Mabel the Rescue Dog

2 min read (Articles narrated by Mabel)

Dogs need walks. Not just as bathroom breaks, but also as a way to get out and experience the world. So, Germany has decided to crack down on dog parents that deprive their furry friends of necessary walks. In theory, it sounds like a good thing to enforce, but is it the best way to handle the situation?

What is Germany’s Proposed Law?

I recently heard that Julia Klöckner, the Minister of Food and Agriculture in Germany, proposed a new animal welfare ordinance. It requires dog parents to exercise their dogs at least twice a day.

More specifically, dogs need to exercise outside of a kennel for at least two times each day, for a total of 1 hour. Her reasoning for this is that dogs are not cuddly toys, they are living creatures that have needs that should be taken care of. And she’s right! We need walks, but then again, every dog is different. So, is this law a good idea?

Is This Law a Good Idea?

In theory, yes. I think this law is a good idea. However, I’m not sure how it could be executed or if it has exceptions. If your dog is capable of walking an hour a day, then I think they definitely should. Yet, there are many dogs that shouldn’t be walking that often for health reasons.

Senior dogs, brachycephalic dogs, special needs dogs, and double coated dogs might not be able to walk as much as other dogs, especially if it’s hot outside. They could be at risk of heat stroke or joint pain. So, would the law make exceptions for these dogs? I would sure hope so.

Also, how do they plan to enforce this law? Who will know if you skip a walk or two? I’m not sure how someone would be able to keep track of every dog’s walks. I’d hope that good dog parents would just follow it on their own, but I know that there are many humans that won’t.

So, I think this law is a good idea if it accommodates all dogs and takes extreme weather into account, but if it doesn’t, then there will be lots of problems that could arise.

However, if you have a dog, you should be walking them twice a day anyway. You shouldn’t need a law to tell you to do that. I’m interested to see what happens next with this proposed law, and hopefully, it will help many dogs get the exercise they need (as long as they are capable of exercising that much).

I’m curious to see what other dog parents think of this proposed law. Let me know in the comments!

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