Relationship Between Dog Size, Yard Size And Exercise?

[jacqui835]

Just wondering about this, based on what I'm seeing in myself as I move into different types of homes with my dog. Please explain your responses to highlight the relationship.

[Agility Dogs]

I've got 3 Border Collies on approx 750m2. Their area would be maybe 400m2 of that. They live most of their lives on a deck that might be 10m2 (by choice.)

They are walked EVERY morning for about an hour to an hour and a half - including a training session in a park somewhere. Then at night they either do nothing (rarely), go to training, go on a walk or do some shaping around the house.

Neighbours rarely see or hear the dogs from all reports. ('Your dogs never bark, when they do the light comes on and they stop. Those sensor lights are a great thing. hmmmmmm.......The light is not a sensor light. I turn it on - they are barking because I've arrived home! :D

When my boy was young he broke his elbow and we had our dogs in small runs (4m x 3m) so they couldn't play and couldn't get at each other. One of them is a VERY high drive dog - the above worked to keep her sane for a 9 month period. (She was betwen 10 months and 19 months at the time.)

I think it is less about the size of your yard and more about the interaction you have with them.

[TerraNik]

I think it is less about the size of your yard and more about the interaction you have with them.

I totally agree with this. The dogs are rarely out in the yard - they spend 90% of their time indoors and only use the backyard as a big toilet :D

They get out and about at least 6 days a week for obedience/flyball/agility training and exercise.

[halfthewords]

Two toy breeds here, one medium and one small-medium. Our backyard is fairly big for a suburban one, but we have a pool (which it utilized for dog swimming ). All are walked every day at least once, I train Carl and Mischa a few times a week and they are inside most of the time anyway. :D

[corvus]

I think it is less about the size of your yard and more about the interaction you have with them.

That may be so, but I would not get another dog as long as we are on this block, and last time we picked a breed we went for a smaller one than what we really wanted specifically because we didn't consider our yard big enough to accommodate another medium-large dog. We take ours for an off leash run every day because our yard is just not big enough for them to stretch their legs. They do play out there, and they can get up to a run, but it's just not the same as an all out gallop in the park. If the park was closer I'd take them twice a day, but I don't like going on my own. I like having the OH as an extra pair of eyes and hands. Just makes transporting and managing around other dogs easier, and means I can train both dogs because he can work with one while I work with the other.

The majority of the time our dogs are at home they don't need a lot of space, but there are those times when they have extra energy for some unknown reason and the sudden need to zoom around like maniacs takes them. I love it when they stay at my parents' house where the yard is about the size of our entire block. They get up and spontaneously play more often and when they do they have enough room to do it properly. For myself, it is one of my great joys to watch my dogs play, and for that reason the next place we get will have a yard big enough for it. We will still take them for an off leash run every day, but it would be nice if they could play properly whenever the feeling took them.

[Katie P]

I have x1 toy, with a house and large back yard with plenty of room to run. When he is older he will still get walked every day!!

[Gayle.]

We have 3 dogs and 3/4 acre which is very useful and very much used. They don't access the front yard which is quite spacious, but they have general, all day access to the middle part which contains the house, courtyard, paving, sheds, orchard, fishponds, gardens and a very wide, large driveway. This is their main play area and they can and do, run in it, play-fight, chase balls etc.

Then down past the orchard is a paddock which is around 800 square metres, maybe more. It's flat, mowed and fully fenced and it's a lot longer than it is wide so it's perfect for frisbee playing and ball-chasing. And this we do every day, weather permitting.

They aren't allowed in the paddock unless we are with them, and when we head for it, the excitement is high.....they LOVE it and it's a real treat for them, and for that reason, they won't ever be allowed free access.

I also use the paddock for obedience training.

Since we moved out here, I walk the dogs a lot less but I do walk them (and bike them).....but they are all fitter and slimmer with better muscle definition. Dusty has just done a huge coat drop so she's not hiding anything and she looks amazing.

[megan_]

Very small backyard (decking only) with two small dogs (mini schnauzer and mini schnauzer cross). I walk them twice a day and do agility on the weekend. In addition to this, my boy goes with a dog walker off leash three times a week with his "friends". I also walk him off leash almost every night. This includes training and playing fetch. My girl goes with a dog walker once a week on leash. She has fear aggression issues and even though she has a fantastic recall, I can't let her off leash in public due to her unpredictability. I take her to KCC's fenced off leash area once a week for a good run. I do a few minutes of clicker training with each of them most nights.

While I think they get enough - I feel tired just reading the description above - I would love to have a garden so that Lucy could get more free running time. She isn't particularly athletic, but she does her zoomies in the house (floorboards, not good for the joints) - I'd love to see her running in her garden! Thsi yeaer I'm going to seriously investigate my options to see if I can purchase a liveable house not too far from where I am with a nice, big garden. We stayed at a holiday house recently taht had a nice sized yard and they were both much more active during the day.

That said, one of the benefits of a teeny yard is that you are forced to get out of bed to walk the dog each day, rather than fooling yourself that they're getting enough mental and physical exercise running around the yard on their own.

[juice]

2 medium, 1 large.

460sqm block, but big house on it and pool!

walked twice a day, without fail, for about an hour each time, mostly offlead. :D

[dee lee]

I live in a small inner-city terrace house with a courtyard.

I have a Golden Retriever. Every morning we alternate going for a 7km run or spend about an hour at a nearby offlead park walking & playing fetch. Additionally she comes with me when I walk the kids to school and then to have coffee.

After I get home from work we go for a short toilet walk.

I would love to have a large yard for her & the kids but it's just not a possibility.

She is fit and healthy and seems happiest at my feet.

Edited January 23, 2011 by ✽deelee

[ChristineX]

Currently my 2 irish terriers rarely get walked, although once training starts again then its weekly there, fortnightly at the dog shrinks. One would love to go walking more - but my health currently does not support it (working on that). The other has very little in the way of coping skills once outside the front door, hence the dog shrink.

Lots of training, though.

[Sheridan]

With my two, it often depends on the weather whether they get a walk or not.

[bianca.a]

We have a large enough yard that I play fetch with Molly, in fact it's larger than I can throw the ball! She gets a walk every morning for an hour-hour and a half and then every afternoon we go the off lead park for another hour or longer. I am home 24/7 so she is always inside with me or outside with me :D

[Danois]

Giant breed and a inner city terrace/ semi with a small paved yard but about to move to a place with a paved back and grass at side and front.

Dog only uses the backyard to sun bake and go to the toilet.

Walked most days - usually with some off lead time too.

[dogslife]

Two Large and one Giant. Three all up.

Inner city semi with yard.

They sleep all day and have to be dragged outside to the toilet.

The Dane x loves to lie with her head over the back of the lounge in the front room and watching the people walking along the street.

They enjoy sleeping more than anything.

Before I had knee surgery, I walked them every night and took them for a swim in the harbour.

For the last year they have not had a regular walk but I am not sure that they have missed it much...... they are all 8 years of age.

They do get lots and lots of people contact, and they have humans all day with them as I work from home.

[trifecta]

1 GSD x, 1 Belgian, 1 Kelpie.

Live on half an acre but also have 70 acre property.

Dogs are walked off our properties at least five times a week. Distance covered ranges from 5 - 17km. I used to do obedience with our Belgian, she is a natural, but I just don't have the time to train. GSDx is a social boy & loves to go to the local cafes for coffee. We try to accommodate him at least three times a week :D Kelpie loves to fish so we try to get to the river once a month, more during hot summer weather! Although we have dams...... they are just not the same as running water

[wuffles]

1 x large, 1 x medium. Our block size is about 365m², small house, so they have a small grassy area and a largish pergola.

Both walked every day at least once mostly on lead. Get a big run at the dog park or reserve about twice a week. The younger one gets lots of training as well.

Edit: I would love a larger yard for the dogs. They chase each other around, there is enough room to run up and down and chase a toy but that's about it. One day...

Edited January 23, 2011 by wuffles

[~*Shell*~]

I have 1xlarge dog and a big backyard.... he uses about 1/20th of the yard and he only uses it to sleep in pretty much. That being said, we're out and about a lot during the week and he needs his 22 hours of beauty sleep a day.

[sas]

Great Danes

Small-Medium Yard

Walk everyday

My dogs use the backyard as a toilet and that is all, they are forced outside. Dogs don't self exercise so they need to be exercised so as long as you don't have a tiny court yard and you provide enough exercise for your dog I don't see yard size being that important.

[~Anne~]

Small breed - Pugs x 3.

We currently have a small yard with lawn, gardens and a paved area.

They are only walked here and there, mainly of a weekend.

My dogs enjoy exploring our garden daily, but aside from that they really don't get a great deal of exercise. They are content to be lounge lizards and their main exercise is playing inside the house, either chasing a ball/toy or each other.

I have never considered yard size important. You can have a dog on 5 acres and it will only hang at your back step and unless you interact regularly with it, it is going to be just as miserable on this amount of land as what it would in a teeny tiny terrace courtyard.

Edited January 23, 2011 by ~Anne~