Top 9 Benefits of Walking Your Dog - For your Pet and You as Well

It is all love and fun when a pet becomes family. But then, there is more to it. Even if you are already leading a structured life, you will still find yourself wanting when a pet becomes your family, because dogs are stickler for schedules. A schedule you knowingly or unknowingly create for your pet becomes her unwavering pattern for life. Hence, you need to become super structured. And, the experience could be rewarding. 

A time to feed, a time to play, and of course a time to walk. 

Don't tell me it is still raining

Top benefits of walking your dog are not just the benefits your pet enjoys but you also gain better health in the process. Let's get going.

Top 9 Benefits of Walking Your Dog

"Why should we walk our dog everyday?" - This is one of the most common questions in the minds of some new pet parents. The importance of walking your dog can never be over stressed. Just like walking, as an exercise provides you with loads of benefits, your pet member needs to walk for optimum health benefits. Here are the top 9 benefits of walking your dog.

1) Prevents obesity

Several studies have proved that obesity in dogs can lead to various health conditions. According to a study, obese dogs are more at risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart conditions and respiratory diseases. Risk of  arthritis and hypothyroidism is higher in obese dogs.

Why not paths for us around the lake so dogs can prevent obesity?

2) Improves cardiovascular health

Regular walking boosts your dog's heart health. Daily walking strengthens your pet's heart muscles, improves heart function thereby supporting proper blood circulation. 

3) Supports joint health

Walking your pet member daily helps to improve her joint health. Your pet gets her muscles and joints exercised with regular walking and hence risks of joint conditions including arthritis are reduced. 

4) Relieves stress

Dogs love exploring the world. You may have noticed the sniffs they take during walks and their willingness to explore new paths. Getting to observe the surroundings, fellow beings on the roads and pets out for a walk, watching other animals and other activities are some of the best experiences you can let your furry friend have by taking her for regular walk. Walking helps them to learn and adapt to the world around them. Thus walking serves as a great stress reliever for dogs. 

Why mornings come only once in a day mom?

5) Boosts immunity

One of the top benefits of walking your dog is that it helps to boost your pet's immunity. Improved blood circulation supports healthy immunity. Since walking also relieves stress, your furry friend enjoys better immune function.

6) Improves socializing skills 

Daily walking develops your pet's socializing skills. Socialized dogs adapt well to surroundings. To read the post on Top Benefits of Dog Socialization, check here.

Chezhi gives a quick look at places where she generally gets to see furry friends and pet lovers.

Mom, this is called mobile communication

7) Boosts your pet's confidence

Well-socialized dogs are confident dogs. A confident pet is comfortable in new environment and loves interactions with other canine friends and humans. 

8) Provides mental stimulation

Walking provides your pet her much needed mental stimulation. While even the same route can offer her different smells every time, taking her to new routes lets her smell so many scents and explore those new places, which stimulate her mentally. 

Roads should be made of grass I think... What do you guys say?

Can you get me wings from pet store mom?

9) Improves quality of sleep

A dog that gets good exercise sleeps well. Lack of sleep can cause health issues and behavioral problems. Walking your dog daily gives her good exercise and quality sleep.

Good walking, good food and good sleep - is this called Three G technology?

How Walking Your Dog Boosts Your Health

Taking your dog out for a walk every day offers loads of benefits to you as well. Some of the most important benefits of walking your dog include:

1) Walking your dog helps to shed excess fat

While walking alone also helps to reduce excess fat, walking your dog is more effective in shedding extra pounds. If you have been alternating between walking and workouts, with a pet member, walking becomes a necessity in your fitness routine. This helps to achieve healthy weight loss.

2) Improves your fitness levels

Walking with a pet is totally a different exercise. It involves challenges of all sorts; matching her speed when you are looking to slow down and tugging the leash when your furry friend moves faster or jumps towards all that stimulate her. You will be staying focused and working almost all your muscle groups so her moves are synchronized with yours. And remember, rain or shine, no off days as you would never want to disappoint the lil one.

You said good rain, but you didn't say bad street condition mom...

3) Reduces stress

Many of us would have experienced stress levels going down when walking with our pet...and, it is not just in our minds. A study conducted by Japanese researchers from Animal Health Technology and School of Veterinary Medicine has proved that dog walking activates GABA levels, which suppress noradrenergic nerves thereby reducing stress.

Walking amidst nature adds to the effect. It is amusing to just watch the little one's paws' impression on beach sand. 

Wish humans too had four legs dad

4) Improves heart health

Studies conducted on impact of pets, particularly dogs, in pet family have revealed that pet owners enjoy improved heart health. Having pet members at home and taking them for walk everyday positively impact blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Stress levels go down as well. All these support heart health according to a study that evaluated results of various researches conducted in this regard. 

5) Makes You super structured

The benefits of leading a structured life are immense. When you have a furry member in your family whom you love with all your heart, you naturally evolve to become super structured. Dogs make you create a routine and then there is no backing out, because your conscience will not allow you to do it. To ensure you follow a routine you got to be super structured. This helps with all areas of your life. With a routine in place, you will complete any task you commit yourself to. So, dogs do more for you than you can imagine. 

6) Walking your pets helps you socialize

Dogs bring people together. Walking your pet improves your social interactions. Once you start going on regular walks with your pet, you will notice a multifold increase in your interactions with those around you. 

The roads where I have walked in the mornings regularly, the streets where I have been to for grocery shopping all these years, I have made just a couple of friends on the way. I may also have been invisible. But ever since I started taking Chezhi for walks, I have made many friends. Even if just a few words are shared, it is nice to see smiling faces along the way. 

Not only humans, streeties have also become friends. When I happen to walk alone on a morning, many give a strange look. 

How could you leave her at home?

7) Walking your dog improves your confidence levels

Being extremely self-conscious can lead to anxiety and low confidence. A self-conscious person always experiences 'others are looking' moments and this can cause stress. Being overly self-conscious can also make the person shy and withdrawn. 

Dog walking helps to break this and boost confidence levels. While on regular walks with your furry kid, you will be noticed and you wouldn't be bothered about it. This is the first sign that you are out of your shell and feeling no discomfort with being watched.  

I have never felt overly self-conscious. Despite being an athlete in my school days, I never had the confidence to jog on the streets. Ever since I started walking with Chezhi, I have been jogging and running as much as I can. In fact, I feel so confident that I do reverse walking often on return when Chezhi is walked by her dad. Check this post in our yoga blog for Benefits of Reverse Walking. 

8) Your alertness improves

Walking with your pet increases your alertness. It is your little furry kid that you are taking out and her safety has to be ensured. She may suddenly leap forward or run to a side, chase a squirrel or another fellow being, she may try to reach for a fellow walker's mobile or umbrella, she may suddenly take a U turn and run or may suddenly stop on tracks. You need to be ready for everything and more. Naturally, your alertness improves.

To ensure her safety, you will start looking more around you to try to prevent surprise moves by your pet. You will also be keeping a watch on how she behaves in a given situation and why she behaves thus. You will be keeping a constant watch on her moves and expression. All these, while being enjoyable and challenging, also improve your alertness. 

9) Walking with your pet keeps you young

As mentioned above, walking with your pet member offers more benefits than walking alone. When you walk your pet, you strive to match your furry kid's speed and enthusiasm, you are more open and receptive to the world around, you get playful and funny so you make a great partner for your pet and your stress level goes down. The more stress-free you are the younger you become.

Walking your furry friend strengthens the bond between you both. Enjoy every moment of it with all your heart as your pet loves nothing more than being with you.  

Don't look at the cam dad, you are all sweat