Is it ok to walk a medium size dog about every 12 hours?

Depends on the dog and on what you mean by walks. If that’s the only time he gets to urinate, then no, it’s not OK. If he gets out to relieve himself more often and is an inactive breed, then it’s probably no big deal.

That’s the worst thing you could do! For the love of god STOP!!!!

As long as he isn’t kept in a 2’x2’ box the rest of the time I’m sure it’s okay.

More details please- how’s the dog’s behavior? Does it have a yard or another place to pee?

It sounds ok to me. I usually take my dogs on a morning and evening walk, but they have a backyard to run around in during the day. As @Snarp said, twice a day isn’t enough bathroom breaks for a dog, but if they have a yard to use in between walks, then it should be fine.

I should have mentioned this is an apartment dog.

two walks a day, good for you, but most important good for your dog, dogs live for walks. Do not even attempt custody of our canine kind, without subscribing to it’s fundamental needs.

A dog shouldn’t be forced to sit around in an apartment and hold it for twelve hours. That’s just mean and unfair to the dog.
@J0E No one is saying it’s the worst thing ever. But it’s not good.

An apartment dog needs at least 2–4 potty breaks in addition to the walks, in my opinion. If this person is not providing this, then no, a walk every 12 hours is not enough.

Is he/she making any mistakes? If not, it should be fine. The breeder I used told me that my small puppy should be able to hold it for 6 hours at 3 months of age. An older, medium sized dog should be fine for 12.

My answer is a Dog Run! A yard and in my case for our two dogs that are in the house all day they have an area in the garage that is dirt where they can pee.

@phil196662 The dog in question lives in an apartment.

Ahhh- ok, does he/she have a spot in the apt Just in Case of the need to pee? When the Wife and I had to be in an apt for 6 mo. we trained the dogs to go on a certen type of carpet that had towels underneath for absorption, then if they had to go they could. you never know and at least they will know they won’t get in trouble if they hit the mark!

@phil196662 I don’t know if the dog has a pee spot. I know it’s a mature dog.

never too late to train, Positive Reinforcement- at least it would not be on the Good Carpet!

I agree, if the dog is having to hold it that long, it’s not enough. Maybe you should ask the guy how he would do on bathroom breaks only every 12 hours.

When I lived in an apartment with a medium sized dog, I walked him 3 or 4 times a day, minimum. He had too much energy that he needed to let out to be couped up for too long.

My kinda parent! @chyna

My fear is that the dog will deliberately dehydrate him/herself once he/she learns the routine. For puppies, the rule of thumb is one hour for every month of age is about the max (e.g., 3 month old pup, 4 hour max). 8 hours is the most I would expect of an adult dog. The biggest thing is to have a set routine and stick to it so the dog can adjust eating and drinking habits, but 12 hours could create a situation where the dog doesn’t take in enough liquids during the day and could cause health problems.

This is fine so long as they are nice long walks and he gets out otherwise to pee. But if this is the only time he’s allowed out of the house, no this is not okay. A good system would be a short walk around the block early in the morning and late in the evening, and a nice long walk in the afternoon or late morning.

@chyna Good for you :). My apartment dog gets about 4 walks a day too- to pee and just to stave off bordeom. She’s pretty lazy, but she shouldn’t be expected to hold it all day, and how freaking boring would it be to sit around an apartment day in and day out?

My parents’ dog Max certainly didn’t deliberately dehydrate himself the last time I went home. My dad had forgotten to take him out, so he peed all over my luggage. :-)

Sadly, given airport baggage handling, that was probably the most innocuous thing that happened to the luggage the whole trip.

@Likeradar And it doesn’t hurt that I get the exercise too.

maybe he’s got the dog walking on a threadmill and peeing in the bathroom

How would you like to be walked every 12 hours? -I believe that every 4 to 6 hours would be healthier for the dog. I hope that you have a “special spot” within the home to relieve itself, since you leave it for 12 hours.

I think it would be good to walk a dog 3x’s per day- Morning, lunch time, and dinner. And don’t forget before you go to bed or else you will wake-up to a “nice surprise”. Keep in-mind that there are dog sitters available out there, as well. Best of Luck!

@fancyfeast Did you read the question? The poster is not the dog owner. He is talking about someone he knows that doesn’t walk their dog very often. You seem to be addressing him as if he isn’t taking care of his dog.