I don’t have a dog of my own – I am out too much and they have to be walked (at least once) every day so are too much of a tie. The dog in my brother’s family, Sasha, is also extremely badly behaved – out of the house, even though she is lovely inside. She barks at all people and all other dogs – a rescue dog, so we blame the previous owners! I do like dogs, though, so walking other people’s well behaved dogs is fun.
Hector belongs to one friend and is quite young and energetic.
I go with my friend when we walk him.
When we get away from the roads he comes off the lead and goes off to investigate all sorts of exciting smells and rabbits and ……? He comes back every so often to check his mistress is still there (and get a treat from her pocket!) and when he is whistled for. The latter sometimes takes two goes – did she really mean it? He is really well behaved though.
He has to have two long walks a day, but walks much further than us, running backwards and forwards. Good thing – we would never keep up with the exercise he needs. He is fit, though.
The places we go with Hector are lovely – great views over the city and of the Cathedral and all within walking distance of the city.
The other dog I walk is Archie, who is elderly, nearly 15, had a stroke about 17 months ago and is extremely well behaved but quite slow when on walks – unless he has detected a female dog in season!
He could be left off the lead all the time, but I always keep him on it when we are near roads because he is not my dog and very special. He doesn’t always come when he is called (but part of that is deafness) but he does always follow if I change direction. Well, he knows that I have the treats in my pocket!
In the summer and autumn he loved to go in the river – wading not swimming.
That is partly because he has a very thick coat and gets hot so the river cools him down and also he can get a drink. He “bites” the water, not laps it when he is in the river, although he laps normally from his dish at home.
Recently he has not been able to go very far and as a result of his previous stroke his back legs have been giving way so he finds himself sitting down – when he looks surprised and a bit sheepish. He scrambles up and keeps going, though. He has been starting to look as if it is “Oh, not again” and his owner said it took him ages to get up the other day. We hope it is just the weather but sadly he is quite old.
He still loves to go out, though and likes to investigate every smell – sometimes for a very long time!
He then has to leave his own mark to show he was there. It is a pity he cannot always manage the three legged posture and has to behave like a female!
I think my favourite bit is when I arrive and he gets very excited because he knows I am taking him for a walk. He would jump up at me if he could now do that, but as it is he looks as if he is dancing!
So is dog walking fun? Yes, most of the time, but less so when it is raining or very cold! I still wouldn’t have a dog, though – as well as being too much of a tie they do make a lot of mess in a house. They not only leave a lot of hair around but also have a tendency to bring a lot of mud in.