When walking your dog, do you pay attention to what your dog is doing, or are you busy with your smartphone?
Every day, I see people walking their dogs. There is nothing special about it. Dogs need to go out.
What is funny about it, and tragic for the dogs, is that the dog’s owners sometimes seem oblivious to their dogs. They take the dogs out for some specific purposes, but they seem to forget these purposes when they go out with their dogs.
Things Dogs Do Outside
I see people walking their dogs, wholly immersed in the screens of their smartphones and oblivious to their dogs’ behavior.
The dog needs to pee, but the person walking the dog often keeps walking with their eyes glued to the screen, and the poor dog can hardly finish peeing.
One of the things dogs love to do is to sniff and smell signposts, walls, and shrubs. However, people who walk their dogs sometimes continue walking, oblivious to what the dog is doing.
Instead of paying attention to the dog, they pay attention to their smartphone.
They continue walking, dragging their dogs, and not allowing their dogs to enjoy what they enjoy doing.
There is another thing I would like to mention. Many dog owners go with a leash that can be extended. Often, the dog runs to the other side of the sidewalk, and the leash obstructs the way for the pedestrians.
I see this often happening, and I have to find a way to go around so as not to stumble on the leash.
It looks like the dog’s owner wants to keep watching the smartphone screen, reading, and texting. Taking the dog out sometimes seems like a pretext to go out of home for a while.
Often, I see people with dogs and without dogs oblivious to what is happening around them, and they even bump or almost bump into signposts or electricity poles.
To clarify, I don’t own a dog, and what I have written is just from observation.
When Walking Your Dog Look at the World Around You
A few suggestions when taking your dog for a walk
1. Try to be more aware of the dog’s needs and what it is doing when taking it for a walk. You will lose nothing if you put your smartphone in your pocket for a few minutes.
2.It’s Your dog’s time. Your dog needs the time to be outside. Your taking it out, is not for you, but for it. Let it enjoy the time. Don’t be oblivious to its simple needs of sniffing, looking around or running.
3. Enjoy the time when you are out. Look at the people, the trees, and the cars. See the sky, the clouds, and the tops of the buildings.
There is a whole beautiful world around you, which you miss when you glue your eyes to the small screen. Be in the present. Enjoy the moment. Your smartphone can wit a little while.
This advice is suitable not only for dog owners but for everyone.
These few minutes you go out can help you see the real world, not just the virtual world of the Internet. This will develop more empathy, observation, and awareness of your surroundings, which will help you in all areas of your life.
This can a relaxing and joyous time.
Don’t forget next time you take your dog out: When Walking Your Dog, Put Your Smartphone Away.
