Yesterday I was watching a video on YouTube where the trainer was discussing how useless it was to walk our dogs. All I could think about was the people that might see it and believe it. What if people stop walking their dogs? And I have to admit that I was thinking “what a stupid thing to say,” as I listened and then unfollowed.

Today I took Elsa and Riggs to the beach. I’m enjoying the beach as much as I can because come mid June, that’s it for our daily walks. You can go super early and after 6:00 pm but the long hangouts at the beach have to wait then till fall again. Plus the beaches tend to get to crowded for me in the summer anyway. So we hit the beach again today.

The walk part is a big part of the favorite stuff for Elsa and Riggs. Sniff walks brings them so much enjoyment and enrichment. At 3:00 in the afternoon, they are still knocked out from their morning walk.

WALKS ARE VERY IMPORTANT

Is it important to offer our dogs other stuff in their day to day? Most definitely. Games, challenges, training etc. Enrich their day, it is sad for a dog to just sit/lay there all day doing nothing. And most definitely being in the same environment can be freaking boring for us all at times. The pandemic has shown us this, we need to get out, somewhere, anywhere.

So going out for a walk is GREAT for us all; and it is great for our dogs as well. I am a huge advocate of giving our dogs a change of scenery. Of course there are times when we simply cannot get them out as much as we’d like so we opt to offer more inhouse training and enrichment.

All walks are not made equal. How much enrichment do you offer on your walks?

Off leash or long line time?
Change of scenery? This is huge, so many people go out of their house, turn left and take the same walk everyday. I don’t know about you but I bore easily; and I know that Elsa and Riggs love a change of scenery.
Do you train on your walks?
Do you take your dog’s out separately sometimes?
Do you change the length of your walks?
Do you look for great new dog walk places?

Would it be great if we all had access to great hiking places where we could safely be off leash? Yes without question. But we don’t all have that and most people who have off leash dogs do not have a solid recall. Being on leash is safe but that does not mean that we are offering our dogs experience and enrichment. Each time you go somewhere new with your dog and let them explore their surroundings, its a win, win.

There are times when a walk is less than enriching; when you take the same walk day in and day out. But at least you and your dog are getting out of the house. To make those walks better, go in a different direction; jump in the car and go somewhere new. Try to go somewhere new every couple of days or at least have a least of 8 or more places that you visit. Don’t do the one trick pony walk, switch it up.

Going somewhere different is good for you and your dog. Just go walk somewhere fun.