Dog walking questions

I need to get back to walking every day, thanks for the incentive!

We mainly stay in our subdivision. Usually walk for about 30 minutes. When the weather is nice (not muddy) we go to the dog park.

I walk my GSD almost every day. If I can't one day, the 19 y/o walks (or runs) with him. Our neighborhood is great for walking with one big loop or you can add a few cul-de-sacs to lengthen it. We often cross the road to the neighborhood across the street which is essentially designed the same for a change a scenery. We also like taking him to a local park about once a week for trail walking and then play at the dog park. Occasionally, we load up in the car and go to other area parks for hikes. He does get a few little jaunts though Lowe's, Petsmart, or Tractor Supply from time to time as well.

We have one dog that we walk twice a day. Daily total distance is between 6-8 km. We have several different routes/destinations and our neighborhood is very walkable. We also live right in the river valley so there’s a huge network of trails and a massive off leash park. I will often drive to the off leash park and then walk the main trail there which is about 4 km. We walk in all types of weather. Our dog is a 70 pound lab and she loves crappy weather. The only exception would be bitterly cold winter weather, when we may walk her once a day. I worry about frostbite on her paws and nose when it’s super cold. She definitely prefers winter, and kind of drags her butt in the summer when it’s hot.

Disclaimer: I’m an infrequent dog walker. I should go more often but for many reasons I don’t. Anyway:

How far? There is a convenient one mile loop around my block. There are 2-3 other loops that I think are a similar distance but we always seem to just go around the block either one direction or the other but the same block because it’s convenient. We typically start out going the same direction because that way we hit the hill earlier when everyone is still fresh and not tired out, so the second half is more downhill, LOL.

How many? We have two dogs and that’s what complicates things. Our bigger dog needs more training and he pulls, which makes it hard for me because I have a bad shoulder. So when he’s yanking on me on either side for a full mile it’s too much. My DH doesn’t come along very often (or he isn’t home when it’s convenient for me or DD to walk), and the dog is too big for my ten year old to control. We also have a little dog who is easy to walk, but I hate taking one and leaving the other one at home, especially since the big dog is the one that really NEEDS to go and needs the practice and training.

Our neighborhood is extremely walkable, despite the fact that we have no sidewalks. Our neighborhood was all newly paved in 2017-18 and the streets aren’t too busy with traffic. There is a big unused ball field and playground across the street from my house with a pond and wooded area and a lake about four blocks away. For that reason I never need to drive anywhere to walk my dogs.

I won’t take my little dog out in bad weather. She is terrified of being outside in the rain, and she’s only five pounds so extreme cold is also bad because she can’t handle that for long periods either. The other dog couldn’t care less what the weather is doing.

Now before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I’m a terrible pet parent, I’ll add that our yard is almost two acres, and nearly all of the yard is enclosed with invisible fence. I work from home, so the big dog is allowed to go outside to run around pretty much any time he wants and he has a ball chasing squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, probably turkeys, deer and whatever else wanders through or near our yard. He’s too big and dumb to ever actually catch anything so I don’t worry about that. When the weather is nice and the yard isn’t muddy, someone will go out with him and throw his ball for him for 20-30 minutes a day with a chucker in our huge back yard so he gets plenty of time to run around and exercise. The little dog gets her exercise following me around all day, running up and down the stairs inside.

I have one dog that I've started walking daily. We do short walks starting from our house, going on one of two paths. 1/2 mile flat walk or 3/4 mile hilly walk. My black lab had knee surgery in September and we are just now easing back into the walking.

My neighborhood is definitely walkable. We don't have sidewalks, but the speed limit is 30mph and there are always lots of people out and about. Yesterday was a beautiful day so our walk was very peopley.

I walk mine 2 times a day and then out to the street once. One walk is just around the block which takes FOREVER! I have a boy dog, so he hasn't to pee exactly where other dogs have peed. On my longer walks, we go in the hike and bike trail and walk a couple of miles. While it's a little cooler, he can go further, but he's a senior dog now, so 2 miles is about what he's willing to do.

How far do you go? Usually it is just around the block, so about a quarter mile
How many dogs do you have/take? 2
Do you take the same route every time? Yes
Is your neighborhood walkable? Yes
Do you ever drive your dogs to a place with a nicer walk? We do this on the weekends or sometimes in the Spring and Summer nights after work
Do you go during inclement weather? Yes, rain, snow, sleet, ice, warm, cold.  I don't walk them when the temp is way below freezing.  In the summer, we are up early so it's really never too hot to go for one walk.

For me, I take my dogs for their walk every morning, 7 days a week, in the morning.  M-F it is at 5 am (before I go to work), on the weekends maybe 6:30 - 7am.

It is up to the rest of the people in the house to give them a walk after work/school   

This winter, I did not walk them for about 2 weeks because of freezing temps and because the snow was too high for them to go potty anywhere.

We walk our one dog about a mile a day. He also goes outside in the front 3 other times to poop and/or pee. We have two different routes to take, both are the same distance, both are hilly. We have on occasion taken him somewhere to walk, but not too often. The dog doesn’t like the rain. He’ll hurry up and do his business, then come right back in. It doesn’t rain much here so it is not much of an issue.

We have one 15 lb dog that we walk about 2-3 miles a day. Our neighborhood is very walkable, with many different routes. We change it up sometimes. Before the pandemic I used to drive to our little downtown, about 7 miles away, and walk her. Just to totally change things up. A little to busy there now for my liking. Maybe once I’m fully vaccinated. We don’t get real weather extremes here, but I hate walking in wind!

How far do you go? 3 miles
How many dogs do you have/take? One
Do you take the same route every time? Yes if I'm not driving to another park
Is your neighborhood walkable? Yes
Do you ever drive your dogs to a place with a nicer walk? Yes, the dog park is in a park with lots of wooded trails where she can run off-leash
Do you go during inclement weather? Rarely unless we're both dying to get a run in

Snickers and I walk every day and sometimes twice a day depending on how I'm feeling. We walk 1.5 to 4 miles and take many different routes. I can count at least 10 and there are many variations for each. My neighborhood is VERY walker friendly as are the adjacent ones.

Snickers is somewhat of a neighborhood celebrity and gets lots of attention every time we are out and about. He hates rain with a passion and so will only go out to do his business if absolutely necessary. This boy can hold it all in for a very long time, he is extremely stubborn!

I can be gone on a walk for hours it just depends on how many people stop to visit with him along the way! My dh only starts calling if we've been gone more than 2 hours. LOL

One dog, a 2-5 mile walk in the morning, and a few blocks to a mile for evening. We have trails behind our home where I can walk her off leash for the morning walk, and, one of the kids or DH takes her on leash in the neighborhood for the evening walk.

We have a huge yard, but, it is not currently fenced, so, daily walks it is-rain or shine. We both hate walking in the rain, but, we both like going in the snow.
Once we are fenced we will just walk her once per day, or even just 5 times a week, and supplement with playing fetch in the yard.
ETA-yes-I often will drive her to different trails or a park if the trails are muddy. I don’t like to walk her in a neighborhood in the morning, which is her main “pooping walk.” She prefers to do her business and is much faster off leash.