The walk

Enjoy taking the Dog out. Don't see it as a chore. Don't do a quick walk around the block. Make the walk meaningful. Don't charge off with them and yank them away from every scent. Don't hurriedly walk past other Dogs. Don't be glued to your phone. Bond with your Dog. Many of you during training like to talk to me about different things. What if I said. "No, come on we have to hurry. No, no don't observe that, no let's change the subject. No I'm not talking about that. Come on were on a timer here." Just plain damn rude isn't it? Would possibly make you feel like I'm an ass hole and that you don't want to be around me. You would feel unfulfilled and possibly sad or you would feel outraged and want to go home and tell someone about it or storm around the house chuntering and banging things? When people say that their Dog comes back from a walk and has zoomies... let's think why? Not there yet. You took them around the block and didn't let them smell the smells they wanted to smell. You urged them to "go toilet then" and hurriedly came back home and unclipped the lead. Your Dog is unfulfilled. They were so psyched to go for a wall. Their nose is their chocolate. Their favourite TV programme. Their favourite past time. Their thing to look forward to. Yes Dogs look forward to things and experiences just the same as we do. If it rains or snows so what take the time to take your Dog out for a meaningful walk. Throw the wellies on and brave that muddy field. Drive to the beach. Walk to the woods. Start thinking if I was a Dog with a really powerful olfactury bulb of a nose where would I like to go for a walk? Start thinking like that and you can't go wrong. Bond with your Dog enjoy your Dog and stop applying human moral compasses to Dogs 🐶

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