The Many Benefits of Taking Your Dog for a Good Long Walk

Sharing your existence with a canine companion brings so much pleasure and joy into your life. Dogs are amusing, loving and incredibly loyal. They don't answer you back when you tell them off and best of all, they never hold any grudges when you get home late from work or when you can only take them out for a very short walk especially when the weather is really bad.

With this said, taking your dog for a nice long walk on a regular basis whether it's at the weekend when you have a lot more time to spend with them or when the evenings are lighter and you get home from work, offers a tremendous amount of rewards not only to them, but to you too!

An hour's walk in the countryside

With the better weather just around the corner and Spring in the air, it's that time of the year when walking through the countryside with your dog in tow is a sheer delight. A brisk walk for an hour or so somewhere you can let your dog off their lead, means you both get lots of exercise in some beautiful locations. You'll find your canine companion will adore running off so they get to explore things and pick up some splendid scents and smells they come across in the process.

One great advantage of a good long walk with your dog off their lead, is that you will see a much better behaved character at the end of it when you put them back on - the adage of a "tired dog being a better behaved dog" could never be truer than in this instance!

The majority of dog owners now know that taking their pet out for longer walks holds many health benefits for them both. But what is often forgotten is that just being out and about with your canine companion is not only very good for your body, but for your mind and soul too. You'll find you are in a much better mood when you get back home and even things you might have found hard to face will suddenly not seem so difficult to cope with. In short, life looks rosier all round.

Meeting like-minded people when you are out with your dog

The other great thing about taking your dog out for a longer walk through the countryside or park, is that you are bound to meet other like-minded people enjoying the great outdoors with their canine companions too. Not only does your pet get to meet new four-legged friends, but so do you because not many dog owners will pass you by without saying "hello" and people typically like to admire each other's dogs and have a chat too!

Creating a stronger bond

The more time you spend with you dog out on a walk, the stronger the bond you will form with them. It's a great time to practice a few commands, especially "recall" and it helps reinforce the fact you are the alpha dog. You'll find your pet looks up to you because they see you as the dominant character and this means they know their place in the pack. In short, you not only have a better behaved canine companion but a more confident character at the end of the lead too. When dogs don't know where they stand in a pack, they are generally not very happy characters.

Stop for lunch at a pet-friendly pub or restaurant

To make the outing even more enjoyable for both you and your four-legged friend, it's a good idea to find out if there's a pet-friendly pub or restaurant on the way to your chosen destination and to stop there on the way home to treat yourself to some lunch. If you share your home with a younger dog and one that's still learning the ropes, introducing them to this type of situation adds to their education and the result is a more content and well-balanced dog that's a pleasure to be around.

Content and tired is the key to a well-behaved dog

As previously mentioned a tired dog tends to be a much better behaved character, but the exercise not only gets them into a relaxed state, but it does the same for you. Once you get home, you'll feel the benefits of having spent some quality time in the great outdoors with your four-legged, furry companion and being relaxed means you 'll both sleep extremely well!

Conclusion

Owning a dog is a real pleasure and they bring so much into our lives. Getting out on walks with a four-legged friend offers heaps of benefits. We stay fitter and what most people forget is that taking a dog for a nice long walk puts us in a much better frame of mind which in turn means we are better prepared to face any challenges we face on a regular basis. In short, taking a dog for an enjoyable long walk is great for our minds, bodies and souls!