... or are you? Do you know how much dog gets excercise, too much or too little? Do you take your dog every day for a walk, not just letting him pee and poo and then take him back?

I can honestly say that my dogs get a lot of exercise. The amount is from 5 km to 10 km, running or walking. Because Finland is famous for its green gold - I mean forests - we usually go hiking through the woods. And, of course, our whole family is walking the dogs, so four people can offer the daily amount of sports to them. One can see who muscular our dogs are - my Maltese has doubled his size compared to the old size he was when he came to our family. My Aussie has amazing strenght, I think he could easily run a marathon.

Dog trainers recommend about one hour per day as a daily walk. Seriously, I think that's too little. If you have a small dog, five kilos or under, half to one hour is enough. But big dogs, working breeds and high energy dogs need more exercise. I've met people who say that their dog needs two or three hours of exercise per day. I think that can be true, but my dogs are usually tired after little under two hours. It's a question about quality. How are you walking your dog? Is he pulling the leash, sniffing the ground all the time, chasing squarrels?
Whenever I train dogs, I have to explain teh same thing all over again. You must take your dog for a walk every single day and walk him properly. If you allow your dog to deside what do, it won't be a proper walk.

What is proper walking then? I think that dog should be following its pack leader (you). I don't let my dogs walk in front of me. You can control your dog better when he walks on our side or behind you. There won't be any surprises or dog dragging its owner behind him. There's another reason too - you can't be your dogs pack leader when he walks in front of you. Most of the dog people I've met say that my words are full nonsense. Usually they have some problems theirselves.

I had a client who had many dogs. We went out for a walk and my client said that her dogs are pulling. I took two of them and started walking. Neither of them pulled the leash. If you decide to walk, your dog will notice it and starts to listen to you. You can't panic from a horse's saddle, why would you panic with a dog that is multiple times smaller than a horse?

Relaxing is very important when you walk. If you are tense, your dog'll notice it and he starts to get nervous - usually he starts to pull. I've said this millions of times and I will say it again: act like a pack leader while walking, raise your head up, be calm and determined.

I will talk more about walking a dog later and how the right - or wrong - equipment can help you.

Have a nice day and remember to take your dog for a walk today!