This photo was taken on my favorite stretch of my favorite trail in my favorite State Park in Tennessee. If you were to scroll through my photos app, it’s very evident that my dogs are a big part of my life. It’s also evident that most of my favorite photos and memories are from a walk/hike in my neighborhood or in one of the many State or National Parks we have visited over the years.
Recently, I decided to write an article about the benefits of daily walking for the human and for the dog. For me, the benefits are intertwined, but I decided to create two articles instead of one. Interestingly, my research reinforced what I already knew: the benefits of daily walking are very similar for the human and the dog. For this article, I will focus on the dog … or dogs in my case.
“If your dog is overweight, YOU aren’t getting enough exercise.”
Health Benefits
The number one reason most dog owners walk their dogs is for the health benefits gained by a daily walking routine. Just like a sedentary lifestyle is bad for humans, it’s especially true for canines. Dogs need to get outside and move every single day. (I would argue that humans have the same need and I wrote about it here.) All humans have different exercise needs and the same can be said for dogs. However, just because you have an older dog or a breed that “doesn’t require that much exercise,” do it anyway. At 16 yr old, my Golden/Lab mix, Kaley, had a tough time getting around, but 3-4 times a day she went out and made a lap around the house (not the neighborhood). Those old bones and joints needed a little lubrication so they wouldn’t freeze up.
Keeping your dog trim and fit should be a high priority and walking is a perfect way to do that. It is estimated that about 50% of dogs in the United States are overweight and 25-30% of dogs are obese. Sadly, many veterinarians won’t tell you if your dog is overweight (seems this is a touchy subject for the human) and most kibble feeding instructions call for more than the average dog actually needs. Not a good combination. Please don’t be one of those people who is proud to tell anyone who will listen that your lab weighs over 100 pounds. I have encountered these people and their poor dogs were visibly uncomfortable and easily 25 pounds overweight.
Walking your dog is about so much more than just “potty breaks.” Walking your dog provides mental stimulation, physical exercise, chances for socialization, and opportunities for behavioral training.
Every walk is an adventure. New sights, new sounds, new smells … all need to be checked out and explored.
Mental Stimulation
Sadly, I am aware of a few dogs in my neighborhood who never see anything but the back of their house and 3 walls of fencing. Never. In my very humble opinion, that’s abuse. In addition to the health benefits of walking, every dog should have the opportunity to explore life beyond the fence. Pippin never tires of seeing one of the gazillion squirrels we encounter every single day. I tell her that she has seen a gazillion squirrels and THAT one is no different. Pippin thinks otherwise. Every walk is an adventure. New sights, new sounds, new smells … all need to be checked out and explored.
The olfactory sensors in a dog’s nose are amazing. Dogs have evolved to have a strong sense of smell, with approximately 900 genes that code for smell receptors, versus humans, who have fewer than 400. They also have 125–300 million olfactory receptors, compared to our 6 million. In addition, the part of their brains that analyses and processes scents is (proportionally) 40 times greater than ours. The brain power necessary to facilitate all that analysis and processing is huge and you will find that a short time sniffing can tax them as much as an hour long walk.
All of this blah blah blah, or facts, just reinforce that your dog has a NEED to smell his way through his environment on every outing. Every single day.
It’s time to walk the Goldens!
Training Opportunities
“How do you teach left and right?” I get asked this a lot. There are many ways to teach this and one way I reinforce their understanding can be as simple as telling my dogs “left” or “right” as we are walking. I then look for a head turn in the correct direction, add a “good” or “yes” marker and we are on our way.
Walking three dogs is always a balancing act. Three leashes and three dogs who don’t think straight ahead is very interesting usually keeps me on my toes. I say usually because we have tumbled a few times when a dog (or two) have wrapped themselves around me. Stop is a helpful word which gives me an opportunity to unwind myself before we get moving again. Daily we work on Close, Side, Behind, With Me, Come, Wait, Sit, Break, Cross the Street and Cool Off (we love most sprinklers). We are usually out for an hour each morning so why not use the time for more than just walking?
It is a mind bender to think that I have been walking with dogs just about every day for almost 40 years. There are days when I feel like the guy from the Dunkin’ Donut commercial ohhhh so many years ago. My version goes something like this: “It’s time to walk the Goldens”. There are days I curse the fact that we don’t have a fenced yard but mostly, I embrace that fact that walking the dogs is and hopefully always will be a constant in my life.
It would be tough to overstate the importance and health benefits of daily walks for (you and) your dog. The amount of exercise a dog needs varies based on age, breed and health — it can be as little as 30 minutes a day or as much as a few hours — but virtually all dogs need exercise in some form. However, I hope you get the idea and will also take advantage of the many resource articles listed at the bottom of the page.
When I am out walking, especially with three dogs, a frequent comment is “who’s walking who?” I just smile and say “We are walking each other.”
Just as it should be.
Resources
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/the-benefits-of-walking-your-dog
https://animalfoundation.com/whats-going-on/blog/importance-walking-your-dog
Obesity in dogs. A major health threat hiding in plain sight
https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/how-find-your-dogs-body-condition-score
https://www.thewildest.com/dog-lifestyle/how-often-do-you-walk-your-dog
https://www.thewildest.com/dog-lifestyle/tips-hiking-with-your-dog
Geek out on this great study:
I Walk My Dog Because It Makes Me Happy: A Qualitative Study to Understand Why Dogs Motivate Walking and Improved Health
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/how-dogs-use-smell-to-perceive-the-world
https://www.purina.co.uk/articles/dogs/behaviour/understanding-dogs/dog-sense-of-smell
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