Do you mostly walk the same dog walk route?

[inthedoghouse2]

When you walk from
Home do you mostly follow the same route?

Do you think dogs prefer the same route so they know where they are going and where they like to sniff or is a different route each time better as more unknowns to explore?

No, dogs get bored, we have a variety of routes depending on the weather, season, available time and how long they've spent playing with the dgc

How do you know dogs get bored of the same route? What signs do they show?

I think it’s more the excitement they show on a new route, the pulling, the sniffing.

I change things up by taking my dog for a walk while DCs are at activities rather than running errands at that time. Somewhere new will tire them out faster

No, our dog is a very smart breed, who has loads of energy. We quickly worked out that you can't wear her out through physical amount of exercise. She needs to be mentally stimulated. So her walks are always different. Even on her run down the field for a wee before work one, we will walk different directions of the field, take different approaches into the field, or leave a difference route.

I read you cannot wear a dog out on a walk so they need to be mentally stimulated. They need the sniffing.

I think from a paranoid safety point if view, its best not doing the same thing at the same time every day.

We get bored of same route, so do differ each day. First walk is always to dog park, lunchtime walk is either to farm area behind our house, along the river, around our town or to our church. We are also NT members so go to a couple nearby. Last walk is just a 30 minute walk around the block. We have a border collie who would walk forever, no matter where, but when we go somewhere new, there’s an extra spring in his step. I would say that loads of local people with their dogs do the same walk every day as they walk by my house.

but there is different sniffing on the same route
we can go left or right, sometimes in the car to another walk.
occasionally my contrary dog decides the car is the only direction she wants to go in.

No. Never the same walk two days running. Have around 10 different places, so it takes 10 days to revist the same one 🙂
All places are country/woods/large beach so lots of free running.

I always feel abit meh for the dogs out running with their owners.
They want to know their environment, sniff and chase abit - not pound the city pavement for an hour a day tied to a waist.
Though it's better than the dogs who are never walked, or only out for a quick wee round the block 🐾

Think it also depends on the dog's personality. Our dog was quite nervous and didn't like other dogs. I tried to vary our route around the village but we basically covered the same ground every day and I'm convinced that is what she preferred. More often than not I let her dictate the direction we went in though. She hated going out in the car (would pant and shake) so walks elsewhere were stressful from that point of view too.

Depends on the dog. Mine is super nervous out and about and doing the same short quiet walk twice a day has transformed him. So I do that with him Mon-Fri without fail then on a weekend he can cope with going somewhere more exciting if dd comes among too. Then he’s very grateful to be back to his usual route ! He now looks forward and gets excited for walks and previously he definitely didn’t.

Dog is high energy, mix of on/off lead
We normally have 4 routes depending on weather
But I'm poorly atm so can't do the midday off lead run.
We don't often go to the dog park but it's new smells every day so that's been handy just for 20mins , sniff and find games at home and round the block for a good sniff, leaving wee mail.
But l normally let dog decide which way we are going. We follow her nose!

We are out in the car most days so we only walk from home about three times a week, but from that we have the choice of fields, park, old train tracks, canal, river and several routes to get to any of those.

Feel so sorry for the dog over the road who goes literally in a square around the block of two streets, three times a day. He must be so bored.

I have three or four routes I can walk monday -friday mornings, as I know how long they take and I need to get to work. Evenings I vary it slightly.
Weekends I just follow the dogs and go wherever they want to take me!

I have 3 routes and my dog will always pull to go one certain way, that’s the walk we most often do.

We usually do the same route in the morning because it’s the time he gets to play with his ball and is obsessed but balls. Afternoons we tend to mix it up a bit.

No.

We pretty much never walk from the door but when we do we have about five or six different options and never do the same walk twice in a row.

When we have done that in the past I can tell he's bored - he doesn't sniff as much, isn't very excited to be out and he's never as settled in the house as he is when we pick a variety of routes.

We mainly do the same walk. But we have a local dog friendly park and ours loves playing with her doggy friends. She gets really excited when she knows we're nearly there. Plus there's always the sniffing to work out who's been around.

I mix it up for both of us really. From home we have loads of different routes.

No. I feel sorry for dogs that do. We keep it nice and varied and have 5/6 we can do from the door in the week then both weekend days we’ll go in the car somewhere nice

How can you not tell?

currently my poor dog gets the same walk through the week - because it’s the only one I can physically do, he definitely gets bored, luckily my DP does more exciting ones at the weekend.

@Justleaveitblankthen I used to run with a previous dog... he bloody loved it, it was only 3 of his walks out of the week, he got plenty of sniffy walks too.

No - we switch it up all the time or I'd get very bored - not so fussed about the dogs. But I'm very lucky in that I'm semi rural and we have lots and lots of options.

I've a few favourite walks - mostly because the dogs can be off lead for hours and it's very beautiful.

I also take my dogs everywhere which tires them out as much if not more than a walk.

I have 3 routes that I choose from during the week. Then at weekends we do something different. Our dog definitely enjoys the variety.

Mine absolutely love going somewhere new. We have about 10 regular different walks but they get bored of these. Often being a bit naughty (mainly about eating shit!). In a new place they are running everywhere, alert and much happier so we try a new place every week or so.
They almost groan if they go to the local park 😁

We rotate between three parks and at night we go around the block. They don't seem to care, though I can't let them off lead at one of the parks. One of my dogs used to get a bit nervous if I took them somewhere they'd never been before, and would stick by my side.
I think it's more humans get bored than the dogs. Most people I know have one or two walks that they use every day without much variation. As long as there are different smells from other dogs and it's not just a concrete jungle I'm sure they are happy.