Category: Walk Your Dog Week

Seven Cascadians On Seven #DogWalkingWeek Adventures

10/13/2014

Harlequin blue merle rough collie Huxley walks the crown of Queen Anne hill, Seattle, in a downpour

Walk Your Dog Week Day 1: The Downpour

Typist: Bethany
With my mom's corgi Morgan visiting the Cascadian Nomads again, a lot of mischief has been expected. Morgan's visit began just before our Walk Your Dog Week celebration so all the mischief has so far been on twelve fast moving paws. We had a nice variety of walks throughout the week. The first walk was in a neighborhood we walked in once during the summer but this time it was pouring down rain. We walked in our neighborhood; some of our regular walks, our favorite along the shore of Puget Sound and to run some errands. One special walk was with dog friends from Oregon and another was through a rural neighborhood in the foothills of the Cascades. All in all our week was full of diverse, exciting, fun dog, cat and cockatoo adventures that put together show the variety of walks we enjoy here in Cascadia. Wait. Every week is like that for us!

Walks make black and tan long haired dachshund Wilhelm smile.

Walk Your Dog Week Day 2: Our Neighborhood

Blue merle cardigan welsh corgi Brychwyn takes his cat Amelia and cockatoo Leo for a walk in their stroller.

Walk Your Dog Week Day 3: Everybody Walk

Pack walk with rough collie, cardigan welsh corgis and golden retriever dogs

Walk Your Dog Week Day 4: With Friends

Harlequin blue merle rough collie Huxley and blue merle cardigan welsh corgi Brychwyn walk along the shore of Puget Sound.

Walk Your Dog Week Day 5: The Shore

Blue Merle cardgian welsh corgi Morgan walks a neigborhood in the foothills of the Cascade mountains.

Walk Your Dog Week Day 6: The Foothills

The Cascadian Nomads on an errand walk in West Seattle.

Walk Your Dog Week Day 7: The Errands

Walk Your Dog Week: The End.

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Six Tips To Make Daily Dog Walks Happen Beyond #DogWalkingWeek

10/10/2014

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Two blue merle cardigan welsh corgis, a rouch collie and a miniature dachshund enjoyng #DogWalkingWeek fit dog time.

Cascadian Nomads pause for a dog walk pose.

Typist: Bethany
As the co-host of a fabulous National Walk Your Dog Week celebration, the impression might be that I am a perfectly committed dog walker who never skips a daily dog walk. One might think I live in my walking shoes and jump up for a walk every time one of my fit dogs stirs. While some of this might be slightly true, I am not and have not always been a flawlessly regimented daily dog walker. However, my dogs health, happiness and longevity matter enough to me that I am always determined to do my best for them. Research shows that what is best for them is as simple as regular walks. Below are some ways that I make daily dog walks happen:

Make the commitment.
I simply tell myself "walk everyday." I will sometimes add on to that by committing to walk more than once a day or to walk farther or faster but the more simple a goal is the easier it is to keep. I will leave myself notes or reminders to simply "walk today" and I make it happen. Sometimes I don't do it until 10PM but something is better than nothing! And I know the dogs agree.

Make the time.
Jason and I both have extremely variable schedules with work and travels so setting an exact dog walk time is tough for us. But studies have shown that when people put things that are considered leisure time on their calendar, they are more likely to do it. It helps Jason and I make time for what matters if we add the morning dog walk to our calendars or set a reminder for the evening dog walk. It is surprising how much easier it is not to skip it.

Be prepared for anything.
Ah, those days when I hug a pillow tightly over my head when the alarm goes off to the sound of rain on the roof. Days when I want to have just one more (four hour long) snooze and not to walk the dogs. I used to have a dog who would agree but after years of walking Wilhelm in the rain, he is now very fond of the water and a super fit dog. So don't skip the dog walk because of the weather. Find and have ready dog walking gear that makes you and your dog comfortable in any weather. I have my rain skirt always ready to go as well as mittens and hats for a cold snap. There's also sunscreen and sun hats with my dog walking gear but I don't use those much here in Cascadia.

Break it up.
I can be really hard on myself if I miss a dog walk or if I feel like the dogs didn't get a long enough walk. Remembering that it is okay to have several short walks or that just one walk is better than nothing is hard. So maybe typing out this advice will help me be okay with my simple "walk everyday" goal and perhaps it will help others too.

Take notes.
As a reactive dog walker, I know how hard it can be to go out for a walk. I have walked in tears more times than I care to remember. I have also dragged myself out to walk the dogs when I was ill. The funny thing is that I am always glad I went for a walk. Always. 100% of the time. Seriously. And guess what? The dogs always behave better after a string of consistent walks as well. The best way to remember all of the benefits of our walks is to take notes.* I record how I felt before and after as well as how the dogs behaved. I take note of the differences in the amount of leash pulling, leash reactivity and just general good behavior of the dogs on our walks. Sometimes looking back at these notes motivates me to get going even when I really, really, really don't want to.

Never give up.
Goal setting and keeping is very individual. What works for me might not work for you. What works for me now might not work in five years. The important thing is to keep trying. It has taken me years to find the right dog walk training techniques, the right leashes, the right shoes and the right dogs for walking. I'm joking about that last one but I have walked a lot of different dogs over many decades. Every walk, with each uniquely individual dog was different and special in it's own way. I'd never give up those wonderful memories.

The why-I-can't-walk-the-dog excuse machine is always running. While events like National Walk Your Dog Week can help kick start healthy habits, there is no one-size-fits-all way to make sure to keep doing what is best for both humans and dogs. Whether deciding to sleep in walking shoes or contact a trainer to begin more serious work on leash pulling, any small step towards making daily dog walks happen is a step in the right direction. Literally.

Walking into the sunset... The end.

*I take walking notes on my Runtastic iPhone app.

Always consult a veterinarian before beginning a new exercise with your dog or prior to changing your dogs exercise routine.
Always consult with a doctor before beginning a new exercise or prior to changing your exercise routine.

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Four Paws For Walking, Four Smiles For #DogWalkingWeek Wordless Wednesday

10/8/2014

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Wilhelm.

Morgan.

Brychwyn.

Cascadian Nomads harlequin blue merle collie dog Huxley smiling on a walk. #DogWalkingWeek

Huxley (and Wilhelm too.)

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The Only Two Healthy Things You & Your Dog Can Do Anytime, Anywhere | #DogWalkingWeek

10/7/2014

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The world's happiest walking black and tan dapple dachshund, Wilhelm. #DogWalkingWeek

Wilhelm walking.

Typist: Bethany
For as long as I can remember, I have been walking dogs. I have vivid childhood memories of holding the leashes of dogs that were taller than me. Natasha walked with me the first time I was allowed to walk in my neighborhood without an adult chaperone. Tynan walked with Jason and I on our first date. I have viewed the wonders of the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls walking with dogs. Going on a walk is one of my very favorite activities but without a dog, walks are boring. When I didn't have a dog, I didn't walk very often or very far. I would borrow friends dogs, walk my mom's dogs, take my rats out on a leash or Gryphon for a walk on my shoulder but walking just isn't the same for me without a dog.

Having read article upon article and study after study about why walking is good for humans and for dogs, none of that science or those statistics have helped to get me off the couch. There has always been something about feeling that I "have to" walk the dogs, that has forced me to do what is also best for me. Obviously, I am not a very disciplined or self-motivated person. Dogs have always given me the push I need to do the right thing.

Simplicity is also something I have learned from a lifetime spent with dogs by my side. I am a very simple person. I don't need much to make me happy. Dogs don't need material things to find joy either. On a recent dog walk with family, my Aunt joked about the old rope she was using as a leash. "We have a ton of leashes," she laughed, "We just can never find them when we need them." My cousin explained that it wasn't just any old rope used as a leash but one found on the shore of a river. And guess what? The dog didn't care! That happy golden retriever just kept right on walking and smiling even with what basically amounted to trash attached to it's collar.

I have walked dogs my whole life, been inspired by dogs to walk more often, farther and faster, as well as learned from dogs that nothing has to be complex. yet there are only two healthy things that the dogs and I can do absolutely anywhere at anytime. One is walking. Dog walks can be done absolutely anywhere! With the exception of situations that are unsafe for humans and/or dogs, you can always, always go for a walk. As an adult I have walked my dogs thousands of miles, in nineteen states and a couple of provinces. My dogs and I have walked at dawn, midday, dusk and at night. We have walked in sparkling sunshine, torrential rain, pounding sleet and deep snow.

Through good times, bad times, any and all times, walking is always an awesome option. I have hurried down scary shoulder-less roads to reach spectacular trail heads, rushed us past road kill that turned my stomach, avoided tick infested fields and tended to my blisters and their cracked pads. I have picnicked with my dogs on mountain tops, watched the breeze blow through their fur next to rivers, lakes and oceans and smiled whenever they did. Whether we are a block from home or thousands of miles, Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley's smiles while walking are contagious. Smiling and walking. The only two healthy things that can be done anytime, anywhere. Have you done both yet today?

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Cascadian Nomads
Pet Adventurers

Cascadian Nomads adventurous dogs and parrot with pet and travel blogger, Bethany Clochard.

Cascadian Nomads canines and psittacine on a road trip with blogger Bethany Clochard.

Pet travel blogger Bethany Clochard shares a lifetime of budget travel experience, camping, and enjoying outdoors & Pacific NW adventures with pets. She currently hits the road with three dogs, a cockatoo & a cat.

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