Do you think people still walk their dogs regularly?

As we’ve had such a nice summer I have been out and about in my local area more than I normally would and have been surprised by how few people I have seen walking dogs in local parks, riversides and beaches. When we had dogs and lived in suburbia there were nearly always dog walkers in my local park in Kent. We moved to a market town in Lincolnshire and we walked our dogs out of the village so didn’t tend to meet other dog owners but we still saw quite a few in the local park and town. We now live in rural Scotland and we walked our dogs on our own land or on different country tracks so perhaps others do likewise.

I know that the number of dog owners in the UK is fairly stable so it just made me wonder. What do other people think?

The local people here (in Lincolnshire) take their dogs out regularly - most twice a day. We sometimes go to Cleethorpes, and, sitting on the promenade, it seems almost everyone has a dog with them.

When I lived in Bromley and used to exercise in a town park, all the dogs and owners knew each other very well, because you couldn't really avoid them! Then I moved to Knutsford and had the vast Tatton Park to exercise in - great to have so much room, but not nearly so social because it was so big you could walk for ages without seeing anyone. Certainly the dogs in the small town park had much more opportunity to socialize with other dogs.

They probably just walk at different times of day depending on the weather. In summer I walk at 7 am to avoid the masses and the heat. I'm not anti social but nor do I want to dodge picnickers and screeching kids or out of control dogs. In winter I walk in the middle of the day. I avoid town parks at any time of year even though my garden backs onto the local park I never walk there. I drive to the local country park or Epping forest, more interesting for both me and the dogs.

I was thinking recently that the number of dog owners seemed to be increasing but that there seem to be more smaller dog owners (small dogs not small owners!) whose dogs are exercised on flexi leads rather than off lead. That's on beaches, in parks and at our local National Trust property. I dont really take my dogs those sorts of places, we prefer to walk in forestry commission land where it tends to be off lead dogs, and often larger dogs and hardy terriers.

jantet we've lived in similar places, we were in Beckenham and then Horncastle and like you saw quite a lot of dog owners. Maybe now that we're in a part of the country where there are so many places to walk it seems as though we don't see other dog owners and I've been out at different times of the day but maybe not when people would walk dogs before work. I also know a few people who use dog walkers.

I was just interested in other people's observations.

What a coincidence! I was born and brought up in Bromley, then moved to Knutsford, and then retired to Horncastle. I walk mine through the fields alongside the canal and then along the Spa Trail towards Woodhall Spa.

I walk my two twice a day. In the morning if it's a pavement and then off lead walk then we go locally. Other days we go out into the countryside or down to a beach. There are plenty of places to take your dogs here in Saltash.
We do see plenty of other people out walking their dogs most days. I don't think I've ever lived anywhere with so many dogs living there.

now I'm taking a bag of popcorn and keep watching that Thread

as once there was a kinda similar
where one talked about a sunny weekend at the beach and suddenly so many were walking their dogs there

fact: all of those peeps walking there their dogs only at sunny weekends, would never walk their dogs any other time

I said, maybe they don't live near the beach and also wont have time to drive to there during the week etc...

I straight was said, if I do not have the time for walking my dog, I shouldn't have one! so silly!

Mine can have 3, 2, 1 or none a day depends entirely on how we are all feeling and what the weather is doing. Also now depends on if I can get them to the car without the neighbours dog killing either of them

We go out every day, sometimes to our local rugby field and have off lead fun, sometimes to a big green with lots of off lead fun mixing with all varieties of dogs and their owners and sometimes just down the local farm track. Sometimes we see folk on there but mostly its just Bailiie and me.
I always try to do a bit of pavement and a bit of off lead so Bailiie gets the best of both worlds and I regularly take her where I think she'll see other doggies, just to keep her nicely socialised.
She loves to play and have zoomies with other dogs if they want to play, but she also knows which ones she doesn't want to play with too She just walks passed them!
Whilst its been hot we've been going later in the evening when its cooled down; a lot of folk have had the same idea