How Often Do You Walk Your Grey?

[Sundrop]

We walk our two (well, one now, since we lost one last week) twice per day, every day (unless the weather is really bad). Walks are controlled, they get certain times to sniff/pee, but they always stay at our sides, slightly behind us. If they get ahead of us or pull, they get gently corrected. They are celebrities in our neighborhood because they are so well-behaved and walk at our sides, lol. Walks are normally 15-20 minutes each.

 

Our pups live for walks. Our girl is almost 13 and she still runs to the door, though she can't walk nearly as far as she used to (or as fast) - but she insists on her two walks per day!

[Guest Bea]

I walk Bea for about 45 minutes in the morning and an hour in the evening on weekdays. On the weekends, we'll usually go for one short 30 minutes walk as well as a longer walk of anything up to 3 hours. I try to vary the walks a lot, so she gets to stop and sniff however she wants for about 15 minutes, and then we do some brisk walking without sniffing for 10 minutes or so etc.

[Guest GreytfulJack]

I don't mean to hijack the thread but I was having tea with some friends of mine from Kenya just this past week. He was talking about the GREAT MIGRATION there! I was just thinking what it would be like to take all the greyhounds in the world, and let them walk together....what a sight that would be...we could call it

 

THE GREYT MIGREYTION

 

 

 

 

 

ok...going back to my corner now

 

 

[Guest Vince]

On weekdays, 20-30 min in the morning and late afternoon, another 10-20 walk before bed time. On week-end the walks are usually longer. We always take different routes.

 

When it's not raining we let bentley run around in the backyard.

[Guest brownsugar]

I have not read every entry in this thread...but wanted to mention...

I walked my girl EVERY day 2 or 3 times a day for the first 4 years I had her...then she was attacked by a leashless dog.

I'm continually petrified of OFF leash dogs---now I carry a large stick, and usually coerce one of my sons to walk with me...usually only once or twice a day.

Sugar LOVES her walks..and while I do let her out numerous times a day in our fenced in yard..it's not like taking her for a walk..imo.

It makes me so angry to be denied of this pleasure..but I'm mental with fear over it..she suffered $1000 in vet bills...all because

someone didn't leash their dog.

 

[Guest susane]

It's kind of difficult to answer the poll, since each of mine are treated differently due to their needs. We have a very large yard and they all get playtime outside every day and we chase and throw toys with the ones able to do that. My senior gets shorter and slower walks, my middle boy gets longer faster walks, and my baby is still recovering from a badly broken hock (at the track) and gets slower short walks followed exercises-stair climbing, balancing, etc. I take them each separately, since it's hard to mesh their needs all into one walk. Do they all go every day? no, not possible with the time I have, the weather conditions here, and the needs that day of each particular pup. Hope this answer helps.

[2greytgreys]

We don't have a fenced yard so my two get 4-5 walks a day. They get a 20-30 minute walk in the morning and after I get home from work. A shorter walk when I come home for lunch and then just quick "potty breaks" before bed. The walks are always interesting with a 4 year old boy and 12 year old girl. My male, Ranger does really good with slowing his pace to match my senior girl plus she's much smaller than he is and her stride isn't as long as his.

[Guest 3greysinPA]

We have an just about an acre of land fenced in for the hounds to run and play and walk around it... so i routinely do not take them out for a walk.. sometimes we do... but not routinely... they get there exercise all day long in the back yard... they are outside at least 20 times a day.

[Guest cgl0909]

We do not have our backyard fenced in yet so we walk the dogs around the backyard to go potty . The DH needs to get to work on that! That I wouldn’t really count as a walk because it is usually quick. We do play games with them when they finish if the weather is good. We run sporadically around the yard to different spots. We take long walks in the evening down a side road beside our house. That walk last for about 30-45 minutes. We used to walk longer when we just had Elton. Eleanor just doesn’t seem much into going past 45 minutes. She starts dragging behind us. On the weekends we usually go some place new or different to walk. Last weekend we went to Lake Lure and walked in the park there. This weekend we went to Falls Park and walked the trail to Cleveland Park. We also try to squeeze in as many places as we can for new experiences and socialization.

[Guest AbitaHounds]

We have three greyhounds and walk them at least once every day, most days twice. We bought an adult tricycle after one of our hounds had her left hind leg amputated because of an injury. I keep her and the other fast girl on the left side of the trike and our boy Tango is on a retractable leash attached to the basket on the back. He is a slug but a lovable one. Everyone in the town pretty much knows us as they see our daily greyhound parade with Saints flags on the trikes. I think we have even inspired other people to walk their dogs more. Because of the trike the three legged girl can get into a rhythm rather than the start and stop that she has to do if we are just walking. Consequently, her right back leg is strong as steel and she has even developed some muscle in her little stump as she moves it as she lopes along beside the trike. We went with the trike because it is much more stable and easier to manage three hounds on while avoiding the ditches.

[PatricksMom]

Normally, once a day for a mile, trying to keep a good pace, but allowed to stop as desired. Right now, 5-6 times a day, because we are waiting for the new fence gates to come in, and since I work at home most days he's used to going outside all the time. Usually one two mile walks and the rest around the block.

 

I doubt they're doing too much for his health given how much he stops, but I think the mental stimulation is important, if possible.

[Guest katieandpadfoot]

Hi have 2 greys and no backyard. So I walk them for potty breaks and lesiurely walks. My girl has a broken leg right now so it's a little slower....I usually 1 or 2 "working walks" a day though...this is where I don't let them stop and sniff anything...they have to stay by myside and walk at a good pace...they also have to stop and start again when asked. I learned this from my friend who is a dog trainer. She said it keeps the dogs alert and uses their minds and gets them phsyical and mental exercise. Right now though I just do that with my boy...very very slowly starting to do it again with my girl....she's a slow healer!!! Looking forward to nice fall walks though!!!!

[Guest kydie]

Walking my dogs is a way for me to relax, I just let them sniff and kind do what they want, no pulling all are well mannered

Edited September 3, 2009 by kydie

[Guest johnandheidi]

We have had Jeff and Walter for about 3 weeks now and have been wondering the same thing. We live in an apartment and have no yard, so we have no choice but to take them for walks. However, even if we lived in a house and had a yard, we'd still take them for walks. We feel that taking them for walks reinforces our role as top dog and gives them structured exercise. We take them to local parks for a long walk every morning and early evening, both walks are about 1-1.5 miles or roughly 45 minutes. Mostly, we walk at a brisk pace, but we stop for a little play time here and there. For these longer walks, we drive to a local park. We also take them for a short pee-pee walk around the apartment grounds just before bed, about a 20 minute walk.

 

In the 1st week of having the lads, we took them to a Bark Park and let them run, run, run off-leash. It only took about 5 minutes for them to tire out. But, they would poop like 3 times in those 5 minutes. We switched to the structured on-leash walks and that seemed to produce better post-walk rest, as well as better poops.

[Guest tbrodzel]

As a newbie I really appreciate this poll and the added comments. I am a new greyhound mommy and I want to do what is best for her. Thanks for sharing all your tips and points of view. This will help me in making sure my Brynna gets enough exercise and stimulation.

 

I will say that living in Wisconsin means there will be lots of days with bad weather. I am working with Brynna on some fun games/exercise in the house so that she keeps active on those icy snow days. She LOVE toys that squeak, so I get her to jump to grab the toy from me or I throw it accross the house and she has to retrieve it and such. After a few rounds of this she is happy and panting, then she naps.

 

 

[Guest Bang_o_rama]

Speaking of indoor games, we've discovered that Bang loves "Hide and Seek", (also known as training her to come when called). Dave and I hide in various parts of the condo with treats in hand and take turns calling out to her. She's hilarious as she dashes around the place trying to find us!

 

Also, stashing her stuffies in various places around the condo when she's not looking helps keep her occupied, too.

 

Gina

 

 

I will say that living in Wisconsin means there will be lots of days with bad weather. I am working with Brynna on some fun games/exercise in the house so that she keeps active on those icy snow days. She LOVE toys that squeak, so I get her to jump to grab the toy from me or I throw it accross the house and she has to retrieve it and such. After a few rounds of this she is happy and panting, then she naps.

[Guest IrskasMom]

 

 

Before we had a Backyard , I had to walk three to four times my Irska . I had to invest in a very warm Wintercoat with Hood,

a Raincoat for the Summertime Rainy Days and Duckshoes and Boots. We go out every Day two times to the Park for at

least an Hour ,on Rainy Days not quiet as long and walk .

[Guest CarolN]

Our boy gets walked 5 times a day. He gets a 20-25 minute walk with me first thing in the morning and last thing at night, a 30 minute walk with another dog with the petsitter in the middle of the day, and two shorter walks, one in the morning and one in the evening with my husband. He seems to enjoy the variety of experiences he's getting every day.

[dostacos]

Queen gets 2 or 3 shots in the back yard daily for her "necessaries" and she walks, and trots around for 15-20 minutes min. some days at least an hour.

 

as for walking....well since I am in a powerchair I don't walk I have started working on her walking with me. MY command is WHEEL instead of heel because...well kinda makes since, correct?

 

My biggest concern is when she walks in front of me and crosses back and forth or starts getting too close to the wheels I am afraid I will run over her. I also have a habit of spinning in place to get her to the side of the chair I want {usually left} and she walks behind me in and out of the house

[Guest DarkHorse]

Dexter gets three walks a day; two 15-30 minute ones first thing in the morning and last thing at night and then a 5 minute trip out mid-day. Araley gets the two longer ones and on a rare occasion the mid-day break. Additionally, we normally go on one (sometimes two) longer walks a week, normally at least an hour. We walk pretty fast on those, but they do get to sniff around at some spots.

 

During the winter, the longer walks can get cut back if the weather is really bitter as both pups will start limping after 30ish minutes (but, of course, won't walk with boots on )

 

ETA: They also get play time inside, which we increase when we can't walk them outside due to the weather. That's normally anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour a day.

Edited December 10, 2009 by DarkHorse

[Guest sorenkkg]

When we first got Haka, we heard they got 4 potty breaks per day... we couldn't do that, but we worked out a 3x a day schedule.

 

We also learned that Haka will not "go" in the backyard! Well, not *our* backyard (he'll happily poop in YOUR backyard, lol).

 

So that means we walk 3 times a day, and, we have to get sufficiently far enough away from the house for him to poop. So we do short-ish walks, 15-20 minutes, sometimes longer if the weather is nice.

 

When we got Aleeya, we just got her going on the same schedule.

 

We've also discovered a local greyhound play hour on the weekends, so when the weather is good, we take them up to that, and let them do greyhoundie things for an hour-- in the summer, that means lying in the shade and 1 or 2 good runs when someone honks the squawker, but in the fall and spring, they ran around almost the whole time!

 

I really believe in walking the dogs-- either myself alone or my DH, or the 4 of us as a family. I'm not "all ceasar milan all the time" but I do agree with him and think that walking together is good for the group dynamic, as well as healthy for everyone. (I also like it when we all sleep in the same room, but only Aleeya sleeps in the room with us, Haka does what he wants and often winds up just outside on the landing)

 

As for stopping: I think it's *their* walk, so I do let them do almost whatever they want. If I pull them away from something, or say No to the umpteenth tree, I will let them have the next one. Everything in moderation

 

 

[Guest onlygreys4me]

now that its gotten colder and snowing, our walks have gotten down to about 10-15 min. just long enough for her to do her duty.

When i get the chance we do take and go to a park somewhere so she can run and take a little longer walk. I like to do that more in the warmer weather.

[Guest meakah]

There wasn't an 'off leash' option. I walk my dogs at least 4 times a week off leash. Usually hiking through the river valley at a huge off leash park.

[Guest cms121979]

I am a huge proponent of tiring your dog out. A tired dog is a happy dog (and a happy owner). I've only had Echo a few months, and we've been working things out as far as schedule. Most of the time, he gets a 30 minute walk in the morning and a 45 minute walk in the evening. Thats on the days I have to work and only because I don't have more time to devote to walking him more. But when I have the day off, we will walk for about an hour in the morning and then another hour or more in the evening. When the weather was nice and I wasn't working, I would try to get at least two hours in mid-day in more wooded areas and then back off in the evening with just a 20 minute walk before bedtime. So, like most others, our walk schedule varies, but I do have a minimum of at least 75 minutes a day. And when I walk a dog, ANY dog, the dog stays at my side and is released to smell and/or eliminate only when/where I allow. Just because their nose isn't on the ground doesn't mean they can't smell while they are walking! He also goes with me on errands (he LOVES car rides!) and most of the time, random strangers passing the car will ask to pet him, so he gets extra socialization in that way. And let's not forget trips to PetCo/PetSmart. Our local PetCo does a weekly dog training/play session free seminar and its run by a friend of mine who is a trainer. She's grown rather fond of Echo, so we make it a point to make it down there at least once a month. So far, he's not real fond of bully type dogs, and there is a Samoyed who he finds absolutely obnoxious. But he fell in love with a young harlequin dane, so I make it a point to make sure he gets to see his girlfriend at least once a month! lol

Edited December 28, 2009 by cms121979

[Guest kellygreyhound]

My girl gets daily hikes with her walker that last anywhere from an hour to all afternoon (lucky duck!). When the weather isn't inclement, we walk in the evenings too--but some nights, she's too tired from her daytime outing for another walk On weekends, she has learned to expect a lot of activity--we usually spend Saturday morning jogging or hiking, plus there's the outing to the farmer's market and the dry cleaners and anywhere else I need to go... So long as it isn't pouring rain and everyone is healthy, we're out n' about on the weekends. But, my girl is pretty high energy!