Taking your dog for a walk

Yesterday, we had some pretty nasty weather: wind, rain, cold - you know the kind of day I mean! And this was all day. So it got us thinking:

Do you REALLY have to walk your dog every single day? 🤔🌧️

Short answer: no.

Long answer: it’s a lot more nuanced than the internet would have you believe.

We hear “dogs must be walked daily” so often it feels like a moral obligation. But if we’re honest, it doesn’t always line up with reality — especially on days like yesterday when it’s cold, wet, stormy and miserable.

Here’s the thing:

🐺 In the wild, dogs’ ancestors absolutely conserved energy. In bad weather or tough conditions, they rested. They didn’t force themselves out for a “non-negotiable daily walk”.

🐕 Modern dogs aren’t wolves anyway. Many breeds were designed for short bursts of activity, companionship, or hanging around humans most of the day, not endurance hikes in sideways rain.

🚶‍♀️ Walks aren’t sacred: needs are.

Walks are just one way to meet:

Physical exercise
Mental stimulation
Emotional wellbeing

If those needs are met in other ways, skipping a walk now and then is completely fine.

🌧️ When it’s absolutely okay to skip a walk

The weather is grim or unsafe
Your dog is tired, older, sore, or unwell
You swap the walk for enrichment at home
Your dog is generally well exercised across the week

Dogs don’t keep score. They don’t know it’s “day 173 of walking streaks.” They know whether they feel settled.

🏠 Great alternatives on miserable days

Sniff games & scatter feeding
Short training sessions (10 mins can exhaust a brain)
Tug, hide & seek, hallway fetch
Chews, lick mats, frozen Kongs
And yes… sleep (rest is biologically normal)

🐾 Breed, age & personality matter

A working-line collie is different to a greyhound, which is different to a senior spaniel, which is different to a companion breed.

Some dogs genuinely need daily physical outlets. Others are perfectly happy missing a day and snoozing through a storm.

✨ If your dog settles well, isn’t destructive, and seems content, you’re doing fine.

A lot of the pressure to walk daily comes from:

One-size-fits-all advice
Social media virtue signalling
Humans projecting their own routines onto dogs

Good dog care is responsive, not rigid.

So if today is a “we’re staying in” day, that’s okay.

For you and your dog 🐕💛

👉 What do you think? I know there are some dogs in the community who wouldn’t agree, am I right?

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