Dog Walking Schedule

Your dog is older. Mine is just at a year old.

We don't have a fenced yard. We have a run that is 50' and he gets out on that during the day. I work from home so he's not alone much.

He gets a walk in the morning. **I** need the exercise, so he gets a walk in the afternoon. That hasn't been happening this past week because it's been so hot and humid that neither one of us want to go out. And he gets a walk in the afternoon.

If she's fine with this schedule? I'd keep her on it. Can you fence your new yard in? Can you get a run for her to go out back on?

When can you get your new yard fenced?
A daily walk is good for both of you year round.
You get use to the seasonal changes and how to dress in layers - just don't walk during white out blizzards or thunder storms.
There's quite a few Pokemon Go players right now that are happy to walk your dog while they play.

Oh I remember going from fence to no fence. It was an adjustment for all. We had a dog that we had to walk (we had a fence) because she wouldn't poop in our backyard (her playground). I think the amount you are doing should work well. I would think that will slow down in the winter.

We have our son's dog and my husband walks her in the morning (its cooler) and we have a fence. I let her out in the evening to run around but honestly its so hot and humid right now she goes and does her business and comes right back in. We play with her in the house.

Do you have a dog park nearby? We have one in our new community so we take Lana in the evening. She loves it. She can run all over the place and work the obstacle course

Play it by ear. You might have to adjust it some if she seems to get "cabin fever" or a little "wild". Its a change for everyone. =)

I have a fenced yard and it is hot, no walking here. Still when I have my daughter's dog she gets her swim in, don't judge me, as soon as I get home from work. She hasn't done anything all day so she needs to burn some energy.

She is easy to wear out. She brings you her ball, you throw it in the pool, she runs to the pool, swims to the ball, brings you the ball, lather rinse repeat. Do they have any dog park around you? My daughter takes here there after work to blow off steam.

So, after work is the best time.

My dog is part Chinese Crested (hairless) and part Terrier. He has a doggie door and comes and goes as he pleases. We have a fenced yard.

During the summer (It's over 110 here every day) he tends to only go outside to go to the bathroom. My husband gets the mail after it's dark. Our mailbox is way down the street so he takes the dog with him. Our community is kind of weird in a square shape with short cul-de-sacs and a huge park that runs down the middle. It's exactly a mile to walk around the square. My husband will do that and also cut through the park since it actually has grass (AZ, remember? lol). So the dog gets to sniff around and run in the grass (we don't have grass in our yards).

You said you have a rat terrier. Does he flip out and go crazy terrier in the house? Mine does. It's hysterical, he basically runs at full speed jumping on and off the beds, down the halls and around the furniture. It's like a switch is flipped and he gets crazy for a few minutes then he's ok. He's so cute! He also will do this in the yard on his own when it cools off in the winter. He runs back and forth between the fences and actually bounces himself off the walls. So he exercises himself randomly during the day when he feels like it. LOL

I would be more concerned if your dog was crate trained and in a crate all day (I'm clearly not a fan of that although I know some people are). If that was the case I would feel like the dog would really need a lot of activity after they were let out to make up for the non-activity all day.

But I think you are doing good and like I said, terriers can keep themselves active but if yours doesn't, he probably gets attention from the kids too. In the winter I think you would be ok with a morning walk and an evening walk or just one, but I'm not an expert. My whole life our dogs have always had a doggie door and only this dog has gotten walks, mostly because we have to walk to get our mail at this house and prior houses it was delivered to the door. Good luck.

No fence for my yard so we always walk the dog. He goes out at 7 am and around 5 pm for half hour walks. We take him out to pee around lunch time, after dinner, and before we go to bed.

He's a small dog to we tend to play with his rope toys in the house throwing them down the hall with him bringing them back to be thrown again.

Good to hear that you are in the house and starting to get a routine!

I have a small terrier and, frankly, she doesn't go for long distances. In this heat, she does even less. She has short legs, and we call her the "cheetah" - she goes really fast for short distances, and then she collapses like a toddler. Frankly, inside exercise is fine for her. We walk her mostly for the pee/poop needs and some socialization with neighbors and neighborhood dogs. I suspect your little dog would do fine in the same way.

We never had a fenced yard, not for this terrier or the last one. In fact, because we have some woods around us, we don't leave her out alone at all due to the possibility of coyotes. And a neighbor's dog was out in their yard, and was attacked and killed by a neighboring dog who was roaming loose (black lab mix - so never assume that a "tame" breed can't go nuts).

I would think that the half hour walk is fine for now as are the short one after work, and a quick, utilitarian walk at bedtime. If the dog gets some outside time on the lead in the yard when the kids are playing, that's great, but it's not vital. If she's around them inside, she's getting socialization and attention, and that's fine. I'm assuming the dog was in the yard at the old house but not necessarily running laps around the yard. So while it seems like she was out a lot more, she wasn't necessarily doing the doggie Olympics. So, weather permitting, you take her out for longer spells, but when it's horrible, you just don't.

Our 17 pound terriers are/were both walked in the morning, mid-afternoon to dinnertime, and before bed. The prior dog was good at letting us know if she needed to go, and the current one is terrible at it so we have to stay ahead of her. In the bitter cold, believe me, the dog wears a sweater (she doesn't have a double coat of fur, only a single, so she definitely shivers), and she goes out only until she does her business, then back in. In the horrible snow, we've been known to carry her to where she reliably poops. My advice is that you take the dog to the same place on every walk, and let her know that's her pee/poop spot. Take a couple of training treats in your pocket, and reward her when she goes in that spot. Choose a place you can get to in the snow - so for us, a back corner of the yard isn't it because we couldn't reliably get there in 2 feet of snow. So we use the street, but we're not on a super busy road. A couple of our neighbors just shovel a path to a back corner near the woods though - you could consider that. So work with the training treats for now, plus pats on the head, when she does what she's supposed to and where she's supposed to. She'll learn to "hold it" once she figures out that the house isn't her potty area.

For exercise, I suggest you get a soft doggie frisbee and some stuffed toys (if the dog isn't a chewer) or get some mini tennis balls from the pet store. Let the kids take turns exercising the dog inside - mine runs from family room to kitchen, chasing her toys. She goes for 5 minutes, then quits, but does it about 3 times a day. There's nothing magic about outside time other than the biological functions. She needs something to do during the day if you're all gone, but frankly, our dogs often used that time to nap a lot so they can be raring to go when people come home. There are some activity toys that keep a dog challenged mentally if alone a lot, but watch the endless treats lest she put on weight. It's really okay if they are alone for chunks of time, as long as you make good use of the times when you are together.

Before we built our fence, our dogs got walked three times a day - before we went to work, when we got home from work, and at bedtime.

We have a yard so our dog can go outside when absolutely necessary, but she usually saves it for the 2 or 3 times per day walks.

What you are doing now sounds fine, and I believe you can limit it to twice a day in the winter. If you think your dog might need to pee at bedtime, just take her out to a bush for a minute at night. No need to do a third walk.

We have two small dogs, each about 12 lbs a piece. We walk them in them in the a.m. for about 15 to 20 minutes. Again, at 1:30-2-p.m. for 15 minutes. Then, we all take them out again after our dinner, around 7 p.m. for another 20 to 30 minutes. (This is as much family time as it is dog walking time.) Our dogs are also 9, so they tend to sleep a lot (they are pretty much like cats you have to walk!). After the a.m. walk, they'll sleep till almost 1:30.

If your dog isn't haven't accidents in the house and not doing anything destructive, it sound like you are fine. I think what I like about walks is that the dog gets a change of scenery, and for us, as humans, it has been a great way to meet our neighbors.

I grew up with our (big) dog getting a late night walk so when we got ours, I figured that's what you need to do... But I don't think it is. I think if you train them to just go pee before bedtime, that's fine. Most people I know do that. I very much believe in getting dogs out for the mental stimulation as well as the exercise but in winter, that late walk will really stink. So I might try to cut that before she gets used to it. Our dog was young when we got him and is big so really needed a huge amount of exercise but at 9 and small, yours can probably do without the late night if she's not counting on it. But once kids are back in school, I'd not want to leave her all day without a walk. People do it but seems tough on the dog. So maybe a dog walker will need to come in.

Our dog has never been confined by a fence. The only time we even had one was a brief rental during construction of the house we are in now, and it was a 10 x 10 ft square with 4 foot high fencing. She could jump that if she wanted. She's a GSD.

If your dog won't run off, and is good on the recall (coming to you when called, on demand, even with distractions), then you can provide play without a lead or a walk. Throw tennis balls (or frisbees if he's inclined to enjoy those). That's what I did with our GSD for YEARS. We didn't really do walks of any kind. I just took her out into the yard (once she was past 2 years old) and alternated throwing the tennis ball and frisbee, one after the other, until she was worn out. Or needed a break, before we'd start back at it again. A few times a day.

In the summers, she also got a lot of trotting in running laps around the pool as the kids swam. She wouldn't get in, but ran around the pool excitedly/nervously, watching the kids, licking their bobbing heads, or staring at them swim underwater... running to great them on the other side.
For hours.

She's older now, and so we do walks sometimes. Not long. Not multiple times a day. The asphalt gets too hot here, and there is no sidewalk. She is let out (off leash) several times a day, and she'll wander the yard a bit, but usually goes out and does her thing and comes right back in. It's just too hot and humid right now for her to want to stay outside at all. At 12 years, she doesn't have nearly the energy she did as a 6 year old. She's active, in short spurts. She still likes to run/jog after the frisbee, but rarely catches it in the air anymore. If it's cool enough/late enough, she'll walk with me up to the community mailboxes and back.

Minimum of 3 times per day outside for potty breaks, average of 5 or more (although she doesn't always take advantage of the opportunities, and will just stand on the porch observing, decides its too hot, and comes back inside, LOL). She doesn't have accidents in the house. Ever. Never has.
Watch for signs your pooch needs to go out. Be alert, and you will learn his needs. We've never had a doggie door. Ever. NO need. She lets us know if she needs to go out at a time she isn't being offered that opportunity.
Exercise should be more structured than just letting them go in/out a doggie door. But if they are getting walks 2 times a day, for 20-30 minutes each, and getting time outside (daily) on a zip-run with the kids playing and he isn't just sitting there, then it is probably enough.

Dog's that don't get enough exercise aren't difficult to spot, normally. They get fat. They get depressed. And/Or they get destructive. Any or all of these.