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How To Keep Dogs Engaged While Out Walking

October 12, 2020 by Mary Telesz

dog walking on a leash in woods with fall leavesMany dogs love their regular walks. As soon as they see you bring the leash out, they’re full of energy. But sometimes, your dog is less enthusiastic about walking and would rather stay curled up in its favorite spot. And after a short distance, your dog yawns, plants and does not want to go any further. What can you do to help your dog get the exercise it needs and enjoy it?

Rule Out Physical Issues First

The reason why your dog may seem uninterested in walking could be physical. It could be arthritis or another health condition that makes a long energetic walk unpleasant. Some large breed dogs, dogs with heavy coats, senior dogs, and dogs that have short, flat faces (boxers, pugs, bulldogs, for example) have less stamina, especially in the heat of the summer. Try to determine if the issue with your dog is physical or health-related, and respect your dog’s limitations. Keep the walks slow and short.

Tips To Keep Your Dog Engaged During Your Walk

If you have a dog that needs a little extra stimulus occasionally to keep moving, there are some easy things you can do.

Keeping Dog Walking Exciting By Incorporating Some Play Time

After your dog has done its business or after a short distance, make the walk exciting by engaging your dog in some play. Have a toy to play tug with, or a ball for the dog to chase. If you do this regularly, your dog will associate the walk with some playtime with you, and begin to look forward to it.

Go A New Route

women walking her dog on a leash and green bandanaSometimes, your dog needs a change of scenery. Dogs love to explore new places and discover new scents. If your dog perks up when you change the route, you know that your dog needs more stimulus to keep it engaged on the walk. Try changing the route regularly and your dog will always be excited about the walk.

Practice Commands While Walking Your Dog

After you have walked enough of a distance that your dog has burned off some initial exuberance, you can incorporate some training. Do not try to work on training before your dog has been able to use the first few minutes of the walk exploring, sniffing the ground, and burning off some excitement. Once you sense your dog is able to focus on walking, begin working on some basic commands. Ask your dog to do things it already knows how to do such as sit, stay, come, heel, and so forth. Your dog will enjoy the mental stimulation and opportunity to interact with you. Also, it is good reinforcement training for your dog to practice commands in unusual locations. To make this practice successful, limit your training sessions to no more than 15 minutes.

Bring Treats Along

It is always a good idea to bring treats with you during your walk. Not only will it encourage your dog to keep its focus on you, but the treats will also help you regain control of your dog if it gets distracted by strange dogs, people or other things going on around you. When your dog does something good during your impromptu training session, be sure to reward it with treats.

Some dogs are more motivated by a toy or a ball than treats. If your dog is like that, by all means, bring a toy and use it to keep your dog engaged. You may have a dog that one day works for treats and the next works for toys. In that case, you should bring treats and a toy!

Change Up The Pace When Walking Your Dog

a group of dog all walking together on leashes through the streetWhen you begin your walk, use the first five or ten minutes letting your dog burn off the excitement of going on the walk. That means letting your dog explore, stop often to sniff the ground, and pee or poop. Your dog needs to do that or its own mental health. Once your dog has had that time and has burned off the initial burst of energy, it is time to focus on walking.

The best way to do that is to be aware of the pace of the walk. Start off at a moderate pace. Many dog owners simply walk too slowly. By increasing the pace, your dog will not have the chance to linger and become bored and easily distracted. Once your dog is trotting along beside you, slow the pace down and let the dog explore a bit. Then speed up again. Keep your dog guessing.

Walk With A Friend And/or Another Dog

Your dog is a pack animal. Walking with others, and another dog if possible, will energize your dog and motivate it during the walk.

Contact The Dog Walking Team At Paw Pals

Regular walks are important to your dog’s mental and physical health. If you are having trouble keeping your dog engaged and interested in your walk, get help from the dog walking team at Paw Pals. Their experienced dog walkers know how to keep your dog stimulated on its walks, and they know the signs to look for if the issue is a health-related or physical one. Contact us for more information.

Filed Under: Dog Walking

Contact Paw Pals for More Information

Paw Pals specializes in professional dog walking, dog sitting, and pet sitting services. One of our reliable, adult staff members will keep your pet safe, while providing your pet the love and care they need when you are away. Contact us to learn more!

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Paw Pals Pet Sitting, LLC
14001-C Saint Germain Drive #213
Centreville, VA 20121
(703) 345-1695

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Paw Pals Pet Sitting
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
4.9
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith
21:22 03 Oct 21
I never worry when Mary and team take care of my dog!
Michæl Silva
Michæl Silva
21:38 01 Jul 22
Mary at Paw Pals Pet Sitting is the greatest! She has helped me train my pooch Chico how play nice with other dogs and for that I am extremely grateful! A+A+A+A+A+A
Kwi Kim
Kwi Kim
22:37 17 Jun 22
I hired Paw Pals based on my sister’s referral. Meet & greet was very thorough and detailed. I was surprised that my finicky cat came to check the sitter out. Subsequently, a sitter watched my cat over several separate visits, and it was clear through the visit reports that my cat loved the sitter. All the visits were completed having followed my directions & with professionalism.I would highly recommend Paw Pals to anyone who’s looking for a dependable, personable, & professional sitter.
Joseph Walter
Joseph Walter
19:55 13 Jun 22
Paw Pals provided a large number of photos of our pets along with a personalized message on how our pets were doing with every single visit. I would highly recommend using Paw Pals, we'll be continuing to use them whenever we go on vacation.
Ashley Manning
Ashley Manning
09:50 11 Jun 22
Highly recommend as pet sitters!Initially, a sitter from the company will visit the house to meet the pets and learn where everything is. Tatiana took careful notes and we got her some spare keys.While we are away, Paw Pals sends sitters to come and look after our boys. They feed them, scoop litter, bring in mail and packages, and they will even manage trash, recycling, blinds and lights so that everything is comfortable for our kitties. Each time they check in, we receive an email message with updates and pictures, which is so comforting when we are on the road.Also, if you don’t let Paw Pals know when you are home, they assume something has happened and will continue to care for your babies. If something were to happen, I know they would be okay.Five stars for Paw Pals!
Brian Wood
Brian Wood
04:08 22 May 22
We have used Paw Pals for a number of years now and would highly recommend to anyone looking for help with their pets. Great communication from owner Mary and flexibility to make adjustments in schedule as life changes over time. Have had a consistent set of walkers who have gotten to know our pup and the various walking routes around our neighborhood quite well.
Lesley Bush
Lesley Bush
13:58 18 Mar 22
We can't rave enough about Paw Pals. They took care of our 18 year old Cat and 20 year old Chinchilla while we were away and when our flight got cancelled, they were so accommodating and available last minute for an extra day. We worked with Jen to coordinate visits from Miko and Danny. I loved the pictures and updates on how our Lil geriatric guys were doing. Thanks a million, Paw Pals!! Our special pets were so well cared for.
Sebastian Barnes
Sebastian Barnes
01:06 17 Jan 22
I have used Paw Pals for several trips over the last few months, and they have been phenomenal every time! Mary is extremely kind and responsive, and she makes sure that my cat and dog have the care that they need every time I am out of town. All of the pet sitters that I've had have been incredibly sweet to my pets, and they treat them like their own! Will gladly continue using Paw Pals every time I need a sitter.
Julie Shildt
Julie Shildt
17:45 14 Nov 21
It has been a pleasure doing business with paw pals. We have used this company for several trips we have taken over the past 6 months. They have been wonderful caretakers for our 2 cats. Anytime there is ever a question they don't hesitate to give us a call and they leave the best notes and pictures in the emailed report of each visit. We are so glad have found such a great company.
Andrea Hall
Andrea Hall
22:45 03 Oct 20
I wasn't sure about hiring a new doggie walker service... after all they are our kiddos... my babies were in great hands and I felt relaxed having them in their care. Thank you for everything!
Katie McCune
Katie McCune
19:19 15 Jul 21
I honestly cannot recommend Mary and her whole crew enough! We started using Mary originally about 7 years ago to stop by occasionally when our Aussie Lana was younger. Over the next couple years Lana stayed with Mary and her family for a couple weekends when we went on vacation. When we moved to our new house in Manassas, Lana stayed with Sam, who lives in Manassas, overnight for moving day, and did great. Right before the pandemic, we adopted our second Aussie, Goose, and Mary recommended a fantastic trainer for him.We now have weekly walks for the dogs, and they love all of their walkers! Trevor, Paul, Hazel, Sofie, and probably a couple others have helped Goose get used to more people, and have helped my husband and me when our schedules are crazy.Paw Pals is our go-to for any help with our dogs, so I highly recommend them!
Alexandra Hill
Alexandra Hill
22:43 23 May 21
I was a nervous mommy to leave my cats with a sitter service for the first time. Paw Pals went above and beyond to care for my cats and ease a nervous mommy. I already made a reservation to use them again!
Cindy Welgoss
Cindy Welgoss
13:12 27 Nov 20
We have been using Paw Pals for several years, and through a variety of pets that we have loved. Mary and her team have always been *exceptional* in every way. They are professional, courteous, and truly love our fur family! Mary herself is an organized and stellar administrator of her pet care business, keeping detailed records of our pet’s needs, scheduled pet visits, payments, and balance due easy to keep track of as the pet owner. The pet caretaking team is reliable and trustworthy. When our dogs see any of their Paw Pal friends, they get SO excited to see them! Follow up comments are left via text to keep the pet owner informed of the visit and how the pets are faring. Paw Pals has allowed our family the peace of mind to leave our pets at home, for work, weekend getaways and longer times away when necessary, where they are the most comfortable and familiar. We are grateful to Mary and her team for giving us the ability to enjoy pet ownership without feeling tied down. The responsibility of having pets comes with the need to keep them safe and comfortable at all times, and Mary and her team affords us this when our family has to be away.
Dr Tammy Cashion
Dr Tammy Cashion
21:11 12 Mar 19
We have used Paw pals pet sitting on multiple occasions for our bunnies while we are away. Many pet sitters are not interested in small pets however; Mary and her team, are amazing and we trust her implicitly! We are very happy with the outstanding service we have received from her team including texts and photos of our pets when we are out of town. They always go the extra mile and we highly recommend them!
Kristin Conrad
Kristin Conrad
16:00 16 Nov 19
We are so grateful we found Mary and her team at Paw Pals. They are exceptionally responsive, amazingly organized and detail-oriented.We have such peace of mind when we travel knowing our home and pets are so well cared for. Paw Pals is the best pet sitting service we’ve used, and we’re so happy we found them.
Katie Russell
Katie Russell
15:01 17 May 20
Paw Pals is fantastic! I have had a great experience with Mary! Compassionate, professional, responsive, and prompt! Thank you!
Phillip Evans
Phillip Evans
14:38 11 Jul 20
When we adopted our new dog in January, Paw Pals agreed to walk her and give her some outside time so she wasn't in the crate all day. She loved her dog walker and you could see her excitement every time the walker showed up. We moved out of the area but would recommend Paw Pals to anyone needing someone to care for their pets.
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