A vast majority of dog owners take their pets for a walk either when they feel like it or when their dog signals them that they would want some fresh air or to warn them they need to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, the just mentioned approach fails to meet the wants and needs of a healthy dog, even though they would not complain about you not walking them as much as they want. The more physical activities your dog engages in, the healthier it should be, so it is of utter importance to walk your dog every day. The answers to why walking your dog is important are waiting for you in the lines below.
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Socialization
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If you do not feel comfortable with starting a conversation, make sure you bring your dog. Jokes aside, but you should be aware that animals have a calming effect on people with who they interact, thus, if you are having some issues with expressing your social skills, feel free to use your loving pet as a mediator.
In the worst-case scenario, you will meet a bunch of dog lovers and your dog will always have who to spend time with, which is beneficial by itself. On the other hand, you might get to know some interesting people while taking a daily walk with your dog. In a nutshell, the more walks you take, the chances of encountering someone interesting rise. Also, if you do not enjoy someone’s company, you can always use your dog as an excuse to leave. Regardless of the breed, all dogs are social animals and will enjoy spending their time with their little furry friends outside whenever you take them for a walk.
Health Benefits
Even though people tend to keep their pets indoors for practical reasons, you should be aware that in the first place, they are animals. Besides that, rest assured that your dog loves you more than anything else in the whole world, so make sure you do everything within your power to stretch your friendship to as many years as possible.
Surely, numerous factors could impact your dog’s lifespan, but we should emphasize that spending time in the open while running or doing anything else physically demanding can only assist your dog’s overall health. Not only will they spend sufficient energy and waste extra calories, but they will also gain muscle while they lose fat. Undoubtedly, your dog will be significantly healthier if you regularly take it for a walk.
Mental Health
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Since we have already highlighted that any dog would spend their time in the open, rather than indoors, we should mention some mental benefits your pet would experience if you would take them walking every day. Mens Sana In Corpore Sano is a Latin proverb that happens to perfectly describe what we are trying to point out.
Some dog breeds tend to get nervous and irritable when they spend too much time indoors. The bad mood, as a result of insufficient time in the open, might result in grumpy behavior and aggression towards footwear or any other garment they consider a worthy opponent in moments of disorder. Thus, make sure you find an appropriate collar for your pet and take it for a walk, so it can shake off the frustration by being active. Without a collar, your dog will not be fully equipped, thus, visit PetonBed to find additional info on how to choose the best one for your pet.
Going to the Toilet
It is of utter importance to train your dog so your relationship would function without having too many unwanted surprises. Namely, a trained dog should know when and how to inform the owner when they need to go for number one or two, while an undisciplined pet would not mind relieving themselves whenever they feel the need to, regardless of where they are.
Now, the ones familiar with Pavlov’s experiment about dogs and conditional reflexes should easily understand why it is important for the owners to establish the timetable and potentiate it until the dog gets accustomed to the schedule. Namely, the dogs will learn to recognize particular patterns you expose them to, so they will expect you to take them out if you repeat the practice a sufficient number of times. In other words, you can use the walking routine to train your pets.
Hopefully, the next time your dog reminds you what time it is by scratching your front door, you will know what to do and how important it is to interpret what it is trying to say to you. On the other hand, failing to understand them could make them nervous and provoke them to make a mess to draw your attention and make a statement. Therefore, the next time you notice your dog’s behaving awkward around walk o’clock, do yourself a favor and take it out as soon as possible.
Mutual Pleasure
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Dog walking is a type of activity useful not solely for the pet, but also for the owner. Namely, an owner should enjoy all of the aforementioned benefits, as long as they enjoy spending time with their furry friends.
Spending time in the open with your dog is a wonderful opportunity both to have fun and to enhance your physical condition. Now, depending on the age of the dog, you can even make a training plan for you and your best animal companion. Make sure you take both your and the wants and needs of your dog into consideration in order to come up with a perfect activity plan both of you will stick to.
Hopefully, the aforementioned pieces of information and suggestions shall make you aware of how important it is to take your dog out for a walk regularly. You are your dog’s best friend, so make an effort and secure your bestie has all the walking time it needs. It will do you both good, especially after reading the lines above and realizing how beneficial everyday walking can be.
