Small dogs, walking or trotting?

You know how insistent we are that we all walk our dogs slowly. It has so many benefits for the dog that it is really a no-brainer.

But let's now think about small dogs for a minute. Can you imagine how much more important it is that we slow down for them?!

We are all guilty of walking them too quickly, and the result is that they don’t walk … they trot! They are trying to follow our pace with their tiny legs. Just look at the size of our legs compared to theirs. It is quite impossible for them to keep up.

Trotting will overwork their muscles and that will cause discomfort. If we do this over and over again we might be unknowingly causing more harm than good with our walks. Muscle imbalances and posture changes can follow as the dogs try to be more comfortable and alter the way they walk.

And if they keep looking up at us this will affect their neck, too.

Luckily, the solution is simple. We need to slow down our walks for every dog, but especially for small ones. Walking slowly will activate deeper muscles, those that give them, and us, stability and balance, and also allow for plenty of sniffing because this will stretch their neck muscles and stretching feels so good.

Make sure that your dog is fitted with a H harness that allows free movement and a smiling leash to complete the perfect walking equipment.

Consider the size the this dog’s legs in comparison with the person walking her