'I avoided walking my dog for 9 months - and it changed my life'

Many dog owners walk their dogs daily, often without much thought. Whether heading to the local park or strolling around the neighbourhood, it's widely accepted that regular walks are essential for helping dogs burn off excess energy.

Yet, Gabby Lawrence, from Bedfordshire, has shared her unusual story of confining her five-year-old Labrador Border Collie cross to the house for nine months, amidst several unfortunate events. This saga first started in 2020 when Gabby adopted the rescue dog to provide companionship for her Labradoodle, Jasper.

Speaking to the Mirror last year, she explained: "When lockdown happened, we decided we wanted to try and get another dog for Jasper to play with. We wanted to make sure that he maybe had another dog around because we noticed how much he was enjoying playing with dogs. But puppies became so expensive.

"I happened to see a picture of Rogue pop up on the website [of a Romanian dog charity] and she was beautiful - beyond beautiful. I said to my husband, 'I think this is the one we're going to get'. She popped up and everything was absolutely lovely and amazing and she settled in really well. But then we had the second lockdown in December, which dragged on to be like six months."

When Gabby brought Rogue home, she was less than a year old. Although nothing seemed unusual at first, Rogue experienced her first heat cycle and her second fear stage during the Covid-19 restrictions.

A heat cycle describes the point at which a dog can become pregnant and is more prone to anxiety and grumpiness. Fear stages, on the other hand, are triggered by significant cognitive changes in a dog's brain, causing them to become hypersensitive to their environment.

Gabby continued: "The dog that had been slightly barky but coping with the outside world came out of lockdown in June 2021, unable to cope with the changes. When people were out, dogs were out, cars were around, we could very quickly see that she just couldn't handle the changes.

"She developed a deep-seated fear of anything that moved. And on one day in 2022, we were walking in a really quiet area that people rarely went to and I was with my mum... and I said, 'Mum I can hear a dog, let's just keep the dogs really close to us,' they were both on leads.

"And at that point, a dog flew around the corner off-lead, took one look at Rogue and launched itself at her. All I could think was, 'I've got to protect my dog'. I did manage to get this dog physically off my dog, and then I was basically holding two 30kg dogs at arms' length apart, screaming, 'Someone help me please!'"

Gabby initially believed Rogue had escaped a scrape without injury, but her husband later spotted a puncture wound on the dog's rib, which became infected over the following days. A vet treated Rogue and recommended she stay indoors to heal for a while, but this didn't stop another incident from taking place.

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"We took her out for a quick toilet trip because she struggles to go at home and another off-lead dog ran up to her the next day," she said. "I was with my husband that day and he screamed, 'Get your dog away'. The dog owner was going like, 'She's fine, she's just friendly', but we said, 'Our dog got attacked yesterday by one that looks like yours - you need to rein your dog back.'"

Following this, Gabby decided to stop taking walks entirely. She continued: "We had them running round doing bits and pieces in the garden, I did an awful lot of 'puppy aerobics', playing games to keep their minds active. They had snuffle mats, lick mats, I'd hide bits of food, teach them tricks."

Gabby also mentioned that she would often rent sports fields privately for Rogue and Jasper to have some freedom, but essentially, they took a 'complete nine-month break from the outside world'.

Summer 2023 marked the return of Jasper and Rogue to walking after Gabby noticed them eagerly waiting by the front door, keen to explore once more. Even though Rogue is much calmer now, barking and lunging less, she still isn't walked every day.

Gabby said: "I was really scared to be completely honest, but they were ready to go out and I needed to make sure it was as calm as possible. And it's been fine.

"When we had just Jasper, we went out for a walk every single day without fail - no matter what - that's what you do. I think because I saw how much Rogue was struggling, I was working on the grounds that I'd try anything to see if I could help her.

"The way I look at it is, if you went out personally for a walk for a mile on the same route every single day, you'd get pretty bored with it, you wouldn't stick with it and actually it wouldn't have many benefits to you... Whereas, if you did pilates one day, swam one day, went for a run one day, lifted some weights, it has more benefits physically and mentally.

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"Whilst I recognise a lot of people may be sceptical, I genuinely think it's because you don't experience the stress and the worries that we did... It's really important to listen to what your dog needs, there's no 'one size fits all' and there's no suggesting that walking your dog is terrible... it's down to their individual needs."

Albeit unconventional, this ethos is also backed by Niki French, dog trainer and owner of PupTalk, who helped Gabby on her journey and has even written a bookon the topic. She previously told the Mirror: "A walk is a human invention. The typical walk might be around the block or on the school run, being rushed along without time for sniffing and exploring.

"Dogs off lead - or in the wild - don’t walk in straight lines, at the same pace. They mooch, trot, walk, run, stop abruptly and circle back to sniff something amazing. I often hear that what some people describe as 'difficult dogs' - these are not my words - just need more exercise, that they need tiring out. Mostly the opposite is true."

Niki emphasised the importance of catering to a dog's needs through other means if you stop regular walks. This might mean consulting a professional behaviourist or taking them to a pal's garden for stimulating 'scent work'.

She added: "Some dogs just don’t have the skills to enjoy going for relaxing walks. And constantly exposing them to whatever it is that they struggle with, normally doesn’t get them used to it. It just reinforces their reactions as they form habits of reacting.

"I've worked with working lines of Labradors and Collies, as well as overseas rescue dogs, who stopped walks altogether for several months. With the right help, they can really grow in confidence, as well as being able to relax more easily at home."