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

The Benefits of Walking Your Dog Part-I

Taking your dog on walks is one of the best way to bond with this four-legged friend. I used to be one of those people who was lazy about walking Cookie before I got Gigi. If it wasn't for the cold weather, I would have done it more often. Some days, I would just be fried after getting home from work. All in all, I was lucky to have walked her two days a week.

Last year, Gigi the family. She was eleven months old when we got her. For some reason, if the yard was wet at all, she wouldn't go out. The only way I could get to get her outside was to take her on a walk. She couldn't get enough. Soon, it got to be a habit of taking both dogs out twice a day. On rainy days, I bought them raincoats to keep them drier and took them on shorter walks when the weather was miserable. When winter came, it went down to once a day. On snowy days or cold days, I'd bundle up and just do it. Still, there was very few days that I missed taking them out.


They say that it takes only twenty-one times to create a new habit. Ever since I've increased the number of walks I do with my dogs in a week, I've noticed many benefits of doing this activity.

One of the best things dog walking does is create a stronger bond with you and your dog(s). This is a time your dogs know it's for them. They can explore and get in touch with their desire to explore their surroundings.

Another benefit is the fact that you get in touch with the outdoors. You have nothing to listen to except the sound of your footsteps as well as those of your dogs. It forces you to slow down and notice the world around you instead of sitting inside or doing some chores that you have to do later anyway.

It increases your energy level. If you are more active, you are going to have more energy compared to when your being more sedentary. It's also a good way to keep your weight down and have your dogs lose weight, if need be. I know that I can't slack off like I used to because it doesn't just affect me.

Finally, it gives my dogs a chance to be social with other dogs. You see which neighbors have dogs which are good for your dogs to visit and which are not so good. The more your dogs interact with other dogs, the more of a chance they will socialize better in the future.

I feel that something I used to dread to do has become something to look forward to. This is just one of those activities I wrote about in my activities post.
See it here.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by.