# Do Golden Retrievers need a big yard?



## GoldenPuppy (Mar 20, 2010)

Yes, this is my question. I mean I know, it would be ideal, but most townhouses in my area do not have fully fenced in areas that dogs can roam around freely in without supervision--both sides of the yard has a fence then it is tree lined and has a little gate. However, there are many parks and areas like that where I could take the dog to exercise and things like that. I am not getting a Golden at the moment, this is just something that I wanted to know.


----------



## AtticusJordie (Aug 15, 2006)

The main issue to me is: if your Golden (or whatever dog you may consider getting...) needs a fair amount of exercise--how are you going to do that?

You may not have a big yard--but even a small one may work as long as he gets the exercise--in other words, you may have to supplement the 'yard time' with walks, etc. 

Just my thoughts,

SJ


----------



## Doodle (Apr 6, 2009)

Goldens for the most part are high energy dogs, and they do need to run. I don't think you need to have a large yard, but you should have a place like a dog park or something like that where they can run off leash safely.


----------



## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Lucky mostly lays down and chews sticks in his big yard. That is what he did when we had a little yard too.

His exercise was owner driven not yard driven...and mostly that was walks. 

Lucky would have been a perfect "apartment" dog.


----------



## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

It's not absolutely necessary to have a huge yard. The important thing is that you are making sure that your golden is getting plenty of exercise. This can be from going for walks, hiking, swimming, or running around and throwing a ball at a dog park. You can even start agility training. The size of the yard is much less important than the activities and exercise that you provide for your dog.


----------



## maggiesmommy (Feb 23, 2010)

yeah..Maggie lives in a 1 bedroom condo in DC...HOWEVER...I'm a college student, so she gets a 2 hour walk every afternoon AND either a long hike in a wooded park or a day at the doggie beach and/or 1 hour of pure top speed running after a frisbee in the baseball field across the street..so...do they NEED a big yard, no, but they DO need a lot of walks.


----------



## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

A yard does not exercise the dog. An owner does. 

I live in apartment and don't have any yard at all, but my dogs get plenty of exercise with walks and off-leash time in local areas where I can safely un-leash them. In fact, my dogs probably get more exercise than friends who have yards b/c they tend to get lazy about just letting the dogs outside and hoping they exercise themselves.


----------



## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

I do have a yard, but Rookie gets almost none of his exercise in the yard. We walk the neighborhood. For off-leash running, we go to the park at the end of the street every day. And there's a dog park that's a little over a mile away where we go three times a week. The yard is convenient for letting him out to pee, but definitely not necessary for exercise.


----------



## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

Regardless of the size of yard you have you need to walk and exercise your dog every day. We have a fairly large yard but Pippa does not on her own go out and run laps,etc. and tire herself out. She loves her walks and this is the source of most of her exercise. Running, chasing a ball, etc. in the yard are just additional bits of activity each day.

So to answer your question I would say no, Goldens do not require a large yard because that is not going to be the source of their exercise.


----------



## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Goldens need exercise, but not necessarily a yard as others have mentioned. They can be hiked, biked, swum and walked. You can toss a tennis ball or a Retriev-R-Trainer for them.


----------



## msdogs1976 (Dec 21, 2007)

A nice size yard is great for taking your dog out to play without having to go to a park or something, but not necessary. You will need to be committed to going on a couple of good walks everyday and playtime at a park on occasion. I'm retired so I have the time to do this, but it might be hard for someone still working especially during those short cold winter days.


----------



## Sophie_Mom (Jan 21, 2009)

mdoats said:


> I do have a yard, but Rookie gets almost none of his exercise in the yard. We walk the neighborhood. For off-leash running, we go to the park at the end of the street every day. And there's a dog park that's a little over a mile away where we go three times a week. The yard is convenient for letting him out to pee, but definitely not necessary for exercise.


Ditto - We have a nice, big fenced-in yard. That being said, Sophie really doesn't "do" much in the yard (unless the kids are out running around with her). She prefers her walks, our hikes in the woods, and running in the park. When we play ball, she likes to RUN for the ball, and our yard doesn't give her enough space.


----------



## zephyr (Sep 29, 2009)

I totally agree with everyone else! We live in an apartment so all exercise (except when he was a very small puppy) is on-leash walks (around the neighborhood or on trails) and visits to the dog park. I really like Steph's "*A yard does not exercise the dog. An owner does. *" : Even if we had a mansion & a huge yard, I think Oscar would want to be wherever we were anyway, including his "exercise" time!

I will say that there are 2 reasons why apartments aren't _always_ the "ideal" situation for dogs in general, because they require a little extra effort on the part of the owner, and one or both may apply to townhouses depending on the set-up.

1) Taking them outside to potty every 30-60 minutes when they are a puppy will get irritating really fast IF you have a long elevator ride or lots of stairs to climb... especially when you catch them sniffing around -- or worse, mid "mid-stream" :bowl: -- and you need to hustle them outside quickly! For this reason it is nice to have at least SOME green space close to your door so you can get them outside ASAP (on leash) and cheer them on when they do their business outside. It's obviously possible if you live in a high-rise, but it would definitely be something to consider. We didn't use puppy pads or newspaper because it can slow down your housebreaking efforts, but I guess that would be an option for a small dog (though I can't really imagine an adult GR using them 

2) Your neighbors are a lot closer in an apartment/townhouse, so you want to make sure they aren't irritated by a barking/crying puppy during the night or day, such as when they are crated while you are at work. We got lucky and no one has even complained about Oscar barking while we are gone... but even now that he's older, I am always aware that he could be bothering someone with crying or barking while we're gone.


----------



## spruce (Mar 13, 2008)

we've got lots of space - but I could see my goldie happily living with small yard, much more than our lab


----------



## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

It depends a lot on the dog, Kirby really enjoys the large yard, but Darby rarely uses it and prefers the sofa. They do enjoy racing around when they get a case of the zoomies but most times if I'm not out playing with them they are not exercising. 

Many Goldens live in apartments or houses with small or no yards and get plenty of exercise and are very happy dogs. All dogs need exercise but some breeds need more then others, do your research and get the dog/breed that you will be able to provide the necessary exercise for.


----------



## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Ranger only needs a big backyard when his buddy Blue is over to play. They've tried playing in my brother's small backyard but there's not enough room to get up to "full speed zoomies". If they weren't playing, Ranger wouldn't need a big yard. He enjoys lazing in the sunshine and chewing sticks in the backyard but his exercise needs are taken care of outside the yard/home with walks/runs/hikes. Though he does love tearing around my parents' massive backyard with its three levels to jump up and zoom around. I think a big yard is more important than a big house to a golden, but so long as they're exercised properly, they don't "need" either.


----------



## GoldenPuppy (Mar 20, 2010)

AtticusJordie said:


> The main issue to me is: if your Golden (or whatever dog you may consider getting...) needs a fair amount of exercise--how are you going to do that?
> 
> You may not have a big yard--but even a small one may work as long as he gets the exercise--in other words, you may have to supplement the 'yard time' with walks, etc.
> 
> ...


Thanks everyone for your thoughts. As I stated in my post above, we do have a lot of parks nearby, and I take my dog, Missy on 3 walks a day-morning, afternoon, and night.


----------



## GoldenPuppy (Mar 20, 2010)

Muddypaws said:


> It depends a lot on the dog, Kirby really enjoys the large yard, but Darby rarely uses it and prefers the sofa. They do enjoy racing around when they get a case of the zoomies but most times if I'm not out playing with them they are not exercising.
> 
> Many Goldens live in apartments or houses with small or no yards and get plenty of exercise and are very happy dogs. All dogs need exercise but some breeds need more then others, do your research and get the dog/breed that you will be able to provide the necessary exercise for.


I am not getting a dog at the moment, but I joined this board to learn more about Goldens, and hopefully get my own someday. I think they are beautiful dogs. Right now, I have a 8 year old Lhaso Apso/Cairn Terrier mix.


----------



## Muddypaws (Apr 20, 2009)

GoldenPuppy said:


> I am not getting a dog at the moment, but I joined this board to learn more about Goldens, and hopefully get my own someday. I think they are beautiful dogs. Right now, I have a 8 year old Lhaso Apso/Cairn Terrier mix.


I think Goldens are terrific dogs and great companions (but I may be a little biased). This is a great place to learn about them but I would recommend that you read some of the books on the breed or visit the AKC website http://www.akc.org/breeds/golden_retriever/puppy.cfm and also visit the GRCA http://www.grca.org/

Best of luck.


----------



## Milo's_Mom (Sep 9, 2009)

Hi! Its nice to hear you are really thinking this through!


I have a very small yard, Milo does manage to run around and do laps but its not spacious by any measure. To combat this I do take him to our local dog park several times a week, combined with doggie play dates and nightly walks. You just have to commit yourself to being an active part of your pups life


----------



## MyJaxson (Jan 5, 2010)

I agree with the other posters in this thread who've stated they get their exercise away from home. 

We were at Owenda provincial park on Sunday for a day hike while visiting friends in Tiny township. I'd guess a 5K hike through the trails after a morning 2K jog on the pine straw through the bush pretty much wore Jaxson out today.

Pics coming soon.


----------



## oliver1024 (Mar 13, 2010)

Our first Golden Retriever never had a yard.....we lived in an apt but he did just fine since he went out on daily walks and runs =) As long as you can provide a way for them to let off some energy a yard isnt really neccessary although it is a nice luxury to have!


----------



## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Doggie daycare is also another great option to help exercise your golden, especially on rainy days. Just be sure to find a good place.


----------



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

We have a small split level yard and we've gated the lower area off from the dogs (to prevent flying injuries off the retaining wall), so they basically have a postage stamp back yard. We walk the dogs twice a day for long distances and take the younger one out for regular ball chasing sessions at a park. The dogs let us know when they are ready to go, and they have built in alarm clocks that are 100% reliable. As long as you can give your dog plenty of exercise at a park, doggie day care or leashed walk and as long as you provide regular potty breaks, a big yard isn't essential.


----------



## Karen2 (Jan 5, 2009)

We have a big yard but not fenced. So it's seldom off leash as there are too many exciting things like rabbits, squirrels, etc and she is not always the best on recall.

Sierra gets a 4:30 morning walk in the dark, rain, snow etc.we have only missed a couple mornings since she came to live with us (Oct 08) She's my alarm clock. She wants to make sure her human gets some exercise.
Usually at least 30 minutes, if it's below zero, we are out to play ball for 10 to 15 minutes.
She tends to be very well behaved when she gets her routine walks in.
I think she sleeps most of the day while I'm at work. When I get home she's ready to play!
So we go in the back yard and throw the ball, chuck-it, etc for 10 to 15 minutes of hard running on a very long leash (40') then have a treat and play and snuggle, do some sits, stays, downs, etc. in the house for another 10-15 minutes.
This is really our daily routine and she has come to expect it.
She let's me know if we haven't done something. She is very much a creature of habit.

So whatever you do for exercise, please be consistent as possible. I don't know if all Golden's are into routines, but mine sure is.

Karen


----------



## Phiddler (Sep 1, 2008)

We also have no yard. Zip comes to work with me and I park at the bottom of the hill behind the shop so we get some exercise going to and from the car before work at lunch and after. And walks. He gets plenty of exercise and is in great shape. Mental exercise also seems to help too. I just try to keep him active physically and mentally. Having him near me all the time is a great benefit. When he and I are separated, there is sometimes whining and scratching, but I am improving. Zip usually just sleeps if I am not around.


----------



## beccacc31 (Aug 17, 2009)

Lucky's mom said:


> Lucky mostly lays down and chews sticks in his big yard. That is what he did when we had a little yard too.
> 
> His exercise was owner driven not yard driven...and mostly that was walks.
> 
> Lucky would have been a perfect "apartment" dog.


I totally agree with this. Wilson has a very large yard and his preference is to lay down and chew his bullystick or just plain old sticks.
He gets his exercise by fetching his ball or going for walks!


----------



## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

mdoats said:


> ... The yard is convenient for letting him out to pee, but definitely not necessary for exercise.


Exactly, I also have a fenced yard but the real exercise comes from Hank running off-leash in the fields. I don't take him on many walks other than to the road to pick up mail or the newspaper because our road is narrow with no sidewalks or flat places to walk on the side.


----------



## GoldenPuppy (Mar 20, 2010)

Muddypaws said:


> I think Goldens are terrific dogs and great companions (but I may be a little biased). This is a great place to learn about them but I would recommend that you read some of the books on the breed or visit the AKC website http://www.akc.org/breeds/golden_retriever/puppy.cfm and also visit the GRCA http://www.grca.org/
> 
> Best of luck.


Does anyone here reccommend any specific books on Golden Retrievers?


----------

