Dog walking or dog running is as much a chore for me as it is anyone else. I’m often tired or it’s cold or snowing or whatever. And walking is often boring.
But guess what? If I’m bored, my dog just might find me a bit boring.
Here’s an example of the walk Ace and I took Sunday night that was far from boring. We incorporated exercise, training and play:
1. Started out through the front door as usual.
2. Went left instead of right (We always go right).
3. Walked down a busier street, through a different parking lot and approached the park from a new angle.
4. Put Ace in a sit, unclipped his leash and sent him to pick up a plastic bottle using the command “Get it!”
5. Worked on heeling off leash around the park while Ace carried his prize.
6. Worked on teaching Ace “hold” and “give,” possibly for use during future pheasant hunting.
7. Doggie bathroom break.
8. Put Ace in a sit and walked 20 yards or so to the Dumpster and back.
9. Released Ace, sent him to get the bottle again.
10. Worked on sit-stays with a lot of distance (20 to 30 yards), dropping the bottle between us, doing a combined “Get it!” with a recall.
11. Walked to playground.
12. Practiced some calm “agility” by sending Ace over the swings, up the ladders and down the slides.
13. Put Ace in a heel-sit and then sent him after the bottle 20 yards out or so.
14. Reviewed “hold” and “give.”
15. Practiced more off-leash heeling all the way home while Ace carried his bottle.
16. Had Ace “drop” the bottle into our recycling bin. What a good citizen!
17. Put Ace in a sit at the door and then released him. Good boy!
Total walk time was about 30 minutes. Ace came home tired, and I felt like the coolest owner/trainer ever with the best dog in the world. Beats the usual walk. He even got to do some retrieving, and I didn’t throw a single object. He did not slip into an obsessive state of mind once.
Post an example of a fun walk with your dog below. Ace and I will give it a try!
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One of my favorite walks is what I call a “sniff” walk. It only works if I take one dog at a time, but basically, I let their noses dictate what direction we walk (within reason, of course). If I have Emmett out on a sniff walk, he’ll start to follow a scent, zig-zag, pick up another scent, and invariably we end up heading down a different path or going on a trail we’ve never been on before. I don’t let him pull me – if the leash gets taut, we stop – but I trail behind him letting his nose be our guide. It’s pretty fun to see where we end up!
What a great idea, Lindsay!
Interesting post, Lindsey. My walks with Amigo aren’t so interesting, but I always try to incorporate a little training too.
Loved reading about your walking adventure with Ace…it made me tired! Thanks for sharing such great ideas!
Ha! That sounds like a good idea, Maggie. I think I’ve tried that but ended up getting annoyed with the dog! Ha!
Hey Christie! Are you and Buddy back in North Dakota?
We do the same walks every day, and have done them for years. Your article sounded fun. I still enjoy our walks though, and the dogs seem to still like them too.
We tend to do the same two or three routes over and over and over as well.
Great idea to share walk ideas. Since Meeka and Maizey challenged me to our 30 miles in 30 days challenge we have been doing a lot more fun things w/ our walks. First I went to google maps to look around my neighborhood to find routes that we have never taken and see how many miles we would need to go, I also looked for little neighborhood parks we hadn’t been to so we have visited many new places. Having a goal has really helped me to get out of the “dog walking bordom.” Also everyone who has joined our challenge has really encouraged us!
Awesome! I use google maps to find new routes as well. 30 miles in 30 days sounds like a great challenge!
I’m not trying to hijack your post at all, but wanted to tell Lindsay if she wants to check out the “30 Miles In 30 days Challenge” to she can hop over to http://lessonsfrom4legs.blogspot.com/2010/04/meeka-and-maizeys-30-miles-in-30-days.html
Hope that’s ok, if not sorry!
oh and my favorite suggestion in this walk post? a very simple one: turn left instead of right! Such small things can bring variety and spice to life!:)
Beautiful post and some great ideas!
I have to admit that while sometimes a chore (not feeling well, weather being nasty …) I never find our dog walks boring. I am just so happy to see our guys happy, it makes it the best part of my day just as theirs.
For us daily walks are a organic part of our days, and we would feel very unhappy if we couldn’t go. Needless to say that our dogs would not let that happen!
Love the tips. Often we combine some training with our walks. But whatever we do, I never find them boring. Exhausting sometimes maybe. But always the best part of everybody’s day, even when it’s pouring rain or a blizzard.
No problem, Katie. Sounds like you have a great challenge going!
That’s great that your walks are never boring, Jana! Glad to hear you walk no matter what the weather does.
I usually take the exact same route when I walk my dog.
It’s funny that you mentioned that you changed your route, turning left instead of right. Because I recently changed my usual dog walking route and my dog got so excited. It’s amazing how something that simple can get a dog that excited.
Yes we are, Lindsay! I want to bring Buddy in to see you and Ace SOON!
Yeah, funny how that works, isn’t it, Ross? Dogs love to visit new places.
Christie, Ace and I have missed you and Buddy!
During the summer I take the dogs to different places to walk. There are so many different parks in the FM area with walking paths. It makes things fun and interesting for the dogs. I also do a lot of field walking, well I walk and the dogs run around me jumping over small streams, bouncing through tall grass, etc.
Yeah, we are lucky to have so many different walking paths and parks. We definitely do a lot of time walking in fields, too.
I love it!
I’m still in my no dog phase, but around here on the coast, I run into plenty of dogs to pet! I love watching them on the beaches. They LOVE to be there, and it’s really a joy to see!
Ace would LOVE to visit the beach. It’s fun to see the dogs running around and so happy.
I’m so jealous that you have places you can take your dog off-leash (I assume legally?). And I’m amazed they let dogs on a playground where you are — in my area, every single kids’ playground is posted “NO DOGS ALLOWED”.
Nonetheless, we are lucky to live in an interesting small town with dozens of potential routes for the daily walk. I try to go a different route every day. Keira never gets bored with our walks, and it’s nice to have a daily routine that involves getting outside (even in the winter). Now that it’s spring, I’m loving seeing all my neighbors’ flowers blooming!
Not legal here either … although not enforced. I would never let Ace on the playground if there were kids there, though.
Keeda and I sometimes visit the nearby sand dunes and she gets a kick out of running up and down the huge dunes. I tell her to go “Up” and then “Off” and she bolts back and forth like crazy. She has fun tumbling through the sand and comes home tired from all the hill work
Ha! That sounds like a lot of fun. Similar to what Ace and I do with huge piles of snow in the winter.
Gus makes plenty of stops and has a blast when he walks…sniff, sniff, here – freak out about a squirrel there…
Ace has quite the nose on him as well. I can only imagine what it’s like to walk with Gus and his nose!
You have a wonderful dog blog here, Lindsay. I read a book called “Bones Would Rain From The Sky” by Suzanne Clothier and she discusses this topic in her book too. She says even her pigs get bored from the same walk! I think the most important point is to simply vary the dog walking. Go in one direction instead of the other. Let’s face it, not all of us are going to have high energy dogs who are interested in a lot of training. A simple variance in the walk will do for most dogs. Those of you with high energy dogs like Ace, these tips will work great.
Exactly. And even if the dog isn’t bored with the usual walk, a new route is still going to be a lot more fun for the dog!
[...] didn’t think of it before, but one day about six months ago I decided that I was going to start a dog-walking business. Plenty of my neighbors lined up and I got to spend some quality time with some bored dogs [...]