How Many of You Actually WALK Your Dog?

Yeppers, we walk Grady after dinner each night, rain or shine...

He's afraid of the boy's Razor's - so much for being a vicious Pit, eh?! Scaredy cat is he!!

Grady is at a play date right now with Buddy - a Lab/New Foundland mix...so he does get a ton of exercise but he LOVES his walks and when he hears the dinner dishes going in the dishwasher? He's prancing all over the place waiting for his walk!!

Yes, absolutely, but we don't have a yard. The times when we've been sick and just can't go on walks, poor doggie is a pain the the rear. We usually get out 2 times a day. He's much more balanced and manageable when he's walked.

Hi Rachael,

To make him less afraid of the stroller, I would get him out there as on a normal walk, but bring lots of dog treats. Walk a little, give a treat...walk farther, another treat...space the treats out until they are every block, then just at the beginning/end of the walk.

I have been able to train my super stubborn dog to do just about everything using treats. It sounds like you do a lot for the dog exercise-wise, and he gets to socialize with other dogs too. Being able to walk him would just be an added bonus I guess...for you and the kids...

We just lost out 11 year old dog in August. We got HIM about 2 months after our 16 year old dog passed away.
So, right now, this is the first time in 27 years that a dog is NOT getting walked at least once per day. I miss it! :(

(And the first time in 27 years that I am not vacuuming daily. I don't miss that!)

I walk my dog 3 times a day for a mile around the block. It's great exercise for me and helped to get him socialized. I don't have a fenced yard and no dog parks in the area so our walks are a must.

Yes I always walk my dogs. I feel guilty if they don't get a walk even one day! They are huskies and NEED that little bit of exercise. I try to run with them when I run (about 2ce a week). I take them with the jogging stroller. I take them hiking on trails with my kids. I walk them to and from the bus stop. I walk them in the evening if they never got a walk during the day. We have a yard too but they don't use it really except to go to the bathroom and lie out in the sun. They are just SO HAPPY when they are out running on a trail or on a long walk. Their happiness makes me happy! Sorry you are having guilt - maybe try a walk or two a week. Your dog will be so happy. Or hire a neighbor teenager for $5 if you feel super guilty.

Every day. We've got a fairly big, fenced yard, but I still walk my 2 big dogs every day. It's good for them to get out and smell different 'hood things and good for me. So I'll take them around once, drop them off, then go around myself.

My daughter walks ours. She takes her for a walk 3 times a day, in th emorning before school and at night around 11 pm the dog is taken out to the yard due to timing. My d tried just having her in the yard but we USE the yard,. yuck. The dog is only about 4 months though so once she is older, she will be walked rather than let out. My husband also lets her outside--I don't think he has ever walked her though. More of a run around the yard thing.

Even when I had a big fenced-in yard, I took my dogs for 3 walks per day. When I no longer had a fenced-in yard, I took my dog for 4 walks per day. But I have gotten lazy with my beagle. I take her for only two walks per day and let her out on a lead and play with her every night.... and feel guilty. The walks are the highlight of her day. They live to sniff and pee. She gets so excited to go for a walk. I love seeing her joy. . . . And it is good for me, too.

A walk doesn't have to be long. My last little dog got so old we only walked 3 houses down and back, then just two houses and back. But he lived for those walks.

Every now and then I used to let the dogs walk the kids but that was about it.

I used to walk the dog a lot. For exercise for ME. lol I was always too scared to go by myself. But, when I didnt we do have a big backyard that she ran around in and I didnt feel bad.

OK, the hyena assumption made me laugh out loud in my home office. I did walk my dog but not so much lately. She too has a yard and plays a lot (she doesn't know she is 11). Something has to give in my home. It sounds like your dog gets tons of exercise.

Sometimes I wish I could, but we have one of those small yappy dogs that barks at every squirrel, dog, human, rabbit, and leaf in the neighborhood! Thankfully we have a decent size fenced in yard and he is small, so he gets plenty of run time out there.

I never walk my hyena (rofl), but my kangaroo scares the bejeebers out of people all the time.

He's ACTUALLY a chocolate lab (meaning invisible in the dark!). We have a college football stadium near by and my people loving dog LOVES football season... because we have about 500 people walk by the house over 3 hours. He spends all three hours BOUNCING.
Petmepetmepetmepetmepetme! LooooooooooooveMeeeeeeeee!

Honestly, we rarely walk the kangaroo dog. Summer on the beach, winter in the mountains, off leash dog park when we're feeling lazy, dog dates with ________ (can't even type her name or he'll spaz), yard and house to run in, kids to chase, lakes to swim, football fans to bounce in unfettered joy at....

In 2 years, this is the FIRST time we've had to cut his toenails (kiddo was sick for a few months, and now I'm all Gimpy McFalldownson) because he's always worn them down by how active we are.

We only walk our dog occasionally. I think walking the dog is for him to get exercise (and for the human, too). Sounds like your buddy is getting plenty of exercise!

My husband will. I refuse.

I've been "cased" in the past because one of our dogs is a staffordshire terrier (the Target dog) but most people think she's a pit bull. She's a SAD excuse for a pit bull but they don't know that. I don't feel safe so I have him walk the dogs.

We got out of the habit after our Shar Pei protested her daily walks. She sat down during one walk and refused to get up. I had to tie her to the neighbor's mailbox, walk home to get the car, and then drive her home. I shouldn't have to point out just how stubborn she could be. Our Pug thinks walks are great in theory but not in practice. She makes it about half way down the block and then turns around to walk herself home. If your dog gets exercise, then I wouldn't worry about the walks necessarily. You should like a good dog mom to me.

Every day? No. Sometimes.
Most of the time, he and my daughter's dogs run around in my half-acre fenced yard several times a day, for a total of several hours of exercise.

We need to be better at it. We have 3+acres so the dogs get outside quite a bit. We just need to actually walk them.

We too have a good yard and that's where she gets the bulk of her exercise. We throw the ball, chase her around, play soccer and she thinks she's playing with us and tries to steal or intercept the ball from us. She also lays in the sun and rests out there when we're quietly looking for earthworms, weeding, or making pictures out of clouds. But we also walk her every evening. She gets to explore (we go a slightly different route every evening, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, and then just wherever), she gets to get her last concentrated bit of exercise before we go in for the night, but it's also so that we can get some exercise. She's sort of an excuse to be together and getting some mild exercise and having some time to chat away from the TV after dinner. It wears the little guy out, and the truth is that my big guy needs to practice his bike riding and road rules, so we do it all at the same time. I push an empty stroller while my 23 month old walks (until he's tired, and then I put him in the stroller and keep going), my 5 year old rides his bike up ahead a bit, and my husband and I get to chat. The dog is just our "reason"----oh, time to go for a walk. YES we have our little baggies just in case, but she really doesn't use the bathroom except in her special corner of the yard. What really rocks her world though is a walk down the beach. On an off hour, we'll let her loose and let her run in the water, and she's beside herself with joy (and VERY tired afterwards). Can't help but give her a little thrill when she gets to walk.

We walked our dogs and I still walk my mom's dog when I visit. Sometimes DD "walks" the dog (with someone else also holding his leash). If he's afraid of the stroller, then try to figure out a way to get them both out at the same time. I'd try to desensitize him to it. Put it out where he can see it and sniff it. Give him treats when he goes near it and doesn't bark or freak out. Take him out on his own with the stroller (no baby) so if he does pull, get scared, etc., it's just you and him. Lots of praise, a few treats, I think he'll get to the point where you can take them both out together.

On the plus side, with the playdates and the yard, he can stretch his legs so he's not cooped up (which was what I was afraid you were going to say). But I think a walk would be enjoyable, once he gets over the stroller fear.

We do. We used to every day, but we have a husky and live in Florida...not the best combo. Now that it is cooler we will probably get back into it...that and she is getting way too fat.

I have a 9 year old pug and a 14 year old pug and they are pretty much couch potatoes and really don't need much in the way of exercise. They get taken outside in the yard several times a day to go potty but walks around the block are rare. My daughter likes taking them though so sometimes we make it a point to get them out there. It would be nice to make it a daily routine, but it's not good to have them out for too long doing too much when it's really hot out and then when it's rainy, or cold, they don't want to be out there either. So it's like the weather has to just right for them.

We have a Rottie (biggest baby in the world) who we try to walk once a day. We are in the process of trying to teach her to walk nice on the leash. Right now, she pulls so she can sniff EVERYTHING we walk past! :)

I walk our dog twice a day. I started calculating how many times I've walked him and din't want to go there... Thousands which is crazy. I don't always have him on a leash though. We have a long long path in town and I ride my bike and he runs. We have a lab and I didn't know how much exercise they need! I'm not supposed to have him off leash but I go early in the morning and late at night and he's a sweetheart but I always feel so guilty. But I can't imagine how to get him enough exercise otherwise. I work full time and our nanny takes him out some and we have a dog walker some days but he's still always ready to go. It sounds like your dog is getting enough excitement if you let him go at the river a lot. I just remember reading that even with a large yard, dogs need to be walked. The article said, "when is the last time you saw a dog running laps around a yard to exercise himself? If you do, the dog has mental issues." I also play ball with our dog a lot. He is a ton of work and my husband therefore can't stand him. Instead of my husband and I having together time after the kids are in bed, I have to walk the dog... But I wanted him so it's my job and I do ADORE him as do our daughters.