Walks

[ineedtostopbeingdramaticfirst]

Do you do different routes/places everyday or literally the same walk day in day out?

We are fortunate to live near a wood/canal/field. There's probably about 4 different routes you can take. We do this probably 10 out of 14 walks. The others are either dog walker or when we go out a bit further at a weekend. I just wondered if I should be mixing it up more. Dog is3.

We have a couple of starting points within five mins drive that each give several options, and can also do five mins from the front door off-lead and then let them off. We're lucky as we have access to lots of other great walks slightly further away.

Thank you everyone. A bit of a mix. I might try to mix our routes up a bit more we do seem to gravitate to the same spots.

We really enjoy doing the same walk most days. I can see why this may seem dull as all hell but hear me out.

The girls (three terriers) love to sniff their way along a familiar path, they know everyone in the neighbourhood and look forward to seeing their friends along the way.

The walk is about 4 miles, I know it like the back of my hand. I know it so well that I notice tiny changes as the seasons change. The nesting boxes being used, the albino blackbird, the frogspawn, the grass snake swimming in the river etc. I’m convinced that if I took a different route daily that I’d miss these details.

The familiarity allows my mind to wander, I solve all of my problems on our daily trip down the same path.

There is a lovely little coffee shop along the way. A walk with a coffee half way is just about as perfect as you can get, why try to improve on perfect?

This walk is right from my front door so I dont have to drive for a walk. It’s 50/50 off lead and on lead along an old railway line.

I know most people prefer a bit of variation, and I do take the girls off for a change at the weekends. But I feel happy to justify doing the exact same walk most days.

I think there's something to be said for a walk along the same route, with familiar sniffs and familiar cars that cats hide under.

Ours whimpers with excitement as we take the turn to her favourite beach and grumbles away if we don't take it.

My dog is an anxious wee soul. He’s a rescue. He is happier with routine so I rotate 3 walks. If I take him anywhere new he is very wary or just gets ridiculously hyper.

I have three main places I alternate , the beach , the woods and a road based slog to get their nails down

If I go one direction, it's generally drier, but we find more XL bullies and similar. If I go the other, it's been muddy, but there are more doodles/labs/spaniels/retrievers. Ours is a doodle that gets very wet and muddy so winter time do variations on the first for a couple of months, but most of the year do variations on the second lot. Doesn't feel like the same route, even if it is.

Sounds good. I live in London and there are three parks I rotate. I think they like to know their route and pick up the same smells from dogs that have the same routine. At night I walk them around the neighbourhood and they always turn ahead of me the correct way.

During the week we usually go to the same fields next to our house but he can choose which way to go and he’s very good at telling me! Now that it’s getting lighter we can walk to the nearest beach in the evenings or drive to a few others. He would always choose the beach over anything else. At weekends, we go all over although he’d still rather go to the beach, river or the Lakes so that he can swim (he’s a Labrador!).