[nagdu] Amount of walking

[Tracy Carcione]

I'd like to bring this back to the original topic, if I may.  It really
interests me.  I was hoping to hear from some of the people who don't walk
miles and miles.  I think there are folks on this list who don't have the
physical ability to do it, for one.  Are there others who live in what I
call the land of the car, where walking is difficult because there aren't
any sidewalks?  I don't mind walking along a fairly quiet road with no
sidewalks, but the thought of walking along the side of a highway scares
me.  Maybe it's not as bad as I think?
If a person is one who gets a ride to work and back, does the incidental
walking get the dog enough exercise?  Like, going to lunch, running
errands, etc?  Or do all those errands have to be done with a car, too?
I know other people live in a different world than I do, and I'm curious
about it.  I live in a fairly urban, just outside the Big City.  My
husband and I chose our house partly because it is close to several bus
routes, and is within walking distance of a grocery, several restaurants,
and one of our town's business districts with some good shops.  Some
places we need have closed, because our neighbors would rather drive a few
miles to get something cheaper.  There are a lot less grocery stores in
our town than there used to be, for instance.

What with the bad weather and all, it was nearly a week that I didn't
really get out and walk much.  Even going in to the City for work, we took
a taxi because we had Echo with us, plus the stuff we needed to stay
overnight.  So Ben only walked a few blocks at a time.  But it seemed
enough to keep him happy, I suppose because of the novelty of going new
places and staying some place different.

I particularly asked TSE for a dog who would be happy to walk 2 or 3 miles
one day, and a few blocks the next.  They got it right, giving me Ben.  In
fact, I don't think he wants to walk a lot every day.  Once in a while is
interesting and fun, but he wants his rest, too.

A friend of mine is worried that the schools will be breeding lots of dogs
who don't want to work too much, the sort who could be happy with a pretty
sedentary lifestyle.  But they still seem to have a wide variety; her
young shepherd needs 3 or 4 miles a day to be happy.

One last thing I want to say in this rambly email.  My folks old place is
really nice, location-wise.  It's about 5 miles out of town, so it's real
quiet.  No neighbors on top of you all the time.  But those 5 miles are
along a highway, and even after you hit the edge of town, there are at
least a couple more miles to go before you hit the shopping district. 
When I'm there, I feel pretty isolated.  I feel like I'm totally dependent
on someone with a car to get out and go to town, or even take a walk.  Is
that the reality, or do you folks who live in the land of the car have
ways to get out on your own?

The urban life is good because it's easy to get around, but it's annoying
because the neighbors are all right on top of us. We wouldn't mind looking
into alternatives, but we have to be able to do the things we want and
need to do.
Tracy