Author Topic: Compulsory exercise for dogs  (Read 3285 times)

Cudzoziemiec

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Compulsory exercise for dogs
« on: 19 August, 2020, 03:32:23 pm »
And their owners, indirectly?
Quote
Germany’s dog owners will soon to be ordered by law to walk their pets twice a day.

The country’s agriculture minister, Julia Klöckner, has said she is introducing the new law based on evidence that many of the nation’s 9.4 million dogs are not getting the exercise or stimuli they need.

Under the new regulations in the Hundeverordnung, or Dogs Act, owners will not get away with a quick jog round the block, but will be required to take their dogs out for at least one hour on each occasion.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/19/germans-must-walk-their-dogs-twice-a-day-new-law-will-say

Sensible? Over reaction? For dogs or their owners?
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simonp

Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #1 on: 19 August, 2020, 03:34:05 pm »
Prediction: lots of abandoned dogs.

Kim

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #2 on: 19 August, 2020, 03:35:08 pm »
Won't affect the responsible dog owners.  Won't stop the irresponsible dog owners owning dogs.

(The article doesn't say what the penalty would be?)

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #3 on: 19 August, 2020, 03:40:59 pm »
It doesn't state a penalty but it does say enforcement would be by local authorities, so presumably penalties, if  any, would vary from Land to Land.

I'm not sure about it not affecting responsible dog owners. Does every dog owner take every dog out twice a day for at least an hour? I got the impression once was more common. But even without enforcement, there will (would – it's not law yet) presumably be social pressure on the responsible doggists to put that little bit extra in.
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Fennec

Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #4 on: 19 August, 2020, 03:55:54 pm »
Some dogs need less than that, some more. Depends on things like breed, character, age of dog. Taking a young puppy or elderly dog out for an hour could be damaging.

I do agree that there’s a problem with people buying unsuitable dogs, based on their Instagrammability, and then not exercising them enough.

My dog (mongrel, lazy, middle-aged) gets walked 3x per day. Once first thing in the morning and once last thing at night - end of road for a wee, 2-3 mins. One main walk after breakfast. He decides how much he wants for that one - sometimes it’s five mins, sometimes the best part of two hours. He’s not fat, and spends much of the rest of the day asleep. We’d walk him more if he wanted it, but I can assure you he doesn’t 😁

Auntie Helen

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #5 on: 19 August, 2020, 04:06:30 pm »
Who is going to check up on it? Apart from the ubiquitous nosy neighbour. I think it’s just posturing,
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simonp

Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #6 on: 19 August, 2020, 04:07:49 pm »
Two hours is way too much for some dogs, and not enough for others. Bad regulation.

Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #7 on: 19 August, 2020, 04:21:35 pm »
And their owners, indirectly?


Not if they use an e-scooter
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Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #8 on: 19 August, 2020, 06:01:32 pm »
Not electric but...
https://youtu.be/qKYryJ_1poQ
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Wowbagger

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #9 on: 19 August, 2020, 07:03:28 pm »
We have ways of making you walk.
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CrazyEnglishTriathlete

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #10 on: 19 August, 2020, 10:08:02 pm »
I remember a conversation (a long while ago) so times may have changed, with a colleague who lived in Germany in the 90s - not only did they have very precise rules about things such as when you could hang your washing out or cut your grass, but that people followed them.
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Auntie Helen

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #11 on: 20 August, 2020, 05:17:02 am »
Yes they do.

You’re not allowed to mow your lawn or do noisy diy on a Sunday.

You aren’t allowed to mow your lawn weekdays after 6pm if it is noisier than xx decibels.

If you live in an apartment you aren’t allowed to put on a washing machine after xx o’clock due to the noise.

Loads of other small rules like that to give people peaceful times. They are mostly followed but not always.
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T42

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #12 on: 20 August, 2020, 10:30:18 am »
Yeah, I remember a chum getting stick from his neighbours in Fellbach after he tie-dyed his jeans at 2 am in a rather noisy washing-machine. Basically, you could do anything legal you liked during the official shop-opening times.
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Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #13 on: 20 August, 2020, 10:43:34 am »
Must be difficult for shift workers.
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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #14 on: 25 August, 2020, 09:55:10 pm »
Two hours is way too much for some dogs, and not enough for others. Bad regulation.

Yes. Also it depends on the dogs mood and what it has been doing before. We walked for five hours yesterday in The Dales across the moors. Today Tilly is tired and its raining, she isnt interested in going for a long walk.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #15 on: 02 September, 2020, 12:38:26 pm »
I can't imagine that this law would be in any way enforceable. Laws that say you can't do something (e.g. mow the grass on Sunday) have an obvious enforcement pathway - if the relevant authority turns up and you are mowing the grass, you'll get booked. How do you prove whether or not someone has walked their dog or not? I walk mine early morning - I often don't see anyone else to corroborate that I've been out!

It's also impossible to set out how long every dog should be exercised. Mine did 12-15 minutes each this morning, but we covered 6km each time doing bikejor (basically the dog pulls me on my bike, like dog sledding, but on a bike). I couldn't make them do that sort of speed effort for more than 20 minutes.

Having said that, I see the point, and agree with the principle. There are far too many dog owners who own a dog as a toy or status symbol, rather than understanding that they are responsible for a living animal.

ian

Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #16 on: 02 September, 2020, 01:40:28 pm »
Yeah, I remember a chum getting stick from his neighbours in Fellbach after he tie-dyed his jeans at 2 am in a rather noisy washing-machine. Basically, you could do anything legal you liked during the official shop-opening times.

I was once talking from a guy who moved from Manila to Basel. It took him a while to get used to Swiss rules. He got cited for flushing his loo after 10.30pm.

I'll go for any law that brings in the death penalty for power tool or garden implement usage before noon on a Sunday.

Even the US tends to have lots of local bylaws and regulations like this. The UK is curiously lacking in its free-for-all.

It strikes me that if you're going to get a dog, you should think about exercising it. But then it would strike me that you should keep it on a lead if you can't control it and apologize when it charges people, and clean up its poo. I'm crazy like that.

My parents have a yapping, untrained Jack Russell that they never walk. It just runs around the garden yapping at stuff. They're both retired and taking the dog for a walk wouldn't exactly put a dent in their daily schedule of TV watching. My mother won't take her before 'she pulls on the lead' and my dad won't because its comes dangerously close to doing some exercise.

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #17 on: 02 September, 2020, 02:22:03 pm »
I can't imagine that this law would be in any way enforceable. Laws that say you can't do something (e.g. mow the grass on Sunday) have an obvious enforcement pathway - if the relevant authority turns up and you are mowing the grass, you'll get booked. How do you prove whether or not someone has walked their dog or not? I walk mine early morning - I often don't see anyone else to corroborate that I've been out!
I suppose if they really wanted to gain a conviction, the Bundeshundedwalkiesamt or whatever could stake out your house, perhaps via CCTC. Or maybe even drones. Whether even German bureaucracy would actually do this, well?????
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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #18 on: 02 September, 2020, 03:28:45 pm »

Even the US tends to have lots of local bylaws and regulations like this. The UK is curiously lacking in its free-for-all.



The general consensus being there's no one around to enforce such things. The driver of the car was genuinely surprised when I took humbridge to his waiting across our drive for his lift share to come out of his house at 5 am every day this summer, whilst leaving his dirty great diesel engine idling away outside my open bedroom window.
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ian

Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #19 on: 02 September, 2020, 04:44:58 pm »
In both places I lived in the US (middle-class college towns), you had to keep your lawns mowed (not before 9 am or after 6 pm) and various other property-related things, and also the pavement outside clear of leaves and snow. And no you couldn't park on it, but then the road was so wide you'd have to pack a drink and sandwiches if you planned a journey to the far side. It does vary by state, county and town though. I presume the town police enforced the local ordinances.

Auntie Helen

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Re: Compulsory exercise for dogs
« Reply #20 on: 02 September, 2020, 07:29:24 pm »
I can't imagine that this law would be in any way enforceable. Laws that say you can't do something (e.g. mow the grass on Sunday) have an obvious enforcement pathway - if the relevant authority turns up and you are mowing the grass, you'll get booked. How do you prove whether or not someone has walked their dog or not? I walk mine early morning - I often don't see anyone else to corroborate that I've been out!
I suppose if they really wanted to gain a conviction, the Bundeshundedwalkiesamt or whatever could stake out your house, perhaps via CCTC. Or maybe even drones. Whether even German bureaucracy would actually do this, well?????
No CCTV in Germany, memories of the Stasi too recent.
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