Dogs lacking exercise/stimulation

I SO agree-- I know so many people who think it's ok to keep a dog in a crate 20+ hours a day, every day, and think a short leash walk is exercise for a dog. Well, it's not.  Or the people who think letting the dog out in a small backyard is exercise. Well it's not.  And then they wonder why their dog is so fat and so hyper and so destructive.
 
Before you get your dog, think long and hard.  Dogs with Moderate exercise needs will need at least an hour of exercise per day. And that doesn't mean a leash walk at a relaxed human pace for an hour-- it means trotting and running and swimming. If your dog doesn't start panting it's not exercise.
 
 Dogs with High exercise needs will need between two and twelve hours of exercise per day.
 
And let's not even start in on the mental needs of dogs.
 

This is a very good post Edie and one that so many folks considering dog ownership should read. I wholeheartedly agree with everything EXCEPT this statement

take their dogs out for 2 long off lead walks a day,everyday?

And the only part I disagree with is the “off lead part”. Not every dog can be off lead and many folks don#%92t have access to an enclosed area. We DO have a dog park that we frequent, but if other dog owners have their small dogs in the larger dog are then we don#%92t enter as my greyhounds will see them as “prey”.  Also, JJ has arthritis and bone spurs and tends to run TOO HARD at the dog park so we have had to limit our visits to no more than a couple a week.  

  We live in a condo with no yard to run them in, so our only daily options are walking on lead. They have a 30 minute walk at 5:30 am and an hour walk in the evening and we drive them to other walking locations 5 times a week for variety. The get 2 other shorter walks a day through our complex and my dogs DO actually sleep an average of 18 hours a day.. it is just their breed and it is what makes them a perfect breed for us and our living situation.

  So I personally do not believe that you must provide 2 “off-lead” walks a day to be a good owner. One just needs to understand the exercise requirement of the breed they are choosing.

How many people here manage to take their dogs out for 2 long off lead walks a day,everyday? Which i think is the minimum for the average non-working breed pet.Then there's the high energy breeds which i couldnt even begin to imagine how much exercise they would need on a daily basis,hours of off lead romping

  Me, Me, Me....I do, I do, I do....

When I get home from work we go on a 1.5 mile "I just got home from work, you need to go potty and get some of that excess energy out of you" walk.  After he's cooled down he eats.  About an hour after that we either go on a 3-6 mile walk or another 1+ mile walk with a trip to the dog park-providing the occupants in the DP are ones he knows and gets along with well.

After we get back from the walk/DP he gets a bone or other chewy or his favorite...we play "Find it" and he has to hunt for and find several treats hidden throughout the condo.

In the mornings he has a short 10-20 minute walk before breakfast.

Yup it takes alot of time but I'm not having a frustrated, wound up PH in the house.
 
 
ETA:  The only off lead time he gets is at the DP.
 
A prime reason for this happened this morning.  I walk out the door and what do I see?  Mr. Peter Cottontail.  He did the usual "Freeze and the predator won't see me."  Wrong.  So if Xerxes was off lead he would have gotten a big breakfast, though I doubt I would have made it to work on time.  As it was I had a frustrated PH barking his fool head off and angry neighbors at 630 in the AM. 
 
I, as most people do, live in "Prey Central" so that there's always something to chase.  A sighthound is not an acceptable candidate for an off lead romp. 

Weekend warrior here and that is my life style.  My dogs do just fine and as a matter of fact, if I take a day off during the week, the dogs let me know that its not part of the schedule and it has to be a lazy day.

I agree with you to an extent. However, your post seems to suggest that people who work full time shouldn't have dogs. I disagree. People who work can have perfectly happy dogs. I work 8 hrs per day and my dogs are happy and well adjusted. I take them hiking after work and on the weekends, plus they get to go swimming, play frisbee, catch, etc. I also put them through their obed. and trick training daily just to stimulate their brains.
 
If I stay home on a weekday, they still laze around the house and come to life around 5pm. It's their routine....sleep all day, get energized at 5....
 
So, it's not necessarily the working that's the problem. It's people who don't know any better - whether they work or not. I know someone who doesn't work and her husband works from home. Their dog still doesn't get the exercise and stimulation it needs (I'm working on education these people and using my dogs to set an example). They wonder why my dogs are so well behaved when we go out and theirs barks, jumps, etc. I tell them it's about training, attention/stimulation and exercise....They need to give their dog something to do.  One of these days it'll sink in. That or I'll end up adopting their dog.
 
 

I guess I agree with a mishmash of what everyone has already said.  For me, it all comes down to the individual dog.  In general, responsible owners should be prepared for the possibility that their dog is high-energy and needs 2 walks a day plus additional weekend activities to keep busy.  If the dog turns out to be content with less, great!  I don't think crate training is bad as long as the crate is used appropriately and the dog has the correct attitude regarding the crate.  I don't think dog walks have to be off-leash in order to be intense exercise.  Certain breeds of dogs simply cannot be trusted off-leash.

What has always irked me is people who think that having a fenced in yard is a substitute for walking the dog, then they complain and wonder why the dog exhibits obsessive and neurotic behaviors when they never take it for a walk and leave it in the yard to somehow exercise itself.

What has always irked me is people who think that having a fenced in yard is a substitute for walking the dog, then they complain and wonder why the dog exhibits obsessive and neurotic behaviors when they never take it for a walk and leave it in the yard to somehow exercise itself.

 
That is a huge pet peeve of mine... eople ALWAYS seem to think if the dog has a yard and you go out a couple times a week to toss a ball for 5 minutes then your dog is getting plenty of exercise. These are also often the same dogs that people leave as "outdoor dogs" because the dog seems to be too hyper indoors and demonstrates destructive behaviors. They just don't seem to get the connection between a well behaved dog and one that is exercised and provided daily stimulation outside of the yard.   [8|]    

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06

What has always irked me is people who think that having a fenced in yard is a substitute for walking the dog, then they complain and wonder why the dog exhibits obsessive and neurotic behaviors when they never take it for a walk and leave it in the yard to somehow exercise itself.

That is a huge pet peeve of mine... eople ALWAYS seem to think if the dog has a yard and you go out a couple times a week to toss a ball for 5 minutes then your dog is getting plenty of exercise. These are also often the same dogs that people leave as "outdoor dogs" because the dog seems to be too hyper indoors and demonstrates destructive behaviors. They just don't seem to get the connection between a well behaved dog and one that is exercised and provided daily stimulation outside of the yard.   [8|]    

 
Pet Peeves by definition is a minor annoyance that causes intense frustration.  The Pet Peeve is usually done by a small population and done in a nonchalant manor.  So I don't think the use of ALWAYS is correct.  For some dogs that is plenty of exercise to fullfill their needs.

 I feel I am a responsible and caring dog owner. I cannot always take my dog out for two off leash runs a day. He is walked pretty much twice a day with 2 to 3 long off leash runs a week (more if time and weather permit). He is a Vizsla and is considered to be one of the high energy dogs. Gunnar is content to lay around the house when he has to, has never destroyed anything since he was a puppy (1 PDA and 1 shoe). On our evening walk if we are not able to run off leash he will carry a backpack with water bottles in it. This seems to help him think he is working and he is very serious when he has his backpack on.
 
 I think it is a combination of training and exersise and commitment, it is possible to own large high energy dogs and not have the freedom to run off leash.  I have known responsible people who had large well adjusted dogs in apartments and I have equally known people with acres of farmland who owned unhappy dogs.
 
 Our dog is a happy well adjusted dog. He is able to run for hours in the field, but is also expected to stay quiet and well behaved at home if needed. It has been raining hard in the evenings here for the past few days and we havent had a evening walk, yet he is laying at my feet at the moment. I happen to have a half acre of land as a yard, but I feel that I could also keep Gunnar in an apartment if I had to. The issue is how committed is the dog owner to making it work. One should never get a dog unless 100% committed to keeping it for the life of the dog and 100% committed to being willing to work out any and all obstacles to doing so. If you have that type of commitment to your dog you can make anything work and still have a happy well adjusted dog. They are very flexible creatures.
 
 This is similar to the stay at home mom debate. It is probably better if a mom can stay at home, I was unable to with my kids. But the most important factor is the teaching and commitment. If you teach your kids well and are committed they can be raised just fine with a working mom, and equally said you can be a stay at home mom and not be committed and not teach and end up with troubled kids.
 
Just My Opinion,
 
Gunnar's Mom
 

I too agree with a mix of what people have said. I agree with the OP that dogs need stimulation and that there are SO MANY dogs around who obviously don't get enough of it. However, I do think that every aspect of dog care - from exercise to training to food to grooming to sleeping arrangements - has to be tailored to the individual dog.

Unless there is some disaster, Ben NEVER gets a walk that is NOT off-leash. Every single Ben outing is to a park where he can go off and properly run. This works for us because I live in an area where it's possible and because I can control Ben off-leash. Ben's also a high-energy field-type Lab puppy. He needs to run and would drive me to distraction if he didn't get the exercise he needs. Twice a day, every day, he goes to the park and runs off the stupids. Sometimes things happen and he only gets one walk, but that's an exception and only occurs when something unforseen throws our schedule out of whack. Not all dogs need as much exercise as Ben does, and that's fine. Honestly I doubt that a Shih Tzu or a St. Bernard could handle the kind of strenous phyiscal activity that Ben puts himself through. (I give him a place to run. HE chooses to do the running.)

At home Ben has toys to keep him mentally stimulated and we train every day, but I make no apologies for being a person with stuff to do. There are times he needs to be in his crate or relegated to one room, and there are times I can't focus on him because I need to work. I work from home so I have the ablity to spend 5-10 minutes with him every hour, but he still needs to amuse himself much of the time, and much of that time Ben chooses to sleep. He sleeps a lot, but since he sleeps less on days he doesn't get as much exercise as usual, I believe that when he sleeps during the day he is doing so because he's tired. He also usually chooses to do that sleeping in his crate, though the door is open.

Appropriate care for the dog, always. Not all dogs need the kind of schedule described in the OP. Those that do, however, really do NEED it. It's not a luxury for such a dog, but a basic requirement for life.

Kate

Pet Peeves by definition is a minor annoyance that causes intense frustration. The Pet Peeve is usually done by a small population and done in a nonchalant manor. So I don't think the use of ALWAYS is correct. For some dogs that is plenty of exercise to fullfill their needs.

Not sure why I was quoted there since I never used the words "always" or "pet peeve".  I said, that type of attitude is irksome when the owner does this AND the dog develops behavioral problems because of it.  If it's all the dog needs, great! Lucky them!  Our neighbor's tzu never cared to go on walks and if she did, she would get tired and stop walking after half a block.  But when someone complains that their dog is obsessively digging, barking, and/or sniffing and then you learn that their idea of exercise is letting the dog out in the yard by itself, that's obviously NOT enough stimulation for the dog.

Not sure why I was quoted there since I never used the words "always" or "pet peeve". I said, that type of attitude is irksome when the owner does this AND the dog develops behavioral problems because of it. If it's all the dog needs, great! Lucky them! Our neighbor's tzu never cared to go on walks and if she did, she would get tired and stop walking after half a block. But when someone complains that their dog is obsessively digging, barking, and/or sniffing and then you learn that their idea of exercise is letting the dog out in the yard by itself, that's obviously NOT enough stimulation for the dog.

 
Liesje- I believe he meant my post not yours. He was was refering to my use of the word "always" in my post as he believes I am inaccruate in its use in that example and that am not using wording correctly. []   

ORIGINAL: jjsmom06

Liesje- I believe he meant my post not yours. He was was refering to my use of the word "always" in my post as he believes I am inaccruate in its use in that example and that am not using wording correctly. []   

 
He doesn't believe, he knows.

I see nothing wrong with the use of hyperbole here to indicate frustration, as is often done.  While I'm sure that certain individuals are ALWAYS grammatically correct and also have perfect syntax, this is not the case with ALL individuals. 
 
After all this is a forum, not a grammar school.[]