Do you always walk the same route with your dog?
By GreenMoo
@GreenMoo (11834)
May 5, 2008 1:00am CST
I was out giving the dogs their early morning trot aroung the village this morning when I realised how terribly routine it must be for them. Every day pretty much, I use the same route. We pass the same trees, the same rocks, the same smells and the same places to have a wee.
I admit that I take this route because it's easy on me. I normally have my littlest with me, so I have to bear in mind that I might have to carry him along the way. So I tend to avoid steep hills, particularly rough ground, or going to far from home. It's a habit now, we all set off sort of pre-programmed. Up the garden, turn left and we're away.
But those poor dogs! There's a whole world out there and they just get to explore this little patch of it. I do stand and let them snuffle in the bushes and dig little holes, but it's no substitute for somewhere new and different.
But perhaps you don't agree? Perhaps you think that dogs prefer a fixed routine and are more comfortable with that?Either way, for our lunchtime wander I have decided to take a different path. Give them a treat, why not?!
1 person likes this
8 responses
@coffeeshot (3783)
• Australia
8 May 08
Hmm I'm sure that the dogs are just happy to get out and about for a walk every day! Even if you do go the same route every day, there's always new and exciting scents for them to stick their noses into.
However I do agree that I like to mix it up a bit and take Eddie on different routes.
Near my house is an industrial area and in the afternoon it is very pleasant to walk around it. It's like the shape of a giant horshoe and just walking from one end of the street round to the other can take twenty minutes so there's always something exciting going on, including the ducks that swim in the pond.
We also go to the park which is a different route again or we can cut through the school oval at the back of my house which is always fun for him.
It's nice to hear someone actually cares about whether or not their dog gets bored from taking the same route!
1 person likes this
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
11 May 08
I think you're probably right, the dogs are so excited to be out that they wouldn't care if we walked circles around the garden! So long as other creatures have passed, there's always new scents to investigate.
Have you ever wondered how exciting that must be, to be able to tell who's been past and when and where they've been before, just from a sniff?
@smacksman (6053)
•
6 May 08
Ruby and I walk every morning and she loves to go to the same place and check out who has done what and been where.
She loves the smells of wildlife; squirrels, rabbits, deer, badgers, chickens, geese and the like but unfortunately she also loves to roll in fresh fox muck! That requires a bath when we get home!!
She sometimes meets other dogs that we have know for all her two years of life and she just loves that.
She is happy to walk anywhere but it is clear that she is a creature of habit and loves her regular walk best.
@positiveminded1977 (7072)
• India
5 May 08
Well, that dog of mine is a specimen. You won't find such a sample in any part of the world. When I got that pup, I dreamed of all those lovely long walks I would enjoy with her. Well, she grew up and ate up both the leads. They are in shreds now, and it breaks my heart to look at them. Then she and the cat started disappearing together for an hour to a couple of hours at a time. Don't ask me where, coz I have no idea. To cut a long story shot, my dog prefers to go on a walk, run, or whatever it is she wants to do by herself. No leads for her, and certainly she won't tolerate any boring human beings near her. She just rushes off. Sometimes I see her playing catch with a stray on the hill. Sometimes, I hear her crashing around in the woods behind our house. Well, as long as she doesn't get into trouble, or worse still, get me into trouble, it is ok with me.
Cheers and thanks for this discussion.
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
6 May 08
I guess your dog is doing you a favour really. Think of all that lovely extra free time you have as a result, to mess around on MyLot or just gaze at the sky.
One of mine needs walking as she isn't allowed free, but the other always comes back from wherever he is to join us. He likes to lie in wait for his sister then jump out at her, just about wrenching my arm out of it's socket when she jumps back!
@palonghorn (5479)
• United States
5 May 08
I vary our walk from time to time, but she knows if we go a certain way, we are going to the park where the ducks are, and if we go another way we are going to the river, she knows where the turns are and how to get there. She knows if we go to the river she gets to swim, lol. We avoid that path during the cooler months, lol, but it's about time for her walks to the river. She likes the park too, she watchs the ducks, she never tries to pull away or chase or bark at them, she just watches them.
@10fingaz2getha4eva (287)
• United States
5 May 08
most of the time i let her pick the path i usually walk her w/o a leash because shes good about staying right by me and jumping up on me if a car passes plus she is really well mannered and doesnt chase after people so i allow her to sniff around where ever she wants she switches up our route sometimes
@mandarinamel (99)
• Malaysia
5 May 08
Hi, I strongly recommend you that you don't have a walking routine. For you and for the dogs. It Is safer when you have like 3 or 4 different paths to walk your dogs and also have different hours to do so. This is because people could follow you or know the exact time when your house is going to be alone.
Be careful and be safe.
