I am nowhere close to being athletic, but I am a sucker for long walks. It’s hard to kick yourself out of bed early in the morning to do it alone. So, when Pippi came into our lives three years ago, I was ecstatic about our to-be long walks. In my head, I pictured the two of us walking the picturesque streets in the town for hours on end! In my imagination, we’d meet people and dogs, discover interesting hideouts in our neighbourhood, and find buddies. Our long walks would rock, or so I thought. It did, but in a totally different way!
For a dog who called the streets his home for about a year-and-a-half (or so the vet says), Pippi took up leash-walking like a charm. But his biggest triggers on the walk were the speeding vehicles, which he infamously chased and got into trouble previously.
So, our early-morning walks on namma Bengaluru’s busy streets went as good as you can imagine! For Pippi, it was a harrowing start to his day —trotting all the way to catch up with me, pouncing on every vehicle out of fear, and barking at every dog in sight. At the end of the walk, my struggle with his leash crushed a few happy hormones and replaced them with cortisol.
It clearly wasn’t working for both of us. But I wasn’t prepared to let go of my dream walks. So, I lured, tugged and even scoffed at him sometimes, believing that the end of this chaos was in sight. One day, Pippi decided he was done. When a loud truck passed us, he slipped out of the harness in fear and ran straight into a busy road. My heart sank as I watched helplessly. While Pippi miraculously escaped being run over by a bus and made it safely to the other side of the road, my idiocy flashed in front of my teary eyes. Was it all worth it?
A window into the world
Since we lived in a house with a garden, balcony and a terrace, we decided to abandon the long walks and put an end to this mayhem. But his brain wanted none of it. The next morning, he jumped over our compound wall and was gone for a good 20 minutes. As we anxiously looked for him, he was taking a walk on the street, sniffing every corner and making his way to the garbage dump. After a few such escapades, it was clear that he wanted his walk no matter what! Our intellects were put to test as we had to find ways to walk Pippi without stressing him (and us) out.
For dogs, a walk is way more than just a form of exercise. It is their Netflix, Wikipedia, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Audible — all crammed into the time we decide to take them out — typically 30 minutes or less. Dogs see, smell, listen, feel, think and learn on their walks — so a walk needs to help them absorb their surroundings instead of just tiring them out physically. Street dogs don’t need walks because they can regulate their enrichment —they have the freedom to sniff, pee or watch whatever they want. So, Pippi couldn’t settle for less — he needed that enrichment and walks were his only way. Studies show that a calm, slow walk lowers heart rates in dogs and reduces stress hormones. If you pay close attention, you can see a million light bulbs turn on during their walks. No wonder that most behavioural ‘problems’ in dogs stem from poor enrichment of their minds.
We set out to tailor Pippi’s walking after I learnt a little more about canine behaviour, thanks to a workshop. We switched to walking in the night after most of the city is sleeping or busy with the daily soaps. We ditched the pedometers and instead focused on how we walked —slow, calm and on a long leash latched on to a harness that did not interfere with Pippi’s movements. We let him sniff, sit, watch or dig as long as he liked. Each time, we returned with small wins.
A game-changer
For us, the strolls did nothing to burn our body fat. But, it was a game-changer for Pippi. About six months into this, he was more interested in investigating the pee-mail rather than lunging at a speeding bike. He made friends with the dogs that he once used to fiercely bark at. He became a ‘thinking’ dog and gleamed with confidence. Instead of being on the edge all the time, he set up his routine of sound sleep. Could walks change a dog so much? For Pippi, it did.
Fast forward to now, the streets are much calmer where we live, and my dream walks are turning into reality. Pippi looks forward to his walks every morning and evening — reminding us like clockwork — come rain, shine or snow.
Tailspin is your monthly column on everything that’s heartwarming and annoying about pet parenting.
The writer is a science communicator and mom to Pippi, a five-year-old rescued Indie, who is behind her drive to understand dogs better. She tweets @RamanSpoorthy