it made me sad to see a dog's lead attached to the waist of someone walking smartly

[AbsolutelyPatsy]

thereby lack of stopping, sniffing, doing business.
just walking for exercise.

am i wrong?

We often march our dog along local streets, not allowing for stopping and sniffing until we get to a place where she is let off the lead. Then she can sniff and explore as much as she wants.

The dog might have already have had a sniff walk that day. My ddog gets all kind of walks each with their own merits and circumstances surrounding it, as I'm sore does the dog you saw. Was maybe just dropping it off to day care for a meeting or something so no time to sniff on this occasion.

@AbsolutelyPatsy

oh *@Einsteinsings*, people make judgments

SOME people make judgements but I'd guess not many

Sniffing and exploring is important for dogs, but it doesn't mean this is essential throughout every walk.

I’m Disabled and use a stick; waist lead is the sensible option. Dog gets taken to the woods, taken off lead, gets his ball thrown, swims in the river, back on lead.

It amazes me how many people go about registering and judging every little thing other people do.

@Elune Thanks for your comment - am going to look at a waist lead now!

I have a young Springer I'm training for steadiness to wildlife, cyclists, runners etc, and recall, and walk her in the countryside on a long-line (she's also due her season so best to have her close).

She is all very excited nosework at the start of our outings and I find this difficult on my finger joints at times, so a waist lead might be very useful.

@AbsolutelyPatsy Thanks for the thread!! :)

@Frequency

My dog LOVES playing fetch. We don't always take a ball when we go on walks but there's always a ball by the door, and she sometimes tells me she wants to by nosing it about. She gets very excited if I pick it up, and wants to get to the park super fast so that we can start.

We do other stuff too, but I don't think you say that fetch is boring.

Sniffing is super important but people don't always have the time to indulge every single sniff. Dogs don't need to sniff everything all the time to be content and happy and settled after a walk.

As a dog walker, I do a whole variety of different types of walks depending on the weather, the dogs I have with me, their breed, their age, their fitness, any injuries they might have etc. We'll do things like:

• slow, sniffy walks on the lead.
• trips to the beach for a run and a swim.
• up to the woods to hide balls and toys in the long grass.
• sometimes we chase balls - but only after a suitable warm up.
• playtime in groups.
• training - where they learn to walk nicely on a lead, how to walk by cars, working on things like reactivity.

All types of walk are equally valid and one type is no more important than all the others. Variety is the key :)

Last week I had an injured collie so we did scent-work and lots of slow sniffy walks so he could use his brain. When he's fit, we do more active things instead!

Oh and it's super important to be careful when playing fetch - yes, it's great fun for dogs but they can very easily get injured.

Keep balls low to the ground.
Make sure it only ever happens on soft surfaces (sand, dirt or grass).
Don't chuck it so that the dog has to leap, twist etc. to catch it.
Don't use ball throwers.
Never play fetch with a stick.

I know it sounds preachy but I've seen fit, healthy dogs end up with badly snapped cruciate ligaments after landing funny chasing the ball.

@AbsolutelyPatsy they do exist!

@NoSquirrels we had a thin lab!! He only ate the food we gave him and never begged for human food. The children could sit on the floor with a snack plate and he wouldn't go near them . He was the best dog in the world ❤️. He loved running (and sniffing 😜). He was from a working line so had a thin face not the square face that some have.

@osbertthesyrianhamster

It amazes me how many people go about registering and judging every little thing other people do.

When it involves animals and the possible mistreatment of them I always do notice. Imply I'm a busybody all you like but dogs should not be tied to moving things and be forced to run. Unless they are working dogs and being handled by professionals in a safe area, away from other people leisurely walking about.

Fetch is boring. To elaborate, yeah, dogs love it. It plays to the natural instinct to chase things and as part of a wider routine it's great. On it's own with nothing else but leash walking it is not mentally stimulating enough to keep most dogs fulfilled and balanced.

I love seeing fetch or tug being used as a reward when training because of how much dogs love it but they need to use their brain too and fetch generally doesn't incorporate much thinking.

That being said I don't judge people who play fetch with their dog. I don't really think much at all about it unless the dog is visibly out of control (then I judge).

You could easily spot me walking quickly with my dog.

I might be hurrying to meet a friend so he can run around and play with her dog. I could be taking him quickly past something I know scares him. I could be rushing home after spending too much time letting him sniff around the park on my lunch break.

The point is, you don’t know why someone is walking quickly. Unless they are hitting their dog or something I’d just assume they know their dog best.

@Gilead

I’m Disabled and use a stick; waist lead is the sensible option. Dog gets taken to the woods, taken off lead, gets his ball thrown, swims in the river, back on lead.

I was thinking a waist belt might be useful for people with mobility issues especially ones that affect hands and /or arms that might not be outwardly visible to a stranger (who's business it's none of anyway)

@AbsolutelyPatsy

my ddog is mad for a ball

I've one that is tennis ball mad, loves to chase them. The other dog prefers to sit and chew them. But give that one a giant football, too big to have in the mouth and she dribbles and noses it around. Both will chase squirrels though. A pp mentioned knowing the signs they need/want something. My ball mad dog picks up the ball on the way out the door if that's today's choice, leaves it if not. 🤷‍♀️ not too hard to figure.

My sister has a long leggy dog that runs like crazy. She runs so has one of those leads. They both enjoy it, and it wears her dog out for whilst she works. The dog also goes for two walks a day in fields off lead and once round the block on lead before bed. No blade of grass knowingly unsniffed.

You saw one glimpse of this dog/owners day.

@AbsolutelyPatsy

thereby lack of stopping, sniffing, doing business. just walking for exercise.

am i wrong?

Yes. Google cani-cross, it's a whole sport.

My 2 spaniels have been walked on a waist lead for the past few months, we walk to and from our off lead area on it, do I stop and allow them to sniff constantly along the way... no as I would never get anywhere! But they have over an hour off lead everyday too sniff as much as they want. Making a judgment on someone from that small section of a walk is ridiculous!

I will let my dog sniff but only after I've done an hour or so of structured walking where she's listening to me abs walking to heel then she goes to a more relaxed sniff walk and then off lead :)

I let my dog sniff before a walk, he can check out the smells - on command then we walk and if I feel he needs a sniff again we will stop and I’ll let him have a sniff then carry on. A dog with its nose to the ground on a full walk isn’t good nor is one who stops at every lamppost or nice smell so you do have to teach them a bit of direction with sniffing and they can have a fast walk and ssome dogs aren’t that interested in having a sniff - my old dog occasionally if there was a really juicy smell but otherwise used to be quite happy walking with me. His focus was on me, which is something I’m trying to teach this pup.