The Importance Of Walking
Walking your dog is something that you should generally be doing every day. It is a big aspect to their physical lifestyle and mental stimulation. Not only is it good for dogs, walking their pets also positively benefits dog owners in many ways.
Walking your dog will help make them less energetic throughout the day. It will also keep them healthy by giving them some exercise. Walking is something you should be doing regularly to maintain your dog’s (and your) health. If you struggle to get your dog out the door for reasons such as having a more ‘inside dog’, try and just get at least a small walk in.
Mental stimulation is also brought to dogs through a walk outside. Even just a walk the same route every time would be good. Your dog has all the new scents to pick up and trace. Even if you do the same walk every day, the time passed since your last walk and your current one would have been filled with loads of dogs, people, creatures etc that all carry new scents.
Taking your pet out looks different for every dog and owner, some take short walks because they are not the active kind whereas some people take them for long walks. When deciding how you want to walk your dog, do what’s best for them and you. Some people take them for two walks a day to burn out all the energy of a young puppy or just an energetic dog. On the other hand, some dogs and owners are just happy to have a nice stroll down the park.
Walking Equipment
Before you can even take your dog out, owners should invest in some dog walking equipment. You do not need much, only a few items that will keep you and your dog safe and make your life easier. This equipment includes:
- Collar
- Identification tag
- Harness
- Lead
- Dog jacket and/ or raincoat
- Walking belt.
Collar – A collar is something most dogs have, this is put around a dog’s neck. Make sure that when you are getting the collar fit, it is not too loose for your dog to pull their head out of it but not so tight that you are strangling them. A dog’s collar (or harness if this is used instead) should have an Identification tag on it. These are normally a keyring-like tag that features the dog’s name and address. Instead, you can also get this information stitched into a collar. Some people do not put their dog’s name on the collar because of dog theft with friendlier dogs.
Harness – A harness is put on a dog when going for a walk. It is recommended over a collar because when your dog pulls, the lead and harness will pull on their chest rather than with a collar on their neck. Also, when having a lead attached to a collar when walking, some dogs can easily pull their head out of it and run away.
However, you can use both a harness and a collar – this is recommended, for the reason of having the harness for walking (attached to a lead) and the collar having an identification tag on for safety reasons. If this option does not appeal to you, you could instead have the identification tag attached to the harness, this has the same effects.
A harness is not required for walking and you could use just a collar if you wanted. For dogs that pull though, a harness is an essential item to have. Make sure you fit your dog’s harness correctly so that it sits well on your dog.
Lead – A lead is pretty self-explanatory. This is attached to the dog’s collar/harness on one end and you are holding the other. This is used on walks to keep your dog near you and safe from any passing cars etc.
Dog jacket and/or raincoat – This item is not essential, though some owners prefer to have a dog jacket and raincoat at hand. A dog jacket is used to keep dogs warm out on walks (and sometimes inside) on cold days. It is a good idea to get these for dogs such as greyhounds who have short fur and are quite thin. This item would also prove effective for hairless dogs e.g. Chinese Crested.
A dog raincoat is sometimes put on a dog when on a walk outside and it is raining, this protects them from getting wet and keeps them warm and dry. This could be a good purchase for dogs who don’t like water/ the rain as well as dogs that can easily get cold from being out and wet.
Walking belt – A walking belt is an item for humans (the name of it may vary), it is a belt that goes around the waist with features to assist you when walking your dog. Some have pockets to put treats in that you can use to reward them. You may also find some with poo bag dispensers, saving you from having to carry them (these can be refilled). Finally, carabiner clips can also be found on some of these and you can attach the lead to them so you don’t have to hold your dog with your hands. There are some safety precautions to putting the lead (that your dog is attached to) on the carabiner – if you have a dog who tugs a lot, we don’t recommend using the carabiner with them.
Pulling on the lead – ‘Run or Fun’
Pulling on the lead is a problem that lots of owners have with their dogs. You may struggle to walk them if you have this problem which could cause you to be less keen on taking your dog for walks. Try some of the solutions below to get your dog walking well and just remember, they won’t pick up on it the first try. You have to have patience.
When dogs are tugging, a good first step is to find out what is causing them to pull ahead. Common reasons could include that they can see a dog, person, creature etc. They could also be pulling because they are so alert and on guard to the new scents and sights.
Solution : Problem – The dog is pulling on the lead because they can see something ahead e.g. dog
If your dog tugs when there is another dog, you want to know why and how to help them. Your dog would most likely be pulling on the lead because the lead is restricting them and they really just want to go straight up to the dog if they are feeling friendly or run straight away from it if they are anxious.
Anxious dogs could view other dogs as ‘danger’ when they are on the lead. This is because if something bad happens, or the other dog is not friendly, they cannot use their natural instincts and run away, instead they have to stick with you (because of the lead).
If your dog loves playing with others, they would probably want to get to the other dog as soon as possible and have loads of fun. Instead the lead is restricting them. They are barking and pulling of excitement and eager to join in the fun with the other dog and family.
Think about these situations as ‘run or fun’. Does your dog want to go straight up to the other and have some fun and play? Or, is your dog cautious and feels restricted on the lead preparing for incase there is danger so just wants to be able to run if something bad happens? Use this saying ‘run or fun’ if you are unsure what your dog wants and what to do.
Solution : Problem – The dog is pulling on the lead because they are so alert to various new scents
Dogs have an excellent sense of smell, in fact, it is their best sense. Dogs depend on their nose more than their eyes (sight) and so they love to sniff everything around because it gives them insights into what’s going on. Some dog breeds are even bred to sniff things out. But when on a walk, your dog might feel restricted to getting close to all the new scents.
Dogs will naturally want to get right up close to everything to smell it. This could be one of the causes of your dog tugging on the lead when on a walk. To resolve this, you could try doing some ‘heel’ obedience training.
We will update this blog post to give more information about dogs barking on walks soon…