Should You Walk Your Dog?

Seems like a very obvious answer to a very easy question, right? You should definitely walk your dog, because here in the Western world we have been conditioned into a routine of dog ownership where most people walk their dogs in the morning and walk their dogs on an evening, but the truth of the matter is it's much more complicated than that.

Absolutely, your dog needs physical exercise to have a fulfilled life. Travel and movement are huge parts of a dog's life but that's not the entirety of the story and there are a lot more factors that need to be considered.

Let's start by looking at what your dog walk actually contains. The vast majority of owners are walking their dog around the streets of the area they live, on a lead with no direction, no goals and no enrichment. A few more lucky dogs get to go and chase a ball at the park half way through that walk, but very few dogs have a complete, well considered walk that ticks all the boxes needed to properly enrich a dog's body and mind.

You can think about your dogs enrichment split into two parts. We have physical enrichment, and mental enrichment. Physical enrichment is enrichment to the body, and ultimately, walking a dog around the block really isn't that enriching to your dogs body. Your dog can travel many, many miles at a much higher speed than you are walking them without as much as a blink so it's worth considering other physical enrichment methods in place of, or in addition to walking your dog.

The list really is endless with things such as bikejor, canicross, weight pull, tug of war, agility, flyball, dock diving, swimming and many, many more. This blog isn't going to be a comprehensive list of things you can do with your dog, but rather a question to readers to ask if they might view their dogs enrichment needs from a slightly different angle. Will your dog benefit more from twenty minutes of swimming or sixty minutes of walking around the same streets they walk every day?

Now, it is absolutely important that dogs go out in the real world to experience the stimuli around them so this is not an excuse to throw the walks in the bin and become a lazy owner, throwing a ball in the back garden but it is a time to consider the different areas of enrichment you can include in your dogs life. Some days, maybe you wish to walk around the block, some days maybe you want to take your dog for a swim, and some days maybe you want to do some high intensity work up a steep hill. Having a well rounded physical enrichment plan will no doubt make your dog a happier dog.

The second half of enrichment is mental enrichment and in our experience working with owners for many, many years it is this half of the puzzle which is thought about the least. We are taught very little in mainstream media about mental enrichment beyond 'food puzzles' and other passive games that dogs figure out very, very quickly. Mental enrichment is taxing the brain of your dog and something they absolutely thrive in. Watching a dog figure something out is a fascinating process and will bring you and your four legged friend that much closer.

Again, this is not going to be an exhaustive list of things you can do for mental enrichment with your dog. There are already hundreds of blogs covering this topic if you head to Google but a few ideas are, competitive style obedience, scent work, tracking or even teaching some tricks.

Having mental enrichment in your dogs routine is an absolute must in our opinion. In fact, if you are squeezed for time, it is probably better to tax the dogs brain than it is to take the dog on a walk. You will see your dog fatigue a lot quicker when tested through the brain, rather than the body.

Your dogs enrichment programme needs to be thought through and complete, covering as many bases as possible and the more well rounded you can make this programme, the happier your dog is going to be.

Keep walking your dog, absolutely, but also add in some other, more interesting aspects to your routine and you will be amazed how many more doors open for both of you.

Until next time

The Team

British Institute of Canine Science