November 10, 2018

Where you walk your dog matters

Dog parks seem like a great idea. They are conveniently located in your suburb, you can socialize with other owners and your dog can play with other dogs. But, let’s look into this form of exercise for dogs more closely…..

Lack of stuff to sniff: dog parks with short, green grass that often double as a playing field for cricket or footy are essentially two dimensional. There is not much for your dog to sniff as the only vegetation is short and manicured and there is usually no debris such as fallen branches etc. In essence, there is not much to do except run and interact with other dogs. This causes trouble for a lot of dogs as their scenting abilities are unused and their eyesight is overused (this can lead to reactive behavior).

Lots of unknown dogs: dogs are a social species. I get that. However, as they age into adolescence and adulthood their circle of friends gets smaller (sound familiar?) and many dogs get less tolerant of new dogs. Imagine if you had to start new relationships every day? That would be very stressful and it’s no different for dogs.

Lack of proprioceptive opportunities: proprioception or body awareness is a skill that develops over time. Lack of proprioception is a major cause of injuries in dogs. Dogs need to practice walking, trotting and cantering over different surfaces and textures, up hills and down hills. This is important for dogs of all ages.

Ball chasing: I know everyone is busy. We work 8+ hours away from home and feel guilty that our dogs are home alone all day. But taking them to the park in the morning, evening or both to chase a ball thrown with one of those launchers is a recipe for disaster long term. Do you feel yourself getting defensive just now? I get it, I am a reformed ball chucker and I am glad I made the switch to slower, longer walks in bush land where my dogs are in charge of how far and fast they go. Ball chuckers are a form of convenience for time poor humans. Feeling more defensive? Sorry.

Dogs should sleep for around 18 hours a day. Optimal exercise is 75% heart rate increase for 30 minutes. That’s it. I can already hear some of you asking “How will I tire out my dog?” You will need to make some changes at home if you decide to ditch the ball and stick. You will need to provide more mental stimulation opportunities. You may need to capture calm behavior such as lying on a mat at home. You will have a crossover period where you’ll doubt your decision and your dog will be upset there is no more ball and stick. BUT, you won’t have a 6 year old dog with back problems, ruptured cruciates and arthritic changes in their joints. Your dog will lead a longer and more comfortable life if you exercise them by taking them to natural bush land and allowing them to walk off lead with their friends.

If you decide to ditch the dog park for a while, your dog will thank you for it. Ask the owners of your dog’s best mates to meet up a few times a week to walk in the bush. There are plenty of areas around Perth, you just have to look.
Take it slow: Power walking increases your dog’s arousal. Stroll with them, stop when they do, observe them, meditate, breathe deeply. If you need to keep your dog on lead, use a harness (Haqihana is my recommendation) and a 5-10 metre lead. If they are ahead of you and they stop to sniff, don’t keep walking as often they feel obliged to keep up. Stop where you are, wait for them to finish sniffing, then keep walking.

Take rewards with you: If you are just starting out with your puppy or newly adopted dog, reward them with a tasty morsel when they look at you while out on a walk. Yes, every time to begin with. This is the foundation skill needed for come when called and if you can train 2 things at once, all the better. Scatter a few rewards in long grass or foliage so your dog has to forage to find them. This is a very satisfying game for your dog to participate in. Teach them to stand on or jump over small logs. See how many variations you can introduce: sit on a log, lie down on a log, stand on a log, stand with front 2 paws on a log, stand with 2 back paws on a log etc.

If a person or dog is approaching you, arc around them. Yes, every time, even if it means walking into the bush. It is by far the most polite way to pass for dogs so let’s all do it please. If your dog is not comfortable with unknown dogs approaching, this will help them immensely. If they are reluctant to go off the path, encourage them to follow you then scatter some treats away from the path so the person or dog passing goes by while they are sniffing and searching for food. If everyone did this, we would have a lot less reactive behavior from our dogs.

That’s it really. Pretty simple isn’t it? I think so. These walks are my most cherished moments with my dogs as I can watch them being dogs and see what motivates them without my interference. Yes, we still visit the dog park occasionally but not more than once a week. We visit the dog park at an off peak time and I use it as an opportunity to do some training to ignore other dogs and focus on me. I have to use quite a bit of food and this is how I assess the difficulty level of the environment for my dogs. Ideally I want to walk somewhere with them off lead and not to have to carry food, toys etc.