What Happens If You Don’t Walk Your Dog Every day- Am I Cruel?
Are you feeling guilty again for not walking your dog since you got him and you’re scrolling through search engines looking for some incentives or something to make you feel better and asking what happens if you don’t walk your dog every day?
Wondering how cruel you must be? well, don’t be because he’s not going to die, not yet!!, but what happens if you don’t walk your dog every day is that he’s going to end up being unsocialized, sick, obese, really bored and you’ll also miss out on having to bond and have fun with mans best friend, but don’t fret, y’all would manage if you can get to walk your dog at least once a week. (whoops!! that was intense)
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T WALK YOUR DOG EVERYDAY
Being a pet owner is undoubtedly a lot of work, and it comes with great responsibility, although not as much as being a human parent but a responsibility and a huge one nonetheless, and not to judge anyone though, but if you cant take your dog on a walk at least once a week, then maybe you should really reconsider being a pet owner.
Dogs are high-maintenance pets and require a lot of time, effort, patience, and attention. They love to explore and just be around their owners whether it’s cuddling, playing, or staring at you in animal bliss. whatever it is, dogs just can’t be left alone for a long time because they are not totally self-sufficient, so they depend on and rely on their owners to live healthy and happy lives.
By a healthy and happy life, we mean that they depend on you for their shelter, company, food, fun, good hygiene, love, and good health -This cannot be overemphasized, as a healthy dog is a happy dog. Ensuring your dog is in good health requires some effort from you, from taking them to see the vet regularly, giving them good food, and taking them on walks on a regular basis.
Fortunately for you and unfortunately for these pets, a lot of owners do not walk their dogs regularly talk more of every day, so what happens if you do not walk your dog every day or often, does it mean you’re a cruel pet parent, or it just comes with the job description and so it’s nothing?
We all know how it’s important for our dogs to get daily and regular exercise. In fact, some of us even get dogs to help ensure that we get more consistent exercise.
And yes, sometimes life gets in the way and becomes life, and when you’re scrambling to finish that big project at work, get the kids to their games on time, and also prepare something healthy to cook for dinner, walking the dog can fall to the bottom of the priority list or not even be on your mind. But here’s what happens if you don’t walk your dog every day;
You Miss Important Bonding Moments.
Personally, I’ll prefer to exercise with a friend rather than alone, as this motivates, and helps us know and appreciate each other better, this is the same for you and your pooch. if you don’t walk your dog every day or regularly, you miss out on his attitude of peeing on every tree he sees, and how he wants to sniff everyone that he comes in contact with, you’ll never even know how fast and smart your dog can be outdoor.
Your dog just wants to be with you all the time, so taking them out every day like a routine just keeps them happy, you can bond with them, and it even gives you the opportunity to train them in an exciting environment, yes you’re also having some fun and exercise while doing this.
Lack of Psychological Benefits Gotten From Walks
Dogs get stimulated by the different and new fragrances and sights it encounters every single time it leaves the house. This gives your pooch a chance to receive positive attention and interaction with the world outside while carrying out a normal activity(running, walking).
Not walking your dog regularly means depriving it of these benefits that could very well affect his psychological health.
They Don’t Get Enough Exercise
Humans are advised by their doctors to always walk for at least 20mins “every day”, this helps our heart, brain, and even body weight to be in its healthy range, it’s no different for dogs.
Dogs need regular exercise in order to stay healthy and happy, and just like humans, walking is a great way for them to get the exercise that their body requires especially if you do not have a playground where they can always jump and run and play around whenever they want to.
The case is different when you have a yard or playground where your pooch can get a lot of exercise with you, as they cant really entertain themselves, so they depend on you to give them what to do or you have days when you take them to the park, then maybe you do not have to take them for a walk every day.
But when your dog is always locked away indoors, without any physical activity whatsoever, then you definitely have to find time out of your busy schedule every day to take him out for a walk, and I mean every day unless you want an unhealthy, sick, sad, and obese dog,
They End Up Being Un-socialized
So you do not have a playground, or yard, where you can invite your neighbor’s dog for some playtime, you have no time to take your pet to the park on a regular basis, and you also disregard taking your dog for a stroll every day, then you should expect a hostile and unsocialized dog.
Socialization is one of the advantages of taking your dog out for a walk every day, and the importance of socialization cannot be overemphasized. while walking, your dog may meet other dogs, and this is a great time and opportunity to help your dog learn ways of socially interacting with other dogs and new animals.
They learn to build confidence instead of being scared of making friends, and they also learn to play rough with friends they meet on a walk and end up leaving without any injuries, I mean who wouldn’t want this, it is a win-win situation!
They Don’t Get To Learn Much About Their Environment
Dogs like children, are naturally curious and want to explore and it’s almost impossible to do this when you lock them away inside the house on a daily basis instead of bringing them out.
No matter how big your house is, after a while, exploring the house becomes really boring because everything is the same. Walking helps and allows your pooch to see, smell, hear and connect with new things in his environment and also gives them a chance to learn because while walking you’re there to teach them.
Without walking, your dog becomes less aware of its environment and is also ripped off of all the psychological benefits that come with it.
Boredom and Aggression
It does not actually take much for me to get bored, I get bored when I’m doing the same activity over and over again for a long period of time, especially when it is something I don’t love, and this is totally the same for our little pooches.
When dogs sit around all day in the house doing absolutely nothing fun, there’s every tendency that they’ll get bored, and unlike humans that just stop at being lazy, dogs have so much pent-up energy and they need to get that energy out, so they begin to misbehave, get aggressive, and annoying.
To get your attention, they’ll start destroying things within their reach, digging up holes, just being irritating, and putting everything in disorder. If you see your dog doing any of these things, why don’t you make out time and take him for a walk every day and watch out for changes?
Fettering Mental Health
Walking your pooch keeps his mind in a sane state. If you as a human sit around doing nothing for a long period of time, you become depressed and stressed at very little things. This is the same for your dog, he will get irritated and slow, moving around the house without any proper physical exercise.
Take him out even for a short time the hormones released from his brain will keep him happy and excited all day long, and you also would be happy when you see your friend moving around with energy, SAY NO TO DEPRESSION!
Is it bad if you don’t walk your dog every day?
Yes, it is bad to not walk your dog every day, because it could lead to him being unsocialized, aggressive, depressed, unhealthy, mentally and psychologically weak, but you’re not a terrible person if you can take him out for a walk for at least 1-3 times a week, as this would still do the trick of making you a worthy owner.
What To Do If You Can’t Walk Your Dog Every Day
sometimes, life doesn’t really happen as we want it to, and we don’t get to do things as we want to, but here are some ideas on what to do if you cant walk your dog every day;
Try to increase or maintain the time of exercise as much as possible
this is simple and self-explanatory, you just have to use their regular exercise regimen to make sure they get enough play time as necessary. Increase their exercise time or do your best to maintain what you’re already doing.
Go back to the basics with tricks
We know this doesn’t exactly serve as exercise, but we still want your pooch to have stable and thriving mental health, and tricks would definitely do the trick *wink*.
Whether your pet is already a pro at all the tricks you know, or is new to them and needs some obedience training, tricks such as stand, sit, lie, stay even high five are a wonderful mental activity for your dog. It’s time for some treats.
Have a variety of toys your dog can pick from
Not all dogs want to play with the same ball or toy forever, some need variety, try getting more other toys from the pet toy shop and place them in a basket they can reach into and retrieve whatever toy they’re in the mood to play with, this way they almost never get bored.
Play the classic fetch and tug of war
Fetch and tug of war are classic ways of getting your dog’s heart pumping if you can’t walk him every day, this is a high-intensity game that you can definitely play indoors.
Play a game of hide and seek
You can either choose to play this directly with your pet or set a few treats and toys around the house and leave your dog to go wild while trying to find them, this would help provide mental stimulation and also some physical exercise.
please take important and delicate properties out of the way.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As annoying and stressful as this might seem, walking your dog is pretty important, and something you should do all the time — like, every day. Of course, it’s not realistic to think we can walk our dog for hours at a time every day, and that’s totally OK.
But if you can’t do it that often, you should be doing it at least a few times a week or try out the options offered in the post. because if this isn’t the case, your dog might be the one to suffer the consequences of your inaction which are all negative consequences, WALK YOUR DOG TODAY!!!
