Making dogs walks more interesting

Do you find that out of habit you go to the same park or area everyday at the same time?

Familiarity can breed boredom and this can happen by frequenting the same place every week. I often ask clients where they walk their dogs and how long for and there seems to be a pattern that forms. Owners may find that they encounter behavioural issues as they come across the same dogs that bark at them or show offensive behaviours.

By randomising your dog walks can help to enrich your dogs walks and give them a range of new sniffing opportunities. Depending on where you live I advise trying to find 5 different areas to go for a work over a week. I am lucky to live near a town, beach, nature reserve, park and river so it is relatively easy to change where I walk over the space of a week. However I appreciate that many people may not have access to such differing environments but you can change the routes you take to a park or if you are doing a road walk then try to change where you go. Walks through town centres can also be interesting for dogs as there are new smells from cafes or restaurants or passing a bin. Try to find one new place to walk once a month that could be done on your day off so you could go further than normal. Its not always about going for a very long walk but enriching walks are just was interesting. Some places that you may not have considered could be a garden center or car boot fair especially if you want to practice basic training and listening skills. These areas may not be suitable for some dogs with behaviour issues but they may also be great for short training sessions.