Maverick Monday #6

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I know we did. It was fairly low-key here.

Today I would is all about dogs inspired by my Maverick. I see a lot of frustrated dog owners on the internet and around town and I believe that most of their frustrations with their dogs could be solved with one word. Exercise! Dogs need *structured* exercise and they need socialization. A dog that lives a life inside it's own house and yard 24/7 leads a sad existence. By structured exercise I mean on a leash, right by your side and not in front of you. That walk around the block where the dog either stops to sniff EVERYTHING or drags you from place to place does NOT count. Letting your dog(s) out into the yard doesn't count! Teach your dog to heel by your side and go for a nice power walk, jog, run or bike ride. Do this as often as you can for at least a half hour, but preferably for up to an hour. Dogs need it. I promise there would be a lot less frustrated dog owners if they did this. Every dog of every size and every age needs at least some structured exercise.

Yesterday we went for a bike ride. Maverick came with us. We were gone for a little over 2 hours. We never really went very fast, I paced Maverick so that he was at a light jog for the majority of it. I wanted him to go a long distance since we had the time to do that. If we have less time we go a shorter distance at a much faster pace. Either way it tires him out. I find that I get a lot of dirty looks out on the trail when I have the dog with me. It seems to me that people don't understand that it is safe to take a dog on a bike ride. My dog enjoys running. He has a LOT of energy. Even after our 2 hour bike ride he came home and wrestled around with his best friend Max. But, he was calmer than he would have been had he not been able to expend that energy. I have never been pulled over by him and he has learned how to navigate around the bike. He still has some learning but for the most part he behaves. Any dog can do this if you take the time to train him. I knew when we bought Maverick that he was going to be a high-energy dog with high-exercise needs. I have made that commitment to him the moment we brought him home. He frequently goes for walks and bike rides. They keep him a happy and well-behaved dog. There are also products out there to make biking with your dog even safer and I hope to one day be able to pick one up.

As for socialization, that he has had plenty of! Since he was a puppy we have pretty much taken him everywhere we can. He loves everyone! Kids, cats, dogs, people. Anyone! We've been going to the dog park since he could safely go and loves it there. That's another good way to get energy out of him while socializing. He has met so many dogs there and he gets along with just about all of them. He has learned to stay away from the ornery ones just by me bringing him. Dogs should know how to read another dogs body language. A dog that is kept away from other dogs for most of his life tends to lose this skill. I have slacked a bit in bringing Maverick to the park and it showed when we went on Saturday. He was behaved but you could tell he was a little rusty in dog speak. I need to get back into bringing him more often.

We still haven't been able to get him to obedience school, but even though  he knows most of the commands they'll teach him there I still plan on taking him. It's a great experience for him and I think EVERY dog should go at least once. Just like spaying/neutering. Maverick is such a good dog, that I'm actually thinking of trying for his Canine Good Citizenship and maybe getting him certified as a therapy dog.

I hope this helped to open some dog owner's eyes and to help them be a little less frustrated now. :)