what makes a good walk…?
… Not, for me, much dashing about. Dogs have energy to run off, yes, but as a general rule a dashing dog is a stressed/adrenaline-filled dog and that’s no good for anyone. Instead we aim for a brisk meander with dogs active, engaged, wagging, sniffing, exploring, enjoying. And the pace that generally comes best at is a trot, not a gallop.
There’s moments on a walk where we encourage a touch of madness - that might be as we walk through a reed bed, sugar beet field, or bracken bank (all of which can be wonderfully irresistible to dash about in); or as find some logs to jump or have the excitement of a swim - but those are moments, they’re controlled and they’re the polar opposite to the Wild West of a lot of dogs hooleying around an open field. The latter tends to be fun for the most dominant dog in the pack but not for anybody else. (I’m afraid I’m not a fan of a public or daycare dog field….)
There’s also plenty of moments when we might stop for a shade-break, a biscuit, a drink if it’s hot etc etc. ie Walks aren’t always busy.
Anyway, I took a video this morning of part of walk up here in Suffolk - our maximum amount of dogs, and most off-lead. My analysis of the vid:
happy relaxed interested dogs, clearly enjoying themselves - just as we like
The steep up/down at the start of the clip afforded an opportunity for a bit of controlled excitement, what I’ve termed ‘madness’ in the para above. Some interesting stuff that can be seen in that clip….
firstly, the Red Lab is clearly a bit nervous to start with, but takes a lead from other more confident dogs, and just look at how wonderfully pleased she is with herself afterwards. Fantastic!
Secondly, there’s a couple of ‘teens’ in the gang. Tackling a steep slope like that is sooooo good for their proprioception, learning where their legs are basically. Again, learning in a fun way, loads of confidence boosted.
Thirdly, there’s a slightly naughty Cockerpoo moment in there where the apricot ‘erpoo just dominates the Flattie a bit. It’s not much but it’s enough that they’d ideally be corrected there and then and reminded that it’s your job to boss other dogs, not theirs. (I had one on a lead in one hand, a camera in the other and I was dodging nettles so I don’t berate myself too much for missing it at the time, but I did make a mental note to watch out for it in future. Which could be orchestrated by doing something as straightforward as sitting on the sofa this evening, have the ‘erpoo beside me and if he growls at another dog coming near, smartly removing him to the floor. Anything like that to sit him back on his slightly bossy heels)
Excited woosh over, time to carry on at that sort of brisk-meander pace. Perfect. Brains and bodies exercised = relaxed sleepy dogs once we get home! Let me know if there’s anything else interesting in there that I’ve missed. Or, obviously, if you disagree!
A few more similar type of pix of recent walks in case interesting :)
