Dog walking always sounded like such a chore to me before we actually got a dog of our own. And some days it does require grit-your-teeth-and-just-do-it effort (particularly when it’s pouring rain or I have a cantankerous toddler in tow). But with all the kids packed off to school and nursery this morning, I enjoyed some alone time (and today’s happy moment) with my scruffy, puddle loving, dirt magnet pup Beano.
I’m still surprised by how relaxing and rewarding it is to walk the dog. Taking him out at least once a day is a small goal that I can quite easily achieve. I get a sense of satisfaction from doing it and a 45 minute walk adds balance to the day. When I’m later sat flopped in front of the TV or I find myself fretting about all of the outstanding things on my To Do list, I can console myself with the reminder that ‘at least I walked the dog’.
It’s also lovely to see how much Beano loves his walks. He jumps a good three feet off the ground whenever he spots me holding his lead and always leaps into the car boot with flare and delight. Apparently a car journey seems to suggest a more interesting destination for exploration than our less ambitious route through the local playing fields.
The way he bounds and leaps across fields to catch birds always makes me giggle and his downhill bum shuffling manoeuvres to wipe leaves off his arse are laugh out loud hilarious. So although this dog owner/lover business is still quite new to me, I’m beginning to enjoy it, especially since the ‘chew everything & poo anywhere’ phase seems to have finally passed.
abbiayers.com 