Walk your dog 2 hours a day or go to jail

[kenny]

Germany's Proposed Dog Walking Law Stirs Consternation Among Pet Owners

"Two hours of walking will soon be mandatory?" asks one headline in the German press. "Is the paternalism going too far?" demands another.

www.npr.org

 

[scouty]

Wow, Germany's really moved on from solving Covid-19 and on to new things apparently! Next, are they going to propose mandatory exercise for children or else kids will be taken away?

 

[Demon]

So a yorkie should be walked as long as a border collie (which has high exercise needs)?

 

[Arcadian]

Thats nuttier than squirrel poop. All dogs don't need the same level of exercise. and what if the dog happens to be older or injured? lunacy.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

I'm not sure two hours is going to be enough time.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

i think maybe if its one hour play time
like sniffing and playing and some walking - not hard out hiking for miles in the hills
my uncle had a chuwawa and by the time they had walked up their drive way it was wanting to go home

my friend got a bishion freeise and had to race it to the vet after a long walk
the vet prescribed a German Shepard

 

[Garnetgirl]

I’m glad I don’t have a dog! I also don’t have two hours a day to spare...

 

[pearlsngems]

"The ordinance would require that dogs be "permitted to exercise outside of a kennel at least twice a day for a total of at least one hour," according to the ministry."

Twice a day, for a total of 1 hour. To those of you who own dogs, does that seem excessive? (Full disclosure: I've never owned a dog.)

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

"The ordinance would require that dogs be "permitted to exercise outside of a kennel at least twice a day for a total of at least one hour," according to the ministry."

Twice a day, for a total of 1 hour. To those of you who own dogs, does that seem excessive? (Full disclosure: I've never owned a dog.)

No not at all. I don't think they mean a hard walk either.

I suspect it's to stop people from dumping their dogs in the back yard and ignoring them. The wording sounds like you need to make sure your dog has a change of scenery.

Ours is 11 years old and sometimes she likes to stop mid walk for a cuddle so it takes ages to finish a walk.

 

[jaysonsmom]

My dog is a small-medium guy, about 20lbs and we take him for a 30 minute walk each day. We take him off his leash at a local school on our walk and he chases wild bunnies for about 10 minutes. Then it is back on the leash and by the end of the walk he is exhausted! The walk is only about 1 mile. When I try to take him for a 4mile loop around the neighborhood on weekends, which is 4x what he is used to and around 2 hours he can’t do it! I end up having to carry him home.

 

[Queenie60]

Sounds like socialism to me. I'll check with my friend in Germany and get her input.

 

[redwood66]

Government always knows best.

 

[MarionC]

The title is misleading. No one is expected to walk their dog for two hours, but they cannot keep a dog locked in a kennel. And the article states that they believe it could be for commercial breeders to make them more humane, than for home kept dogs.
Meanwhile, my chi and I run a little over a mile every day, and walk 3-4 miles. And that’s not me dragging him, but the opposite!

 

[joelly]

Soon we will have no right.

 

[joelly]

Mark today as the beginning of the start of anarchy.

 

[LilAlex]

Oh for pete's sake. The only reason we end up with stupid laws like this is because people are even stupider. As others have said, I doubt anyone thought this was a great idea -- more like a way to interrupt some egregious behavior on the part of a few.

Ever imagine we would need a seatbelt law? Turns out we do -- because the idiots tend to go through the windshield and the rest of us pick up the tab for their million-dollar hospitalization and seven-figure long-term care.

The people yelling the loudest, "I don't need somebody to tell me what to do!" usually need somebody to tell them what to do.

 

[ForteKitty]

C'mon, this is so people don't keep dogs locked up in a tiny cage 24/7, because there are plenty of a-holes who do that. " The ordinance would require that dogs be "permitted to exercise outside of a kennel at least twice a day for a total of at least one hour," according to the ministry." People are so sensitive they think everything is about them. Permitting them to exercise can literally mean letting them walk around inside the house, outside of their cage.

 

[lissyflo]

Agree with others above - I don’t think the proposed law says two hours a day. I think it’s twice a day for a daily total of at least one hour, and its other requirements are humane and common sense: it will be illegal to leave dogs chained for long periods and to leave them alone all day every day.

Including a compulsory walking time element does seem wrong to me. An hour a day is much more sensible than the two hours in the title, but probably still too much in some breeds and cases. My friend’s greyhound charges around like a lunatic for 20 minutes and then behaves like an elderly cat for the rest of the day of its own volition and won’t move for anything. We had a week of 38C temps in the UK last week and our dog couldn’t manage more than 20/30 minutes even in the evenings in the dark as he’s just not used to that heat - longer walks would have been dangerous for him.

If I’ve misunderstood and the time element in the law isn’t specifically walking time but a minimum time that a dog must be able to move about freely out of close confinement (I.e. out of an enclosed kennel or chain), then it’s nowhere near high enough in my opinion. 23 hours a day chained up in one place is cruel and should absolutely be made illegal.

I do think it’s a sad situation when a government feels the need for laws like this. I remember an article claiming that a staggeringly high percentage of British dog owners almost never walked their dog - I’ve got 20% in my head but that can’t be right, at least I hope not.

 

[AllAboardTheBlingTrain]

Oh for Pete’s sake. I really despise clickbait like this. My German isn’t spectacular, but I clicked through to one of the articles and there’s a vast difference between “walks twice a day for a total of 1h” and “you must force your dog to walk for 2h a day!!” The title of the article actually makes no mention of “two hours a day” but the page header does. Just silly.

Also, I understood it to mean that you need to take your dog out of its kennel for 1h a day, which seems entirely reasonable / the absolute bare minimum, not force it to do military boot camp everyday. This could however be my rusty German.

Edit: went back and reread the actual german article and all it mentions is that the dog must be outdoors and outside its kennel twice a day, for a minimum total of 1h. It also mentions that dogs should not be left unattended, and not be kept on a chain (chain specifically, not leash). Then there are some dog show / breeder specific provisions. I think this is a good step, honestly.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Sounds like socialism to me. I'll check with my friend in Germany and get her input.

my freind in Germany (a cat lady) thinks its a good idea but that more work should be done on the laws around factory farming

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

This is how she'll look when the police come over to check on her.

Excuse me Sir but I wanted to play tug for the third time and mummy refused. I'd like to lodge a complaint for doggie hardship.

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

@kenny your headline is factually incorrect. It is about one hour a day outside time total.

As per the linked article.


Going out twice a day minimum.

It is a measure to make it possible to actually punish dog owners who neglect their dogs.

I'm quite shocked and puzzled that the animal loving PS community is outraged by this.

ETA:
Upon reading all replies

Thanks @ForteKitty @AllAboardTheBlingTrain @lissyflo @Jimmianne

@pearlsngems

Hope didn't miss anyone. Who pointed it out above

 

[missy]

@kenny your headline is factually incorrect. It is about one hour a day outside time total.

As per the linked article.


Going out twice a day minimum.

It is a measure to make it possible to actually punish dog owners who neglect their dogs.

I'm quite shocked and puzzled that the animal loving PS community is outraged by this.

ETA:
Upon reading all replies

Thanks @ForteKitty @AllAboardTheBlingTrain @lissyflo @Jimmianne

@pearlsngems

Hope didn't miss anyone. Who pointed it out above

Agree on all counts. If we don't speak up for the animals who will? They cannot speak for themselves.

 

[lyra]

I didn't overreact. I took it as 1 hour a day. That's reasonable. It may not even be enforceable. I think it's okay.

 

[GlitterInMyHair]

I agree with other PS'ers that the law is made to hold owners responsible for neglect of their pets.

DH and I lived in Germany for 8 years. One of the things I loved about living there was how much people took care of their dogs, and how many places were dog friendly.

It was completely normal to see dogs in shopping malls, restaurants, IKEA.

And the dogs were so well behaved for the most part. My own dog was usually the worst one lol, because she loved to try to chase pigeons.