What do dogs think walks are for?

[Lolypoly14]

I have been pondering this this morning. .

Doggo loves water, any kind will do - sea, rivers, muddy puddles, etc. She can’t help herself and is straight in, so for the last week or so where it’s been freezing, I haven’t taken her anywhere watery.

Took her out for a big walk yesterday. Lovely long loop, where she can be off lead with a little bit of river on the way back to the carpark so she could have a little bit of a swim before getting back into the car with loads of dry towels (and heated seats) to snuggle into.

She loves walks, especially walks that involve getting in the car as that usually means somewhere good, and she get ridiculously excited when she sees me getting poo bags out of the drawer and my car keys (just poo bags means the park or round the block) and she recognises landmarks on the way (for example, driving past the big Tesco means her favourite beach and she starts getting super excited), but I always wonder what’s going through her head.

Does she realise I’m just taking her somewhere nice for fun? Does she think she’s taking me somewhere nice? Does she think we’re going on patrol or something?

I couldn’t sleep last night (insomnia) so I’ve been thinking about this for a while 😂

my dog loves going in the car
she loves the walking boots going in the car
she loves when we visit my dm

That !! The smells & other dog contact, however indirect.

I read this thread yesterday and its completely changed the way I think about my dog on our evening and morning walks!! Last night she was just SO sniffy - way more than usual so I have no idea what all the other dogs have been saying and doing. This mornings walk over the fields was less interesting to her smell wise but she always spends more time off lead trying to find sticks for me to throw.

The older my dog gets, the less time is spent running around and more time sniffing.

I stand waiting, freezing, because I think it's his walk and what he needs to do, but
I have to wear so many layers of clothes that I can't bend my arms, in this weather. 😂

i think dogs do remember things like what different routines mean such as one coat means going out with them another means going to work etc. dogs are a heck of a lot more intelligent than we realise.
its good for them to stretch their legs so to speak plus leave their calling card on every tree leaf twig bin etc on the way plus see who has been there before them.
its amazing what they remember. when we go to the seaside always same place they are quiet enough until we get to that one certain roundabout which means soon be at the park. by time we go over the bridge they are besides themselves!

I thought it was they shouldn’t exercise straight after eating?

‘Every lamp post, tree or bin tells a story.
It's social media for dogs’

So true! I love this ☺️

in laws had a dog back in the 60s who would take himself off for a wander every day after breakfast and come back about tea time, he’d go visit his brother, sometimes they’d see him out and about and he’d say hi. Far fewer cars then of course.

dogs have so little autonomy now.

I agree! A local rescuer I know says always let your dog sniff even if it means your walk is stop/start. She said not letting them sniff is akin to us taking a walk with our eyes shut.

Technically you are right that exercise after feeding carries a higher risk, but food after exertion does also increase the danger. We have a high risk (deep chested) breed so we don't feed for 1-2 hours before or after exercise and we do three or four small meals daily even when they are adult.

Yes, it can complicate life, particularly in adverse weather when you want to nip out between showers, but for us it's written in stone after my parents dog had torsion and was left with heart damage.

Yes dogs going off for walks alone used to be quite common ours did obviously it was a quiet area but she must have had road sense. she visited her mum and sister, waited by the ice cream van, she was well known in our area. dad was always trying to keep her in but she knew how to open the gate etc so in the end it was easier to let her be. as i got older too she used to go everywhere with me.
when you are in a rush or in pouring rain all that peeing and sniffing can be a pain but i always think how much pleasure they get from it so let them be

I have a retired greyhound (who ere notoriously lazy). She gets very excited by the word walk during the day and jumps up and down like a kangaroo when the poo bags & lead are brought out. However it's really difficult to get her to go out for her evening walk, taking bribes of treats to get her to leave the sofa.

She loves the car and will often stand with her nose on the door handle if she is on the driveway.

One time I was packing the car to take my son back to uni and she got in and refused to move. I had to drive her around the block a few times before I could get her out so we could finish packing and drive him the 4.5hours to his digs.

Same where we lived. Probably why there was so much dog poo about on the pavements.

My best friend growing up lived on a farm and various family members lived in cottages and houses on the farm. She had a dog who would walk her to the end of their lane to get the school bus, take himself off visiting family for the day and then meet her from the bus stop after school.

My dog has got in the car before and refused to get out until we take her for a drive. A few times I’ve driven her round the block just so I can get her out of the car. I was putting some bags in the car ready to take to the charity shop a couple of weeks ago and she followed me out of the house and got in the car. I wasn’t actually going anywhere at that point but still had to drive her round the block.

In the 80's we used to have a local dog visit us. He'd tap on the front door, sleep for an hour in front of the fire then take himself off to the next house on his itinerary. He was called Prince. Lovely fella

My sister's dog used to take himself off to the butcher's round the corner....and sit outside hopefully.

I’ve loved reading this thread.

I think about how it must feel to be a dog in a human world quite a lot. It must be quite baffling sometimes. She takes it all in her stride and is enthusiastic about everything but she must wonder WTF we’re on sometimes.

Her birthday for example, she gets a cake and a present. I did try to get her to wear a party hat so I could get a cute photo once but she wasn’t having it so we gave up on that idea pretty quickly. She has no concept of birthdays but loves cake and presents. She gets presents at Christmas too - she’s well up for ripping up wrapping paper but I wonder what she thinks (if she thinks anything).

She always brings sticks home from her walks. She’s got a big stick collection by the front door and will sometimes pick one to take out when we go round the block. I don’t let her bring them inside - I don’t have a particular dislike for sticks, other than she sits on the rug and chews them to tiny bits and it’s a pain in the arse to clean up. Why does she bring sticks home? Is she trying to contribute to our interior decor and I’m offending her by making her keep them outside?

She’s obsessed with licking my feet. I find it gross and won’t let her do it. Is she returning affection I show her the only way she knows (it’s honestly grim) and she’s confused.

Why doesn’t she remember that when she jumps in the dirty pond in the woods in the winter it’s bloody freezing and she shivers all the way back to the car and has to wear the hated towelling bag. It happens at least 3 times a week.

Someone mentioned what they’re dreaming about when they twitch and make those little squeaks - I’d love to know too. Do they dream like we do?

I’m sure none of it is really that deep, she loves being with us whatever we’re doing but I do think about this kind of stuff sometimes.

Yep!! And with the Sunday paper supplement thrown in!

One of my dogs when he was elderly used to sleep all day behind the sofa. If I had visitors he would get up come out and go for a walk with them/eat treats/be patted. As soon as they were gone, he disappeared into his spot again. It was clear from his demeanor that he thought he was making an effort to entertain our guests, rather than the other way round.

Where I currently live, we take the lift up and down between the front door and my flat. I often wondering what the dog makes of it. We come in, stand in a little metal box for a few moments, and then get off. Does the dog understand what the lift is doing?

My questions would be - what do dogs dream about? When they make those dummy little noises in their sleep, I assume they are dreaming?

I’d love to know what they’re dreaming, my puppy makes cartoon like “woof” noises that he never makes at any other time, while space running with his legs. So very cute but makes me wonder if he’s reliving a fabulous walk, or chasing squirrels.

I love those sleep noises, little snuffly squeaks and barks, it's always been funny with ours that they did sleep growls but never really growled in reality... It is intriguing.

Additionally........when we go out without them, do think we've gone to jump into the river alone?

Oh that's such a funny thought, I'm just picturing myself doing zoomies on the local field in front of a group of random strangers 😂

She always brings sticks home from her walks. She’s got a big stick collection by the front door and will sometimes pick one to take out when we go round the block. I don’t let her bring them inside

I have one that brings sticks home and occasionally rehomes one back in the woods or the park, I have no idea what the criteria is for keeping/rehoming. I also do not let the sticks in the house. Ffs your cleaning up those bits forever.

The other loves balls/throwing/free running. So we keep old, knackered out tennis balls, the ones we buy and the ones he finds for beaches. We take a net bag with say 15 balls, and when all are lost to the sea he digs up pebbles for us to throw. They are getting a bit older now so dont need as long out, but getting them off any beach can be a nightmare.

The dreams are funny, me and DP will be in bed and a dog will start the whimpers and mini barking and we are trying to not laugh loudly in case we wake them.

Love having dogs, but when these go I want a break for a few years until one of us retires.