Opinion - Lee Suckling: What you need to know about owning a dog

Chances are your dog's not getting enough exercise, right? Image / Getty Images

All dogs need exercise and attention, some breeds more than others.

Owning a dog is a daily commitment. It gets you out of bed early, forces you to walk around your neighbourhood on even the rainiest of days, requires constant feeding, love, and attention. And they reward us for it: dogs think we humans are gods. We're their favourite thing in the world (except maybe food), despite the fact they don't even know our names.

Every day when I walk my dog, I see the same people walking their dogs, too. I also see dogs caged up in people's yards that never seem to get walked - as if their owners think the ability to run around a small square of grass is sufficient exercise

Most dogs need a walk at least twice a day, for a total of 30 to 60 minutes. A good sign your dog is well-exercised is when he or she has slowed in pace by the time you're finishing your walk. If you have a hunting, herding, or working breed (think your retrievers, Labradors, hounds, collies, spaniels, shepherds, etc.) they not only need that 30 to 60 minutes of walking but also another one to two hours of other activity.

Chances are your dog's not getting enough exercise, right?

My dog gets two 20-minute walks a day. Sometimes they go for longer if he won't do his number twos on time (but usually his bowels are like clockwork!) or if it's the weekend and we have time to do a proper hike.

An utterly exhausted dog is actually my favourite version of dog. There's something really satisfying about spending two hours on foot with your hound then have them come home, drink an entire bowl of water, eat like they've never seen food before, and then completely conk out for hours; dead to the world. It gives you, pet-owner-extraordinaire, a really satisfying sense of duty well done.

In my house, sometimes I worry our dog gets too much love and attention.

See, my husband and I have very different roles as dog owners. As I put it, he is "fun dad", I am "serious dad". It's my job to be the disciplinarian because I work from home; I'm in charge of ensuring good behaviour. My husband, on the other hand, bursts through the door at 5pm in an exuberant, clown-like manner, showering the dog with hugs and back rubs, then his dinner.

Where this becomes problematic is when I've been careful to keep the dog calm, collected, clean, and unexcited, then my husband jumps in and riles the dog up, leaving a literal cloud of white dog fur in the air and a whole lot of panting.

Do other people have these kinds of dynamics with their dogs? Whenever I explain how I think my dog sees me, I feel incredibly straight-laced, even harsh. I'm always the one saying "no" to dogs on the bed, to the point I feel naggy.

When I visit friends with dogs, they seem to either fall into one of two categories: "outside dogs", which are relegated to the back yard and largely get ignored all day long, and "inside dogs", which are way too close for comfort for my liking - sitting on their owner's laps, being incessantly fussed over, and quite seriously ruling the roost over their humans.

Dogs are trained and conditioned for a certain amount of human interaction and attention. Some dogs are happy on their own most of the time, other dogs experience terrible separation anxiety when alone. I suppose it's about finding the right mix of attention you can give, respective of your ability given life's other commitments, and making sure your dog (and, in my case, husband) can still be a well-behaved part of your family.