No Backyard, Then Start Walking With Your Dog

When I meet with a new dog training client that has hired me to help them with all their dog's behavior issues one thing is quite common. You guessed it... no backyard. That means that their dog doesn't get exercised. Usually all it gets is those 10 minute walks for it to do its business and that is simply not enough.

The dog is usually doing all sorts of annoying things and the owner just doesn't know why. The answer is usually very simple, a lack of exercise. It really isn't any different than with a child. If the weather is bad and the kids can't get out and burn off that excess energy then you have kids that are behaving like little monsters. The exact same thing happens with a dog.

Not don't get me wrong there are some breeds that simply do not require a great deal of exercise but those dogs are few and far between. Most dogs need to get out and do something and the easiest and cheapest way to accomplish that task is walking. The good part is that the walking is good for you as well.

Sometimes I have clients sat that they can't walk for various reasons that include inability to walk very far, no time to walk, can't leave the baby to go for a walk, etc., etc., etc. You get the idea. Sometimes some of these excuses are valid and that is when it's time to call out the cavalry, the dog walking cavalry that is.

Yes there are a bunch of people out there that make their living walking dogs. Most of them are reasonably priced and they can do a great job of giving your dog all the exercise that it needs to keep it healthy and happy. In fact you may even have a teenage neighbor that would like to make a little extra spending money and do the job for a better price than the professional walkers.

Sometimes I have dog owners say that walking the dog can be boring. Well if you dog is not enough to keep you stimulated then why don't you start a dog walking club with some of your neighbors? Yep, they need to walk their dogs as well and walking as a group can be a bunch of fun and give you a chance to catch up on neighborhood gossip.