Everyday Life with a Dog – Walks Part 1
Posted by Dog Supplies Advice in Dog Supplies Tips, tags: dog care, dog supplies, dog supplies advice, Dog Supplies Tips, walking with dogsEveryday Life with a Dog – Walks Part 1
Every dog loves its leash. It is the key to the outside world and a symbol of freedom, even though the dog gets tied to it. A leash means walks, adventure, encounters with other dogs, tracks and scents of other creatures, a chance to act out natural behavior, namely, running. This is all expressed in human terms, but it is meant to convey canine feelings about walks-if the walks are what they should be. For you can’t keep a dog locked up in an apartment like a canary, a hamster, or a cat. You can’t do it if for no other reason than the dog’s digestive system. A dog has to relieve itself every few hours, and because it eats proteins, its urine and feces have a strong, unpleasant smell. Depending on the dog’s size and breed, the amount of body waste may also be massive. Two pounds (1 kg) of meat results in at least 10.5 ounces (300 g) of feces.
Rules for Short Walks
You have to take your dog out at least four times a day for it to relieve itself properly and be comfortable staying in 10 to 12 hours at night. If you take it out less often, in a few years you’ll have a dog with kidney problems.
Urinating: Every male dog – and sometimes females ranking high in the pack hierarchy – pass their urine in small portions spread out over a long route at spots where other dogs have relieved themselves. Ethnologists (students of animal behavior) call this “marking,” and being able to mark is important for a dog’s self-esteem. This is a major reason that dogs have to be taken for walks.
Walks- Where to?
In the country there is no problem. You take a short drive to a back road or to the woods and let the dog run on a long leash. You have to know your dog very well and be familiar with local conditions before considering letting your dog run free:
• Are there hunters around who’ll shoot at anything that moves or are there farmers with ready guns?
• Is your dog the kind that may take off after deer or other game?
• Is the area in a rabies district? Here all dogs have to be kept on leashes, and you should carry your dog’s vaccination certificate with you.
In the city things are more difficult. True, there are more smells to sniff here (greater dog population density), but there is also more car exhaust and traffic noise, and the dog cannot be let off the leash. The latter I don’t find so tragic. In the city, we drive or walk to parks or to other green spaces frequented by dogs and their owners. Places like this offer a great opportunity for your dog to get acquainted with other dogs and learn canine etiquette.
Your own backyard, no matter how large, is no substitute for the walk. Even if you let your dog run freely in the yard, this doesn’t supply it with new sensory material, which every dog needs as mental stimulation. A yard is wonderful for letting the dog out first thing in the morning and last thing at night. The dog can also play there, but it can’t leave scent marks, which is extremely important for a male dog’s sense of self. Also, most dogs are reluctant to defecate in their own territory.
The balcony-but only in emergencies: There are people who let their dogs urinate on paper on the balcony. This is feasible only with a small dog and is acceptable only if the owner is too sick to go outside. Turning it into a permanent arrangement is wrong: Dogs that habitually relieve themselves on balconies are emotionally deprived.
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