Our dogs have a natural enthusiasm for the outdoors. Nothing thrills your dog better than you reaching out for his/her leash (of course food is an exception). It is important to walk your dog once or twice a day for at least an hour. It boosts their energy and maintains their weight. Walking with our dogs can also relieve our stress and help us maintain our health. Our dogs love to check out the scent and sight outdoors and they could get too excited when we bring them out for a walk. Sometimes this makes it a tedious job for dog parents to take their dogs for a stroll. Here are 5 interesting ways to make your dog walk more fun.
Find new routes to explore
If you walk by the same route every day, it could become a forever routine for both of you. To make the walk more productive and interesting, try looking for lesser walked pathway and routes. This way, you can introduce your dog to new sights and scents. There are so many smells and sounds that could mentally stimulate your dog. The new scenery and path will help your dog wander around more.
Include exercises:
If your dog likes to chase after balls or to pick up rubber sticks, you can carry it along with you when you start for a walk. It is important to add interesting elements while relaxing in the outdoors. Include commands like sit, stand, walk, down or trick your dog to run or jump and praise him with a treat or a gesture of encouragement. It could be hard in the beginning but he will eventually enjoy the experience. If you find any stairs nearby, ask him to climb up and down. You could simultaneously do the same to provide yourself with cardio exercises.
Train him to do off-lead walking:
If you spot any safe and dog-friendly spot nearby your walking route, you could let your dog off-leash. Initiate games that will make him run, sniff, and grab his toy. This requires a lot of patience and concentration as it could take a long time for your puppy to learn. Before you go off-leash, you should ensure that your dog consistently comes to you when called.
Tag along with a friend:
Finding dog owners in your neighborhood to walk with can help in many ways. Your dog would have a partner to play around and you could also have a good opportunity to talk. Make sure that the dogs are comfortable with each other else, it could turn out messy. Having a playmate will help your dog to self-discipline and he could pick up good actions from his friend. But if you find your dog misbehaving, you can do some obedience training and he will get back on track.
Now have fun and stay healthy while you walk your dogs!!