Give Me a Moment

Does your dog ever stop to observe something during the walk? When this happens, do you ask your dog to continue walking or stop and wait?

Xena observes while her guardian Clodagh gives her some time to process

We may not think about it, but dogs need time to process all the information that arrives via their senses. They need time to make decisions about what to do with it.

We have talked many times about stopping in walks and letting our dogs sniff but it is as important to stop and let them observe and make decisions for themselves. How else are they going to learn about the world?

Look at that beautiful smiling leash, totally relaxed and without any tension, allowing Xena to concentrate on the environment and the things she finds interesting.

Each of our dogs' walks is full of interesting information. It doesn't need to be in a pretty setting for our eyes. Dogs find all kinds of landscapes interesting and discover plenty to experience. We just need to remember to give them some time and space to explore and enjoy.

Does it mean that you would need to plan more time for your walks? Maybe! So that nobody needs to hurry. Even more importantly, start thinking of a walk as quality time spent together, not distance travelled.

Thank you Clodagh for the wonderful picture of Xena. She looks very interested in what is going on and at the same time she is calmly observing.

Heidi observing something up in the tree tops

We have previously touched on this topic in this article, Stop in the name of love we encourage you to read it to learn more about the needs of our dogs during the walk.