Optimal dog walk: vary route or not?

January 26, 2009 1:56 PM

I walk my eight-year-old boxer every day. I vary the route among a set of 4 or 5 possibilities--different directions, incline, etc. I do this a) because I like variety and b) I have been assuming the dog likes variety, too. Is that true? Or does a dog prefer, for some reason, to stick to one familiar route?
posted by everichon to pets & animals (16 comments total)

We're getting a puppy in a little over 5 weeks and I've been doing a lot of research. One thing I've read in several places is that not only do dogs like variety, but it's important they get it so they can adapt to new situations/environments/people/other animals more easily. So keep it up!
posted by Kimberly at 2:09 PM on January 26

I am reading Temple Grandin's new book, Animals Make Us Human. She says that one of the most important things for dogs is "seeking"--having and satisfying curiosity about novel objects and experiences--and that dogs in their natural state spend the day walking many miles and exploring. So based on that I would say that varying the walk would be more emotionally satisfying to the dog. Also it is important for your dog to be exposed to many different people, places, dogs, sounds, etc., not only while it is a puppy but throughout its life, and varying the walk will do this better than the same walk over and over.
posted by HotToddy at 2:15 PM on January 26

HotToddy, reading an excerpt of that book is what inspired me to finally post this question, though I have been thinking about it since we acquired the dog.
posted by everichon at 2:17 PM on January 26

I guess yes, but maybe you could find out by hanging back at the bifurcation points in your route and letting the dog decide by pulling you in one direction or another.
posted by jamjam at 2:19 PM on January 26 [2 favorites]

I walk my dog around the same 4-5 routes, as well. When I pick a new route, she is noticeably excited to scout and sniff new territory. Dogs like routine but they also like exploring. Find the balance that satisfies you and your pup.
posted by gnutron at 2:21 PM on January 26

I find my dog needs a balance of mental and physical stimulation. He is more tired at the end of the day if he's had some novelty than if he's had a more routine sort of day.
posted by judith at 2:39 PM on January 26

I think the dog is going to be happy to be out and with you no matter where you go.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:53 PM on January 26

My friend takes her dog on "smelling safaris", going out of her way to walk the dog through areas that have tons of strong and unfamiliar scents: passing by places such as butcher shops, Chinatown, fishmonger shops, outdoor markets, livestock trucks, mucky ponds, big flower gardens, petting zoos, pet stores, garbage day, police horses, etc. The dog gets really excited. She says it's like Montessori school for the dog: learning about lots of different things by using her primary sense to explore them, just like you'd take a kid to a museum or art gallery to see new things.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 2:57 PM on January 26 [2 favorites]

Dogs definitely like variety, and especially new places.
posted by robinpME at 3:10 PM on January 26

I don't think that jamjam's test will necessarily tell you anything useful. My dogs know the route to my office and make all the correct turns with no direction from me. They like to please me and will not voluntarily go in the opposite of the direction they think I want them to go. They also enjoy being right. But that doesn't mean that they aren't happy and excited to explore new territory when we take a different route.
posted by HotToddy at 3:18 PM on January 26

Back when I had dogs, I would plan for one out of each 4 or 5 walks to be self guided. Just let the dog pick its own route.

When the weather was nice, they would go to all kinds of new places, when the weather as bad or they were too tired, they would follow the regular route.

I figure out that the normal routes with all the familiar smells are like reading the daily newspaper, checking out your friends blogs. The free routes are like watching a new movie or going to a concert.
posted by dirty lies at 3:39 PM on January 26 [2 favorites]

I find my dog needs a balance of mental and physical stimulation. He is more tired at the end of the day if he's had some novelty than if he's had a more routine sort of day.

This is also true for children, and for adults. There is value in routine, and value in breaking that routine. Perhaps taking the same route several times before changing it, so that they can learn the new route, and then get a new route when they're bored with that one?
posted by davejay at 3:40 PM on January 26

Dogs enjoy variety. They want new sites, new sounds, and (most importantly) new smells.
posted by nickerbocker at 3:51 PM on January 26

I have no idea. As mammals, presumably they want some novelty and they are territorial so they have that going on, but I've never been clear on how you might work outwork out what they consider their turf and what's new on leash walks. And it's tricky to tell what's exciting as in "oh boy" vs. exciting as in "holy crap."

Working stock dogs cover acres and acres. Working gun dogs go all over.

Dogs get lost all the time, which is a pretty good sign that those dogs can't resist following their noses.

A movie dog once got lost on the Pacific Crest Trail which passed near the kennel, and trekked along with hikers for days and days until someone finally realized he wasn't looking for his family on the trail but was just plain lost. Apparently, everyone who met him, or agreed to take him the next leg, thought he was happy as a clam and new exactly where he was going, although of course he didn't.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 5:48 PM on January 26

My dog and I have two sorts of walks we do. First walk in the morning and last walk at night are purely utilitarian: we walk until he's all peed and pood out. We use the same 4 or 5 routes for these walks.

Our other walks are for fun, exploring, entertainment and exercise. He would happily walk all day in a new environment. These walks take longer because every new spot needs to be evaluated by his cute little nose and brain as to whether:

a) it needs to be eaten (try to discourage this if it's anything other than grass),

b) it needs to be peed on,

c) both (preferably in that order if that is the case),

d) there are any birds or other small creatures that need to be chased, and

e) it might make a suitable place to take a dump, should that need arise.

Throw in encountering other dogs, checking out their butts and entangling your leash with theirs, and you have a full afternoon!
posted by trip and a half at 6:16 PM on January 26

My dog seems eager to pick up his Pee-Mail along familiar routes. He loves exploring new trails too. As with other notable species, variety is the spice of....
posted by NorthCoastCafe at 6:22 AM on January 27