You’ve probably seen us, and by ‘us’, I mean professional dog walkers
– take a walk in the local woods, or on the heath post school run and you’ll often come across an often mismatched array of dogs of all breeds, sizes and ages , diverse temperaments, each taking delight in their habitat, company of other dogs and naturally, their carer.
Having worked for seven years as a dog walker, I never fail to be amazed at the sheer anticipatory happiness of dogs before they go out and once out, how dogs revel in not just walking, but have a keenness to keep moving forward.
For the dogs, I imagine it’s something that is inherent in their DNA, harking back to pre-domesticated times when they were always on the move to find food and shelter. That sense of travelling is now replicated with the walk (or run), taking a journey together as a pack with me, as the pack leader, showing the way – or not, if there is a hound in the group, merrily following a scent trail….!
And it would appear that there is another, more scientific reason why dogs like to exercise. Like many two legged runners, dogs too can become ‘addicted’ to the runner’s high. Scientists have proven that narcotic-like chemicals are produced when humans undertake intensive aerobic exercise like running and dogs too are unique in this ability – they are ‘wired to run’.
So next time your dog is fretting to go out or you see a dog on a running mission, going for glory, he is probably just being true to his evolutionary roots and is an ‘addict’ – in the nicest sense of the word and just needs his next exercise fix!
Sam Robertson
Image soured from: http://tinyurl.com/lxbsxee