Cultures where dogs are not being walked

Question

I´ve seen alot of talking about walking one dog or not, but this question is more about cultures where dog are simply not being walked because their function is a bit different than what is usually assumed.

I´m referring to villages in The Philippines that I´ve visited a couple of times - and probably many other places on this planet where dogs primarily are kept to alarm against burglars.

On an early sidenote, I always wondered how people would even know that there´s a burglar, cause the dogs are barking allover the neighborhood the whole night long, nonstop!

Anyway, the dogs pet function is there as well - more for some than for others - but they´re never being walked, period.

I´ve noticed that a lot of these dogs are not cuddly and very interested people, and even the cuddliest one I met who came and put its head on my lap while looking at me, would be very confused about what the idea was of throwing a ball that it could catch.

The good thing is that the dogs can come and go as they want. They may be staying over at other peoples (with dogs) places for weeks, causing great frustration of their owners of course. In such a case, I knew that the dog was never mistreated or not given enough food.. I think it simply just liked another certain dog at that other place.

So summa sumarum, they are given the same freedom as cats, who are also not being walked.

I know cats and dogs are not the same kind of animals at all, but I guess that when it comes to socializing they live a much better life than their counterparts that are being walked every day, because they get to meet other dogs whenever they feel like it.

On the other hand, they don´t get much exercised this way but actually don´t suffer from obesity at all. Probably because their diet is different, or maybe their kind (ascals, they´re called) has a higher metabolism.

What do you people think? Is it in a dogs DNA to only be happy when walked 3 times a day, or is this something we teach them to appreciate? Can they not have a good life without that, when actually being left to do what a dog wants to do?

Answer 1

All animals need some amount of exercise to maintain their health. The ancestor of the dog, the wolf, normally has a quite large territory it wanders in -- as big as 1,000 square miles! They are also used to sudden bursts of extreme activity on the hunt. So they are quite athletic animals.

Breeding has made dogs that perhaps aren't quite such amazing athletes as wolves, but still there are many dog breeds that require quite a lot of exercise. The walk multiple times a day is one way to accomplish this health requirement. The walk also gives the dog a chance to do some of the normal dog behaviors it might not do otherwise, such as exploring and making territory and meeting other dogs.

Is it absolutely necessary to take your dog on walks? Not necessarily, if you are meeting your dog's needs for enrichment and exercise some other way. Most dogs naturally look forward to walks because it's a chance to do the things they like doing. I think though for dogs where they normally get these things another way, a walk would not seem quite so exciting. It used to be the case, and perhaps in some areas it still is this way, that dogs were just allowed to run loose. It was not the case that their owners would also take them on regular walks.

Answer 2

House dogs need walks to get exercise and to relieve themselves. The dogs you describe have free access to go where they please, rather than being locked up in a house all day. As such their needs are very different. House dogs don't have the same options for self exercising that dogs with free access to the outside.