Walk the Dog!

Did you know that the whole of January is Walk Your Dog Month? No, neither did I! I thought it was quite an odd thing to have because most dog owners will and do walk their dogs every day. But then I thought a bit more about it and why it is actually an important thing to have.

January, here in the UK, is traditionally wet and cold and windy. One look out the window at the rain lashing down outside will make most people run for the couch with a warming cup of tea! But if you own a dog, you need to let your furry friend outside to do its business at the very least. But opening the backdoor and letting your pet out in the garden for five minutes is not a great idea, according to professionals.

Dogs need interaction with other dogs. They need to meet and greet and play with others in order to be happy and contented animals and they want to do all this with you, their favourite person.

Getting out for a half-hour walk (at the minimum) will benefit not only your dog but you as well. Exercise has been shown to be of immense benefit to mental health. And the pure joy and love for life that a dog has (in abundance!) really does rub off on their owners. So if you have the January blues grab that lead and take your dog for a long walk – you will feel so much better.

Spread the love!

As we have read, walking your dog regularly and for at least half an hour at a time helps with not only your mental health but your pooch’s too. So why not extend that well-being to your friends and family? You could arrange a weekly catch-up in the park. Grab a coffee to go and take a leisurely amble around while your dog catches up with their friends at the same time. Not only is walking regularly good for your mental health it is good for your body too. Research has shown that it takes only a half hour of vigorous walking a day to improve your cardiovascular system. And it is also of benefit to your dog too. Obesity in dogs is just as prevalent as it is in humans - so taking that walk twice a day will help improve your dog’s health and lower their chances of getting diseases in the future.

It doesn’t have to be boring!

Perhaps there are very few places near you where you can take your dog, or maybe you are lucky and there are too many to choose from. Either way, incorporating some sort of activity other than walking the same paths every day can take the boring out of walking. All of us and that includes dogs too; can get fed up with doing the same thing again and again.

A lovely way to add the spice of variety to your walk is to lay a trail of treats (as always, only do so if it is safe to) and ask your dog to find them. This game is great for dogs as it means they have to use their most natural and powerful tool – their nose! With your dog in sit and stay mode lay a trail of treats for them to find. To begin with, you want to make sure your dog can see you placing the treats. Touch the ground as you do so and don’t always place a treat down. This will make your dog really have to use their nose to sniff out those doggie treasures! Place the treats quite close together until your dog gets used to the game. After a while, you can place them farther apart and once your dog has really got the paw of it you can then lay them in places that are more challenging to get to. Not only will you have fun placing the treats but your dog will have fun too.

If your fur baby is on a diet (all the more reason to get out there and walk, walk, walk) or there are too many other pooches that will eat the treats before your dog gets a chance to, then add a bit of canine parkour to your daily trek. You can do this to yourself or you can join a local Dog Parkour group https://www.facebook.com/DogParkourUK/

Almost anything that you encounter on your walks can be used for a bit of parkour fun. Logs can be jumped over or walked along. Trees can be woven in and out of and boulders can be jumped on and off of. You can even get involved yourself ;) I hope this has given you a little bit of inspiration this National Walk your Dog Month and will create many happy memories and tails (sorry!) to tell.

If you would like to create a more tangible memory of your beloved pet, then here at Image Casting we can take beautifully intricate casts for your dog’s paws for you to keep and treasure forever. https://imagecasting.co.uk/products/pets/