Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve loved to walk my dogs. Seeing our pets’ joyful faces and furiously wagging tails, along with hearing their barks of excitement when I say, “Wanna go for a walk?” is the best feeling. And the walk itself is something I look forward to every day.
Walking gives dogs great exercise and mental stimulation. It strengthens the bond between them and humans. And it’s good for people, too. Fellow columnist Sharon McMahon has written about the benefits of walking over the years.
As my dogs and I stroll (and stop … and stroll … and stop) in nature, I often get inspiration for books, these columns, and other areas of life. The exercise is wonderful for us all, including the special “ballet” maneuvers we must incorporate when my husband John joins us.
Let me explain. When I walk Elli and Sasha by myself, I use a “splitter” so they’re connected and I have only one leash versus two. This makes things simpler, especially when it’s time for poo pickup.
When John walks with me, however, he uses one leash for Elli, and I use one for Sasha. This creates more fun, conversation, laughter, and … challenges.
The girls don’t walk nice and straight when we go on our little adventures. Their noses lead them to sniff all kinds of objects along and outside the sidewalk or trail, which typically means they’re zigging and zagging along. The next thing we know, we have a Leash Entanglement Situation. This happens at least three to four times per walk.
When we encounter a Leash Entanglement Situation, we must do one of three things:
- Pause and pirouette to untangle said leashes, hoping we don’t trip and fall flat on our faces.
- Perform a plié to uncross the leashes, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t.
- Keep walking despite the tangles until we get to a good stopping point or one dog decides to investigate something or we stop at a crosswalk. At this point the leashes are so tangled that we must unclip the girls and figure out what to do.
These situations give us quite a chuckle, and I’m sure people walking or driving by give us some strange looks as we wriggle and perform our “Dog Walking Ballet.” Sometimes it moves into Breakdance territory – as in, we may break something during this dance.
I bet we’re not alone with our special dance, with 40 to 50 percent of our country’s population owning dogs.
The “ballet” does help my flexibility, problem-solving capabilities, and patience. The four of us love spending time together on these adventures, and we look forward to more walks as the weather continues to warm up.
Amy Shankland is an empty-nester, writer, and fundraising professional living in Noblesville with her husband John and two dogs. You can reach her via email at amys@greenavenue.info.