When we talk about the well-being of a dog, we often insist on the importance of it going out for a daily walk, since sharing quality time with your dog, as well as exercising, is of vital importance for their proper development and well-being.
Contrary and as you will read in this article on our site, there are many consequences of not taking a dog for a walkAnd unfortunately, these have a great negative impact on his he alth, character and coexistence with him, since by not doing this activity, your dog will not receive all the benefits that walking brings.
Is it necessary to walk the dog?
First of all, we must bear in mind that a dog's walking routine is not a whim, but a necessity, because dogs, like many other animals,they are not made to be still In nature, the normal thing for most animals is that they move and explore their environment in search of water and food.
However, by fostering a dog at home, he has at his fingertips the sustenance he needs to survive, but to have a happy and he althy dog, he needs stimulation and exercise daily by walking. Let's see then, what are the benefits that going for a walk bring to your dog:
Exercise
Just like us, dogs need daily exercise to stay fit and avoid long-term he alth problems, especially if your dog is hyperactive.
Stimulation
The dog needs to explore its environment through its senses, which provides mental stimulationthat keeps you active, be it through smell, sight, hearing, touch and taste. Just as he also works proprioception if he has the opportunity to walk through different terrains and obstacles.
Mrongly, many people believe that by having a house with a lot or large garden, the dog already has this need covered. However, no matter how much space the animal has, if it is always the same, it will not have the need to go out to explore it because the stimuli will always be the same, and it will not have the need to move to look for food. Taking the dog out for a walk is necessary for it to discover new elements every day.
Learning
When going for a walk, the dog finds new situations to face. It is in these circumstances that we can guide you on how to behave using the positive reinforcement, so that the next time you find yourself in the same situation, you will find yourself safe, as you will have some clear guidelines about what you can and cannot do.
For example, if you see a cat for the first time when you go for a walk, you should maintain a calm and indifferent attitude, let it smell it from afar and reward it if it doesn't alter In this way, it is quite likely that the next time you see a feline it will be calm and trustworthy, although that does not mean that you can let it go, because you do not know how it will react if it approaches.
Socialization
In the same way, walking your dog gives him the opportunity to meet a wide variety of other people and dogs. This will give him the opportunity to learn to relate properly to other individuals and to have a dog with a safe character towards strangers.
Now then, we should always make sure beforehand that the other dog knows how to relate in a friendly way to avoid bad experiences, because some dogs have difficulties in relating to their kind due to bad past experiences or poor puppy socialization.
Strengthen the bond with the owner
Despite the fact that your dog surely loves you, going for a walk with him is of vital importance to strengthen a bond with him. This is because, as we have mentioned, you establish a basic obedience and, therefore, a form of communication between both, just as your dog associates you with a very pleasant activity, as we explain in 10 reasons to walk your dog.
How many times do you take the dog out a day?
Now that you know why it is vitally important that you take your dog for a walk, you will need to know how the walking routine should bethat you establish with your dog.
First of all, it should be noted that each individual is unique and, for this reason, there is no routine that is standardized to all dogs, but depending on factors such as breed, age or physical condition, each dog will have its specific needs, which it is necessary to know.
However, whatever the characteristics of your dog, they should all go out daily between 2 and 3 times distributed throughout the day, depending on the duration of the ride. With regard to the recommended walk time, this should be between 20 and 30 minutes depending on the number of walks or, if due to specific circumstances, we can only take it out once a day, this should last at least one hour. In the same way, since the most common thing is for the dog to go outside to relieve himself, obviously, a single walk will not be enough, since he will have to hold on for too long and will end up doing it inside the house.
As we have mentioned, you should find out about the individual needs of your dog or your future dog, if you are thinking of fostering one and want to know which one will best suit your lifestyle. That is, if he is of a rather active breed, we will not be able to limit ourselves to taking him out once a day. In the same way, a young dog should go out more often than an older one, because the latter has more energy, in addition to socialization, stimulation and learning will be key to that forms a reliable and stable character in the future.
For more information, you can consult this other article on How many times do you have to walk a dog?
What happens if a dog doesn't go outside?
It is a reality that not taking a dog for a walk directly harms your physical and mental he alth, as well as harms coexistence with is at home. For this reason, before welcoming a dog into our family, it is necessary to consider whether it can be cared for properly, because unfortunately, there are people who have not taken awareness of this responsibility before taking in a puppy, which often leads to its abandonment once it is already an adult and has begun to show behavioral problems. For this reason, let's see what the most common consequences are:
He alth problems
Physical exercise is necessary to take care of the body and mind. On the contrary, if a dog does not go for a walk easily, it can begin to gain weight excessively, because it will eat more than necessary due to anxiety or boredom and it will not burn these extra calories, leading to problems like:
- Obesity.
- Diabetes.
- Muscular weakness.
- Joint pain.
To avoid this situation, we recommend you read this other article on our site about Exercises for obese dogs.
Hyperactivity and irritable mood
Not meeting your dog's physical needs will end up seriously affecting his character, since being locked in a space without being able to get tired means that the dog ends up with an excess of energy which cannot be diverted into any activity to exhaust yourself, so you will find yourself frustrated, bored and easily upsetto exciting stimuli, such as moving objects, noises, or people and dogs walking down the street.
For more information, consult this other article on Anxiety in dogs - Symptoms and solutions.
Behavior problems
This is undoubtedly the most easily observable consequence in the short term, because related to the previous point, due to this excess of energy which cannot be redirected in any physical activity, the dog will begin to develop multiple behavior problems, such as:
- Barks: either to draw the attention of their owners, as a result of being upset by some external stimulus or in a more serious case, due to stereotyping (compulsive behavior).
- Breaking objects: the need to carry out activity generates anxiety and frustration which the dog directs to different household items. For this reason, it is not uncommon to see the dog make damage, be it breaking plants, his bed, etc.
- Inappropriate urination and defecation: Generally, training a dog is preferable to potty training outside the home. Now, if you don't take him for walks enough, obviously you won't be giving him the option to do so. In addition, once a dog has learned to relieve himself at home, it will be necessary to carry out a slow re-education process so that he learns to do so outside. Here we explain how to teach an adult dog to relieve himself on the street.
- Overeating: Boredom can cause the dog to be distracted by the only thing within reach, in this case the food. As well as anxiety, we also associate that the dog eats excessively. Sometimes, even if the dog does not have food available to it, it could develop a pica syndrome and, therefore, begin to ingest objects not suitable for consumption, such as paper, dirt, clothing…
- Aggressiveness: as we have seen, the dog that does not walk can develop an irritable character. This can give rise to bad experiences and compromising situations, which can lead to the dog performing aggressive behaviors such as growling when you approach his food bowl, toys, etc. Unfortunately, this kind of long-term behavior can become badly entrenched.
- Insecurity and protection of the territory: due to a lack of knowing new stimuli, it is natural that the dog can develop a rather scary before any unknown element that you incorporate into the home. In the same way, it is also natural that this insecurity creates the need to protect what is your property from strangers. Therefore, in these situations, it is common to observe dogs that are excessively vigilant with their territory, for example, barking every time someone approaches the door or when there are guests.
Finally, it is important to understand that if your dog has a behavioral problem resulting from lack of exercise, retraining will not be enough to correct the behavior. And it is that, when we want to solve a problem with a dog, it is necessary to know if it has its well-being covered, that is, if the owner attends to all the essential needsof the animal. Since behavioral problems, apart from being a consequence of poor learning, are often derived from behaviors, which are natural in the dog, but cannot perform properly, as in this case, due to the lack of exercise and stimulation that the walk would offer.
