For most of us, taking the dog for a walk is just one more thing in our daily to-do lists. But as fun as it can be to get some fresh air with our dogs, it’s easy to slip into the same routine, almost going through the motions.
However, if you’re not entirely happy with your dog’s behavior when you’re out walking, making some small changes to your walks can be really beneficial. And it’s not all hard work, there are plenty of ways to make dog walks more fun.
That’s why professional dog trainer Amelia Steele, or Amelia the Dog Trainer, has outlined three key things we can do that might help our dogs with their behavior. Let’s take a look.
1. Include engagement games: “These are so important,” says Steele, “They can really promote good attention and good listening skills, and they just make life a little bit more interesting.”
2. Incorporate play into your walk: “Even if this is just two minutes a day standing in a field and playing with a toy with your dog, play is such a healthy way to encourage engagement and it builds loads of foundational skills that require basically zero effort,” she explains.
3. Include breed-specific outlets: This involves knowing what your dog is bred for, but you don’t need to worry if your dog is a mix!
“You can also use anything they genuinely love doing,” Steele adds, “So, for my dog [a retriever breed], it would be retrieving, for some dogs [like scent hounds] it might be sniffing, but giving them a chance to practice those really natural behaviors is really good for them.
“It builds that communication with you, and it’s going to give you much better behavior in the long run compared to just sticking a lead on and walking around the block.”
Of course, we lead busy lives and it’s not always possible to spend a lot of time playing on walks. However, doing so when you can might really help your dog with their behavior. Why not slow down and let your dog sniff on a walk? This helps them not only find out more about the environment around them but can lower stress levels, too.
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