Why is it important to walk your dog every day?

Many dog owners think that the main purpose of a dog’s walk is getting a bathroom break. However, in reality it is much more than that. 

Regular walks give a dog physical exercise, chances for socialization with other dogs, mental stimulation and opportunities for behavioral training.

Moreover, it also helps to establish very close and trustful relations between a dog and its owner. 

However, even though most owners understand the importance and necessity of regular walks, the statistics says that about 20% of dog owners in the United States don’t walk their four-legged friends every day.  

Here are important reasons of why it is important to walk your dog every day:

Provides mental and physical stimulation

Everyday walks help dogs to stay mentally and physically healthy. A dog is a like a child: it likes exploring the world. 

If he or she does not get an opportunity to get outside and explore, a dog gets bored very quickly, which leads to an unstable mental state and, as a result, to a destructive behavior.

Sounds, smells and sights around keep a dog busy and opens the entire world for your pet. Therefore, for better physical and mental stimulations, professionals also recommend to take your dog to different and new places.

Deals with hyperactivity

There are certain dog breeds that have endless energy that is known as hyperactivity and is also characterized by short attention span, high impulsiveness and frantic activity. 

Hyperactivity might lead to certain inappropriate behaviors and consequences, including knocking over furniture, jumping on people, garbage raiding, and etc.

Those hyperactive dogs who are walked every day become more relaxed, calm and less restless in the house.

Addresses attention-seeking behavior

If the dog is noisy and barks a lot, most likely it means that he or she is seeking for attention from their owner.

If your dog has already eaten, is not thirsty or ill, he or she is just trying to attract your attention and asking to take his or her for a walk.

Taking a dog for a walk allows to excess energy and get the attention that your four-legged friend desires.

Allows dogs to mark their territory

Regular marking territory for dogs is very important because it allows a dog to communicate with other dogs without being present. 

The urine of every dog is very unique, has a specific smells and carries much more information that everyone might think. Usually dogs mark the territory in order let other dogs know that it is already occupied and cannot be invaded again.

It is an opportunity for training

Dog walking is a great and very effective training opportunity.  Training should start with teaching a dog how to walk on a leash. 

Each walk is a great chance for owners to reinforce such common commands as “stay”, “sit”, “heel” and “come” in a place outside a home.

Training in a public space rather than home is very effective because it teaches a dog to follow the commands of the owner without being distracted by different external stimuli.

Gives a dog opportunity to socialize

Believe or not but our dogs are very social creatures and they like to socialize not only with their owners but also with other dogs. 

By walking around your neighborhood or in a dog park, you will definitely meet other owners with their pooches.  It will give an opportunity to your dog to not only get familiar with other pets but also to learn acceptable and appropriate ways of social interaction with other animals.

Moreover, it will also increase the dog’s confidence, so it will not feel afraid to make new friends.

By walking a dog every day and taking your four-legged companion to new places will let the dog to meet new people and new dogs, so he or she will not be fearful or aggressive when facing something new, which is quite a common problem for those dogs who are not walked regularly.

Builds up trust and closer relationships between a dog and an owner

If you decide to get a dog, you should understand that it is extremely important to spend as much as possible time together, and one of the best ways to do it is to go for a walk. 

The more you walk with your dog the better and more trustful your relationships become.

By walking your dog, you are showing your pet that you’re his or her protector and a leader, which leads to a stronger bond between you too and create a great human-canine team.

Prolongs the life of your dog

The results of numerous researches show that those dogs that are walked  daily live longer than their homestay fellows.

The main reason of that is that the latter do not exercise enough and therefore are more likely to gain weight and suffer from obesity and other related diseases.

Moreover, obesity itself also leads to a number of other diseases that shorten the life of dogs, including high blood pressure, type II diabetes, breathing and heart problems, arthritis and different forms of cancer.

In order to avoid all these problems and help your four-legged friend to live as long as possible experts recommend to walk with your pet for at least one hour a day.

If you feel that it is difficult for you to set up a dog-walking schedule, here are some useful tips that might help you with that:

·       Make dog walking a part of your routine and do it always at the same time.  If you decide to walk your pet in the morning before going to work, make sure you set up an alarm half an hour earlier in order to get used to get up a little sooner.

·       Pick a certain route or loop in your neighborhood. Even though it might be great to go to different places with your dog for a walk, in the beginning it is better to pick just one route or a loop and walk it every single day. First, it will help you to get a habit of everyday dog walking, and second, it will make sure that you walk the same time and distance every day.

·       Take your kids or other family members with you on a walk, so it will become your daily family ritual that will allow you to spend more time together and become closer.