Do you drive to take your dog a walk?
Discussion
Silvanus said:
Desiderata said:
QBee said:
We chose our house because we wanted somwhere with a large granny annexe for granny and me to live in, while the grandchildren were small - they lived with their parents in the main part of the house for 10 years until 2022. Such houses are rare, so dog walks just outside the gate came well down the priorities. The good thing is we have a fenced-in three quarter acre garden, so plenty of space to run around and toilet.
We are on a 60 mph country through lane, with no pavements. It is dangerous for people, never mind with dogs on leads, so we always drive the dogs to the two walks within three miles of home that allow offlead running. One a nice park in the local town, which is also close to the shops, and the other some well maintained woods about 2 miles away. The younger of our dogs loves to socialise with other dogs - his idea of fun is racing around at top speed with other dogs.
Before that we had an 8 acre strip of land at the back of our previous house, which made for a safe walk and space to let them out, but still used to take them frequently 2-3 miles by car to socialise with other dogs.
Similar to us. We live on 20 acres of our land in the middle of a 300 square mile area of commercial forestry where we seldom see another human or dog. The dogs have free run (except when the postie is due) but get taken for at least 3 x 2mile walks everyday.We are on a 60 mph country through lane, with no pavements. It is dangerous for people, never mind with dogs on leads, so we always drive the dogs to the two walks within three miles of home that allow offlead running. One a nice park in the local town, which is also close to the shops, and the other some well maintained woods about 2 miles away. The younger of our dogs loves to socialise with other dogs - his idea of fun is racing around at top speed with other dogs.
Before that we had an 8 acre strip of land at the back of our previous house, which made for a safe walk and space to let them out, but still used to take them frequently 2-3 miles by car to socialise with other dogs.
However, we take them 10 or 12 miles by car into the local park at least once a week. Like yours, the young one just loves to play chase with other dogs, and the old one (13 year old retired working collie) happily spends an hour or two just sniffing around all the trees and path edges where other dogs have been.
We still have to take the dogs in the car to have social walks.
Desiderata said:
300 square miles of woodland is maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, it's an area filled with lots of little forests, the one which we live in is only about 50 square miles of continuous woodland, sorry.
We still have to take the dogs in the car to have social walks.
Looks like you are around Craic Forest, Definitely some big plantations in that part of the world, is it mostly spruce around you? Forest sizes/volumes is a big part of my work We still have to take the dogs in the car to have social walks.
tuffer said:
I see you still list your location as Salisbury Plain but that sure ain't SP!Anyway, as I'm still in that area it's great that SP is my backyard and there aren't many places you can wander, dog off the lead for miles and not meet anyone in the south of England. When I moved here I didn't have a dog; if I ever move and still have a dog that will remain a priority for me.
Silvanus said:
Looks like you are around Craic Forest, Definitely some big plantations in that part of the world, is it mostly spruce around you? Forest sizes/volumes is a big part of my work
Yes, in Craik forest, our place used to be a 2000 acre farm until most of it was planted up in the 70's as part of Craik. Yes mostly Sitka. There were a few patches of Larch but they've all been clear felled to prevent fungal spread. The new planting now though includes a lot of hardwood margins and open spaces next to water so it's a nicer place to be now.Desiderata said:
Silvanus said:
Looks like you are around Craic Forest, Definitely some big plantations in that part of the world, is it mostly spruce around you? Forest sizes/volumes is a big part of my work
Yes, in Craik forest, our place used to be a 2000 acre farm until most of it was planted up in the 70's as part of Craik. Yes mostly Sitka. There were a few patches of Larch but they've all been clear felled to prevent fungal spread. The new planting now though includes a lot of hardwood margins and open spaces next to water so it's a nicer place to be now.caiss4 said:
tuffer said:
I see you still list your location as Salisbury Plain but that sure ain't SP!Anyway, as I'm still in that area it's great that SP is my backyard and there aren't many places you can wander, dog off the lead for miles and not meet anyone in the south of England. When I moved here I didn't have a dog; if I ever move and still have a dog that will remain a priority for me.
Seems every time we go out lately we get wet !I need to find a new spot! Was out with my little bundle of fluff and was walking along the footpath and then I heard a bang and saw a flash. Turns out I’d stumbled on a hidden shooting party in the hedges that was firing across the path. Good job the dog has decent recall and wasn’t running too far ahead. Scared the living daylights out of me but the dog seemed fine 
Won’t be using that path again… lol
Won’t be using that path again… lol
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