Walking the dog

[MelindaKay]

I’m new to pits but have grown up with dogs my whole life, most of them being mixed breeds. I also grew up in the country where we didn’t walk our dogs (or even let them in the house). My problem is when I am walking Autumn do I let her stop and inspect every leaf/stick/flower/bug that she notices or do I make her walk with me? A twenty minute walk is turning into an hour. Any suggestion would be most welcome.

Thanks

MelindaKay

 

[kendseycollins]

I think this is kind of a preference thing.  If you’re just walking her for a nice little stroll, then it’s probably not a problem.  I don’t let our dog linger because then we’re stopping all the time, and since he isn’t neutered, that means we have to stop long enough for  him to pee on it, too!  If we want to let Kaos explore and sniff we let him loose in a baseball field.  We’ll close the gates and let him go.  He sniffs at EVERY brick, pole, leaf and base, then pees on most.  When we’re walking, though, we keep his attention on us.

[sweetsarri]

I agree- we have a spayed female who walks along with me- I want the excercise, and I want to get her energy out, so we walk quickly and only pause occasionally for the REALLY exciting stuff. If we had a place to let her roam, I would certainly let her explore every little thing.

[kendseycollins]

Yeah, I had a hard time finding places for Kaos to run.  We go to the dog park, but can’t let him off leash becuase he is not fixed.  I finally started going to tennis courts and baseball fields.  Most of these are fenced in, larger areas, and are only used at certain times.  We like the baseball fields better than tennis courts because they have grass, but either works.  Early afternoon is a good time for the baseball fields, if you have any in your community, becuase practices and games are usually in the evenings.  It’s great to just let them go!  Plus, it can be fantastic recall training practice, without the worry that they’ll run off!  Also, unlike the dog park, you can plan outtings with dogs you know play well together and people you get along well with!  Just make sure you take poo bags with you, nobody likes to slide into second base through a big pile of dog poop!

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