Our last dog, Fritz, was medium-sized but had LOTS of energy so he needed lots of walks. I also consider it good exercise, and after this long winter I'm ready to be outside! Having a long-hair breed, I spent quite a bit of time brushing him to cut down on the shedding, but I also enjoyed that down time with him. What I enjoyed most about our time with Fritz was training him - it was a really cool experience to feel like we were actually communicating with each other with every new trick and command he learned. And, of course, with all of that came that great loyalty that you can only get from a dog - it's true, dog is definitely man's best friend!