5 Good reasons to use a dog walker, besides just spoiling your best mate
1) Exercise and Physical Health
2) Stimulation and Mental Health
3) Socialisation and Good Behaviour
4) Leadership
5) Stress Reduction
A dog who is well exercised rests more calmly at home and is less fretful when left alone. Exercise can improve your dog’s health, bones, joint, heart and lungs. Daily exercise is essential to your dog’s happiness, wellbeing and longevity.
1) Exercise & Physical Health
The best exercise engages both mind and body. Group dog walking is an activity that not only provides great physical activity for the dog, but is also intellectually stimulating for your dog.
It has been estimated up to 40 percent of dogs are overweight or unhealthy, primarily because we are over-feeding and under exercising our dogs. It can be very hard to resist a dog’s big, pleading eyes but your dog will be happier and healthier if the treat you give them is a walk in the park with their doggy mates instead of another dog biscuit.
A dog who is well exercised rests more calmly at home and is less fretful when left alone. Exercise can improve your dog’s health, bones, joint, heart and lungs. Daily exercise is essential to your dog’s happiness, wellbeing and longevity.
2) Stimulation and Mental Health
It may sound like bliss, a quiet day, home alone, snoozing all day. Great every now and again but not day in day out. Dogs are gregarious creatures and need the companionship of other dogs, interesting places to go and stimulating things to do every day.
Without this stimulation and companionship your dog will quickly become bored and may start to develop behavioural problems. Sometimes these problems are obvious and extreme but more often than not they are subtle or even unnoticed as individual doggy quirks. Dogs are naturally happy, confidant and social, any variation from this is a sign something could be wrong.
If your dog is not getting the stimulation, exercise and companionship it needs only you can correct the situation. Professional dog walking is one way to ensure your dog gets all the companionship and stimulation she needs while you are busy during the day.
3) Socialisation & Good behaviour
Socialisation is one of the most important parts of raising a well behaved dog who will always be happy to meet new people and dogs. Socialisation means providing your dog with positive experiences in situations where s/he might meet people or other animals. He or she must learn how to behave acceptably in these situations.
One of the best and most effective ways to socialise a dog is in group dog walks with an experienced dog walker who can model your dog calm leadership to inspire confidence in social situations. Dogs learn from the guidance of other sensible dogs with good doggy manners. Lack of socialisation is one of the biggest causes of fear in adult dogs which can lead to aggression.
It is important to keep socialising your dog. Professional group dog walking ensures your dog behaves appropriately at all times so you can be confident with your dog in public and you can both enjoy all the benefits of socialising with other dogs and their owners.
4) Leadership
Dogs need leaders. Dogs operate on a “pack” system: there are leaders and there are followers. If this system does not exist a dog will often slip into the leaders spot. In your dog’s mind, somebody has to be the leader. Many dogs instinctually try and take up this top dog spot with disastrous consequences. To dogs, leaders are responsible for pack safety, food, shelter and decide what the pack will do. This is a big responsibility in an urban environment and in the human home.
Your dog walker will provide the calm firm and fair leadership and boundaries your dog needs to be happy, not having the worry of leading a pack of dogs or humans. This keeps your dog safe in the human world while out on walks and teaches your dog respect for humans and other dogs.
A strong leader has a calming effect on dogs. Your dog walker will provide the leadership your dog needs to feels safe and taken care of.
5) Stress Reduction
Most dogs are happy to be left alone for part of the day but a dog suffering from separation anxiety will become extremely stressed. Not understanding where you have gone or if you will ever return, the dog exhibits behaviour which may include chewing, barking, urinating and defecating or escape behaviour. In some cases, the dog simply gets sick, perhaps due to some form of depression.
A dog that is lacking exercise is more likely to have stress and tension, a one hour off leash walk and play time goes a long way to reducing stress.
Your dog is a social, pack animal that relies on the others for individual protection by safety in numbers. A dog that lacks confidence, due to under socialization or loneliness is more likely to exhibit behaviours related to separation anxiety. Group dog walking increases self-confidence and reduces stress.
Separation anxiety is a complex condition but a good, experienced professional dog walker should guide you through this difficult and distressing time. Your dog should look forward to her walk while you are out and after the walk look forward to your return home.