The Benefits of Walking Your Dog-Part II

Previously, I had written about the benefits of dog walking in this post. After taking them on a long walk (45 minutes), I thought of additional benefits that I had not realized.

Here are some more reasons it's great to walk your dog:

1. Walking makes your dogs less irritable. Dogs are cooped up in a house or yard all day. Walking is an adventure for them and is a natural instinct for dogs. Dogs love to explore and they never know where they are going to end up on a walk. Only you do.
2. By letting dogs sniff the ground during the walk, they pick up all the scents of the neighborhood. Their sense of smell is so distinct, they remember exactly where they are because of these smells and it helps them find their way home.
3. They sleep better and so do you.
4. Walking is a low-impact exercise. It's great for increasing joint mobility and blood circulation.
5. It helps stave away heart disease. I had found this comment from Steve Freed, R.Ph., CDE of diabetesincontrol.com to be very insightful:

   For our newsletter www.diabetesincontrol.com we did a study with 5 patients with diabetes who would not exercise.
   We called their vets and had them tell the patient that they had to walk their dog 40 minutes twice a day to prevent heart disease and all 5 patients did for their pets what they would not do for themselves.

Weather.com has a great tool that helps you calculate how many calories you can burn on a walk. Check it out here!

I also found the neatest gadget to make walks more inviting. As you know, human pedometers have been around for quite some time, and now someone came up with this brilliant creation.
Pedometers Australia carries a pedometer made specifically for dogs. It slips onto their collar and measures the number of steps you take. It measures the steps they take and it can be used even when you're just playing a game of fetch.

With summer just around the corner, if you've been hesitant to get on the bandwagon, now is the time. As always, feel free to share your thoughts. I hope you all have a great night.

The Benefits of Walking Your Dog, Part I