Spring with your dog
It’s getting to that time of year again when the weather begins to get warmer, the days seem longer and the countryside erupts into vibrant colour and sounds. After the long winter months shut away, now is the time to start walking again in earnest. Today Animal Friends is suggesting the best way to enjoy spring with your pooch.
Plan Ahead
Now that the weather is starting to look a lot nicer, we can begin to plan those longer walks out in the country or at the beach. Double check the forecast for the day ahead of time, and have a back-up walk just in case. If the weather is nice, plan to take a full day out on a weekend – it’s a great way to lower stress levels, and your dog will love an entire day out after the long winter months when the cold can be restricting to walking times.
Take a picnic, as well as treats and water for your dog, and walk somewhere that will allow your dog to be off of the lead for a large amount of time if you can trust him not to run off. Now that spring is here, the country will be full of exciting fresh scents for them to follow, so be prepared for some foraging. Remember that around this time of year, many farm animals are let out to graze, and in some cases are with their young. Keep your pet on the lead at all times when on land with nursing animals, as brooding parents can be incredibly dangerous.
Take a ‘pooper-scoop’ or ‘dog bags’ for those occasional toilet stops, as leaving dog faeces around can lead to a spread of disease or parasites to other dogs as well as wildlife. We’ve spoken about this topic before, but there are many nasty diseases and parasites that are transmitted in this way, and no one wants their dog to get ill because of somebody else.
Allow time to rest up. Take short breaks and a decent stop for lunch, especially if the terrain you’re walking on is hard on your dog’s paws. Exhaustion and dehydration will only make your pet sick, so ensure you can find a shady spot to sit down and have a drink in. Tarmac is hard on pads, so try and stick to mud or grassy tracks when you can, but be warned – grassy areas, especially those where livestock such as sheep are kept, can be host to ticks and other parasites, so there are also downsides when walking in fields and longer grass.
Finally remember that other people will now be walking their dogs too, so if you do plan on walking in a popular area, or perhaps on a beach where there may be children, an excitable or unsociable pet may need to be kept on the lead. It wouldn’t be fair to ruin someone’s walk when we just want to enjoy our day in the sun, so be courteous and mindful of other walkers.
Animal Friends is looking forward to spending time in spring with our dogs, but remember to protect your pooch with our comprehensive insurance and stop worrying about expensive vet bills. Call on 0844 55 70 300 or email us at info@animalfriends.co.uk and get a quote today.
