How often should you walk your dog?

As a pet parent, dog walking would play an important role in how you raise your dog. Just like human beings, dogs need exercise and activity to stay healthy. Actually, dogs being more active than humans, need to ensure that they are exercised very often so they stay in the pink of health. Although a lot of pet parents see dog walking as an excuse to take them for potty breaks, it is important to understand that walking your dogs is much more than just letting them relieve themselves. Walks and exercise for dogs should be for the sake of itself – that is, your dog needs to be taken on a walk for the walk itself and not just so they can poop. 

 

Apart from serving as pee breaks, how else does dog walking help your pet baby? – Well, here are some reasons – they will enjoy good and long-lasting health, their joints will be stay active thereby ensuring that they do not have any (or the least) trouble with it as they grown up and just like human beings, dogs also benefit greatly in terms of gut health when it comes to exercise. There is also the added fact that dogs will love it if they are allowed to explore, take their own time during those walks since they spend the majority of their time at home. These are just some of the main reasons that help your pet when you take them walking or exercising. 

 

When it comes to walking your dog – you need to know a few things. The amount of exercise a dog needs depends on the breed. High-energy breeds (labradors and golden retrievers being the most common examples) might need longer walks for upto 3 times a day. While other breeds that are slightly less active (great danes and bulldogs for example) might need walking for upto only 2 times a day with some dogs being happy with just one. Therefore, it is important that when you first get a dog, you assess their breed, their energy level, and their capabilities to know how much exercise they need. It goes without saying that if the dog is injured or under ailment in any way.

 

When you are extremely busy and cannot squeeze in the appropriate amount of workout (in terms of time) for your dog, you can always make sure that you intersperse intense to semi-intense exercises (like fetch, ball, tug o’ war) during those short minutes so your dog gets the necessary amount of exercise anyway. While it is advisable to let them explore the world to their heart’s content, as a pet parent, it becomes your responsibility to make sure that the path they take does not contain anything that harms them – whether it is harmful, unknown plants, speeding vehicles that cannot be stopped quickly or other dogs that might not know how to behave with your dog. Either ways, it is important to know that the path you are leading them on is secure to your best ability. 

 

Additionally, it might be good to note that dogs that are younger – when it comes to almost all breeds, need more exercise than they do when they get older. Puppies of all breeds usually have tons of pent up energy and the vivid curiosity to explore the world that they will always enjoy a good walk where they can explore and play. All this will also help in their development as their body parts will start to develop in a healthy way due to regular exercise. 

 

Routine becomes extremely important to maintain when it comes to dogs – dogs thrive on routines. When you are dog walking, make sure that on most (preferably all days) the walk happens at the same/similar time. This way, they know what to expect and they get the chance to stay healthy and fit with discipline!