We just moved down from the NE and have two dogs ourselves, both larger than yours. We are also younger and don't mind walking them, but we did buy a Veranda home for them to be able to have a yard which they are not used to (we come from an urban environment and previously lived in a condo so we had to walk them 3-4x/daily, in rain and/or snow).
A few things to consider:
-It's hot here and depending upon your dogs fur, color, and tolerance they may not want to be outside much so walks are only really practical in the morning and evenings - anything between 10 AM and 6 PM might be much for them.
-Unfortunately there are few sidewalks here and most of the pavement, including multi-modal (walking) paths are blacktop (i.e. paws will burn).
-Grass type: up North the have the nicer (my opinion) Zosia grass which dogs likely prefer as it's softer and smaller blades. Down south it's pretty much all St. Augustine which are thicker blades and only mowed to 4" so littler dogs might find that grass type a bit...tricky?
My recommendation is to buy a home with a fenced yard, either Courtyard Villa or Veranda, and would strongly preference pre-existing up north not only for the lower up front cost (e.g. paid bond) but also the dog consideration (i.e. Zosia grass, more mature landscaping/shade, etc.). As another poster mentioned, sometimes bird cages will include a grass patch or other area they can use so you don't necessarily need a yard too.
We bought new - and love it - because we're younger and live close to Eastport, but we also needed to sink money into our floors, lanai, etc. and one of our dogs still won't "do his business" in our yard - so we need to walk him - while the other does, but she isn't a fan of the grass (St. Augustine).
I hope that helps. The Villages is very dog friendly, but please note the pavement gets hot here, there are predators/hawks (as someone else mentioned) , and time outside for both walks/yards is typically limited, with a focus on "doing their business" and a bit of sun, unless early morning / late evening hours.
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