Must dogs really be walked in all weathers?

R

Rose65

Well-known Member
Location
United Kingdom
I see the truly dedicated owners go past our house in the worst rain, wind, snow and ice, at the crack of dawn. Some of them several times a day.
Is this really necessary? I wonder if some people have no other interests. Every time I look out they are walking again. I know some who have large powerful animals and they walk for hours daily. Others have tiny ones and actually carry them if they flag!

We walk once a day before lunch, about 40 minutes, including a field where she can run free if no others are around. But if the weather is very bad, we just don't go. We have a big garden and patio.

I do believe dogs are just like us in that they like their warmth and comfort. It's just dogs are naturally so very obliging and seem very willing to go out. But surely if it's blowing a gale or pouring rain, it's not vital to drag them and yourself out there?

So we don't worry about a missed day. What do you think?
 

I've learned not to comment on pets or their owners. Personally if I wanted a house full of varmints throwing up on carpets and worse and making me constantly sneeze... I'd throw open the windows and doors and just let the squirrels, raccoons, and skunks have a continuous party.

But I'm a crusty old codger. I defy any woman to succeed in changing me.
 
WE have the same here Rose.. several times a day in all weathers.. the pets get walked... and if the owners like that, and it does their dog good, then fine

I'm an animal lover as everyone knows.. but I agree that a good walk once a day is plenty... .. as long as you have a garden to allow them out... I think that on bad weather days the garden is fine.

However lot of people have astro turf now instead of grass, in their gardens, so can't allow their dogs to be out there..
 

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Depends on the dog. Some are more weather tolerant or high strung than others. Depending on who is walker, it may not physically be possible to walk a dog under certain conditions. Mostly dogs we've had were happy to walk in most bad weather, even if we weren't.




Personal Trainer.jpeg
 
Rose65 said:
I see the truly dedicated owners go past our house in the worst rain, wind, snow and ice, at the crack of dawn. Some of them several times a day.
Is this really necessary? I wonder if some people have no other interests. Every time I look out they are walking again. I know some who have large powerful animals and they walk for hours daily. Others have tiny ones and actually carry them if they flag!

We walk once a day before lunch, about 40 minutes, including a field where she can run free if no others are around. But if the weather is very bad, we just don't go. We have a big garden and patio.

I do believe dogs are just like us in that they like their warmth and comfort. It's just dogs are naturally so very obliging and seem very willing to go out. But surely if it's blowing a gale or pouring rain, it's not vital to drag them and yourself out there?

So we don't worry about a missed day. What do you think?
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Yes, I believe dogs should be walked in all weathers. As long as the dog is digging it, it's good. My dog loves the leaves falling from tree's, he has to sniff each and everyone of them. And if a branch falls from a tree.... well it takes him ages to size it up.

But perhaps more importantly, it gets me out of the house. I'd vegetate in here if I didn't walk him. I walk him at least twice a day, rain, wind, or shine.
 
I wonder why no one seems to worry about farm animals being outdoors in all sorts of weather conditions ?. Of course farmers provide proper shelters for their animals to get out of the rain or snow and wind, but those shelters are not heated except by the animals themselves. I can't imagine a herd of Angus beef cattle standing in a field while wearing rain suits.....or snow boots. GRIN. JIMB.
 
My dog hated going out in the rain. I had to physically push him out the door. He did his business as fast as he could and would be back at the door, whining to come in.

As long as the owner has a yard for the dog where it can do it's business, I don't see a problem with skipping a walk or not going to the park for one day when it's inclement weather. Even kids stay in the house when it's raining or freezing cold.
 
I did not have to walk my dog because I lived in the country. My dog would go to the door to let me know she had to go out. To go to the bathroom. She would go several times a day and as she aged she would even go out in the middle of the night. She would wake me up to let her out. I can't imagine making her only go once a day or she would have had many accidents.
 
Our dogs donā€™t get walked in extreme weather. Yesterday it rained all day long and they didnā€™t go for a walk. Today itā€™s raining all day but thereā€™s a break in the day so they got walked. There arenā€™t many days they donā€™t get walked but like us, they arenā€™t fond of walking in the rain. We do have rain coats for them so they donā€™t get too wet or too cold.
 
Since my dog needs his potty breaks everyday there isn't much choice ... we usually go outside three times a day and that's his favorite pasttime.
He is always looking for his friends out there.

He does have a heavy raincoat, and cold weather sweaters and assorted gear for bad weather.

They make warm snowsuits for dogs too ..

229706_MAIN._AC_SL600_V1597888910_.jpg
 
katlupe said:
I did not have to walk my dog because I lived in the country. My dog would go to the door to let me know she had to go out. To go to the bathroom. She would go several times a day and as she aged she would even go out in the middle of the night. She would wake me up to let her out. I can't imagine making her only go once a day or she would have had many accidents.
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Oh our dog certainly goes out to do her business as often as she wishes, she just goes to the back door and waits.
I am talking about proper walks out together in this topic. Exercise for her and us.

Today we have not ventured out actually because of very strong winds, it is not safe or comfortable out there for us.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
Our dogs donā€™t get walked in extreme weather. Yesterday it rained all day long and they didnā€™t go for a walk. Today itā€™s raining all day but thereā€™s a break in the day so they got walked. There arenā€™t many days they donā€™t get walked but like us, they arenā€™t fond of walking in the rain. We do have rain coats for them so they donā€™t get too wet or too cold.
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Us too, she dislikes lashing rain as do I! We do wait for a gap in the weather and then go. But in very bad weather we just don't subject ourselves or her to it.
 
JustBonee said:
Since my dog needs his potty breaks everyday there isn't much choice ... we usually go outside three times a day and that's his favorite pasttime.
He is always looking for his friends out there.

He does have a heavy raincoat, and cold weather sweaters and assorted gear for bad weather.

They make warm snowsuits for dogs too ..

229706_MAIN._AC_SL600_V1597888910_.jpg
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Now that is some nice dog wear.
Love it.
 
My Wife just pointed out a face book post about a dog that needs a new home, because the previous owner died suddenly. Get this......This dog has been trained to RING A BELL when it wants to go outside. That must have taken a lot of time and effort to train it to do that. The bell is a small one that hangs next to the exit door with a short rope that the dog pulls on. Imagine that ? JimB.
 
My dogs hated going out in the rain. They would come back in quickly. I spent a lot of time playing ball outdoors with them. Except for my one retriever who didn't like to retrieve. Lazy girl.
 
jimintoronto said:
My Wife just pointed out a face book post about a dog that needs a new home, because the previous owner died suddenly. Get this......This dog has been trained to RING A BELL when it wants to go outside. That must have taken a lot of time and effort to train it to do that. The bell is a small one that hangs next to the exit door with a short rope that the dog pulls on. Imagine that ? JimB.
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My daughter's Corgi learned to do that as a puppy. Sometimes, she rang it just because she wanted to sit outside on the bench and watch people pass by.
 
jimintoronto said:
My Wife just pointed out a face book post about a dog that needs a new home, because the previous owner died suddenly. Get this......This dog has been trained to RING A BELL when it wants to go outside. That must have taken a lot of time and effort to train it to do that. The bell is a small one that hangs next to the exit door with a short rope that the dog pulls on. Imagine that ? JimB.
Click to expand...
Itā€™s not uncommon. My DD did that with her puppy and said it took less than a week.
 
I have a 5 year old Yorkie - a relative large one - 14 lbs. I also have a pretty large backyard. I never take her out in the rain - especially in low temps. She isn't too crazy about going out in the back yard when it's raining, but it's there if she wants it. Otherwise I take her every day when it's not raining or when there in a break in the rain. She doesn't let me alone until I do. LOL She loves her walk and is really sad when the weather prevents it.
 
It really depends on the dog. My Maltese are pad trained because even when I had a house it wasnā€™t safe for them to be outside without me. They donā€™t like rain, snow, wind or too hot or cold. Fortunately our weather is mild so they can usually walk once a day.

When I had my sonā€™s husky shepherd mix we walked 5 miles daily even when he was 9 years old because he had a lot of energy and loved all kinds of weather.

Someone mentioned Astro-turf and it holds up very well with dogs. If it doesnā€™t rain a lot then you hose it down once a month. Ours looked like new after 10 years even having the big guy and 3 small dogs all at once.
 
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