Why should I walk my dog?

I think you were really rude to her and maybe you should apologize.

Can you show me where i was rude please????

Sorry dont know how to copy and paste here,but can you see where i got the impression walks arent high on the list by reading just the first 2 posts? I did read all the posts by the way and the impression i got was play in the back yard was the norm!
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But lately I just havent seen the point of walking them unless we are going to a place where they can run around like the park or the marina or something.
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Personally, I hardly ever walk my dog.
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Below are the quotes from Glenda which prompted my baiting response.

There are those that will verbally beat me bloody, but, I don't take mine for regular walks either.

There ARE folks tho, and no one who has posted at this point, who get really outraged about those of us who do NOT take our dogs for numerous walks each and every day. I've been accused of neglecting my dogs.....of having too many to give them proper attention....

I'm not going to make them go for leash walks just to make someone ELSE think I take good care of them!
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All of the above quotes were directed at me,because Glenda and i have had discussions about the very things she posted. Now once again Huskymom can you please tell me where it was that i was rude?

Well, I think everyone here really takes care of their dogs. I don't have someplace safe for them to run off leash, but they go to daycare, have playdates, and rip and tear with each other. And we play in the backyard, which is fenced. I certainly don't make mine "heel" when we walk--that's too difficult, but they have long lines (which is against the law in my county) and they chase balls and rip and tear on our walks.
 
I'm selfish! I want walking buddies. I have my bike rigged for indoor use and I bike on it, too, but I walk them two or three times a day, no matter what. I outdo my neighbors because they won't go if the weather is somewhat crappy. I go, no matter what.
 
It's part of our home routine! I love that and they need and love that, too.
 
Okay, and I'm a little OCD, too. There is that . . . []

Sally likes her walks. We live in an apartment. While we do have a large indoor horse arena next door for her to play in, I believe walks are very valueable for her. She gets to see new sights (we walk different places) and gets lots of stimualation. I have a 15 ft lead that I use when we are hiking on the beach or in the boonies, and I use the shorter leash for walks on paved trails where there are lots or other dogs or in the neighborhood. We are going to attempt to start biking soon. While her walks do not totally exaust her all the time, it does take the edge off. We do have a dog park nearby, but I don't let her play with dogs we don't know, so we only go on off hours. She'll run around for the first couple minutes, then just sniff and dig. When I take her into the arena, she plays with her jolly ball and plastic ball, but she really doesn't enjoy fetch that much.

I do believe that anyone with a dog should expect to go for walks at least once or twice a week. It can be a good change of scenery (you don't HAVE to stick to you neighborhood, I rarely do) and a good way to socialize the dog and for the dog to get exposed to new situations.

Christine, nobody really knows the conversations you've had with Glenda. If she is baiting you, then why rise to it?  To make your spat public.  What purpose does it serve. If only you two know of the conversation then I wouldn't think you'd need to defend yourself.  No one knows who she is referring until now.
I think in some cases you need to agree to disaggree.  I think you do a wonderful job raising your dogs. I also think  Glenda does a wonderful job.  There's not a set plan to raising a dog. If there was very few people would be able to own them.  I think that dogs are extremely adaptable to how they are raised and can be happy in many different kinds of homes. JMHO

You insinuate that Glenda does not walk or exercise her dogs.  She does.  You also insinuate that she should have thought about whether or not she would have time for them before she got them.  I do believe she has.  IF you had read this before jumping to the conclusion that she does neither of these you probably would not have posted the baiting comment.    Glenda obviously loves her dogs very much as does everyone that posts on this board.  We all do our best by them.  I dont believe that anyone has said they dont ever leave the yard with their dogs.  Some of us just choose to exercise them there.  And personally I think it could be alot worse.  How about a dog that gets a 5 mile walk a day but never goes faster than his human can walk.  Then spends the rest of the day inside.  Do you think that dog would get enough exercise?  Mine certainly wouldn't.  I have thought of putting a pedometer on my dogs to see just how many miles they put on up at the park.  But I havent found one that would work.  I bet its farther than I could possibly walk them.  

Christine, why on earth would I want to bait you?  We were having a discussion about exercising our dogs.  It had nothing to do with what you like or dislike.
 
However, since you felt it neccessary to bring up my failings as a dog owner, here's our typical day.....I am up every day between 5 and 5:30 AM.  That's MY time for about an hour to check email, catch up with idog, have the first pot of coffee, etc.  By 7AM I'm downstairs with the dogs (who have already had some daddy time since he's up before 4AM....) they go outside and tear around like crazy for about 30 minutes while I get their breakfast ready and in their crates.  Yep, in their crates so that I know exactly who is eating and how much.  Then back out again.  If the weather is fair, they will stay outside for hours, and I often join them for fetch games, or tug games.  We also work on some sort of training at least 2 times in the morning.  In between working with the dogs, I'm catching up laundry, or sometimes on the computer.  Around noon they pretty typically go to their crates for a nap while I go upstairs to take care of the house, have something to eat and cook THEIR food when we need more, and also to get my own dinner started.  This can vary between an hour or so to sometimes three or more hours.  On days that I need to cook, they get a fresh marrow bone in their crates and I turn the baby monitor on so I can listen while I'm upstairs.  Then I'm back downstairs with them and we do a couple more short training sessions and play outside, again if the weather is decent.  If the weather is crappy we play fetch in the family room.  We are constantly working on new things as far as training so that there is always some mental stimulation going on.  I stay downstairs with the crew until my son comes home from work.  Then I come up and fix dinner.  While we eat, they eat, and after dinner everyone comes upstairs and lazes around for the evening.  On days that the weather is decent, we space walks out throughout the day so that I don't have to be out 4.5-6 hours straight.
 
I didn't intend to have six dogs.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine having sooo many.  But three are fosters who just flat didn't find decent homes because they are BIG dogs.  So I guess that the way that I abuse and neglect them is preferable to living in a small yard with a doghouse 24/7 365 days a year.  And yep, MOST everyone sleeps in a crate at nite.  Those who are given a choice will usually go to their crates on their own.
 
At least, but usually only one day per week, I take trips into town with two dogs at a time and we walk in town for at least an hour, on lead, practicing our leash manners, sitting and waiting before crossing the street, meeting people, getting loved up on, etc.....if I have errands to run, someone rides along...they all get a turn.  I rarely leave the house without a dog, and only then if I'm going to be out for several hours.  And  I absolutely promise that my dogs are NEVER bored roaming the fields of our 4 plus acres.  Nor are they bored in the backyard.  There are always new sights and sounds out in the country...the stray cats dumped by the "good" owners, the cows mooing, an occassional horse out for a ride, deer, squirrels, bunnies, racoons, people working down the hill and through the woods building a subdivision.....plenty of fresh scents too, and they are quite happy exploring the same 4 acres and finding new stuff to discover each and every walk.
 
Right now, two dogs are curled up on the sofa with me, one keeps dropping a ball in my laptop for me to throw, one is curled up in a crate with the door wide open and the other two are watching TV.  yep, they have a rough life.
 
So, my apologies if I don't quite live up to your expectations as a dog owner, but I've already got 4 cats and a fish tank, so I think I'll stick with what I've already got and not worry about other peoples judgements.  My critters think that I'm the very best mommy in the world.  THAT's what matters to me.

If she is baiting you, then why rise to it?

I didnt think i was rising to it,i just thought it was funny that she raises it at every opportunity! Nothing in my post was directed at Glenda,except the first line.

huskymum no my dogs dont walk to heel all the time,i wouldnt expect them to either,they run ahead,behind and next to me.I dont get why you asked that question????

I did NOT get the impression from your first post that you walked your dogs 3 times a day,you didnt say that,did you?? I'm afraid i left my crystal ball at home today!

You  did however say you dont see the point of walking your dogs if you're not going to the park or Marina,did you not?

Did YOU read all of the posts here? I distintly get the impression most dogs dont even get walked a few times a week,lettalone everyday.If thats not the case then i apologise and perhaps people can be clearer in future [sm=happy.gif]

You insinuate that Glenda does not walk or exercise her dogs. She does. You also insinuate that she should have thought about whether or not she would have time for them before she got them.

Well i can say in all honesty that the above is absolute BullS**t!! I wasnt even thinking of glenda when i wrote that.Like i said the only thing directed at Glenda was the first line!

Candace do me a huge favour,would you? Do not ever put words in my mouth again!.If i was talking about someone i would use their name,i dont backpeddle OR insinuate,if i've got something to say to someone i will say it! I never say something but mean something else,Kay!!

I didn't see that Christine's post was directed towards anyone in particular at all. She was just saying that in general she thought that dogs should be walked and that owners should be prepared to set aside time for that. What exactly is wrong with that idea?

You know sometimes the whole story does not get told in the opening statement.  Maybe in the future when you come upon a thread with as many posts as this one, you could bother yourself to read through it before jumping down peoples throats. 

I for one am a fan of Glenda.  I think what she has done for her fosters is great!  I've learned alot from her and many others that post here. 

I asked if your dogs heeled by your side because you seem to think that what others do here for their dogs is different than what you do.  Since they don't I would think you would agree that leash walking is not compulsary for exercise. 

Sorry if the whole discussion of the matter at hand was not summed up during the first 2 posts.  If it had been there would be no need for the rest of the thread.

Glenda i didnt even read past the first few lines of your above post,havnt got time right now,i have to walk the dogs.But i did see it's another justification which i have told you a million times i am not interested in,i honestly dont care what you do with your dogs.Will try and read it later though[sm=happy.gif] However i am sorry to dissapoint you but my post was NOT directed at you at all!!

Maybe in the future when you come upon a thread with as many posts as this one, you could bother yourself to read through it before jumping down peoples throats.

Right, now i really gotta go,last post! Candace i did read each and every post on this thread,however it seems you havnt read mine clearly enough before you jumped down my throat!

Thanks sillysally, it seems you're the only one who read my post in the right context

Come on ladies. Lets be nice here.  I think we need to get this discussion back on track. Maybe we should have started a poll to see how people exercise their dogs.  Is there poll functionality now on this forum?  I think that its wrong to insinuate that Glenda doesn't do right by her dogs. Its obvious that she cares for them. And I think you're a great dog owner, but you have differences in how they should be raised(though I haven't a clue what they are, nor do I care). 
 
By asking your question(in your first post) whether she was baiting you, was you rising to it.

Well I maintain that I dont believe it is necessary to walk your dog on leash for long periods of time and for miles and miles to exercise them.  I also think it is beneficial to exercise your dog in you back yard if you can't get him to a park or other off leash area.  Many places don't allow dogs to be off leash and so running in the backyard for exercise is pretty acceptable to me.  Socializing is harder to do in the back yard and you can accomplish that by shorter walks on leash.   

Some of us can't take our dogs to dog parks or off leash anywhere so we have to improvise.. for me it's a lot of play in the back yard. Boss is not the dog that can be brought to a dog park, or allowed to walk off leash. Boss has 120 feet to run and play back there... for those who live in the country that is not much, but for city living it's good. 
 
Even before getting Gracie, Boss lays down to sleep at night exhausted, ready for bed before I am.. and snores through the night. He's snoring on the couch right now! LOL! He gets excercise every day.
 
The backyard is not the only place he gets to play and run. I do walk him when I can, in fact we have been working on him and Gracie walking together.. oh joy! LOL! Boss goes everywhere I go, except to work. On weekends we go to my mom's and he plays in her fenced in back yard with their dogs, or she brings them over here. But, like Candace said.. it's not necessary to take them out on a leash to exercise them.
 
Boss enjoys getting out and looking around when we walk, but I know he has much more fun chasing his raggedy basketball in the back yard where he can run at top speed and get it.