I am going to say it, if you can't walk your dog for at least an hour a day, you are a bad owner.
Spin your excuse anyway you like, but know that you are denying your dog its basic canine rights. You're too fat, too tired, too busy... too full of excuses. Stop reading this blog, grab the lead and get out and walk your dog.
Brodie and I are just back from our walk. Our second walk of the day, of around an hour. We do this everyday. If you think that your dog couldn't walk for an hour, I'm going to call you on it. I would be banking on that nearly every dog would be able to, I'm also going to bank on that if you said it then it is You that can't walk for 2 hours a day. There are plenty of dogs that will be walking on multi day hikes right now and will not be bitching anywhere near the same amount as the humans they are walking with.
The domestic dog evolved along side humans. The ancestors of these dogs moved through the landscape by walking. Funny enough, if you look back a little way you will see that humans used to walk a fair bit too. I know people that this will shock as we have gotten quite used to sitting in our comfort coffins.
Of course there are a raft of problems that you will have to overcome. As a modern human I put it to you that you have had to overcome bigger challenges in your life than finding an hour a day to walk your dog. Those who have seen other content from me would see the above would fall into my challenge over comfort core belief.
Now What - Problems that you may face
So now you're motivated to walk the dog. You grab the lead and away you go. The dog is figuratively (possibly literally) pissing itself as this is the most exiting thing that has happened this week... Let that sink in. The dog is in a hyper state, you are projecting energy that is reluctant at best and resentful at worst. I would like to alert you to the fact that owning the dog is your fault, ego check time.
We want the dog in a calm mind state. This means that for the first few minutes of the walk, it might be you standing around waiting for the dog to calm down. This can be sped up with the touch and Ssss techniques. Once we have a dog in a calm state, then off we go.
I have never cared which side the dog walks on, yep, some people really get out of a calm mind state about it. I have the dog on my left. The only reason being that I started training dogs in obedience when I was 10 and they said I had to do it that way. Other people say that the dog should be on the right as that would have the dog next to the driver of a car (working dogs). Again, I don't think it matters, where the dog can't walk is in front or behind. Nor with a tight lead, with the dog walking you.
I see this occasionally when I am out walking, the person has their little dog in a harness and that little fella is pulling the person along. What does this signify? The dog is totally in charge, in a constant aroused state as they are leading the pack and being pulled up in an attack position. This constant arousal is probably not the best for the dog...or the owner. I have taught people to walk dogs on leads within 5 minutes and the owner has turned to me with tears in their eyes as a stress burden has been lifted from their nightmare walks.
Good Human = Good dog
Back to a good walk. Dog beside you, lead loose, you walking and looking up, dog calm, you confident... left, right. Repeat for one or more hours. A few things will happen as you get better at this. You will start to meet your neighbors and your community, you might even find yourself saying crazy things like 'Morning' or 'Lovely day'. Rest assured, this behavior may seem unnatural at first but you will start to get used to it. Other things that might happen is that you will start to get an appreciation for the neighborhood, or the trees you pass or even the bird song as you hear it. The other thing is with you in charge, your dog doesn't have to be. This means it can relax and get the exercise that it needs.
It is not that easy to get a dog to move from one place to another calmly the whole way (10 is even harder) but with you being aware of yourself, the dog will realise the deal. A few things that will distract can be corrected for and the dog will realise that walking is a mental challenge as well as a physical one. You can read more about corrections in my Ssss post.
Final thoughts
As a dog walker, it would be remiss of me to say, if you don't have the time or the ability; then pay someone who will do it properly for you. You still need to be good at walking your dog but I know that you may need help to ensure the basic canine rights are met.
Geoff Lawton says that all of the worlds problems can be solved with a garden. I am saying that all of the dogs problems can be solved with a long walk.
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Dogs live an average of 15 years.
If that's your average then you could say that I am recommending that you commit a minimum of 5500 hours of walking over the time you and your dog are together.