How to Walk Dogs

At this point of my life I spend about 30% of my time sleeping and about 25% of my time working. I also spend about 10% of my time walking dogs.

It’s remarkable to me that I post so much about subjects that are so peripherally related to my real life (or, in some cases, not at all) and how little time I devote to something I spend so much of my life doing. Perhaps blogging is at least partially about the realization of unfulfilled ambitions.

Between the time that Qila, my Dog, was about six months old until he turned roughly 3 I walked him no less than 5 miles a day. Less than that and life with him was very, very difficult. He mellowed with age.

Nowadays I walk Tally, Will, Nola, and Smidge between three and five miles per day all told, 365 days a year, in good weather and bad. Tally just walks a few blocks these days. She’s game for much more but if I let her over-extend herself she’d be sore as the dickens and I don’t want to put her through that.

Nola and Smidge are delightful walking companions. Indeed, walking Nola with Smidge is easier and more pleasant than walking Nola alone. When walking Nola alone she’s perpetually ready to dash headlong after every squirrel or rabbit or stand lingering over every patch of grass where something has caught her attention. With Smidge she’s much calmer, more restrained.

I generally walk Will alone. He, too, is a pleasant walking companion and he’s significantly calmer by himself than with his sister. When walked together not only is Nola ready to tear after every squirrel and Will after every dog, they’ll wrestle with each other at the drop of a hat or less.

It all adds up to a lot of distinct walks per day.

To walk a dog you’ll need the following equipment:

• Decent walking shoes
• A hat (if it’s sunny)
• A bottle of water (if you plan to walk more than 2 miles)
• A lead. I prefer plain leather leads or braided fabric leads over Flex-a-Leads. I find it gives me better control.
• A plastic bag, preferably without holes, and large enough to hold your dog’s, er, deposits.
• Extra bags, just in case.
• A collar (the style will depend on the dog; we use White Pines Soft Slip collars).
• Dog treats. These will come in handy if you feel the need to distract your dog from some interesting object or another dog. They’re always good for getting a dog’s attention.
• A spare lead. I have found this extremely handy in case your lead breaks or you encounter an off-lead dog.

Oh, yes. You’ll also need one or more dogs.

One piece of advice. Unless your dog is impeccably trained or you’re a professional football player or wrestler, if your dog weighs 120 pounds or more, you should consider something other than an ordinary lead for walking your dog. I’d suggest a skijoring belt or other similar arrangement. It might be helpful for me to define “impeccably trained”. An impeccably trained dog will, with complete 100% reliability stay when commanded to stay and will come when called with complete reliability. Our dogs are not impeccably trained (Smidge may be some day). In my experience very few dogs are.

You will encounter situations in which your dog bolts whether after an off-leash dog, some other animal, a child, an automobile, or some other distraction. Unless you fit into one of the categories listed above, you will not be able to restrain your dog by brute force. Pound for pound he’s much stronger than you are and you will lose control of the lead.

The custom in the dog-handling world is that the dog walks on the left side of the handler. That means that, if you want to prevent your dog from urinating on your neighbors’ lawns, flowers, or bushes (a good, neighborly thing to do), you should walk on the right side of the street, basically following the rules of the road. When you pass another person going in the opposite direction that you are, walk on the left side of the sidewalk, particularly if that person is also walking a dog. That ensures that you will walk person-to-person rather than dog-to-person or dog-to-dog. This reduces the potential for problems. I have had my dogs attacked by “friendly” dogs too often to trust their handlers’ evaluations any more.

If you’re walking any significant distance, be sure to hydrate your dog! Your dog doesn’t perspire (except through the soles of his or her feet). Your dog cools him- or herself by panting. They’re covered with fur. They need that water to stay cool.

Always pick up your dog’s stools. It’s part of being a good neighbor, it makes life easier for other people with dogs, and, at least here in Chicago, failing to do so is punishable by a stiff fine.

When you walk your dog the dog should not be straining at the end of the lead. There should be slack in the lead. This takes some practice and attention and in all honesty, I’m still working on it. Samoyeds were born to pull.

Do not let your dog approach other dogs or people uninvited. Many people are afraid of dogs. And IMO it’s prudent to assume that all dogs are unfriendly. I prefer to avoid letting my dogs approach other people or dogs at all. You never know where they’ve been.

Never allow your dog to eat anything that he or she finds on a walk. Again, you don’t know where it’s been. We have accustomed our dogs from earliest puppyhood to our examining their mouths whenever we care to and that extends to removing things from their mouths including food. Better safe than sorry.