How Do You Exercise Your Dog?

[Little Gifts]

My dog loving neighbour and I were talking about another newish neighbour. He has a labrador who he is very regimented with. I'd estimate the dog to be about 5 years old. He walks it at least 3 times every single day for at least a half hour each time, rain, hail or shine. Where possible he walks it on the bitumen at a brisk pace on a tight leash. The dog is not allowed to meander and sniff things - it is all about exercise. He doesn't even carry poo bags with him because the dog is not allowed to slow down enough to poop. The only time they stop is for traffic. The owner would be in his 50s, he's very lean and always walks in shorts and thongs.

I don't know how much distance they travel during their half hour brisk walk and I guess that in itself is not taxing physically. I do worry a lot about him walking the dog in the heat of a summer day, especially on bitumen. And I do wonder about whether that kind of focused walking meets a dogs stimulation needs. Mine meander when they walk, sniffing and checking things out and we have a couple of different routes we use so take different amounts of time depending on how distracted they are. I never walk them in the middle of the day (and only have time for once a day) and we aim for a mix of grass, path and road (the latter two being for nails). We also stop to poo and pee and pick up said poo. For me the walks are about the dogs and not me. We have other outings in the car and play a lot at home. Well Stussy does - Tempeh hates leaving the house but that's another story.

Anyway it got me thinking about how you know if you are under or over exercising your dog? Is 3 times a day too much? Is once a day too little? Or does it really depend on what you are doing during that period of exercise and what else you are doing at home? And how far distance wise should we be aiming for? Are there guides for different dog sizes and breeds? I know what under exercising can lead to but what are the physical risks for over exercising?

Edited August 18, 2016 by Little Gifts

[corrie]

I am not sure of the answer to your actual question LG but I tend to start and finish our walks with more purpose and and in more of a heel but do the meandering and sniffing in the middle of the walk.

I think it boils more down to the individual dog and building up their fitness levels. Although if I saw someone walking a dog in the middle of the day, in the middle of summer on boiling bitumen I couldn't keep my mouth shut if I tried.

[sheena]

Our dogs get walked twice a day & it is usually through a bush block where lots of interesting things have happened overnight or during the day. When we walk the dogs, it is all about the dogs..letting them sniff & explore to their hearts content. One dog I have to keep on a leash because she runs off following her nose & has a lousy recall...but I still stop & let her sniff whenever she likes. If I want to walk for the exercise (mine) I walk without the dogs or I will just take the one that is fine off leash on our own land.

[Diva]

Apart from any walking in the heat issues I don't see the issue. Young dogs can be over exercised but for a sound adult gundog 3 x 1/2 hour walks at normal walking pace isn't much.

If a dog is mature, fit and sound and exercise is regular, I don't think over exercising at walking pace is likely. Alongside a bike or at a run, or if exercise is irregular, or the dog is young or old or unsound, or the weather is unsuitable, then yes moderate accordingly.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Diva

[OSoSwift]

The exercise it's self sounds okay. He may walk the dog somewhere and let it run around there then walk home?

When I am walking the dogs are on loose leads, but I don't meander and I don't let them pull me after smells.

They get time to stop and toilwt if required and if possible they get let off lead for a run around and sniff.

I live on acreage so they get plenty of sniffing free running opportunities. When I walk it's with purpose and to a time limit.

Edited August 18, 2016 by OSoSwift

[Dogsfevr]

Yep i walk with purpose no meandering here & no sniffing ,my dogs don't need to sniff where every other dog has peed nor do they need to sniff to find unwanted or unsafe things on the floor before me

They have plenty of other opportunities to sniff.

I say what a good owner to get his dog out and about,maybe his dog has issues so the 3 brisk walks on a controlled lead is what is required,

I would sooner a controlled lead then the idiots who have them on extender leads or long leashes & think there dog can do as it pleases as you walk past,Far to many idiots walking dogs these days so could here there is one decent one out there

[Little Gifts]

Really interesting to hear all the different thoughts and practices on exercise. And I agree, I have no idea what this specific dog's issues and needs are and apart from the walking in the heat on the hot bitumen issue (and lack of poo bags or water on his person when they walk) I was pondering the difference between what I do and what he does (we have a big park right behind us and I've never seen them there with or without a leash) and whether there was any 'right'.

I suspect I walk my dogs like I would like to be walked if I was a dog - off exploring and checking things out, never following the same route day in, day out, making our own fun as we go. Nothing purposeful happening here!

Edited August 18, 2016 by Little Gifts

[The Spotted Devil]

The Spaniels NEVER go for walks - it's not a gait they understand :laugh: I expect Zig to walk briskly with me (he can sniff and pee and get ahead or behind but no pulling) and then he can do what he wants when he gets to the off leash part.

[Salukifan]

At least the dog IS walked.

The fact it might not be walked as we would do is beside the point.

I wouldn't take water for a dog for a half hour walk either. In fact I never do.

[Dogsfevr]

Agree half hr no need for water and why would you give to much water to a breed prone to bloat .

I'm not sure what your issue really is ,my dogs don't go off leash on walks,I don't do dog parks .

If you wish to now his business why not ask him surely better than gossiping with a neighbour .

[Two Best Dogs!]

If it works for them, it works for them. My walks are all business. I keep the sniffs, fun and games to other times. All up an hour and a half over a day for a young dog? Hardly too much.

My walks? Fast consistent pace, 30 second bits of training maybe twice during the whole time. I will do LAT with two front yards and there dogs and that's about the only time we're stationary.

Nothing wrong with our walks. Just different type of walks.

[corvus]

my dogs don't need to sniff where every other dog has peed

Are you sure about that? That is not just natural behaviour, it's natural behaviour with a super important function (who is in my neighbourhood, what sex, what's their reproductive status, how long ago were they here, etc.). They might not technically need to know these things when living in our world, but try to convince them that. And when they are walking with me, it's their walk, too. If I want to stop and look at a bird, they have to put up with that, so I put up with it when they want to stop and sniff.

My dogs get 1 or 2 outings a day amounting to 60-90 minutes of exercise or so, usually. Keeping close is a sort of mental stimulation. If I walk them on leash for an hour, they all start losing their focus towards the end and forget to pay attention to where we're going. I give them long leashes and let them sniff, though. Like I said, it's their walk, too.

[Little Gifts]

Agree half hr no need for water and why would you give to much water to a breed prone to bloat .

I'm not sure what your issue really is ,my dogs don't go off leash on walks,I don't do dog parks .

If you wish to now his business why not ask him surely better than gossiping with a neighbour .

Seriously? I can't talk to a dog loving neighbour about another dog owning neighbour and ponder the difference in our exercise regimes? I was just wondering what others think and do. The differences in what people do have been quite interesting. It has started me thinking I should vary the intensity on our walks so we have some fun sniffing stuff and some more serious focused exercise.

And have you ever lived in Queensland during summer? I never leave the house myself without water and if I think my dogs need a small drink on a hot day to tide them over till we get home then they get one out of my bottle. It is still winter here yet next week it will be 27 degrees. Perhaps you can't imagine what it must be like in summer in the middle of the day with no shade doing exercise on a hot surface? That's about the only actual issue I have with this situation and if I ever saw him or his dog in distress I would offer assistance and not berate him.

PS I have edited the title to better reflect my actual ponderings as I don't think he is over exercising his dog in distance terms but can't personally support exercising any dog in the heat during the middle of the day.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Little Gifts

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I try to walk my dog twice a day - usually for an hour or so each time - cos we're slow and I meet people and chat and she stops and sniffs things.

If we get to a place where she can be off lead - we might practice start line stays (make dog run) and other things.

on the way out - she's pretty keen to get going - without pulling cos she gets nowhere when she does that. I just stop.

but there's very little sniffing. On the way back it's all about - have you got any food left? can I have it? She does sniff a lot - I figure the walk is mostly about her.

However once in a while I deliver newsletters and even when I stop to chat - it's still twice as quick without the dog than with. She stops a lot more than I do on my own.

[The Spotted Devil]

In answer to your re-phrased title....the Spaniels prefer to RUN. I have about a quarter acre steep bush yard and they go crazy up there - run and hunt for hours if you let them. My Spotty dog does not self-exercise so he goes for more structured walks and off leash gallops. All three dogs do body awareness and core strengthening, free running wherever possible (usually after training at an oval or open space) and lots of swimming as part of training (Spaniels) and free play. Retrieving and agility also add to their activity levels although I keep them ultra fit so they can DO dog sports rather than using competition to keep them fit. All mine are slim and very well muscled.

[Roova]

Our walks are for both of us and I try not to be regimented in anything I do with the dog's. I don't think its great for your own mental health either to do things in 'exactly' this way at this time and it can't be great for the dog if something were to suddenly change too. I can't help but think walking on bitumen on a tight leash seems a bit selfish. You could say at least the dog is getting walked and yes, that's great but the quality of walk is also important. Choice is another important factor in mental health and our dogs don't get a lot of it so allowing them to take a moment to look at or sniff something at least gives them a tiny moment of choice in their own life and something to think about when back in their yard. I think sometimes they're treated much like an object for us to control in every single way.

I mostly walk my terrier on a horse lunge lead either held in my hand or on a clip which goes around my waist. If someones comes past she is bought to my side and we step aside so they can pass. She knows she can roam (where its safe) and sometimes she'll be ahead of me start sniffing something and leaves it only after I've passed her and the lead gets tight. Throughout the walk we practice heeling, running, fast\slow walking, recall, sitting when I stop, emergency stops if she's ahead and other things I might think of. I especially love the joy when she's released to her run and sniff but she's not too out of control off leash.

In the end I guess its each to their own and maybe there's probably a bit of right and wrong in everything we do?

[Two Best Dogs!]

For your new question:

As I mentioned earlier, 30 minute walks twice a day. Short but loose lead, quick consistent pace. No sniffing except as a reward in specific circumstances. Our walks are for energy burning and small part of the day's exercise. Neither of us are there to socialise or admire the view. It is very hard for a scared dog to get worked up over different things when you are constantly moving. It's also very difficult for us to be surprised by offlead dogs that are being "walked" when we are already further down the street before the dog has realised we are there and my dog isn't getting time to overthink the new "arrival". Neither of us particularly like walking in our local neighbourhood.

And that's all my neighbours see. What they don't see is:

Flirtpole or chuckit for a few rounds after we get home. Body awareness confidence building exercises - this week we have been doing stand-drops-sits on a home made wobble board. I don't consider obedience (once a week) or desensitisation sessions (twice a week) to be exercise although they certainly exhaust her brain. Park visits (twice a week) are mostly for her to run about sniffing or chasing a ball, within reason and safety limits. Weekly adventures to wherever I have decided for the week...dog parks, play dates, forest adventures, markets. We do have a treadmill for rainy-days.

Walks are a very small part of the day and we have no need for them to be the "quality" exercise of the day with everything else we do. Consider our walks the warm-up for the real activities and fun. It's neither right or wrong, just a different option.

Edited August 18, 2016 by Thistle the dog

[Canisbellum]

The walks are mainly for the dogs and I try and take them out for at least an hour every day and I try and vary the areas we walk in.

While on lead they are expected to walk with me and not sniff at things but the vast majority of the time they are off lead running around but keeping near me as I walk along. Lately I have been on a bicycle and they are free to run around keeping up with me as I ride along. I always take lots of water in summer and on longer walks in winter.

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[karen15]

Dogs can still sniff while walking at a fair pace. My younger one, just 12 months old, seems to get a fair bit of sniffing in whilst keeping up with the other dog. They're not on long leads, just long enough to have a nice loop. We do puppy park first for them to wander and sniff, then on lead for a walk.

Qld in summer, I don't take water as there are water stations on our route. For half hr, I generally wouldn't water at all to be honest, but then I don't go out in the heat. Certainly wouldn't walk a dog on bitumen in the day in summer. At the moment it's probably not too bad.

[JulesP]

My dogs seem to prefer a brisk pace. If I walk too slow they start going around behind me. I tried walking with someone that walked very slowly a couple of times and the little monsters would go behind her and poke her on the heels :laugh:

We stop for super good smells but are walking briskly on a loose lead most of the time. All my walks have an off lead component so they can sniff all they want then.

Walks are about an hour and are on various surfaces. And a different way each day.

I don't walk in the hot parts of the day.