Exercise

[Liz]

I was just curious as to how much exercise your dogs get every day?

Benjy gets about 1 1/2 - 2 hours per day. This is split into two or three shorter walks depending on my health.

One of my neighbour's dogs doesn't get any walks and this really annoys me. Another one only walks her collie and spaniel for about 1/2 hr per day. No wonder they are hyper!!!:roll:

[Leanne]

The amount mine gets varies but they are lurchers and they run and run. They get very little on-lead walks as it's exercise and fun time. They do walk very well on the lead and when they are on the lead it is for function so I don't allow sniffing, pulling or dawdling.

They get a minimum of half an hour off lead time - which is probably equivalent to about 2-3 hours on-lead walking. Some days though we can be out for 2-3 hours offlead. One thing I always do though is feed according to workload - if they have less of a walk then they get a handful less tea. If they get a really good walk then they get a bit extra :)

[cuddlepop]

If we're working they get half an hour in the morning and about an hour in the evening.

When its nice we're out all day with them.
Having two dogs too they tend to play toghether in the back garden and come in exhausted from all the play fighting.:lol:

It annoys me too Liz that some dogs just dont get walked.

Each to their own though.:confused

[teenybash]

My old dear now just dawdles at her own pace, but can still go for a lop when the mood takes her....old lurchers never die, they only fade away..
The young fella is still walked on the leash, except when at the beach. He is still learnering hens are not for chasing and plucking and horsey things don't like being chased either.....and they can kick. But at less than a year old I think it is probably better to let his bones and muscles strengthen and not over do........but being a lurcher....he excercises himself.

[cazmanian_minx]

Our two springers get 30-45 minutes twice a day - but one is 11 and the other, although only 6, has osteo-arthritis in both hind legs and the vets have advised us not to overdo it. We've found that if we can tire out their noses, they're happy to chill out on the sofa for the rest of the time!

[donnick]

I have two Jack Russell and they get walked twice in the morning totaling about half hr then in the evening they get a run about for about hr but we exercised them with there breed in mind .They love to sniff the verge and long grass ,ditches they are mentally stimulated and well exercised off the lead as they are well behaved .we try to work with there breed and use this in exercise

[Miss Mack]

We have a neighbour with 3 dogs, they don't get walked at all. My 2 are walked 2 miles daily !

[skinnydog]

My 15 year old lurcher gets a 10 minute walk 3 times a day during the week in the winter, morning, lunchtime and evening and in the spring/summer a longer walk in the evening. At the weekends he gets a trip to either Scrabster, Thurso beach or Dunnet Woods. I am lucky as he is such a lazy dog he is happy with 5 minutes or 50 but I couldn't have a dog and not walk it. That is just crazy.

[summer]

I like taking the dogs to places they've never been before so like to drive somewhere first rather than go straight from the house, preferably off lead so they can run about. I also like to go places where I don't bump into other people so I only tend to go the beaches in bad weather (the dogs are fine meeting people - I'm the one who is anti social). I like to go for miles and miles.

One of the dogs can lope alongside the bike which I love doing, but I'm pregnant just now so have put that on hold.

[Liz]

Thanks ever so much for all your replies and, of course, I realise that all dogs needs for exercise will vary according to age, health and breed.

It just makes me mad to know that some dogs are getting little or even no exercise![evil]
It isn't just about the exercise but new smells etc.

Benjy isn't the kind of dog who pesters me for a walk for but when he does go for a walk he really enjoys it and takes everything in such as animals in fields, birdies flying over and of course smelling everything and then peeing on it!:lol:

[Sarah]

Mine get a 15 minute run in the morning before I go to work in the field (Maddy loves this as it is muddy, she loves mud!). Then 45 minutes walk in the afternoon. Then 30 minutes before bed. They are greyhounds, so don't realy need a ton of exercise!

Two or three times a week that 45 min walk is replaces with an hour and a half, we go on a different walk. And at the weekend we do a 5/6 mile beach walk.

Some days we also go to the beach in the car which is more running.

[northener]

Mine gets out properly twice a day:

A session in the dunes and on the beach at low tide for about 3/4 of an hour. Lots of thundering up and down in the dunes, plus chasing a ball on the sand.

A second session on the grass up towards Keiss castle at high tide for another gallop. I just alternate which way round the walks are depending on the tide state.

Plus various wanders around the garden.

[Rictina]

My three GSDs get about 2 -3 hrs a day.

With a breed like this they need a lot of mental stimulation plus exercise, otherwise you end up with a hell of a lot of issues.

[GruesomeTwosome]

My two get about 1 and half hours per day, they used to get a bit more but they are getting on a bit and their breed by nature is not a high energy breed.

I get very mad when I see overweight dogs and in majority of cases it is due to lack of exercise, once I get over my anger I get very upset as it must be so hard for the dogs themselves to cope. I saw two rotties walking up from Lidl in thurso and they must have been at least double their recommended weight. This breed is prone to weight probs and have the disadvantage of being heavy chested anyway without extra weight on top of that. I hope the owners are addressing their problem but as they have two in the same state I am guessing they are the ones to blame, not just taking on new dogs, I may be wrong though.

[Kathy@watten]

I have two russells and a labrador, all fit and well in the prime of life! They need about an hour of proper out with me type walking and have free running around for at least a couple of hours. They have access to their run at all times so are never couped up. Have to have free time individually because they do a pack hunting thing and disapear!

[Liz]

I get very mad when I see overweight dogs and in majority of cases it is due to lack of exercise, once I get over my anger I get very upset as it must be so hard for the dogs themselves to cope. I saw two rotties walking up from Lidl in thurso and they must have been at least double their recommended weight. This breed is prone to weight probs and have the disadvantage of being heavy chested anyway without extra weight on top of that. I hope the owners are addressing their problem but as they have two in the same state I am guessing they are the ones to blame, not just taking on new dogs, I may be wrong though.

I am the same. It is such a shame for the dogs to be overweight and makes them prone to all kinds of health problems.

Benjy has a tendency to put on weight so I have to restrict the amount of food he eats combined with plenty of exercise.