Do You Think It Is Cruel /neglectful

[Baileys mum]

Hi guys, I was just wondering what everyone's opinions would be on this topic.

I personally don't think it is cruel for a dog to never get taken for a walk as long as the owner can still supply their dog some other form of excercise & mental stimulation every day.

I do not walk my dogs every day, but I live on 40 acres, so they get plenty of excercise, they also get regular training sessions & have lots of toys. They also live inside with us & get lots of attention.

Some people may think I am cruel for not taking them out of the property every day, but I believe my dogs seem very happy & content.

I do think that it would be cruel, if a dog lived in a back yard all day, never got walked or any other outing, didn't have any toys or any other form of mental stimulation, & was ignored by their owner for most of the time.

Look foward to seeing everyone's opinions. :p

[minxy]

I don't think it's necessarily cruel either. I don't believe that all dogs like walks, or require walks. My parents two dogs don't get walked, but they seem to be very happy, and are a healthy weight etc. They have toys, and they also have each other for company.

[stormie]

I'm not sure i'd go as far as to say cruel, but I do think that a proper walk off the property should be a regular occurrence for a dog. I believe it satisfies an instinct to travel with their pack.

I also believe in 'the power of the walk', in that just traveling on lead with their owners regularly does wonderful things for their minds.

So nope, I don't think it's cruel or neglectful as such, but I do think dogs would be that much happier if it was incorporated into their lives regularly.

Plus, it's good for our fitness too :p

[rastus_froggy]

I think it is neglectful to the dog as the back yard can only provide a limited amount of exposure to "things" and what happens to the dog if the owners ever do have to take it out (eg to the vets) or if the owners die and the dog has to be rehomed, I think to have a well rounded dog it is essential to expose it to as much as possible, not just their own territory. I believe this is more so for their own well being health than fitness health.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

local council regulations and australian road rules are making it harder and harder to take a dog for a walk and get it any form of decent exercise...

Having said that - if the dog is old and decrepit and has difficulty walking - I would think it cruel to force it to go for a walk. Visiting new places for a sniff would be good but not all that important.

Is it true the RSPCA is trying to make not walking the dog a criteria for cruelty ie they can take the dog away if it isn't getting walked?

[Staranais]

Is it cruel to never exercise your dog out side of your own property? Depends on how big your "backyard" is (farm vs suburb), what additional exercise and stimulation you give your dog, and how old the dog is (getting off the property to see different places & things is IMO essential for a puppy).

[Bluefairy]

No I don't believe its cruel for a dog not to be walked, so long as it had other things to do.

My last Pug, I never took for a walk, I have a heart condition that stops me doing any exercise at all, and Zoe was very happy to just play, chase and do her zoomies. I chose a Pug because they didn't need regular exercise and loved being a couch potato.

If there is no other activity for the dog, especially larger breeds and those smaller active ones, then yes it would be very cruel to never to walk them.

BF

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

Voted number three.

I know of someone who has two kelpies who are never excercised, they are locked in a small area behind where they live. The most excercise the bitch has had since mid September has been one class at one show. :p

[New Age Outlaw]

It depends on a lot o variables related to the individual animal...type of dog, age of dog, health of dog. My dogs rarely go off property. Each day we play in the yard and each dog can chose how much or little they want to participate...the younger ones really get into it and the older girls play some days, and other days they don't. Lately Cleo (my old gal) is separated from the others as she has stitches, so I have been walking her for her toilet breaks, and she hates it! :p I have to just about drag her up the driveway to go out.

ETA One of the reasons I don't like taking mine out is there are too many other dogs that I encounter that are poorly socialised, or aggressive, or off lead (or all of those things), not to mention stupid people (usually the owners to the above mentioned dogs). I hate putting myself and my dogs in the position of having avoid/deal with those things, so we tend to not go out so much.

Edited December 28, 2010 by New Age Outlaw

[jacqui835]

I voted that I thought it was cruel if the dog was confined to the backyard and never got any exercise/mental stimulation, but that said, I think it's far from ideal (though perhaps not so far as cruel) to never take a dog for a walk off the property. I know of dogs who don't particularly seem to like going for walks but I still believe there is something to be gained.

[Baileys mum]

Thanks every one for all your replies so far. :p

It seems that their are lots of differen't opinions on this topic.

I agree that the size of the dogs yard/ property would make a big difference, I also agree that it is very important for a puppy to get alot of socialisation & experiences out of the property.

I also agree that some dogs do not like going for a walk.

[Baileys mum]

It depends on a lot o variables related to the individual animal...type of dog, age of dog, health of dog. My dogs rarely go off property. Each day we play in the yard and each dog can chose how much or little they want to participate...the younger ones really get into it and the older girls play some days, and other days they don't. Lately Cleo (my old gal) is separated from the others as she has stitches, so I have been walking her for her toilet breaks, and she hates it! :p I have to just about drag her up the driveway to go out.

ETA One of the reasons I don't like taking mine out is there are too many other dogs that I encounter that are poorly socialised, or aggressive, or off lead (or all of those things), not to mention stupid people (usually the owners to the above mentioned dogs). I hate putting myself and my dogs in the position of having avoid/deal with those things, so we tend to not go out so much.

That's exactly the main reason why I don't take my dogs out much, too many agressive dogs & irresponsible owners to contend with these days.

Much nicer & safer on our own property (except for the snakes in summer )

[Gayle.]

My dogs don't get walked regularly lately, but every single day they get to chase a frisbee, retrieve a ball etc in our paddock and they have heaps of space to run around in, and they do.

They also help me do stuff.....this morning they all helped me clean a shed out....an exercise in patience and tolerance for me, hahaha. Then we weeded a garden bed and swept some paving, and they had a big run around in the paddock while I checked on the new baby chicks.

[smooch]

The only time our dogs leave our property (20acres) is to go to the vet.

We have about 2 acres done in with chicken wire, have sports oval next door so they get to see plenty of people and activities. When we take them down to the other paddocks they do not attempt to go through the barb wire fence, but unfortunately we do have a problem with other peoples dogs entering our place from the oval which is NOT a leash free area but people take no notice of that. There fore we don't let our dogs into this area unattended.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

We're on acres and I think there are two issues with the "on acres" thing.

First issue is whether it's cruel never to go for a walk; providing the dog gets safe free running and exercise on the acres, I'd say not it's not cruel.

Second issue is that not leaving the property is also not ideal for socialisation and confidence purposes and if the dog then has to leave its safe haven it often doesn't have the mental tools it needs to navigate life confidently. I think calling that cruelty dilutes the reasons we need the word cruelty to describe things that are heinous. It's not good tho'. It's one of the reasons we were getting together with some of the other locals with sighthounds to walk at markets and the lakes etc. Not because they needed the physical exercise but because they need the mental exercise.

[Little Gifts]

Our dogs don't get walked everyday mainly because sometimes it isn't light enough (I don't feel safe night walking and I am not a morning person) or like now when it is constantly raining. But we have play time with all three dogs morning and night either in the yard or house using whatever thing stimulates them the most (one loves being chased with toys and playing tug). In the mornings play is always followed by a a body massage. So walks and outings are always on top of the daily play. We do try and have a special outing with all 3 dogs every weekend to an agility park or the beach or to a park where they get to play in water. Often we will meet up with friends who also have dogs at these outings.

[Kaz]

In a case like yours, Bailey's mum, I wouldn't think it cruel though I would not be completely comfortable in that situation.

Sounds like a heaven on earth for your dogs however I am a firm believer in exposure to new experiences for my dogs. We go on leash walks as well as off leash walks at the beach. Nearly every time I go shopping, t least one of the dogs comes with me for an outing.

I'm with Danois on this one........definately a fan of Cesar Milan too

[Gayle.]

My dogs go to obedience club, dog shows and other dog related activities, they also regularly get taken into town and now that the weather is warming up, they'll go to the lake again soon.

They might not get walked often, but they do get to do plenty of stuff away from home. Two of them also run with our bikes and I'll be training one of them for her ET next year.

[Dogsfevr]

Well it comes done to defining cruel.

I work in the dog industry & to be honest going for a daily walk is the least of many issues.

I groom dogs that go walking every day BUT are matted messes/covered in fleas & feral

I groom dogs that rarely leave there property who are in wonderful condition.

There are people who think the hr daily walk means human time & the other 23 hrs means shut outside never to see a sole.

There is no perfect fit except what works for that person & the overall care the dog gets which should cover all aspects.

Some peoples idea of a daily walk/socializing is being feral at an offleash park others idea of walking is onlead/controlled .

If we where to read posts on DOL quite simply we are all cruel owners in one form or another because we don't do a "certain" something even though those animals may be great ambassadors in the outside world or in fields where being trained correctly means being social

[stormie]

Just a question, and definitely not having a go, but for those who don't walk their dogs often, may I ask why?

ie, why do you chose to throw a ball or frisbee, do some training etc for half an hour or so, rather than going for a half an hour walk?

Obviously I get that some dogs may have problems which see them unable to be exercised too much, but for those with healthy, young/adult dogs?

I should say that when I refer to walk, I don't mean going out to a dog park for a run around, but I mean an on leash walk around the streets etc.