Dogs don't get walked, what's the worst that can happen?

My dogs don't receive formal walks as their form of exercise. They would if I didn't have alternative means for them to get out and stretch their legs. My home is on an acre of land and where I work is on 15 fenced (and partially wooded) acres ~ my dogs go to work with me most days and have free reign on the 15 acres.

They get plenty of exercise.

So, my dogs don't get walked. The worst that could happen is maybe environmental in nature, a sting, or minor cut or scrape. They stay in fantastic shape. We had a Dobe who got a thorn in his cornea on this 15 acres and that was ~to date~ the "worst" that's happened.

While the dogs entertain themselves and enjoy being at work, at home we have 'play time' out in the yard (garden). All that takes is the invitation from me and they race around like wild Indians ~ and don't we all know how absolutely FUN that is!? Easy on me and a blast for them. Exercise done simple.

I grew up with dogs and I take my dogs for the occasional walk, but I've always had a fenced yard of adequate size and that's all that my dogs have needed for exercise. Walking for us is a social endeavor exercising their social graces and yes, we do that regularly as politeness only stays well tuned with regular practice. Exercise in this home is a chance for the dogs to play and burn off energy.

I know a person with two labs who never walks his dogs. They are neurotic and hyper, even though they are way past the age where they should be (one is 7 and the other is almost 4).

A yard is not enough unless it is really big and the owner is actively exercising the dog there (by playing chase or fetch, or letting another dog in to play). Otherwise, the dogs just sniff around and sleep in the shade, which isn't exercise.

But even if the dogs are getting real exercise in the yard, the owner is missing an important opportunity to bond with his/her dogs and practice training through walks. The dogs will be poorly stimulated and scared of new things, since they never leave their homes.

Not walking a dog is a terrible idea. We walk our lab mix twice a day (I walk her in the morning and my husband walks her in the evening). She needs that activity to be happy, healthy and well behaved.

I will start off by saying that no, not every family is entitled to a dog. Dogs are a privilege, not a right, and responsible people should consider whether they have the time and energy to get one before they do so - not just get one because they like the idea of one and because puppies are cute.

Not all dogs must be walked but they DO need regular exercise, and some breeds more than others. Dogs that aren't exercised enough are often blamed for all sorts of naughty behavior - that they are simply doing because they are bored. Most dogs also need actual interaction with the exercise - just sticking them out in the backyard simply isn't enough.

It is common for a youngster (under two years) or mature adult Dobermann to come into rescue because of "uncontrollable" and "aggressive/dominant" behavior. As a rule the root cause is the “problem owner” not the dog and the dog reacted to its environment. The Dobe has huge amount of energy to burn and under exercise typically results in irritable and destructive behavior and a miserable dog.

Typically a healthy adult Dobermann which is a working group breed, requires as a minimum 1.5 hours of hard daily exercise [mine typically have 2 hours because I am an active outdoors type of person]. Some Dobermanns will *tolerate* under exercise better than others, but a sedentary lifestyle is not suited to a dog that will take as much exercise in a variety of ways to shake its life up as you want to give it.

Having a large back yard which is an unvarying environment for a dog that thrives when it is provided with the opportunity to detect and track scents, mark over other dog's urine, explore new surrounding and train/sprint flat out and not a substitute for regular daily exercise outside the home. While I could exercise my dogs on a canine treadmill inside the home to main lean condition, they would go out of their skulls with boredom, so exercise is not enough, the dog should be take OUTSIDE the home.

It is important for an person to be honest about the demands on their time at the time of purchase and how their future plans may negatively impact on their ability to provide a breed with the lifestyle it needs, not to be bored and bouncing off the wall with unspent energy. Because some dogs will tolerate not being given the level of exercise it needs, does not mean they should have to.

No, I don't know anyone who doesn't walk their dog. Having a yard isn't exercising the dog.

Without exercise and mental stimulation, dogs can become destructive, barky, diggers and start exhibiting bad behavior simply out of frustration.

My children are grown now, but I tell you, I would make the effort and walk that dog every single day, rather than have a frustrated dog that nips at the kids. Doing something so simple can prevent a big problem

I have 6 kids ranging from 3 months to 11 years old and 3 dogs and my dogs are walked 3 times a day with out fail and i work full time .

Dogs need the stimulation of a walk they need the exercise ,training is often done whilst walking your dog.

Dogs can get bored some Breeds need to be doing something all the time ,and would never survive with out being walked it would drive them nuts .

that is why there is so many questions on here ,Regarding my dog wont stop digging ,My dog wont behave my Dog chews every thing up.!!

The lack of exercise can cause the dog to be neurotic,overweight and stressed out. Yes the dog can get exercise in the yard but unless you are interacting with the dog and keeping it on it's feet then it will probably just lounge around in the yard and do nothing. That's not an adequate amount of exercise for anything. Imagine a person who never exercised other than to walk around their yard. That person would be overweight, most likely in pain, and sometimes grumpy. Well dogs are the same way. They need vigorous exercise. Whether it be from a long walk or a game in the yard. Sometimes I get lazy and I don't walk my dogs but I always find a way to exercise them. They have an agility set and a springpole to keep them busy.

A dog is a very active animal, and needs to be out and about exploring. Dogs sniff around for a reason, and having a Dog isolated would only obstruct the Dog from Exploring new Scents. This could lead to aggressive behaviour in the future if the dog is isolated too long, making anything it hasn't seen before a threat to the dog, and perhaps some scents too. A Dog needs Exercise to maintain a healthy heart, like i mentioned before a dog is over active, and can only mean it has an over active heart too! Exercise helps keep the heart healthy... an UN-healthy heart will only lead to problematic problems soon enough.

#Like Humans, if you don't exercise your classed as unhealthy :P

My brother in law has 2 Staffordshire bull terriers they are around 8 years old now and they get walked maybe once a week if they are lucky; its purely because he is lazy. When they were younger they got 3 walks a day. But they seem happy they just roam around the yard all day.

They are gaining weight kinda fast though and they do jump up a lot more than when they were younger I think that's due to the lack of walks

Walking provides several benefits:

-Socialization: your dog becomes familiar with and non-reactive to a huge number of stimuli. People of all shapes, sizes, ages, races and levels of disability; normal environmental stimuli-bicycles, rolling trashcans, buses, fire engines, sirens, road equipment, people on ladders, etc.; dogs of both the polite and impolite sorts.

-Exercise. Admittedly, you can provide exercise without walks though.

-Entertainment. Dogs find walks exceedingly entertaining as they explore the world through smell. Even changing the side of the street on which you walk your dog opens up a whole new world for him as he acquires information so much more by smell than we humans do!

-Bonding and training. The dog enjoys walks, and if he enjoys them with you, you are bonding. And walks provide endless training opportunities! All sorts of things that you didn't anticipate (along with those you reasonable would) occur on walks. You get to practice giving your dog direction with high distraction and increase his trust in you and his obedience.

The "worst that can happen" if you don't walk the dog is that you have a fearful or aggressive unsocialized dog who only listens to you when there are no distractions present.

Yes, I know people who never walk their dogs and they are badly trained (or more accurately, half-trained) and usually fearful or aggressive.