At Scamps and Champs, we recognize that dog walking is a huge part of a dog’s life and also an excellent way to keep them healthy and fit. It opens them to new and stimulating experiences needed for their overall well-being. Additionally, it can also help them to tire them out, and you might know, “a tired dog is a happy dog.”
You might have noticed that that pack walks are springing up all over the U.K. as many believe it’s a fantastic way for dogs to experience strangers and other canine friends in a safe environment. While it might appear to hold many benefits for those, it does have several downsides which shouldn’t be brushed off in a hurry. Here are the reasons Scamps and Champs don’t pack walk.
1. Supervision
Walking just one dog requires full attention to keep an eye on them effectively and to make sure they’re safe. Dogs often get easily fascinated by new sights, smells, and sounds that they encounter during the walk. If something new and interesting catches their attention, they may forget their manners and rush up to that thing or person. Consider all the concentration walking a single dog requires and then imagine what it is like trying to control five or more dogs at once! Additionally, controlling them on busy roads and unfamiliar surroundings can be quite risky during pack walks.
2. Lost Training Opportunities
Walking a dog is an opportunity to train them and reinforce what they have learned. For example, if you take your dog on a walk, you can notice their reaction to potential triggers and take appropriate action. If your dog takes a look at a scary sight and focuses on you, it’s a sign that your dog is learning some manners and should be rewarded with a treat. On the flip side, it is hard to specially train one dog at a time during a pack walk since there are about five other dogs or more.
3. Disease
Whenever dogs congregate, there’s always a high risk of them spreading diseases such as kennel cough, canine influenza, or canine parvovirus. Your dog is also at risk of coming home with fleas and ticks after exposure to a dog gathering, no matter how careful the owners are. This could cause severe discomfort for your pet and also require a visit to the vet. The chances of a dog contracting a disease is drastically reduced when we walk them individually and not in a pack.
4. Fights and Bullying
Just as in any human group, bullying can also happen among dogs leading to fights in a bid to establish their dominance. The bigger the group, the more likely it is for some dogs to break the rules of polite social interactions and make their own rules. This can lead to cases of dogs overwhelming their potential playmates with overly assertive and inappropriate behaviours. Many dog owners try to avoid situations that might trigger their dogs and result in fights as well as protect their pets from being picked on. Pack walks increases the likelihood of fights and bullying among dogs, potentially leading to lacerations, puncture wounds, and even broken bones.
5. Injuries
Although injuries are unexpected occurrences that can happen in an instant, they tend to occur more during pack walks due to divided attention of walkers and fights that may break out. It is nearly impossible to keep an eye on other dogs while tending to one dog, and this could turn out badly in several ways. Conversely, walking one dog at a time allows walkers to give adequate attention to injured dogs without having to worry about monitoring other pets.
6. Physics
When it comes to pack walks, some walkers sacrifice safety for management by walking five (or more) strong reactive dogs at the same time. This might appear to be easy except that the physics is wrong. Imagine a dog walker who is 11 stone and walking seven stone large dogs; it’s going to take a lot of hard work to keep them under control, and that is only possible if they’re able to resist the pull.
Conclusion
Pack dog walks might be trending at the moment, but the disadvantages are hard to ignore. Like every dog owner that loves their canine bestie, it’s important you make the right decision, so your pet can have an enjoyable and stimulating walk with our walkers from Scamps and Champs.
If your dog enjoys the company of other dogs, we will carefully match your dog to a dog of similar size and temperament.
To view our Dog Walking Services and our extensive range of other
Pet Care Services please visit our Scamps and Champs Website. To ask us a question, make a booking or to simply make an enquiry please complete our Online Enquiry Form