Should I walk my dog everyday?

Reading + coffee + cuddles

In the UK we observe National Wellness month during August and as today is the first of the month, I thought I'd start as I mean to go on. I've had a walk in nature, I've read a book (not a whole one!), and I've dedicated a bit of time to me (I'm learning to play the guitar and when I'm playing, I'm not stressing!)

It's got me thinking how easy it is to forget to look after yourself when life gets in the way, and one of the major reasons for that can be having a dog with issues - a reactive dog, a dog with separation anxiety, a dog that's just not ready for sitting in the coffee shop while you work on your laptop...

So I thought I'd try and focus some blogs and social media posts on trying to help out a little bit this month - remind you of some important things, maybe show you some new ones, but hopefully help to ease the stress a little, and have you looking after yourself a little better.

To kick us off, I'm going to repeat something I say a lot - it's ok to skip a walk. Someone at some point said you have to walk your dog everyday and we've been doing it ever since! Actually, your dog needs to have some form of exercise, not necessarily a walk, and your dog will be fine missing a walk if things have got on top of you one day and you just don't feel up to it. If you're stressed, you're likely to not enjoy it, likely to not cope very well if your dog comes across a trigger and

struggles, and they may even sense your stress. Similarly, if they've had a particularly stressful day/event, it's actually often better to skip a walk than take them out already hyped up and ready to react - they'll appreciate the chance to fully calm down/decompress. Why not have a read through my last blog - I originally wrote that with hot days in mind when it's not safe to take your dog out for a walk, but there are some ideas in there you can use to replace a walk when either you or your dog could do with a break.

Just remember to take some time out for yourself to relax and come back stronger!