January is Walk Your Dog Month
When you’re a company that specializes in gear for dogs, you tend to get a lot of questions. One of the more frequently asked is, “When is the best time to walk my dog?” Since January is Walk Your Dog Month, we figured it would be to talk about this topic.
The short answer is:
- Anytime.
- All the time.
- As often as you can.
Walking, especially in wintertime, affords you and your pets a lot of benefits.
Winter Walking
Why does the national month for walking your dog occur in winter? Because not enough people get their dogs out for a walk during wintertime. For many people (us included), January is a brutal month.
Our own high temps have been hovering around 15 °F degrees with windchill conditions at -5 °F.
Unless you’re lucky enough to live in the Southern half of the US, January is not fit for man nor beast. It’s cold, wet, miserable - and being outdoors (let along meandering around the neighborhood with your dog) is intolerable. Oftentimes, your dog doesn’t even want to go out.
Walking Helps Resolve Behavior Problems
Behavior problems stem from inactivity. If your dog is misbehaving more than usual, it may be due to a lack of exercise. A recent survey showed that 93% of dog owners believe that one of the best ways to de-stress your dog is by taking him for a walk.
That doesn’t mean you can put your dog on a 50’ check cord and stand on the porch.
Your dogs need to be moving to new places, sniffing new scents and hearing new sounds. Tiring your dog requires mental exercise as well as physical exercise and nothing accomplishes both better than a brisk walk or some fun winter sports.
Improve Health
Not only does your dog receive benefits from frequent walks, you will too!
Walking can help lower your blood pressure, improve cardiovascular function, strengthens bones and muscles, helps you and your dog lose weight and decreases stress.
Doesn’t that sound worthy of being a little cold for a few minutes?
Improve Mental Wellbeing
Walking is one surefire way to chase away the wintertime blues in you and your pets.
Have the winter blues got you down? Take your dog for a walk!
During a month of long nights and short days, physical activity helps release endorphins that trigger a state of happiness.
Social Benefits of Walking Your Dog
Walking not only gives you the opportunity to improve your relationship with your dogs, but this is a great time to meet other people (and help your dog meet other pets).
If you're having trouble getting motivated to walk, join a local dog-walking group. Use an app like NextDoor or Facebook to join groups for like-minded people who love to walk.
Treadmills for Pets & People
If the weather is too bad to go out for a walk, get your dog interested in a treadmill. They might enjoy walking alongside of you even if there is no place to go.
Our traffic leash is a great way to train your dogs to get out of cars, keep them alongside you on a treadmill, or even just to practice healing while you’re out walking.
During winter, the days are short, the nights are long, and you’re not in the mood to deal with a dog who can’t make up his mind. But, walking your dog is one of the best things you can do for mental and physical health.
