Dogs have long become our companions in everyday life. We increasingly get a dog not for its working qualities or to perform specific tasks, but to have a friend and a companion with whom we can feel comfortable.
Our Corgi doesn't herd sheep; instead, it accompanies us to our favourite coffee shop to enjoy a puppuccino, while our Golden Retriever brings us balls and socks and never retrieves a duck from a swamp. These are the realities for most dogs owned by urban dwellers. And that's okay. After all, the world is changing, priorities are shifting, and the role of dogs in human life is also changing.
Disclaimer: We by no means intend to offend working dogs whose lives are dedicated to serving people and providing comprehensive assistance to humans. We appreciate and admire them, as well as the people who do incredible work with their dogs. In this piece, we are solely referring to the "average" dog owner who simply gets a dog as a friend and companion.
Anyway... Digressions aside!
Today we'd like to discuss a topic about some "healthy" balance between let our dogs to still be dogs and feel like dogs at our crazy human world.
Let's talk about it through the prism of walks with our dogs.
It became a totally normal to take our dogs to a lot of "humanly" places: cafes, malls, office etc.
And dogs usually like it. They have a chance to be close with their beloved human during a day, they can explore some new places, desensitise to triggers, get new experience and communicate.
Well trained dogs usually make no troubles to their owners during such walks. Mostly they will chill carefree and waiting for you while you you're running errands at your office or shopping for new shoes in the mall. Yes, that's what a proper training does to your dog. It make them somehow comfortable four our everyday human live.
But still they are dogs. With their specific dog's needs.
And after all the hustle of our human life our dogs still need they "dog time". The time where we as a good boys and girls will wait for them while they are doing their "doggy business".
Dogs need to explore a different areas and surfaces, they need to mark territory and explore other dogs marks.
Some dogs need more and some less time for this.
Some dogs need time for communication and play time with other dogs.
Kinda tricky to do all this in the mall, don't ya think?
So while you comfortably integrate your dog to your everyday life please don't forget to make time exclusively or your dog and it's needs.
A few words about the structure of the correct walk with the dog to complete the topic.
The perfect walk with your dog can be divided into several stages:
-Call of nature (dog needs to go to the toilet).
If your dog has 2-3 times per day walking schedule - it will be the best to let it do it's toilet business first thing.
-Time for activities.
After your dog is done with it's toilet business and feels relieved and usually more relaxed you can move to the active stage of your walk. You can play some games, arrange a training session, meet and play with other dogs or just let your dog explore its surroundings. The filling of the active part of your walk depends of your dog's preferences first of all.
-Сalm homecoming.
After the active stage your dog needs some time to relax and calm down. So finish your walk with calm and slow walking towards the house. This way your dog will return home relax and won't be running for another hour as some crazy squirrel.
Walk safe! Walk fun!
Respect your dog's needs!
