What do you do when you don't feel like walking your dog?

[Anonymous]

Am I the only one going to admit that our dog gets hosed somedays? I would love to go on a walk - even in the rain - if I could. But every waking minute I am home during the week I am home alone with a 4-year old. I'm not taking him out in the dark with a dog. So the walking falls to my husband - who is home alone every day - who sometimes doesn't walk the poor thing.

Then the poor dog acts up. And we are reminding why we need to walk her everyday. I have to admit. She's really good at tripping me. She just sidles up and gets under my legs as I am about to move and gives me a look like "hey, remember me?" She's also really good at doing a "I want a walk" dance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I walk the dog every morning and therefore fulfill my familial duty.

The other people (ahem) in my family who have responsibility for the second walk use a laser pointer which the dog loves to chase. You can use it at night in the yard or in a shadowy staircase during the day. The stair case gets them running up and down the stairs -- good exercise. A problem with this particular dog, though, is that she loves the "little red bug" so much that she obsessively bothers people about it in the evening -- so it depends on your dog. If it gets too obsessed with the laser pointer, that's not a good thing either. But then I did my walk already. I leave it to the rest of the family to deal with the laser pointer obsession! (Otherwise I would have 100% responsibility for this dog!!!)

Laser pointers are not recommended for dogs, especially hunting and herding breeds, because it can lead to serious OCD behaviors like non-stop snapping at imaginary flies and obsessive shadow chasing.

If I were you, I would throw away that laser pointer before your other family members drive your dog insane.

[Anonymous]

If you are very careful and have trained your dog for it, I would put him/her on the treadmill (if you have one) Dog Whisperer style. Then I would let him/her into the back yard to go poopy. It just comes with territory of pet ownership, really.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My old boss (I worked out of her home) would occasionally let the dog "escape" from her home in Woodley Park. Inevitably someone would catch him and call her number and then I would have to go and pick him up. God that woman was a piece of work!

Horrible. Really horrible.

[Anonymous]

Thankfully my dog is 6 years old, calm, and only needs to use the bathroom 3x per day. (1st thing in the morning, as soon as we get home from work, and last thing before bed.) Usually one of those times my husband will give her a "walk" around the block (10-15 minutes tops.) The other times we walk her to the nearest grass, let her do her business, and come straight home. Thankfully she is fine with this.

But yes, there are plenty of times when he or I don't feel like doing it, especially since kids. My parents buried their 12 year old dog recently and are huge dog lovers. In the heat of the moment, I have definitely suggested to my husband that our dog could take LONG vacations to my parents house (they would love this) but he claims he would miss her too much. So I say, "Fine then, you walk her."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suck it up and walk the dog. That's part of the deal with being a pet owner.

This....Unless you hire someone.

Absolutely. WTF? What if someone just told you, OP, to hold it for hours on end b/c they did not feel like letting you go to the bathroom?
Get off your butt and take the dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I suck it up and walk the dog. That's part of the deal with being a pet owner.

This....Unless you hire someone.

Absolutely. WTF? What if someone just told you, OP, to hold it for hours on end b/c they did not feel like letting you go to the bathroom?
Get off your butt and take the dog.

Chill out....didn't you read I was referring to a "walk" 30-45min walk. Not a "walk outside let them do their business walk." Goodness I never thought this thread would become so nasty. I was in a bad mood and tired when I wrote. Just looking for some encouragement.
-OP

[Anonymous]

When I'm really tired, I just let my dog out at night and he pees and poops in my neighbors' tree boxes. They've never been able to prove it's me.

[Anonymous]

Agree with all the other posters that you just do it because you love your dog and it's what they need.

Letting your dog play in the backyard does not have the same benefits as walking your dog. Cesar Millan writes that walking your dog is important to promote bonding and leadership between the dog and owner, as well as to allow your dog to be stimulated by new sights, smells, etc. I imagine a change in scenery is appreciated by dogs as much as it is in people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I walk the dog every morning and therefore fulfill my familial duty.

The other people (ahem) in my family who have responsibility for the second walk use a laser pointer which the dog loves to chase. You can use it at night in the yard or in a shadowy staircase during the day. The stair case gets them running up and down the stairs -- good exercise. A problem with this particular dog, though, is that she loves the "little red bug" so much that she obsessively bothers people about it in the evening -- so it depends on your dog. If it gets too obsessed with the laser pointer, that's not a good thing either. But then I did my walk already. I leave it to the rest of the family to deal with the laser pointer obsession! (Otherwise I would have 100% responsibility for this dog!!!)

Laser pointers are not recommended for dogs, especially hunting and herding breeds, because it can lead to serious OCD behaviors like non-stop snapping at imaginary flies and obsessive shadow chasing.

If I were you, I would throw away that laser pointer before your other family members drive your dog insane.

Interesting point. Actually, it was a professional dog trainer who suggested it but she did say that it should only be used with some dogs.

[Anonymous]

OP, don't feel so bad. I was a dog (and cat) fanatic before I had kids. I even cooked homemade food for them. I lived in an apartment in the city so I HAD to take my dog out three times a day, in all weather (and more if she didn't feel well). These days my animals are part of a family, not the center of the universe. None of us has it perfect. The dog goes in the yard to do his business most days and gets walked probably 4 days per week. He seems happy.

OP, you don't feel well. I'm sure you love your dog but it's a DOG and you are a HUMAN. And if your dog could talk, he would probably say, "you need your rest, I'll be fine" and forgive you.

[Anonymous]

Knew someone who walked their Doberman Pincher everyday by driving very slowly along a secluded dead end street with almost no traffic, with the side van door open and a passenger holding onto the leash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I'm really tired, I just let my dog out at night and he pees and poops in my neighbors' tree boxes. They've never been able to prove it's me.

There's a special place in hell for people like you!

[Anonymous]

I'm not a dog owner (and never have been) and am curious about something...if you have a nice, big yard for your dog to run around every day, do you still need to walk your dog?

[Anonymous]

I think they like to get out and about and see what's happening outside of their own yard.