Why walking your dog is good for your health

We love our dogs, right? We buy them gifts, clothes, luxury beds, top notch food but the thing some of us struggle with after doing our day jobs and all the daily chores is walking the dog. Many of us would be surprised to find out just how vitally important that daily walk with our dog is to our health.

Walking your dog for just 30 minutes of moderate intensive aerobic activity contributes to achieving the recommended levels of physical activity  over a week as well as boosting your mental well-being.

Owning a dog comes with responsibilities and walking them daily is one of them. It does give us a reason to go out that perhaps non dog owners don’t have. Some dogs don’t give us a choice to stay home! Dogs need to burn off energy and the only way for them to release it is that daily walk. If they don’t get it they will find other ways to entertain themselves and these can be undesirable behaviours. So, not only is it healthy for you but imperative for your dog too. For a dog to have a balanced life they need to go out and experience the world. Hands up for all the dog owners with high energy dogs!!

Science shows that you if you walk your dog on a daily basis it can help to reduce high blood pressure and other associated risks. Things that can increase your risk of getting high blood pressure include being overweight, not getting enough exercise and not getting enough sleep.

Your daily dog walk can help both you and your furry friend burn those extra calories and improve your waistline. Those extra biccies you gave your dog earlier can be burned and the same can be said for the extra winter padding you acquired at Christmas. Summer is only around the corner and we need to get beach body ready!

We’ve talked about the physical benefits of a regular walk with your dog but what about the mental benefits? Walking your dog is a sociable activity for both you and your furry friend.We all know what it was like during lockdown and how strenuous it was not being able to socialise. Social engagement is associated with a stronger immune system. It decreases feelings of depression and can improve your mood. It also gives us chance to think about things without distractions. 

Finally, after seeing how healthy it is for us to go out with our dogs mentally and physically, there is another really important reason for us to go out with our dogs and that is to BOND with our dog. The walk is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to bond with him/her. It is one of the fundamental building block cementing that trust between you. 

Essential Tools for walking your dog

So we’ve chatted about why you should walk your dog but what about how. You want it to be a pleasurable experience so here are the best tools to make life easier and nicer when out with your dog. As a dog walker for over 12 years I’ve tried and tested loads of products so here is my shortlist of one I truly can’t live without. Below is just one of our kits we’ve handpicked especially to help you on your walks.

Lets talk about the Lead!

If walks are a bit of a pulling affair you’ll know what I mean when you have a lead that burns. Some leads I’ve found really burn your palms while trying to grip the lead of a pulling dog. You need a good quality lead that’s thick, strong and not too long. We have tried and tested the best lead which is just that! 
Flexi leads are good if your dog doesn’t have good recall and you’d like to give them a bit more free reign but I think this is good for smaller dogs. For larger dogs and high energy dogs I think a 6m long line would be better so as not to hurt or jerk their necks whilst doing zoomies. You’ll have much more control and it’s safer for the dog. I would also attach the long line to a harness rather than the collar. 

Dog Poop

Now, all dogs poop and we’ve all got to pick up. But there’s never a bin when you need one. So a nifty poop carrier is brilliant. It stores all your poo bags in the lid - no more poo bags stuffed in to every pocket you own. You can pop the poop in to the zipped carrier and clip to a lanyard or lead until you get to a bin to dispose of your dog waste. It even has a fragrant air freshener inside! 


Drying your dog

After a wet walk what do you do with your dog? A pair of drying mitts should be a staple addition to any car for a quick dry before the ride home. In addition, investing in a dog drying coat can be a god send to protect the house and car of wet dogs. Simply pop the drying coat on your dog, dry off their legs and paws with your drying mitts and that’s the dog sorted! Drying coats can also be used to cool your dog in hot weather. Simply run the underside with cold water and pop on your dog. 

Not sure what else you may need?
For new dog owners we’ve handpicked dog walking kits to help. You don’t need to worry about a thing. We have the dog walk covered. There is a kit for every dog walker.