[zendog3]

Our first house in TV was a courtyard villa. Not awful for our Springer Spaniel and Cocker Spaniel. We walked the regularly but, in a pinch we could let them out on their own. Then we moved to a stand-alone house. Now I have to walk the dogs on a leash three times a day. Clearly, big dogs are a poor fit for TV, but what are you going to do. They are part of the family and we all adjust together. Trust me on this, your guilt is worse than any emotion the dogs might feel. The dogs don't really suffer -- especially when they get older and slow down.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by zendog3

Clearly, big dogs are a poor fit for TV, but what are you going to do.

Sorry, but I don't agree that big dogs are a poor fit for TV! Nope, not at all.

As you can see from my picture, we have a big dog, 70 lbs. And Lollipop gets to run and play off leash every single day where we're in TV. We take our dogs daily to the ten-acre private dog park on CR 101 where they can play off leash until they're exhausted.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

Sorry, but I don't agree that big dogs are a poor fit for TV! Nope, not at all.

As you can see from my picture, we have a big dog, 70 lbs. And Lollipop gets to run and play off leash every single day where we're in TV. We take our dogs daily to the ten-acre private dog park on CR 101 where they can play off leash until they're exhausted.

I can add to this. We have a "Chukker," which is a thingy that holds a tennis ball and enables those of us who throw like girls to throw the ball farther. A couple of times a day I take our golden out into the back yard and chuckker the ball, which he runs to fetch and then retrieves--and sometimes even gives up willingly. After a couple of practice sessions I learned just how far to throw so it stays on our property. We play till he gets tired, i.e., sits down and starts chewing the ball.

This is in addition to our daily long walk, which one should be doing anyway with any dog, as it's good exercise and discipline for the dog--and the owner.

[DonH57]

Until we moved here to TV our dog Bailey only had our yard for his exercise. He has gotten more active with our trips to the dog park and cart rides. The trips to the dog park meant more socialization for him.