Dog walking tips

Start early: the puppy walk

When you first bring your puppy home, you may be anxious to get out right away and embark on an adventure. The hardest thing when working with puppies, particularly first-time puppy owners, is patience.

Puppies should not go for walks (outside of your yard) until they are fully vaccinated (12-16 weeks usually). A puppy's immune system is not ready yet to handle the big, bacteria-filled world outside. In the meantime, having your puppy wear a collar or harness is a good way to start getting them used to the feeling of an item around their neck. Get them used to clipping it on and off as a part of your everyday routine, treat them as rewards, and get them walking around the house or in your garden.

Socialization walks are invaluable at this age, you can carry your puppy or let them just sit in it, in a stroller for example, so they can begin experiencing sights, sounds and smells more safely. Research shows that puppies who have early positive experiences of the world are less likely to develop fear-based behaviours as adults (Herron et al., 2014).

Build up slowly: Care for those joints

Although your puppy will have been vaccinated, and is safe to go out on walks, their growth plates are still quite soft, until anywhere between 12 to 18 months (depending on the breed). Becoming over-exercised may increase the risk of joint problems later in life (hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia), particularly in large breeds.

A common veterinary guideline relates to the "5-minute rule": approximately 5 minutes of structured walking per month of age, up to 2 times a day. So a 4-month-old puppy would do about 20 minutes. Free play and sniffing in safe areas can add to this time.

It may feel like you're restricting your puppy's abilities, but you're actually enabling a healthier adulthood.

On-leash skills: The earlier, the better

It's important to know that walking nicely on leash does not usually come naturally — it's a skill that both you and your dog will learn together. Take short, positive sessions to begin. Use a light weight leash and harness rather than a collar, which puts pressure on the neck (Ogburn et al., 2014). Make sure that you reward your puppy every time they walk beside you, especially when they look up at you.

If your puppy pulls, do not pull back, just stop, or change directions. Think of the leash as a guide for your puppy, not a steering mechanism.

Tip: Puppies do not have long attention spans. A walk can be as much about sniffing and exploring, as it is about getting from A-B.

Don’t just make walks physical, make them enriching!

Dogs interact with the world through their noses. Recent research shows that dogs allowed to sniff freely exhibit lower heart rates and have a more relaxed demeanour (Haverbeke et al., 2010).

Let your dog dictate the pace sometimes and enjoy “sniffaris” - a slow walk where the goal is not distance, rather to explore and enrich the environment with sniffing. It's mentally exhausting in the best possible way.

Also introduce variation in the walks - take different paths, do short training exercises (like “sit” before crossing a street), or hide treats along the way. The more you enrich your shared walk, the better it is for you both!

Weather considerations: keeping things safe!

Heat: Dogs do not sweat the same way we do, and hot pavements can burn their paws. Here is a simple experiment: place your hand on the pavement for five seconds. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for them. In summer, walk early or late in the day, take water with you, and look for signs of heatstroke (panting, drooling, weakness).

Cold: Small dogs, thin coats dogs, and older dogs may need a coat in winter. Don't forget to check their paws for ice or salt.

Rain: Some dogs hate being wet. A lightweight waterproof coat may help. Remember to dry them off afterwards!