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A Fine, Fall Walking Ritual (+ a Giveaway!)

A Fine, Fall Walking Ritual (+ a Giveaway!)

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This post is sponsored by Dog Walkies. While they are providing us with some of our favourite leashes to give away, all opinions are 100% our own.

Felix loves walking in the Fall.

Felix, circa 2009. His long fur is perfect for catching a breeze.

Everything about it makes his tail wag. He loves the crisp breeze in his hair and he’ll lift his face to greet it. His whole body wiggles joyfully as he tromps through the crunchy leaves. No matter what time of day, what he’s doing or how long it’s been seen we last went out, if you ask if he wants to go for a walk, he lights up, dancing with excitement. I daresay that, in the Fall, he would walk all day if I let him.

In order to ensure we take the MOST advantage of all the delights Autumn has to offer, we’ve made a few rules.

Felix’s Rules for Making the Most of Fall Walks

  • Never waste a chance for a good walk. Humans get busy. There is work to do and houses to clean. Blog posts don’t write themselves and someone has to keep making dog treats or, clearly, these dogs will starve. In the Fall, it can be extra easy to postpone a walk until “later”. Not here. If I happen to look out the window and think “Gee, what a nice day” or “It’s awfully pretty out there”, then we go for a walk, then and there. The rainy season is coming, we will enjoy Fall while it lasts.

  • Take the long way home. Once we’re out on a walk, we don’t hurry. We stop to smell the fall smells. We practice not chasing the birds and the squirrels. I’ll grab a coffee and we’ll meander our way down the main street, window shopping and enjoying the day. We’ll try a new route home, just to let the dogs smell some new smells.

  • Strike a balance between good behaviour and encouraging fun and curiosity. There is something about the changing seasons that makes the world seem different somehow. If everything looks different, perhaps it all smells different too. While I love getting out on a nice walk, the truth is that these walks are for my dogs – for them to exercise their bodies and their minds. I love seeing how excited they are about the smells, romping through the leaves and checking out new walking areas. I would rather have a dog who glories in enjoying Fall with me, than a dog who walks obediently by my side (which is good because I doubt I’ll have a dog like that anytime soon.)

  • Follow your (dog’s) nose. One of my favourite ways to while away a Fall afternoon, is to clip on our favourite dog leashes and see where we end up. I’m always amazed by where we end up when I allow my dogs to follow their noses and choose the route. I’ve discovered sandwich shops, parks and more this way. It’s always an adventure and seeing the look on Kol’s face when he sees I’m going to let him follow the scent trail he’s on as long as he likes. It’s pure joy.

  • Be prepared. Let’s face it, here in the Pacific Northwest, Fall can mean rain. A lot of rain. A lot of cold, wet rain. A rainy walk brings joys and smells all of it’s own that you just won’t find when it’s dry and with the right gear, a rainy walk can be every bit as lovely as a dry one. Coats are a must and I’m already planning to custom make new, super fierce Gortex coats for the boys. Earlier this year, we discovered the best dog leashes for rainy walks and Im not even kidding, they are totally awesome. I have a supreme hatred of leashes that feel like a cold, limp fish in my hand. Our biothane leashes are the answer to all my rainy day blues and I couldn’t possibly love them more. (The fact that they’re bright orange & green is awesome, always cheers me up and we get tons of compliments on them, but if rockin’ the 90s isn’t your thing, there are other, less shocking colours.) You can find out why we loves them so much over on our review post.

Since it’s Walk Your Dog Week, we’ve committed to being extra walk-y this week. We’ll go on a long after work walk, in the dusky evening after work tomorrow, I’ve made a Saturday coffee date to walk to, we’ll go tromp in the leaves, take in the early morning dew and enjoy as much time walking around as we can.

After all, soon enough it will be winter and all of us, human and canine, will be ready to settle in for a long winter’s nap.

 

Thanks to our friends at Dog Walkies, we’ve got two of our very favourite leashes and matching collars to give away!

From Left to Right: Dog Walkies Leashes & Collars in Milk Chocolate (for you guys), Mint (also for you), Red (for Luey) and Lime Green (for Koly).

 

 Enter now for your chance to win these magical “unicorn leather”, rain proof leashes!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Cascadian Nomads & My GBGV Life for hosting this fun Walk Your Dog Week Celebration! I absolutely adore Emma, Bailie and Katie and I’m not even joking when I say I’d like to be Bethany when I grow up. (Dude, she walks her giant, awesome bird around in a stroller. It’s awesome.)

 

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Kristen

Sunday 5th of October 2014

She loves sniffing everywhere!

Sandrine

Sunday 5th of October 2014

My dogs Gershwin & Confetti love the smells, they have to check out everything!

Jessica @ YouDidWhatWithYourWeiner

Sunday 5th of October 2014

Yay. I didn't miss the giveaway. I bought those two brown ones but REEEEELY had my eye on that mint green one.

Chester and Gretel like the smells most on our walks. Although I don't let them stop every 5 feet to smell around, they still take in the various smells as we walk. The other part they like best is to just be moving instead of sitting around the house.

Linda Szymoniak

Saturday 4th of October 2014

I have five rescued Treeing Walker Coonhounds - they love sniffing everything they come across.

Beth | Daily Dog Tag

Saturday 4th of October 2014

My dogs love the smells! Well Theo also loves to leave his mark on every vertical thing he can find.

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