@halpme Those walks aren't very long in kilometers (maybe a couple or so at max?) since they are so slow, but I could shorten them a bit for sure. I certainly don't want to hurt my dogs joints, I just thought those rules of thumb for exercise refer to something hardcore like non stop brisk walking. She's mixed with at least pomeranian, dachshund and a little bit of tibetan spaniel. She didn't inherit the long back of a dachshund (edit: the big version), so at least I'm not super worried about her back!I guess I'll get a grip and figure out more indoor activities for her, and look into how to enforce naps on her
@kjvbeliever87 You guys will be just fine, and having those breeds in her I’m sure she’ll LOVE sniff games! Maybe you’ll make a small search and rescue dog out of her
@louy51 Sorry my bad, I just saw 'one hour' and 'medium/large dog' and thought about my 22pound gremlin who I walk ~ 3hrs/day and ignored the 'yard' part completely.
I think if the dog can run and play in your yard whenever then one hour walks are fine .
@dfgre6y5t Three hours a day to walk a dog is on the high end of dog walking time. Most people do not have that kind of time in their day with jobs and family. Heck even an hour walk a day is probably more than most can devote to a walk.
@dfgre6y5t Breed is much more telling of how much excessive a dog wants or need rather than size. Greyhounds and Great Danes are two very large dogs and they’re both considered two of the laziest breeds. Also most humans do not have time/ energy for 3 hour walks. Mental enrichment and sniffing is far more exhausting for a dog than a walk
@louy51 if you can't give them the walks they need you should look into a rescue of an older age that requires less excercise, this will allow you to avoid dogs with known separation anxiety because many pups will have sep anxiety for the first few 12 or so months regardless of breed anyway (needing constant attention too)
All pups are also prone to whining, crying and barking.. when your big dog thats only getting an hour walk a day finds his voice, you'll lose your mind...
All medium to large sized dogs are going to need way more than an HR a day, as I commented above the dogs that fit an HR a day are "toy size" like the Lhasa and Shih Tzu, Jack Russell etc..
@pennsylmark I have to disagree. One hour of walking a day is plenty for most dogs, as long as mental enrichment is also done. When you exercise a dog, you condition them to need more by doing more. You’re building an athlete when you do more, so the more you exercise then the more they’ll need. Many breeds of dogs need to be taught an off switch and are very bad at settling on their own.
@dfgre6y5t That's small dog levels, shih tzu.. Lhasa apso, jack russells etc (I know for sure the first 2 are listed as "1hr a day excercise minimum" - all bigger dogs are going to be 2-3hr or long distance walkers.) I've got a small sized staff (the muscular yet short legged type, the blue coloured ones. Forget the "name" for the particular body type..) that runs wild in the garden for over 4hrs a day, even on top of walking multiple miles.. at 10yo.. but our shih tzu (still young) doesn't need much walking distance before tiring, yet will still play for hours on end, both are rather quiet (no barking etc) but that isn't always breed dependant.. the shih tzu is timid around people, the blue staff is timid around much larger dogs but loves people - both love kids.. all dogs have diff personalities though even within the same litter and eventual home (e.g you could have 2 dogs trained the same way, from the same litter, but be vastly different.. one yappy when the door knocks and the other silent)
@pennsylmark I think sometimes the emphasis on walking for bigger breads is too high, like a 2-3 hour walk a day is ridiculous. I personally think you get more out of a 15 minute training session that's mentally challenging than a prolonged walk.
@worshipsinger Yeah I think the hours of "walk" can easily translate into a short amount of "high intensity" play, maybe a short run if your of the jogger persuasion - or a bike ride, when they get a little older and can be trained to run alongside safely (obviously not safe to do with an untrained pup)
@pennsylmark I’ve fostered two Shih tzus and they were great laid back cuddly dogs that didn’t need too much activity compared to my Yorkie mix. They were also much quieter.
If OP is willing to entertain a smaller dog, shih tzu’s will generally be better with their time requirements and recall than a lab would be.
