[koalathebear]

These threads are always really unfortunate because in most cases, people will state what they actually do and if other people disagree with it, it's not a disagreement about a hypothetical situation but a disapproval of actual practices ...

The subject heading is unfortunately laden with judgement given that the Oxford Dictionary defines "cruel" as wilfully causing pain or suffering to others, or feeling no concern about it and "neglectful" as not giving proper care or attention to someone or something. I'd be pretty surprised if many people here were cruel or neglectful of their dogs ... I normally think of cruel and neglectful practices as the ones that generally show up in the "In The News" subforum on DOL ...

I think it's important that dogs are fed, kept safe, healthy (good nutrition and sufficient physical exercise), housed in comfortable surroundings and kept mentally stimulated. How people choose to do that is a matter for them depending on their own personal circumstances and the dog in question. Not walking your dog every day should hardly earn anyone the epithet of cruel and neglectful per se and it seems very wrong for Owner A to tell another Owner B that what they do is wrong/cruel/neglectful just because Owner A's dog likes/does something ... There are some people here who think that it is cruel and neglectful for any dog to be kept outside whereas there are heaps of people who keep their dogs outside and the dog is perfectly happy ... Some might even say it's cruel to feed your dog kibble instead of raw.

Edited December 29, 2010 by koalathebear

[rubiton]

Not sure how taking a dog for a walk could be boring though - to keep up a decent tempo I have my mp3 player and 2 1/2 km is plenty for both of us. I had to work up to it though as too much too soon makes it a chore even with the music to walk to.

But then its not about trying to tire the dog out it about her getting out and seeing what is happening outside the yard and for me its getting that fitness back.

Bit different for those on acreage as obviously there would be plenty to keep the dog entertained as when taken out and around the property all sorts of wild animals would have been through at night at times leaving a different scent etc.