Benefits of Hiring a Dog Walker

Being a responsible and dedicated dog owner is a long-term commitment in both time and money.

In fact, nowadays, the time commitment is as much as a restraint as the financial burden.

Unfortunately, our busy and hectic lifestyles do not leave us with too much spare time. However, since at the end of the day, we all want what is best for our fur babies, hiring help to do what we cannot do is the best option. Luckily there are many services that provide dog walkers who can take your pouch for a long, stimulating and a fulfilling walk around the block or at the nearby dog park.

In the past, hiring a dog walker would have seemed like a luxury but today it is well known that hiring a dog walker has a number of benefits for both you and your dog.

There are many benefits to hiring a dog walker, three of which are:

1. Improving your dog’s health

Just like humans, in order to live long, happy and healthy lives, dogs need regular and consistent exercise. Lack of exercise easily leads to obesity and unfortunately, it is estimated that more than half of the dogs in the United States are overweight.

Additionally, obesity is not just a problem in itself, but also a predisposing factor that leads to other obesity-related conditions like arthritis, diabetes, heart diseases and certain types of cancer. With proper exercise, these can be both prevented and diminished.

2. Improved socialization, stimulation, and behavior

Regular walking helps your dog meet new friends and socialize with them. Encounters with other dogs, even if short, are highly beneficial for the dog’s socialization process.

For friendly dogs, those encounters are usually the highlights of their day.

Additionally, walking stimulates your dog’s senses, thus enabling it to see, smell and hear interesting things and feel new experiences. Therefore regular walking is good for your dog’s mental health as well.

Last but not least, as the old saying goes ‘A tired dog is a good dog’. Regular walking tires your dog and prevents it from developing destructive, boredom-derived behaviors like unprovoked excessive barking, chewing, spinning around, chasing its tail and digging.

As previously mentioned, our busy lifestyles are usually hard to keep up with. That is why hiring a dog walker can be very beneficial to you and your family.

3. On the flip side dogs need regular walks.

Depending on the breed and age of the dog it may be necessary to take several shorter walks during the day or one long walk. Hiring a dog walker not only saves you time, but also offers peace of mind. That way, even when you are not at home you know that your pooch is being taken care of.

There are other indirect benefits of hiring a dog walker. For example, by regular walking your dog on pavements and hard surfaces their nails will be kept naturally short, therefore you will only need to worry about trimming your dog’s nails when you really have to. Therefore you can use that free time to spend some entertaining, quality time with your pouch.

All in all, hiring a dog walker not only help you relieve the guilt held by knowing your dog is home alone and bored, but also benefits your dog’s physical and mental health.