Owning a dog often conjures up images of multiple walks a day and rigorous hikes on the weekends. That’s awesome if you’re an active person, but that might not be realistic for your lifestyle if you work a lot or aren’t that active. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t adopt a dog. There are plenty of low-energy dog breeds out there that are happy to chew on bully sticks for dogs all day. You just need to find the perfect one for your lifestyle. In this ultimate guide, we’ll discuss whether or not you should look into getting low-energy dog breeds, and then cover 12 of the most popular low-energy dog breeds.
Should You Get a Low-Energy Dog?
A breed’s energy level is important because it creates a baseline for how much activity a dog needs in order to be happy and healthy. A bored dog is often an aggressive and destructive dog, so keeping your dog well exercised is key for their well-being (and your household peace).
The higher energy a dog is, the more exercise they will need in order to sleep well, stay happy, and curb their destructive impulses. If you cannot provide enough exercise for your dog on your own — for instance, if you work full-time or have a health condition that prevents you from taking long walks — then you may need to look into doggie daycare or a dog walking service. This adds to the expense of owning a dog and may be cost-prohibitive for some people, often making a lower-energy dog breed a better option for their family.
Energy levels do vary from individual dog to individual dog within the same breed, but the breed type is by far the dominating factor in how much energy your dog will have. Most dogs do become less active as they age, but this is all relative, and a fully mature adult dog from a high-energy breed may still be as rambunctious as some puppies. So if you are planning to get a high-energy dog and think you just have to survive the puppy phase and then they will calm down, think again!
Some people also deliberately choose a more active dog breed with the idea that having a high-energy dog will inspire them to become more active. While this may work out fine for a small minority of people, in most cases, it’s already hard enough to adjust to having a new dog in the house and training them properly. Trying to suddenly become active on top of all these life changes usually falls by the wayside, leaving the dog restless and bored from lying around at home all day. We recommend against choosing a high-energy dog breed unless you are already very active.
It’s much wiser to choose a low-energy dog breed from the start than to choose a more active dog breed and hope you luck out with the rare lazy dog. If you’re really attached to a high-energy breed, then consider adopting a senior dog from your local animal shelter instead of a puppy. Senior dogs are difficult to adopt out due to their age and usually have pretty low energy needs regardless of their breed. They usually just want to be fed treats for senior dogs and go for the occasional short walk.
