We had a great walk this morning; and on our walk I was actually writing this blog in my head. As we meandered up the hill and into the sun; which was already up due to the time change, I pondered my daily walks. I probably started thinking about my walks because a woman (who’d I’d seen just yesterday) walked by us on her phone. When I say on her phone I mean that it was in front of her and all of her attention was on her screen. This was the same view I got of her yesterday but today it got me to thinking.
First, don’t be on your phone. If you have your phone out, hopefully you are taking pictures of your dog or your surroundings. Or you have an ear piece in and are just talking quietly to someone. But your attention should be on your dog/s. I wear an earpiece on my walks so that I can be hands free and keep my attention where it should be.
As we got to the top of the hill, Riggs decided he should poop in the leaves that were scattered over the ground. He makes me laugh because it takes him forever to finally go. The rustling of the leaves went on and on and on as he circled, trying to locate the spot where he should drop his load. Finally he hunched and started. Just as he started to poop the phone lady walked by and blindly allowed her dog just close enough (on an extension leash of course) that I had to say something.
She had no idea where her dog was; or that we were even there or that Riggs was trying to go to the bathroom. Just as the words started out of my mouth she yank on her dog, blindly. I picked up Riggs poop and watch her walk away; never glancing at her dog once, just blind yanking.
So this got me thinking “why do I love my walks?” Why do my dogs love our walks? Our walks are a very special time for me and I want to give that special time to my dogs. I take my dogs out for them; the followout of that is that it is something that I love. I work very hard to never rush; and let them sniff to their hearts content.
After walking dogs for a very long time, there is quite a bit I’ve learned about how to enjoy going on our walks. Of course this is just my look at it; I am a lover of nature and as little crowds as possible. So the first thing I need is a quiet place where there isn’t a whole lot of people or dogs. If I could have it that it is just us, even better. Which is why when I see the rain, we head out; because people in California don’t go out in the rain.
I am a scanner as most of you know. I don’t like surprises so I am always scanning and recommend picking up this one habit. It can save you from many negative events that are avoidable. The phone lady today didn’t have any idea of what was going on around her at all. It is bad practice to not know what is going on around you in general. Be aware of whats going on around you.
When we walk, I have a pouch full of treats, so it’s a win win for Elsa and Riggs. They know we walk, sniff and snack. :) They have comfortable harnesses on and are hooked to 10’ biothane leashes that give them the freedom of length and often drop leash. This is why I love where I walk, I can drop their leashes often.
Next is my comfort. The other day I left my house and it was 65 degrees; I only had a t-shirt on thinking it was plenty warm. I got to the park and it was 43 degrees. I pulled my sweatshirt on, that I keep in the car thinking to myself “didn’t think I’d need this;” but then realized that I was going to need more. I was so happy when I looked in the back seat and saw my puffy jacket. You see, I keep different increment weather attire in the back seat. A sweatshirt, raincoat and vest for different temperatures. This is VERY important for highly enjoyable walks.
An important thing for any of my jackets or sweatshirts is that the arms are able to tie. I often start out my walk when it’s cold; as the sun comes up and covers the park, I’m hot. I almost always have something tied around my waste. Some jackets or sweatshirts are not good walking candidates for this reason only, no tie, no go waking.
I’m going to link most of my walking stuff below.
Next is my feet, I learned this lesson long ago. I enjoy taking my guys off the beaten path so that means wet, dirt, muck and grass. I wear Sperry duck boots which are waterproof on the bottom, not too high up on my leg and very comfortable. Dry feet, happy Dog Mom.
This time of year I also wear gloves. Typically I’m getting dirty, really dirty. So I love wearing gloves as it gets colder and the dirt is wetter that I am getting on my hands. Because I drop the leashes often they pick up a lot of grass and dirt so when I get home, my gloves go in the wash, everyday. I wear light gloves which are commonly called jogging gloves, not big fuzzy ones. ;)
I am prepared on my walks, I have a pepper spray, poop bags, my phone, treat bag and wipes all in my walking pouch. It has taken me a while to find a pouch that I really like and now I have three of the same but different colors that I switch out and wash. Just the other day Elsa dragged her leasp through her poop and I was out of wipes in my pouch. Luckily I have a good supply in my car and we were only just starting our walk. We went back, cleaned the leash and continued our walk. Be prepared!
One thing that I have become aware of this year and has become very important to me is my circadian rhythm. It is fascinating and when you find out about it, it becomes a thing for sure; especially if you have trouble sleeping like I did. So when I go out in the morning; I don’t wear my sunglasses. It was tough in the beginning because I’m a sunglasses person, I live in California. But because I head out before the sun is up; or now when it is just coming up I have trained myself to leave them in my pocket.
If you are interested in your circadian rhythm, here is a link.
Now because I don’t wear my sunglasses for my early morning walks, I do wear a baseball cap. This is for when the sun is directly at eye level and quite blinding. It also helps if it’s windy to keep my long hair out of my face so I can see Elsa and Riggs. If and when I do wear my sunglasses which is for much of the day after my 45-60 min early walk, I wear polarized glasses. I have some cheap ones that I have pretty much everywhere, like my reading glasses.
I’m sure there are other things that I could say about our walks but these are the important things I considered on my walk today. Making sure that Elsa and Riggs are comfortable; which sometimes means a rain jacket for them (much to the dismay of Riggs). They are comfortable in their harnesses, have room for freedom on leash and can often be on drop leash. Along with my comfort, and we’re set for a beautiful and enjoyable sniffari. ;)