Another thing I've noticed, is many people use the excuse of having a "big" yard for not walking their dog. I hear people make comments such as "you need a big yard if you want a dog", or "we have a big yard, the dog doesn't need to go out". I think this is wrong. It would be the same as saying, you have a big house, therefore you can spend the rest of your life in the house, no need to go out and see other things. We now live in an apartment with a decent size patio. Yes we don't have a yard, but I kow my dog is much happier than many dogs that have a yard. She goes out 3-4 times a day, spends at least 1 hours in the moutains running, and another 2-3 hours walking/riding in my SUV, ect.