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| Abby evades capture just out of reach in the water |
And now of course she wants to race home!
I've been taking her on a daily walk for years now and we almost always walk at least 40 minutes and usually closer to an hour. (Gotta get my 10,000 steps each day!)
Well, one day a few months back, I thought I'd let her choose our route, figuring she'd take me on a nice long walk. Nope. She took me on this short little walk down to a deadend we'd never turned down before, then straight back home. It took us a measly 20 minutes.
Pretty sure she just wanted to get home and get her cookie.
Now, whenever we're in a hurry, we let her choose the route, and she always takes us on that little 20 minute loop! She'll try to drag me that way pretty much every day.
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| Usually, she walks nicely beside me with a loose leash... |
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| ...but not when she wants to go HER way! |
Given the option, would your dog talk you on a long walk or a short one?
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Ruby is pretty flexible either way - short or long - she just wants to be with us. Pip (our previous dog who passed in 2013 and originally started the blog) hated walks. He was much more of a couch potato and when he had enough would just stop walking and demand to be picked up (he was a yorkie)
ReplyDeleteI will sign up for your newsletter now. Thanks
Gotta love a couch potato pooch!
DeleteThanks for signing up! I added you to the distribution list! :)
OH we do short walks cos we get overheated easily. We would love long walks though. stella rose
ReplyDeleteGetting overheated is no fun! Rita hates to get too hot.
DeleteOur dogs are varried. Poor Ping can't walk too much anymore so basically just uses the back yard or her stroller. Bob loves to eat grease and doesn't really want to walk, he wants to mosey. Weasley would go 10000 miles at a 100 miles per hour and we have to be very careful he doesn't over heat. Fry would go either rway. Little Tuvok seems to want short walks and occasionally wants to be picked up and carried. When we had Norbert he loved long walks, unless he saw the car then he wanted to get right in because he loved car rides. When Tubby was alive he pretty much liked any length walk
ReplyDeleteretro rover
That is a lot of variety! Rita also loves a car ride. I think her favorite thing is to go for a car ride someplace where we then go for a walk/hike!
DeleteIn this heat, Harley would definitely take me to the end of the driveway and then return home LOL
ReplyDeleteHopefully you have a long driveway! :) (We've been lucking out all May with some nice cool weather. Hoping it won't get too hot now that June's here/summer's coming!)
DeleteMy guys are super-opinionated on their walks. This time of year with all the heat and humidity, I am lucky if they will leave the driveway! The problem being, they don't like to potty in their own yard! Funny, I was going to blog about it today but haven't gotten around to it (esp. with no photo to illustrate). LOL! Great minds think alike ;-) And yes, they get a treat when they walk back inside!
ReplyDeletePS The Groovy Goldendoodles lives near me, and notice the similar comment. LOL! I read it AFTER writing mine.
Great minds do think alike! And too funny about the similar comment with Groovy Goldendoodles. Heat and humidity - bleh!
DeleteI control which way we go, but sometimes will follow their lead if they want to turn around. sometimes I make them walk further. It depends on my mood!
ReplyDeleteI usually control where we go too, cuz I want to get my steps in! And she's happy enough to follow along once I set the route. Unlike our beagle! If I tried to go a way she didn't want to go, she would turn into a boulder in the middle of the sidewalk and refuse to budge. Such a brat! Beagles can be SO stubborn!!
DeleteWhat a smarty pants! Can you blame her? Maybe try a completely new location she doesn't know to get those longer walks in. Depending on the weather Kilo usually opts for shorter walks. I don't mind them, just means you have to do more to tire out your dog.
ReplyDeleteIf I want to do a longer walk I just give her a tug and she's good to go. She's happy enough to be on a longer walk once I make her! :)
DeleteIt depends on the dog and the day. Torrey can go forever, if it's cool. Roxy, not so much anymore.
ReplyDeleteSweet Roxy! And Torrey definitely looks like she could go forever!
DeleteI always thought it was standard operating procedure to get a treat after a walk! I always prefer the long route and mom knows not to try and shorten it. If I get an after dinner walk I let her know then that its the short one because I make us go out the front. Love Dolly
ReplyDeleteSounds like mom can't get anything past you, Dolly!
DeleteWe would be all about getting the treats too! Ha Ha - but we do have to be careful not to overheat. Mr Bailey who loves walks is no longer able to walk very far due to his hip problems
ReplyDeleteI am sure Mabel could go for long walks
hugs
Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel
Ha, yes! Sometimes I feel like I've earned a treat myself after a long walk!
DeleteWell, being a cat, I don't do walks with humans! But if I am outside and I hear the treat box rattling, I'm there!! :)
ReplyDeleteWell, you have that in common with Rita then!
DeleteMr. N will always choose the longer walk! Except for when it's hot but if I strap on his cooling vest, he's good to go for an hour or two.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. Maybe Rita needs a cooling vest!
DeleteJack and Maggie would have me out for hours - as long as we aren't in the neighborhood - as long as we get in the car and go to the park, then it's long walks all the way.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we'll have to try going out of the neighborhood more too!
DeleteI always do whatever I want to do, now that I live on the farm. But if I don't want to walk three miles home, by myself, I always stay close so I can hitch a ride on the 4-wheeler.
ReplyDeleteBoomer :)
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
https://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/sherlock-boomer
You've got a good set up, Boomer!
DeleteBlueberry gets a treat after I put her harness and collar on and a treat to get into the car and treats to "leave it" when we are on our walks and she finds something interesting to try and eat and then again to get back into the car and again once we are home and the harness and collar come off. Not to mention the treats she gets if I make any stops (fuel, post office, etc). Now that I've laid it all out like that, it's really amazing she isn't overweight! I think it's funny that Rita is so excited about her after walk treat that she will rush through it if you let her!
ReplyDeleteYeah, when I spell out all the treats Rita gets over the course of a day, it's crazy she isn't overweight too.:) As for the post-walk treat, even if we go on a really long tiring walk, she'll start hauling butt when we get close to home. Gotta get that treat!
DeleteI made the mistake of giving the dogs a treat when they come in from outside now they want to go out all the time to come in and get a treat. No wonder why Nellie is fat.
ReplyDeleteSmart girl!!
ReplyDeleteLOL! That is funny. We love walking, but we are good about keeping going or ending. Whatever Mom wants is usually fine with us.
ReplyDeleteLOL Rita has her priorities in order! If there were treats involved I'm not sure about my three. Sans treats, Rudy and Jeffie would walk as long as I would. Rosie poops out early and seems to hear her dog toys calling her from the house :-)
ReplyDeleteRita is super smart!
ReplyDeleteRita looks like she's trying to keep her tail dry. :-) Treats are great motivators.
ReplyDelete