Our Goldie is now approaching the age where we do not have to limit her exercise. I know everybodies different , but I would be interested to hear for how long people walk their dogs on a average day.

Thanks.

My dogs are of differing ages from 8 1/2 down to 21 months.  When out on a walk to the fields they run/play/mooch around for about an hour per day.  They also play in the garden - charging round with each other, chasing boomer balls or hunting out food rewards.  Some days they have a lazy day and don't do the playing in the garden but still enjoy their walks.  If i'm road walking, then again they are out for a minimum of 30 mins (if the weather is bad and they don't like it lol) or up to over the hour but generally everyday they are up the fields exercising.

My girls range from 9 1/2yrs to 11 months and they go out twice a day for about 3/4 hr. The old lady Granny Woo just plods about, Merlot the middle one at 7 is a little more active and pup at 11 months has to do everything in a rush. To give her her due though after 1/4 hr of letting of steam she usually plods about like the others. Berns are not known for a lot of charging about.
Pup often gets 1/2 hr of lead then I put her back on and she does a bit of heelwork/training. But if she has a run round for 5 mins with another dog then she gets longer on lead. We walk about a mile and a half but Pup does more as she does not do straight lines ! and Merlot does a bit of wandering but Granny just plods along the path with me.
I think 2 shorter walks are better than one long one and it breaks the day up better for the girls. Allthough the pup does play at home the other two just crash out and snore! Pup is forever depositing a toy (The toy of the moment is a pink squishy pig) at my feet with a gleam in her eye! so a few throws usually is enough for her to think she has conned me into a game again!
Aileen

Thank you. I'm am just being nosey really! She has just started doing 2 40/45 miniute walks a day with 1 in the morning and the other early evening with a mixture of on and off lead, training and of course her favourite of playing with her friends and chasing squirrels!! She then just tends to sleep the rest of the day with the odd roll around with her toys!!

Ours are GRs and they get 1 hour mornings come lunch time off lead to enjoy themselfs and longer at weekends.
Then they get evening walk of 30minutes on lead.

My dogs do not get unrestricted exercise until theiy are 18 months old.

I don't limit dogs exercise from about a year of age, though they generally get an hour, but as much as I am prepared to give them.

From about 13 I would not take them out for hours and hours, but certainly if we stop and start at their pace they can do a couple of hours mooching along with the more energetic younger ones.

If I had just the one dog I woudl be guided by what they wanted and were confortable doing.

Generally speaking mine would normally get around 45 minutes morning and afternoon/evening (less at the mo because of my own health problems).

One of them - my 6yr old lab - needs to be limited - she has godawful arthritis in one knee and struggles with much more than 20 minutes a day at the moment, but the rest - even the arthritic 9 and 12yr olds - manage just fine and would happily do more (and run the whole way!).

The youngest one is 18 months and ideally she would get a couple of hours in the morning and a short run in the afternoon - it's just not doable though, even with me at full health I wouldn't be able to do it because I have to do 2 walks a time (4 dog council limit for walking, and I have 8).  But she gets stuff to do at home which keeps her happy - it's not all about the physical exercise, brain work helps too (especially with her, she's the lab/malinois).

> (4 dog council limit for walking, and I have 8). 

Surely such limits only apply to commercial dog walkers, nto to thsoe walkign their own dogs?

Nope.  Anybody who walks or own dogs is restricted to walking a maximum of 4 per person, on any public land.  I can walk more on private land - there are a couple of forests I go to sometimes, and farmer's fields in the next village that are open for walking (one in particular that is never used for crops/livestock, only for walkers and bikers).

It's a PITA sometimes when I could just do with taking 5 or 6 then the rest for whatever reason - a few months back I had Tia and Saffi with the arthritis at its worst, so they couldn't have more than 10 minutes which meant I was doing 3 walks - but we manage.  I did have to stop walking a dog for someone else a few weeks back though, 9 dogs pushed it up an extra walk and I just couldn't cope with it.

What bothers me more is if some dog is desperately in need of help and I can't because of that bleddy rule - been ok for the last two dogs but at my limit now!

What law are they applying?  Is it a local byelaw?

It's a Dog Control Order.  As I understand it, the govt gave councils the power to implement DCO a few years back - this one came in in feb 07 as I recall.

These are popping up more and more - I *think* somewhere liverpool-way there is a 3 or 4 dog limit, not sure exactly where though, and I read of one elsewhere a few weeks back with a similar limit.  They also tend to say about people picking up dog poo and the relevant fines.

If I'm caught walking more than 4 dogs here, I'm subject to an on-the-spot £80 fine unless I can come up with a very good reason for it.  That said, an awful lot of people are still unaware of the rules even 4 years after implementation - but then, not many people here have more than 2 or 3 dogs so it isn't relevant to them.

I imagine DCOs are going to get a lot more common :-(

Is that on lead of off lead or both.

I would be very put out if I couldn't walk my 6 at one go on lead.  Must admit I have never walked more than five off lead, and in more recant times 3 or 4 because 1 of mine is just such a BOGOF dog, worse than ever since becoming a veteran/being spayed 4 years ago.

I did some work on Dog Control Orders quite recently for my Parish Council - I asked for some info on this thread here about 'dogs to be kept on lead'.

After quite a lot of research of many local councils it's my view that of the 5 Dog Control Orders available, the order to restrict multiple dog walking is the least used.  However it's more common in urban areas, which of course is exactly where other alternatives for walking are quite limited. 

The KC runs a useful advice page on DCO's as yes, they are becoming more and more common as Local Authorities seek to replace their outdated Byelaws

Brainless - Bristol City Council have opted for only 4 DCO's and have not chosen to apply the restrictions on multiple dog walking

Both.  I knew it would be annoying going in - I only had 3 dogs when I moved up here in nov 06, and only went above 4 last year so it's always been there since I've had a fair sized pack.  Still annoying though and it does limit me - granted, I couldn't afford another dog at the moment anyway, btu as I said before it does stop me from potentially helping a dog in need.  That doesn't happen often, thankfully, but that does bother me - recently I heard of a dobe needing home sharpish or it would be PTS - I couldn't offer help because of this control order.

I'm just grateful they didn't impose a 3 dog limit - that would do me in!

Tiva who is 13yrs is fine just to have a play in the yard- since she is pretty much blind and deaf. If I do take her its maybe just around the block but that is getting to be a lil much since her hips are not the best.

Junior is 11 1/2 yrs old and he can maybe due half the park, so about 2 miles, wouldn't want to push much farther then that.

T-Bone who is 10 1/2yrs she can do the walk from our house around the park and back- 6.66km- 4.14 miles. She could prob keep going- I no for sure she can do the park atleast 2-3 times.

The two oldest have a lil problems with their hips and their one back leg walks a lil funny- mind you all 3 are up for a run in the yard and chase eachother, bounce around like pups again :-) which is nice to see.

I actually believe in the rules of limiting the amount of dogs one person can walk.  I know most people on here are responsible and would have dogs under control but what about those who wouldn't.  I actually feel quite intimidated if I come across a crowd of dogs.  A few people in my area meet up at the local park(3/4 ladies) and they all have at least 2 dogs each, none of which are on-lead and the dogs run miles away with a pack like mentality bullying and intimidating any other dogs in the park.  Everyone talks about them and now stay clear at certain times.  I know this isn't the same thing but it's the large crowd of dogs that's worrying.  What if they wanted to have a go at my dog?  What could I do about a pack of dogs? How can you have a lot of dogs under control?
I have 4 dogs.  The 3 girls, I can have in a sit/stay while cars or other dogs pass and I put the pup on-lead.  I have total control of my dogs but I wouldn't want to walk any more or meet someone with an out-of-control dog. 4 should be the limit, I feel.

To answer the OP, I walk my dogs in sets of 2 because I have a pup and a 9 yr old as well as 2 highly active dogs.  The pup and old have a toddle along the field and then I take the other 2 for a good run, twice a day for about an hour. Once at 9am and the other about 8pm.

There is a difference between having a certain number off lead and limiting what one can walk on lead.

I have to admit with the number I now have the majority of my walking is on lead as I can take all 6 together.  The alternative is shorter split walks, which I do sometimes.

Actually I miss the old days when there were a whole lead of dogs and owners relaxed and socialising, now there seems to be this air of paranoia it just makes it not worth the hassle to walk the girls off lead in the country park any more.

the less dogs socialise in a free way the less able they are to do so lacking the social skills and the more uptight owners are the more cases of aggression occur.  I do believe the increase in dog dominant type dog ownership in my area has contributed to this.

I don't believe in rules for everyone just because some people are stupid.  People who allow their dogs to be aggressive whether it is one or 10 should be tackled not have arbitrary limits set of how many dogs that one owns can be walked.

Other peoples dogs walked commercially is rather different.

Used to meet a lady in teyh country park who walked at least 6 or might be 8 whippets, who trotted along as good as gold.  A couple of them were muzzled due to the propensity to catch squirrels, as this might upset other park users.

I used to be able to walk five of mine off lead there too (two of thsoe are now at Rainbow Bridge), but since Jozi was spayed she has got really unreliable (raiding the food recycling bins in gardens that are not dog proof adjoining the park). 

At the moment with my current 6 I could only walk 3 off lead reliably, of these Myka would mind her own business, but her recall in first 15 minutes is hit and miss.  Kizi is getting a bit vague (not sure if its diminishing sight or hearing but seems to loose me in a crowd) Jozi is now kept on lead because of the bin raiding.  Lexi mooches and coems when called no bother.

Young pup is still in training (recall with trailing line really good, but she is only 4 months). 

Her mother Inka is a bit full on so I prefer not to let her off in a group, she would need my full concentration.  This one at nearly 3 I would say lacks the social skills, as she doesn't suffer fools the way the others would just ignore them, hence the extra care, as I beleive if faced with an agressive/dominant dog she might not back off.

I walk my three ( a 5 yr old, 7 yr and 9 yr ) for between 1 1/2 and 2 hours in our local hills at 6 in the morning, mainly to avoid other dogs so the Staffies can have off lead excercise. It's such a long walk because Ben has to stay on a flexi due to his habit of bogging off at a swift trot, plus I know he'd chase deer or sheep, so the walk is more of a stroll as he has to examine every blad of grass, stop and stare off into the distance and generaly enjoy the magnificent views. They then have two other 20 min trots around the secure field we have permission to use where Ben can be allowed off lead.
When I lived in Edinburgh and had no garden I used to rack up a knackering 4 hours a day with my GSD Louie, thank the lord for gardens ! lol.