5 Ways to Motivate Yourself For a Dog Walk
We all know that walking our dog at least once every day is recommended, but many of us struggle to fit it into our schedule.
Dog Walking Can Feel Tedious at Times
I bet your daily dog walk gets tedious, I know mine does when I stick to the same old route. And I’m sure that’s why only half of us take our dog for a daily walk. To make sure keep up with walking every day I keep these little motivational tips in mind.
1. Remind Yourself How Much it Means to Your Dog
Have you ever wondered why our dogs get so damned excited when it’s time for a walk? Our dogs don’t get choose when it’s time to go out and explore, they depend on us. For many that dog walk (and when you come home from work) is the highlight of their day. For our dogs a walk isn’t just about exercise – often times it’s the only chance they get to go out and explore. Next time you catch yourself saying “do I really have to…” just remember how happy that walk will make your dog. Is this a guilt trip? Rather than thinking of it as guilt I like to think of it as the ability to empathize with my dog. I wouldn’t want to spend my days cooped up inside, and I’m pretty sure our dogs feels the same way. The walk is such a simple way to add more meaning and enrichment to our dog’s daily routine.
2. Staying Active is Great For Both You & Your Dog
Being fit helps both you and your dog live longer, healthier lives. And you don’t need to partake in marathons either, something as simple as walking 20 minutes a day can have a significant impact on your overall health. When given the choice of doing sit ups, push ups, or walking I’ll always opt for the walk. And If I’m going to be committed to some daily exercise I might as well make it something that’s easy for my pup and I to do together. Half of the pets in the U.S. are overweight. Keeping our dogs fit is our responsibility, and a daily walk is one easy way to keep them fit.
3. Double Duty: Practice Some Training On Your Walk
There are a lot of simple training exercises to do on walks. Sometimes it’s just practicing some impulse control out in the open. When it comes to training the environment makes a huge difference. Working in the living room is a lot different than working outside with a bunch of distractions. You many find your pup is much calmer after a walk that includes some training than from a fast paced one. Having to focus outside with all those distractions isn’t easy for many dogs, and it’s a real mental workout. Getting your dog to focus outdoors is easier said than done. Consistent training in different situations is key, and the walk is a perfect opportunity to get in a few short sessions. Since we try to train a little each day adding it to the walk is a simple way to cross two daily tasks off my list at the same time.
4. Make it an Adventure by Exploring Somewhere New
Once or twice a week I’ll find a new place to go walking. It might be at the lake, Red Rock, a local park, or it might just be a new neighborhood. I like to think of exploring new locations as an “adventure,” and if that doesn’t sound very exciting to you just take a look at how thrilling it is to your dog. Have you been to all your local parks and gone on all the trails? Every time we explore a new trail there’s always something new to check out.
5. Invite a Friend or Family to Join You
Communication is becoming less and less personal these days, it’s often just status updates and texts. When is the last time you invited a friend over to do something simple like take a walk? Having some face to face conversation is a really nice relaxing change of pace. I don’t know about you but when I grew up we didn’t have cell phones. (cue the old woman shaking her fist “you kids these days…”) When we wanted to hang out we actually hung out – in real life. It’s nice to see our with friends and family in person. And most of our dogs enjoy that extra attention, too.
Source: PuppyLeaks.com