Thursday, December 13, 2012

Walk Your Dogs with Purpose

By Allyson Westcot


Would you choose the time that you spend with your children to chat on your mobile, work, listen to music and do other things? Or would attempt to give them your undivided attention and hear them when they spoke? When you arrive home in the evening and take your dog for a walk, do you give your dog your total attention, or are you distracted with other things like phone calls and MP3s?

Dogs may not be our youngsters, but they miss us when we're gone and want our attention, too. Keeping this in mind while walking your pet can both improve your dog's safety and your relationship.

Many owners put something like an EzyDog harness on their dog and head out, already punching buttons on their cell phones. Calls, texts, videos and email are looked after while walking their pet. While many folks do like to take care of those types of things during downtime, and that walk is a piece of time that you might use to do so, there are sound excuses for avoiding it.

First, if you're having a look at your cell phone and giving it a lot of attention, that is less attention your dog is getting. That also means you are less certain to sense an approaching person, dog or vehicle. Can your dog dash in the path of advancing traffic? Could be distracted enough to let the leash slip from your hand if your dog bolted?

Apart from these potential accidents waiting to happen, there's the problem of bonding with your dog in this time together, too. Your dog has missed you, just like children would miss you. Make it your time and your dog's so your pet can get some of the total attention he has been craving. And since interacting with our pets lowers blood pressure and helps with stress, it's good for you, too.




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