# How many GSD owners actually walk/jog their dogs everyday?



## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

I see many of my neighbors walking their dogs everyday. There is the owner of the mastiff, a couple pit bulls, of course the shih tzu's, lots of labs, some mixed breeds, but no GSD owners walking their dogs. There are 7 GSD owners within a quarter mile of my house, yet they never get walked! These GSD's are either barking their heads off at us staring out of their windows, or in the yard barking. *So, now I am wondering, how many of you GSD owners actually walk/jog with your dogs everyday? How long are your walks? Answer honestly.*

I walk my dogs (GSD and chocolate lab) 3 times a day. Well, I don't do all 3 times myself-me and my DH take turns-but we take our dogs out for two 45 minute walks a day,and one shorter walk (10-15 minutes).


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## idahospud49 (Jan 28, 2011)

I do! Glock and I go for about 15 minutes, sometimes 20 in the morning. Then 20-30 minutes when I get home from work and another 30-45 minutes in the evening. The evening one is usually a combination walk/jog and he gets about 20 minutes of off leash time where he chases bunnies and birds and gets to do whatever he wants.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

idahospud49 said:


> I do! Glock and I go for about 15 minutes, sometimes 20 in the morning. Then 20-30 minutes when I get home from work and another 30-45 minutes in the evening. The evening one is usually a combination walk/jog and he gets about 20 minutes of off leash time where he chases bunnies and birds and gets to do whatever he wants.


Very glad to hear this. My motto is-A tired dog is a happy dog. 

I forgot to mention that my dogs also spend time playing in the backyard. We play frisbee with them (GSD monopolizes the game) everyday, and they also run around chasing each other and squirrels and such.


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## woody (Apr 28, 2011)

At least one walk a day, more at weekends as well as runs down at the beach!


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I know he's not a GSD (a full sized one, anyway  ), but I take Ozzy out every day to the park across the street to play fetch with him. Usually I go out either twice a day for half and hour at a time, or once for 45 min. to an hour. Depends on the weather and if Ozzy gets tired. 

There's only one dog I ever see that regularly gets walked out here. He's a huge Neapolitan mastiff. (Then again, what's a small mastiff)?


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

We do two 2-mile walks a day, weather permitting.


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## Matty (May 31, 2011)

I make it a point to take my girl out at least once a day even if only for 5 minutes. I usually try to do 15 minutes after work and sometimes. Rollerblade with her to get a lot of energy out. N addition to walking I do about 5-10 minutes a day with training for her stays and downs and wharves else we are working on.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

Has anyone ever noticed while out walking your dog, the sad look in the other dogs eyes that are watching from behind their fence or out their window? I could be imagining it, but I also think that they bark so loudly at us because they are upset that they aren't out there being walked.


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## Jessiewessie99 (Mar 6, 2009)

Each get a 30-40 minute walk a day, winter is coming so rainy season is in, just not as much yet. Tanner is very mellow, and isn't as high energy as Molly, but both get the same walk, sometimes I go longer with Molly because of her energy level. I will walk through the park and work on off leash exercises with both dogs, or toss the ball with Molly, Tanner can care less about toys, unless they squeak.lol. Then on weekends I take both dogs to the park across the street and let them run without leashes and throw the ball for Molly, and Tanner will chase her(Its a fenced field a big field too.) If something comes up such as school, work etc we will take them out for a quick walk and then play with them toss the ball run around and get them tired out.

Last year during the week of Christmas, we had about 7 days of heavy rain. We weren't able to take the dogs for walks at all, but as soon as there was a break in the rain we took them out for a good quick walk, sometimes the rain would start and we would have to rush home. So to keep them occupied in the house we would play tug of war and roll the ball around.


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

There's a dog across the street that sits outside all day and barks and barks and barks and barks. Oh, did I mention it barks? I feel bad for it. I've never seen it, never even seen its owners, and I know it's barking because it's bored and lonely, and has an untold amount of energy pent up that isn't being expelled. But man, is it annoying.


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## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

Three times a day, rain or shine. A morning walk with the pit bull for about 40 minutes to an hour. A training walk at 4:00 at a local mall or park and an evening walk to the local tennis courts for off lead play. Early afternoon, we run errands if the husbands home or do chores if he's not. I'll fold laundry and have Havs do tricks on the bed or he'll play with toys while I garden. 

It's the only way to live with him. Fortunately, mental exercise exhausts him so I'll be trying to train more tricks as the weather turns ugly. We also have evening class at least once a week.


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## k_sep (Jun 21, 2011)

I walk my GSD pup two times a day, in the morning for an hour and in the evening for 30-40 minutes. On the night walk I take my shih tzu mix. She's always asleep in the morning when I take Luna out. 

I don't walk my Schipperke any more because he's just a nasty dog. Ever since I brought Luna home he's been in a perpetually bad mood. He doesn't walk very well any more and will just plant his butt.


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## CarrieJ (Feb 22, 2011)

Every day. Usually in the morning Gar takes her out to the creek trail by Downtown and I usually take her out for about forty minutes at night.
We really try to mix up the environments. Sometimes the creektrail, sometimes the huge shopping complex so she can see more human females besides me. 
Saturday night was awesome, there was a huge disco party at the deli on the corner and the strip club on the other side was pretty busy. Lots of people and noise oh and disco balls!
And, motorcycles...lots of motorcyles.
It sounds funky, but staying on the main streets is actually safer as some of the fences aren't good and there are some big territorial dogs behind some bad fences on the off streets.
Oh, and we live within a half mile of the big county hospital and San Jose City College. Two other great places to walk her.

....and because she's a female, she's still territorial. Don't come up to our fence if you aren't on "the list"


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## RocketDog (Sep 25, 2011)

He's just a pup, but I walk him at least once a day, the other being an off-leash hike behind my house in the mountains. I work outside 7-8 months a year, so weather is a non-issue with me. He didn't like the rain much at first, but he's getting used to it!

I run also year-round, no matter the temp or the weather. I'm hoping by next summer after he's a year old, he can go with me. I don't know how long he'll want to go, but we'll work up to it and see what he thinks, I guess, LOL!


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

Well minus health issues that stop us (Jinx constantly injuring herself) we go daily but about 98% of the times its for an off lead hike. When she goes through a spurt of energy we will go 2-3 times a day never for less then an hour... sometimes we will do short leashed walks at night just up and down the block but those are more training and bonding walks then anything.


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## saraja87 (Jul 12, 2011)

We take our girl out two - three times a day, though it's usually just two. I walk her for 15-30 minutes in the morning around our neighborhood and if he has time, my husband takes her around noon. We both take her out in the evening for 30-45 minutes and sometimes stop at the neighborhood park to train on the long lead. 

We also have a fenced in backyard so during the day she's in her crate for two hours, then out for a couple hours, rinse and repeat. During the day she plays fetch and chases/is chased by her Sheltie brother. They play until they crash for a nap in their crates.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

honestly i have two of the laziest dogs. Riley still gets excited about walks but he'd rather go for a ride in the car instead or stay home and sleep. And he never really wants to walk very far when we do take him out. he's content to go out in the backyard, run two laps, potty and come back inside, get his ice cube and crash in his crate. 

Shasta would also rather go for a ride. I take her out a couple times a week and let her run on a long line but she's not real active herself most of the time. She starts getting crazy and hyper, she gets taken outside. She runs for about 5 minutes and she's ready to go home. I also think she prefers rug surfing and sliding across the floors because she does that intentionally. We go outside and she heads straight for the car. I have to bribe her to walk sometimes lol. So with these two, i have it pretty easy.

Next pup i'm sure wont be so easy about it.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Lucy gets about a 2 mile walk a day. She also gets about a half hour of running in some form or another on top of that. This is during the week when I'm working.

On the weekends, it's non-stop if the weathers nice. She doesn't leave my side, in or out of the house on the weekends. 

Now my other dog, a spaniel who died a few months back, could really only go for about one walk a week. He had degenerative heart disease and really couldn't go longer than a quarter of a mile that last year of his life. He had no problem with that though - he LOVED his weekly walks. He was almost 11 and slept pretty much every hour of the day. He lived a very happy and spoiled life to say the least, but really couldn't handle the walks with his heart.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Rafi is not a gsd but I walk him 4-5 miles a day and usually 1 to 1.5 miles of that is off lead in a grassy area. I just spent the last 3 days out in the country hiking and we a little under 20 miles on some seriously vertical terrain.


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## nitemares (Dec 15, 2005)

My first GSD i wasn't working as a dog walker, but i did walk her everyday from my house to my dads house 15 minutes, my dad has yard we play there for some time, then back to my house, different route 20 minutes. 
this time i'm a dog walker, and my clients are super excited that their pups/dogs will get a chance to socialize so my pup will be walking a lot (of course when he's a bit older).


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Yes each dog gets some walking time every day. I have slacked off with the puppy taking so much time on my adult dogs but need to get back to it! I do take an offlead woods lunch walk with my older working dog .


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## bianca (Mar 28, 2010)

Molly gets a 30-40 minutes walk every morning and a 60-90 minute walk in the early evening. We also play fetch in the yard.Sometimes we go to the park so may miss the afternoon one. She is unbearable without exercise so it is everyday!


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Weekdays: Abby gets a 2 mile walk every morning at 5. Then either dog play/chase at 8 or a 2-3 mile jog. Mile walk at around 1. Mile walk at 5 with some ball or frisbee fetching. Pee walk at 8 p.m. Weekends: 2 mile walk in a.m. 2 mile walk in p.m.


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Both my dogs get two walks or runs per day (Rosa gets a total of 4 miles walked, Niko gets a total of 8 miles run), except on the weekends. On the weekends they hang outside with us all day long as we do chores. They race around and chase chipmunks and each other and fight over sticks and pull cat tails out of the pond and follow us around. If we quit work early we will take them on a walkabout for an hour or so. They are usually pretty exhausted on the weekends, in spite of not getting on leash walks/runs.

But a few times we have had events come up that forced us to curtail the exercise routine for a day, and quite frankly we didn't notice any difference in their behavior. They seem to be fine without all the exercise.


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## RMF (Oct 1, 2011)

Deezul doesn't get walked as much as he should, but he does get more than enough exercise in the backyard on a daily basis.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

RMF said:


> Deezul doesn't get walked as much as he should, but he does get more than enough exercise in the backyard on a daily basis.


What does the exercise in the backyard consist of?


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

jocoyn said:


> Yes each dog gets some walking time every day. I have slacked off with the puppy taking so much time on my adult dogs but need to get back to it! I do take an offlead woods lunch walk with my older working dog .


Whenever I take my dogs in the woods, they become so excited that they seem to forget all their leash training and start pulling. Many people walk their dogs in the woods around here so I won't take my dogs off the lead. Your dogs must really love that nature walk.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Sinister has medium energy but it's on the low side. When it was just him and I we walked for 30 minutes every other day but we played fetch (more like throw stick and watch him destroy it and then find another stick to throw) daily, we go to the beach 3-4 times a week and are usually there for 2-3 hours. He runs and swims while we are there, more than half the time we are with my friend and her 2 Dobermans.

Now that Malice is here, she has medium energy but it's on the high side so we have been walking everyday, playing throw the stick and they chase each other around. My friend asked me if I wanted her to take Sin with her for a bike ride a couple of times a week and once Malice is older she will take her. I am unable to ride a bike with the dogs.


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## Veronica1 (Jun 22, 2010)

I do not. 

Because of Panzer's hip dysplasia, walking a fairly short distance makes him limp. He will be having the FHO done shortly, so I'm hoping by next spring we can get back to walking. 

He still insists on playing with his tennis balls every day when I'm home at lunch. You'd think that would make him sore, maybe it does, but he insists.


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## lrodptl (Nov 12, 2009)

Fritz gets a 90 minute off leash walk/swim/run every morning and a 60 minute walk/ballplay session every afternoon at 4 PM. He also gets some sporadic ballplay throughout the day and runs errands with me. In 2 years we have never missed a single day. For the past year I now take the neighbor's Lab with us on the morning sessions or this dog would see nothing but backyard.


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## ozzymama (Jan 17, 2005)

Both dogs, everyday. 45minutes, 2 miles. Unless it's pouring buckets. 

But I lost alot of weight when I had the baby - well before getting prego and since delivery, so the walks are for me as much as them.

We might do an afternoon walk depending on where I have to go and what kind of shape they are in - if Oz's back is acting up, if it's too warm for Dolly. Otherwise dd and I managed 3, 3hour walks last week minus the dogs.


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## mysweetkaos (Sep 20, 2011)

Depending on how Kaos' arthritis is he takes at least 1 and on good days 2 walks a day. First one is usually 10-15 minutes , second one (or on 1 walk days) is 45 min/ 1 hr. Our Mastiff/GSD x takes 2 daily. He usually takes one 45 min one with just me and the second with Kaos.


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## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

Cheyenne gets 1-2 walks a day. The walks are about 1 mile and it takes us 20-30 minutes (depending on how much she wants to sniff and investigate) On the days where it is 1 walk, the other walk is replaced with a trip to the dog run at the police station where I can take her off-leash and play fetch and run with her. I also try to take 10 minute breaks every few hours during the day to play ball and run with her in the backyard, weather permitting.

With colder weather coming, I'm not so much looking forward to the walks, because I am a wimp in cold weather...but I'll just have to suck it up and do it! lol


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Yep, every day. We live out in the country so 95% of it is off leash but I do take him for a morning hike in the woods for about 30 mins- it's off leash once we get off the road. When we get back it's another 30 or so of frisbee and a bit of training. I work from home so he gets several play sessions throughout the day and another walk in the evening. Unless it's a herding training day, then just the walk in the morning- he's too tired the rest of those days


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## BR870 (May 15, 2011)

Yup... Everyday (except during her surgery recovery). It takes us about 20-30minutes to walk the neighborhood. We usually just do one go round the neighborhood...


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

I walk my dogs every morning about 1.5 miles or more, takes about 45 minutes. They have tons of free backyard time. I usually take saturday mornings off or if its raining really hard. 
I know a lot of people that never ever take thier dogs for a walk. Off the top of my head 4 are Shepherd people. Then you'll get "oh, he/she isn't good on a leash" Gee I wonder why that would be? My dogs walk great on leashes, maybe its because I actually use one. Sore subject because a lot of them have the mentality that you just have a dog & feed it..thats about all they have to do.


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

We try to clock at least 1.5-2.5 miles a day on Scarletts Odometer.  She doesn't care for pouring rain, but any other weather is fine with her.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

lrodptl said:


> Fritz gets a 90 minute off leash walk/swim/run every morning and a 60 minute walk/ballplay session every afternoon at 4 PM. He also gets some sporadic ballplay throughout the day and runs errands with me. In 2 years we have never missed a single day. *For the past year I now take the neighbor's Lab with us on the morning sessions or this dog would see nothing but backyard.*


:thumbup: That is awesome, and the same reason why I take my moms dog along with us. Though with my






being a car chaser, it is difficult, but I feel sorry for my moms dog, but I have managed so far without any major incidents.


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

Ours get out twice a day for a walk regardless of weather. If it's raining, we try for a break in the action, or they just get a short wet walk. Winter time, cold, snow and ice and all. With three it's harder cause we can't walk all three at once. If we only had two the walks would be longer. Length varies depending on the day and schedules but all told they are getting 40-90 minutes per day walking and then other time in the back yard. I also will sometimes replace the morning walk on Saturday or Sunday with ball chase in the Junior High field where I will take them one at a time over there and go until each has enough (they vary).

I too see lot's of dogs that never get walked. As much as we walk we know pretty much where all the dogs live. This includes homes with multiple dogs where they never leave the property.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

Earlier this year I observed a couple that live up the street from me attempt to take their two GSD's out for a walk for the first time that I have ever seen in the 5 years I have lived here. They made it to the corner of the block, and the dogs were pulling and so wild on the leash that they turned around and went straight back home. All I could think was, well-what do you expect when you never walk them, and the lead is unfamiliar to them? Instead of training them how to walk without pulling, they simply went back home and no more walks for them.


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

Me or the Dh walk Dooney every morning (unless it is raining) for anywhere from 15-45 minutes. And she goes for a walk every evening during the week. on weekends we will bring her out to different places and walk around.

there are of course days one or the other walk doesn't happen- but she at least gets one!


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## angierose (Apr 20, 2009)

We do neighborhood walks once in a while-- to mail something, or just to maintain proper city walking procedure. But the dogs and I both find these boring. More often we do what I call "rambling," where we go to one of the local parks and go around in the larger fields and overgrown areas. These rambles are mainly controlled by the dogs. If they want to be sniffy of something or go somewhere particular, then that's what we do. This goes on for a half-hour to an hour, generally.

We also go hiking, mainly on the weekends, and play together in the yard. Plus Kaylee does tracking and Sam is just getting started with it. 

They're well-exercised, but really don't do a lot of what most people consider "walks."


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## I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO (Oct 4, 2006)

Yes! Everyday! Every morning, he gets a short 20-30 min walk and 5-10 min agility training most days. Twice a week my husband works from home, so he gets another short 20-30 min walk. Every evening, he gets an hour walk. Friday evenings it's more like 1.5 hrs and on the weekends 2 hrs or the dog park. 

We take him out everywhere (street fairs, downtown, on the university campus, etc) and get a lot of comments like oh we have a GSD- well where are they? lol


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I do not walk any of mine on a regular basis. It's just not enough for them so I'd rather spend the time doing more intense training for mental exercise or more demanding physical exercise. DH jogs a few times a week and will take a dog for me as long as they haven't just eaten. I will walk a dog or two to run an errand (like last night I had to return something to my dad so we walked over there, had a snack, and walked home). I do take my dogs everywhere that I can and that often means going out several times a week but as far as daily scheduled walks...no.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

We don't go for on-lead walks much, unless we're specifically working on walking & heeling. 

Our evening routine changes up most nights, but consists of a lot of frisbee / ball /fetch and/or a walk on the trail (offleash). Maybe a trip to the dog park or a trip to see Bailey's little buddy, a hard-playing Boston Terrier that he loooovvves. After exercise, we might take a car ride to Petco or somewhere or go to the city park to watch and work a little on sit/stay/ etc with all the distractions. Any training I have been putting *after* exercise. I do try to change it up as much as I can. I'd guess he's getting 1-2 hours of good exercise daily. (Good I'm defining as off-leash, aerobic)

Weekends are usually almost everything above! We really love our weekends. I need to up the mental training side of things, I think we're doing just fine on the physical side.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

Liesje said:


> I do not walk any of mine on a regular basis. *It's just not enough for them so I'd rather spend the time doing more intense training for mental exercise or more demanding physical exercise. * DH jogs a few times a week and will take a dog for me as long as they haven't just eaten. I will walk a dog or two to run an errand (like last night I had to return something to my dad so we walked over there, had a snack, and walked home). I do take my dogs everywhere that I can and that often means going out several times a week but as far as daily scheduled walks...no.


If you are able to walk at a very brisk pace, and increase the length of the walk, it is possible to bring home a tired dog. There is something good for the mind walking along, and smelling all the smells of nature (not so much the city pollution though), it is good for the human, as well as for the dog. When we get our first real snowfall of the year, I hurry and get my dogs leashed up to walk as the snow piles up all around us. I always look forward to that first snowfall, it is a memorable time for us. Dogs get all excited and catch the snow, and drag their faces through it. 

My dog receives a lot of training during the walk. He is a car chaser and so there are many opportunities to work on that as we walk. My other dog has dog aggression, and by repeatedly walking near other dogs and exercising training techniques, he is now passing other dog with minimal reaction.

For us the walk is a time for training, time for overcoming behavioral problems, time for practicing obedience, and burning off some energy. Many times after the walk we go in the backyard upon arriving home and exercise more in the backyard. But for me, the walk is of great importance. 

You probably discussed this in another thread and I missed it but are your dogs in a sport? What intense exercise do you do with them at home?


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## Sigurd's Mom (May 12, 2009)

Sigurd gets at least 1 walk a day, regardless of weather. It usually lasts about 30 minutes and then we play ball or chase for 10-15 minutes. On the weekends we do longer walks, about 1.5-2 hours at a nature preserve (the rules state you need to keep your dog on a lead, so I put him on a very long lead haha). He goes out several times a day and does a pretty good job of self-entertainment, it's cute to watch. He also chases squirrels around the yard.


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## Shaina (Apr 2, 2011)

I don't walk because I am kind of laaazyyy with how much I work (I work full time at a dog daycare/boarding facility, last thing I want to do is walk MY dogs for an hour after work) so I've found a GREAT solution.... I take my dogs out rollerblading  That way, we can go quickly so they get a very nice run in, and lazy mom doesn't have to walk. They also, however, get free daycare throughout the week and when the weather is nice we also go to the dog park in the area that has a nice lake, plus schutzhund training twice a week and basic obedience throughout the week as well....... and yet, they're never tired. Yeeeeks!


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## GSDkid (Apr 19, 2011)

Unfortunately, I don't take her every day. I used to but noticed it really really exhausts her to the point where she's just out for the whole day. For instance, first day, she's loving it. We always take this trail behind our house which is about 2 miles and takes about 30 to 45 minutes to finish back home. Second day, shes loving it still but when we get home. She's just knocked out cold! Drops at the AC vent and just sleeps there not caring if someone knocks at the door or anything else so we walked every other day. But who knows, that was about 2 months ago, maybe she can handle it now.


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## Stella's Mom (Mar 8, 2011)

I walk her twice a day on weekdays, and go to the park once or twice a day on weekdays.
My husband walks her again at night and then sometimes my son walks her at night for a 4th or 5th walk.

We both take her to the dog park on the weekends, but now we will have Shutzhund on Saturdays and Sundays.


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## Runswithdogs (May 8, 2010)

Mine get at least a one hour hike (about 4 miles with a 700 foot elevation gain in the first 2 miles) every morning before I leave, about 45 min of that is off leash for the dog that doesn't forget her name when she sees a rabbit, and about 15 min off leash for the dog that does. Once I stuck my Garmin on Osa's collar to see how far she went on the 4 mile hike (since she zooms back, forth, around), and it was 6 miles!

On the weekends or on late start mornings it is 2 hours. In the evenings they either go for a run with me or play fetch/flirtpole and do scent games in the backyard. 

I get up 4 hours before I need to be at work so that they get that time in every day.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Jog?? HaHaHa! Nope. Annie is almost 14, so it is like walking Grandma. Steps are a problem, so I put her leash on her and walk her out the front door - just two steps on the front porch vs. sixteen on the back deck. She goes potty, sniffs around and we come back in. Sometimes we walk around the block. That takes almost 30 minutes. It involves a hill - so lots of encouragement to get her up. Of course she's deaf, so the encouragement doesn't help too much.

I'm not getting much exercise walking the old dog. Thanks for rubbing it in guys.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I haven't been going as often in the last few weeks due to other issues but normally I walk Bianca most days. We usually go between 3 and 3 1/2 miles per walk. Sometimes I rollerblade with her and I used to bike with her until my bike and dog attachment were stolen (once I can buy another I will do that again.) Sometimes we walk to the dog park and stay there for a while, which is about 3 1/2 mile round trip. This is not a slow ambling sort of walk, I walk FAST so it does give her exercise, and she also usually carries a pack and we do what I call "urban agility" on our walks (use things in the environment as agility obstacles while walking.) On weekends I sometimes take her swimming, or to walkathons or other events.

No matter how much exercise Bianca gets, unless she's fast asleep she will bark when other dogs pass by the house so I don't think that necessarily indicates a lack of exercise.


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

> Has anyone ever noticed while out walking your dog, the sad look in the other dogs eyes that are watching from behind their fence or out their window? I could be imagining it, but I also think that they bark so loudly at us because they are upset that they aren't out there being walked.


And does your dog seem to respond by holding his/her head a little higher, stepping a little more lightly, sending body language of "Sucks to be you!"


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

GSDkid said:


> Unfortunately, I don't take her every day. I used to but noticed it really really exhausts her to the point where she's just out for the whole day. For instance, first day, she's loving it. We always take this trail behind our house which is about 2 miles and takes about 30 to 45 minutes to finish back home. Second day, shes loving it still but when we get home. She's just knocked out cold! Drops at the AC vent and just sleeps there not caring if someone knocks at the door or anything else so we walked every other day. But who knows, that was about 2 months ago, maybe she can handle it now.


How old is your dog?



billsharp said:


> And does your dog seem to respond by holding his/her head a little higher, stepping a little more lightly, sending body language of "Sucks to be you!"


Oh yeah-and to rub it in, he also lifts his leg and pees on the dogs lawn!


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## smithie (Aug 25, 2011)

To be honest I'm a little confused as to why anyone would get a dog and NOT walk them :/

Ranger gets a 15 min walk every morning by my daughter before she goes to school, then usually around mid day I'll take him out on for another 20 min walk (I use a mobility scooter, so it's nice and sedate lol), if hubby has the day off then he gets a walk of up to an hour. Then at night around 9pm, he gets another 30 min walk. At the weekends he sometimes gets a long hike with my hubby and his friend with his 2 rottweilers. He doesn't get to run yet (apart from when he's chasing the rotties lol) as I'm aware of putting too much strain on his hips as he's a puppy


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## GSDkid (Apr 19, 2011)

Germanshepherdlova said:


> How old is your dog?


She just turned 9 months. I'm sure we can do the every day thing now since her drive is higher now. We haven't taken her jogging for a full week now because she was limping. Early signs of HD? Need help Weather is very rainy today so we'll start up again tomorrow.


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## EchoGSD (Mar 12, 2010)

We walk nearly every day; it is rare that we don't walk. About 2 miles every day, all three dogs. The sheltie keeps up with the big dogs just fine!


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

GSDkid said:


> She just turned 9 months. I'm sure we can do the every day thing now since her drive is higher now. We haven't taken her jogging for a full week now because she was limping. Early signs of HD? Need help Weather is very rainy today so we'll start up again tomorrow.


I remember that thread now. Is she doing better?


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## Gmthrust (Mar 3, 2010)

Every morning....we have three White Shepherds and one Chihuahua....so every morning we go 1.5 miles biking, at the VERY least; then walk to, at least, two different school bus stops for socializing with kids (we do not have any), and parents, and their dogs; next choose a parent who owns a dog and walk them to their home; walk onward till we find any neighbor who is out walking (with or without their dog), and ask to join them (so far, it's always an enthusiastic yes)...sometimes, after that walk is finished, we'll join up with another neighbor....but usually I'm just too dang hungry by that time, sooo we load up and go to a drive-thru for food and ice coffee; we feed them first before we go! lol.

During the rest of the day, it's filled up with play (doorbell training to practice front door manners in a fun way; hide and seek, go find, games like that; our entire home is an agility course....crazy us!), treadmill, and swimming (we have a pool, thank goodness), we work obedience all the time (except it's not really work because it's always made fun).....oftentimes we'll go to one of the pet stores...etc., OR if I am very LUCKY.....it's nap time! lol. Unfortunately, we do not EVER let them out to the backyard because one of our neighbors is nice-to-your-face but truly insanely rotten to the core (we installed security cameras because of her, to help protect ourselves)......so it is all front yard where we do all our stuff, and our driveway, all of which is small and that's okay as it has proved a blessing in disguise. By doing it like we have, my dogs are THE MOST popular dogs I have ever had the privilege to call mine! Everyone knows them and loves them. lol.

Just about every afternoon, we also go meet at least one school bus ....again to continue socializing our dogs. In the evenings, it's usually another outing of joining up with neighbors and their dogs and their kids....our neighborhood is great except for the icky person who lives behind us.

On weekends, it's more biking, wintertime up to six miles, and practice carting, just the neighborhood so far; also we take them to the parks for the outdoor jungle-gyms climbing and slides; and we make use of dog parks----outside the perimeter, for proofing against their ultimate all-time high distractions. Every Saturday, we take them to the vets to help ensure calm positive visits.....we made their Facebook page with a photo the vet took.....lol.

Actually, we do a lot more with our dogs than just what I've listed so far.....because all are in tracking, obedience, and agility too.....although we took off the whole summer on the formal agility training because it's just dang hot. Now that it's back in the low ninety's to high eighty's.....it's not so bad.....argh.....com'on cooler weather! lol.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I've forgotten to list other things we do.......almost nearly every day. For instance GM also goes "mo-jo-ing" (rollerblading) and jogging with them, too. But that's not everyday. Sometimes I think he loves that the mostly!

What I love the mostly is having my girls walk with five years old up to 90 years old neighbors.....heeling next to them as if they were the most important and precious person in the world. Makes life worth living.:wub:


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

every day, on the days I work (10 hours/3 days a week) usually not unless the weather is nice and I get home early, those days the hubby entertains them but never takes them for a walk, (bad knees).

On the other days, usually the two girls and I are doing "something",,hiking..walking, I have a great spot that I walk to, open fields (fun tracking there!) and on to the beach...so Masi anyway, is offleash the majority of the time there, Jynx the aussie, she's normally on a long line, since she has that little independent streak that says "a bird I'm chasing it to china and tuning you out!" attitude

They'd both sit in my car all day if I asked them, so normally when I am not working, the girls and I are out an about doing 'something'...


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## lkcheertex (Apr 20, 2011)

There are tons of dogs in my neighborhood and very few of them actually get walked at all.

We walk our two every day (though not if it's pouring rain). I'm terrible at distance judging so I can't tell you how far but 20-minutes to a half hour and it's VERY hilly here so it's quite a workout. I can tell when the dogs are pooped. Harley also wears a weighted vest to help him get a better workout.

We also have a fenced yard where the dogs run around a lot at full speed chasing each other so they burn off a lot of energy that way.


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## gsdheeler (Apr 12, 2010)

Walking, exercising and training my dogs everyday is a must. They would make me nuts if they didn't burn off energy.


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## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

I walk Dax at least 30 minutes six days a week. I am now adding jogging (starting slowly for my sake) so that I can do a 30 minute jog (to tire him out more and get myself in better shape!). To make it less boring I walk with my boyfriend when he is home, walk with my mom and her dog for an hour one night a week, and go somewhere that we can hike in the woods once a week. If Dax is really peppy one day then we play ball or Chase-It mixed with training in the back yard when we get home.

My boyfriend travels for his job so he is home all day a few days a week and then gone for a few days. When he is home he takes Dax on another walk or somewhere to hike during the day.

I am a little addicted to walking though, I would walk every day by myself before I had a dog. I am a sucker for free exercise.


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## GSDkid (Apr 19, 2011)

Germanshepherdlova said:


> I remember that thread now. Is she doing better?


Doing a lot better. Limp is gone and she's itching to run and it's been raining ever since she fully recovered. It figures. I decided not to take her to the vet because it didn't seem to serious and just wait and see what happens. I'm glad it wasn't too serious.


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

Twice a day, 30 min each, plus ball play in back yard and some obedience during boring tv shows. Lots of petting and playing, esp in evening inside. Wife does some playing during the day, and teenage son does some too when he comes in from school.

Kind of hard to resist when we let her inside after she finishes her evening meal, and she goes straight to her favorite rubbery ball and brings it to me with her laser beam stare saying "OK, time to play--now!"


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i don't walk my dog everyday. when we walk in the
neighborhood it's a 2 mile walk or so. when we walk
in the woods it's 5 miles or less. i throw the ball
for my dog often. once my dog starts panting heavy
i'll end the game within a few throws.


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## fuzzybunny (Apr 29, 2011)

My husband walks them in the morning for only 15 minutes. I walk them when I get home from work at 4:30pm for about 45-60 minutes. Then later in the evening I walk them again fro another 45-60 minutes.


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## weber1b (Nov 30, 2008)

A well walked dog is a great weight control device........for the human owner.


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## GottaLoveHim (May 26, 2011)

I walk him for about 30 minutes every morning...and some times in the evening if my brother wants to go.  

And talking about those dogs that bark from their backyards, there's two in my neighborhood that are German Shepherds; one of them is a sable and the other one is black. Every time we pass their house they start barking really crazy against the fence, we walk in the street because I'm scared they'll get out of the yard and attack us. Some times I want to ask the people what's the purpose of having them if they're just tied up in the backyard...I would want to walk them.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

GSDkid said:


> Doing a lot better. Limp is gone and she's itching to run and it's been raining ever since she fully recovered. It figures. I decided not to take her to the vet because it didn't seem to serious and just wait and see what happens. I'm glad it wasn't too serious.


Glad to hear that she is doing better.



weber1b said:


> A well walked dog is a great weight control device........for the human owner.


:thumbup:

I know if it wasn't for my dogs, I probably wouldn't go for a walk at all. They are my motivation. It's a win win situation.


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## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

I only walk Ace about once a week in the neighborhood for about 20 min. Every day Ace and my girl Mandy are in and out of the house several times, where they have full access to 3 1/2 acres to romp and play. Most of the time I am out there with them walking around with my little dog while they are playing whatever.

As far as walking on a leash like I said it is probably only once a week.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

The OP asks to answer honestly. I can honestly say that my GSD is in the back yard most days with my Golden while I'm at work. I have a very large back yard. I suspect they both sleep most of the day. 

When I get home and after I take care of the horses, I have to turn my GSD loose to run the pastures like a mad-man. Sometimes I'll do some OB, but only after he is starting to slow down. 

I can honestly say if I try to cut a corner and not let him run....I'm not getting any sleep when it's bed time.


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## Gracie's My Girl (May 27, 2011)

Walking is something we do daily. My younger brother walks the dog for 30 minutes before he goes to school, my mom walks the dog for 20 minutes around noon, and my sister and I will walk the dog for 45 min - 1 hr in the evenings. While it may seem like a lot of walking...it is able to keep her energy from blasting through the roof!


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## vomlittlehaus (Aug 24, 2010)

We do a quick 20-30 min walk in the morning before work. When I get home the length depends on what I have going on and now it will be the darkness and hunting season cutting it short. But the after work can last 2 hrs if we hit all the trails in the woods, and it is light out. I cut it short today because I didnt feel like walking in the rain so it was only about 45 mins. But mind you, they are off leash, running the whole time just about. So they put on more miles than I do. I dont let the weather dictate too much on how long the walks are. They need to get out.


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## rickaz80 (Feb 24, 2008)

Some how I ended up with three GSDs. It started with a rescue and after some time went by, we had rescued two more. I walk two and my wife walks one, they get a little over 2 miles at least 5 days a week. If they don't walk, they get in to trouble. I will be the first to admit, it is not eazy to walk a GSD.


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## Kaity (Nov 18, 2009)

Vida gets more walks in the winter and rainy season than she does in spring/summer (most of outdoors during these times is swimming training or just running around) Winter.. She usually goes for a 40 minute walk before work and an hour+walk after work. That was before we moved to a bad neighbourhood where I don't even feel safe outside with my dog so I'm guessing no more late night walks for us this winter  

I try to let her walk around the terrace and jump in the fountains outside in the morning and afternoon when I take her out for 10-15 minutes.. Take her to my moms, which is a 20 minute walk up the road and she runs around the yard with my moms dog . Right now, she's sleeping on my bed as she has been pretty much all week! Lazy little brat


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## MegansGrace (Apr 27, 2011)

My dog (Lab) goes out about 4-5 times a day. Our morning walk is about 25 minutes long on leash. Then when I get home from classes (I'm a vet student) I let him swim off leash for about an hour (jumping off dock, running, swimming, & obedience commands). Then we do a 15-20 minute on leash walk. We usually do another 40 minutes of walking, a game of off leash fetch, some playing in the house, and a training session on top of that. If he doesn't swim we got to a park where he runs off leash in the woods for 2.5-3 miles as a substitute. 
Honestly I can't imagine getting away with much less. I feel bad for those GSDs that aren't getting their walks!


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## atruepastime (Mar 12, 2011)

We go out twice a day morning and night, normally off leash walking at an off leash area that has a walking route.. we also play obedience-fetch (I chuck ball for her doing nice obedience work). I also hide her food in the yard and then send her in to find it so that keeps her busy. On leash walks are usually on leash jogs and at night (once a fortnight?), in winter we do lots of off leash bush walking but as the warmer months approach paralysis ticks and brown snakes come out of the woodwork and I feel its too risky to go out in the bush for that reason.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

Aheheheh, that's one of my biggest weak points as a dog owner...I don't take my dog for walks all that often. I should, though, since we both need the exercise.
I keep wondering how the heck I'm supposed to find the time every single day, but actually if I woke up earlier I might be able to do it.
Sometimes I almost think right now it'd be better if I didn't have a dog because I don't spend as much time with him due to schoolwork (balancing my time is a bit of a struggle right now), but no way I'm going to get rid of him. (Besides, I can spend a bit less time doing other things for him. Trying to get my brother to play with him when I can't, too.)


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## Syaoransbear (Sep 25, 2008)

He gets walked regularly for one hour, but I can't say he gets walked EVERY day. Life happens and sometimes he doesn't get walked. Like right now it's raining, I'm sick, I had a midterm today, and I have a large lab assignment due tomorrow, so no he didn't get walked today. He's just as crazy when walked as he is when he hasn't been walked, so it doesn't make much of a difference to his energy level.


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## JPrice (Feb 19, 2011)

Well, in our case we live in the city so she gets walked normally 4 times a day...maybe once more if it is really nice out. We wake up and go for a long walk in the morning, two shorter walks to let her potty throughout the day, and a long walk again at night.


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## Cetan (Oct 8, 2011)

When I get the rascal? At least twice a day.

It's more for me though, starting to get a little waist jiggle. And it's more fun when you have a buddy. 

If anyone will bust MY butt back into shape, it'll be the shepherd.


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## Todd (Sep 6, 2004)

Abby is on the same routine as Heidi was...3 per day. She gets one in the morning, one before dinner, and one before bed. I almost always come home for lunch to let her out for a little while too. She finally knows the neighborhood now and gets to choose the route (within reason). The walks come to a total of 2-3 miles per day depending on her choice. Unlike Heidi, she does not care if it's raining...Heidi would not leave the house. I think that's because she was a stray for awhile.

I'll be curious to see how much Abby wants to walk when winter comes. Heidi had no sympathy for me at all ;-)


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Todd said:


> I'll be curious to see how much Abby wants to walk when winter comes. Heidi had no sympathy for me at all ;-)


My Abby loves the cold and snow. I think most GSDs do.


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## MegansGrace (Apr 27, 2011)

Todd said:


> Heidi had no sympathy for me at all ;-)


Yep, Lucas has no sympathy for me either. No weather/illness stops us (unless of course he's ill ). Syracuse snow storms, tropical storms, you name it, we play in it.


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

I agree, most GSD's LOVE the snow. My boy get's so excited when he see's it coming down! He catches it, eats it, loves for you to throw a snowball at him so that he can eat it too. Drags his face in it, rolls in it. The first time you see your GSD in the snow is priceless. Too bad I never took any pictures.


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## Doubleyolk (Aug 5, 2011)

We have about a half acre fenced section on our property that our dog runs in. She is always running and chasing the birds and she is obsessed with chasing her tennis ball. My wife also takes her for walks every morning around the cranberry bogs across the street from our house for a hour and a half.


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## jetscarbie (Feb 29, 2008)

During the winter...about 2 hrs a day.

Summer...about 1 hr. We hike in the woods. Our road is dangerous in the summer. We live out in the middle of nowhere....but our road is the little road between two major roads. It's hilly. Speeding cars and blind spots b/c of the trees.

During the winter we can walk on the road b/c cars don't use much b/c of the snow and it's dangerous b/c the road crews don't clean it off much. All my dogs LOVE the wintertime.


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## paulag1955 (Jun 29, 2010)

Shasta gets either a walk or a playtime with Daddy in our very large back yard every day, weather permitting. Sometimes she gets both playtime and a walk and sometimes she gets an extra playtim. All in addition to going out strictly to do her business.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

When Chance was alive we biked 6-10 miles a day, walked 1-2 hours a day (sometimes more depending) and during the spring/summer sometimes early fall depending on the weather I'd take him across the street to play fetch in the pond for anywhere from 15-30min a day. We also did a lot of fetch (on land) and frisbee play. Plus he got "exercise" during training through games of tug as rewards, heeling around the yard with me, ect. Several days a week I'd take him to the dog park to play with his "friends" which he LOVED since we had a pretty regular group of people.  He also LOVED the beach!!! But I didn't get to go TOO often with him unfortunately. 

When we moved to NC he did herding each day, running our 9 acres, swimming/playing fetch in the pond, frisbee, biked with me, walked with me, ect for most the day, everyday.

He was an incredibly active dog and thrived off his exercise!! I miss my silly boy sooo much! 

I admit, I'm really really bad about taking the little dogs out and walking them. We do play indoors and Zoey can be let out in the yard (9 acres so quite a bit of land) to do her rounds marking and she likes to go swimming in the pond but Eevee is mostly indoor exercise except when I take her out several times a week socializing then she's walking around with me some. She also goes to play with her friend Lexi several times a week which gives them both a good work out since they can go at it for HOURS!!! (Lexi is a Rat Terrier) I need to start walking her again for at least 30min a day like I was when she was younger....I should add that neither of my dogs are really LACKING. They are happy, healthy and good weights. They are good dogs who don't bark or have any OCD behaviors from boredom. I just feel like we all as a "family" could use MORE exercise because it wouldn't KILL us to get outside and get some fresh air. xD


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## Klamari (Aug 6, 2010)

I don't walk Rayne every day, but we definately do something every day. On days that I work (usually 13 hour work day), I take a short cut and throw the ball for her. She will chase a ball until she died of exhaustion if I let her. But usually I take the edge off her craziness with 10-15 minutes of two-ball, with some basic OB thrown in there. Then we do more structured OB with food.
Plus we do club training 2x week. And hiking/swimming along the river when I'm not working. 

Walking 2 miles in the neighborhood does almost nothing for her energy levels, but training definately helps bring her down to at least a manageable level. So the walks we go on are just to get her out and about to meet the neighborhood kids or get some exercise for me


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## GSD84 (Apr 27, 2011)

With hubby's schedule its hard, especially with the kids....But I take her out on a walk at least once a day. If hubby is home to watch the kids it will be about 2 or 3 walks....On top of that we do some training at home, and lots of play and tug in the backyard....she loves chasing the kids too and nipping at there legs :crazy: so that alone tires her out.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

*How many GSD owners actually walk/jog their dogs everyday?*

Kinda sounds like a poll question.

Simple answer: I do.


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## juliejujubean (May 4, 2011)

i take my girl out every day. sometimes its only a short walk and other times and sometimes its for an hour plus. we have a rail road converted into a walking trace right next to my home and it makes it so enjoyable


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## tintallie (Aug 6, 2008)

From the ages of about 6 months - 2 years, I walked Miya 3 miles (4.8km) a day (it would be split into 2 walks AM and PM) religiously unless it was below -4ºF (-20ºC) because I have gotten frost bite on my face before despite wearing a down parka, 2 toques, long underwear, soft shell pants, mittens, etc.

Since 2 years+ (Miya is now 2.5), we have slowly progressed into running with our walks and currently:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday - 3.1 miles (5 km) run in the morning
Saturday - long run [5km+, today was 10km (6.2 mi) and by freak accident another 4.8 km (3 mi) walk in the city]
Tuesday, Thursday - normal 3 mi (4.8 km) of walking split in the AM and PM

We used a program similar to the Couch to 5K to build endurance [poochto5k.com] and we gradually increased the running to walking ratio.

Miya is currently fast asleep on my laundry.

Christine C. shared a photo | dailymile


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

I am happy to read that so many GSD owners are exercising their dogs!!!! I overdid it yesterday while out walking my dogs, and am now limping around on a hurt knee. Consequently I took them out in the backyard today and just played ball, frisbee, and tired them out back there. I feel guilty though because they had to miss their walk!


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