Dog Walking Etiquette

The sun is shining and only a few fluffy white clouds are slowly drifting across a beautiful, blue sky. What more could a dog owner ask for? Of course, our four legged canine friends need to be walked every day, come rain or shine, but it's so much more pleasant for the human if the weather is nice. There really is nothing worse than the smell of wet dog after a rainy day walk, and my word does that odour linger!

Thankfully, it is not raining today and so our little orange doggy is not smelling damp and unpleasant (although he does need a shower). He is currently lounging on the sofa, absolutely shattered having had a nice long walk in the sunshine. Don't worry, we were hugely responsible and went out early this morning before it gets too warm. Dogs and heat don't mix, and their wee paws can be burnt on very hot pavements. Ouch!

It was whilst we were making our way home, that I was thinking just how fabulous it is to have a dog to walk. You see, when you have a dog, you have to walk him or her, which means you also get to exercise and best of all you get to meet new people and make new friends, as does your dog. It really is a very sociable thing to do and a lot more fun than the gym!

I have lived in the same home for almost thirteen years now, but it wasn't until we got our gorgeous little orange dog, Max that I really started to meet people on my estate. It's amazing how having a dog makes people more willing to speak to you. To be fair, Max tends not to give people (particularly men) much choice. He is under the false impression that everyone he sees loves him and wants to make a fuss of him; this results in my having to apologise profusely, whilst explaining that my dog is a complete tart! I know that seems harsh, but he really is. Anyway, even these encounters seem to result in some form of conversation. However, meet another dog owner and you can be chatting for absolutely ages. Dog walkers really are incredibly friendly. Well when your dogs are busy sniffing each others bottoms, you kind of have to be chatty, it's all a bit awkward if you don't.

And when I say awkward, I mean really awkward, because there are one or two owners where I live whom don't do sociable and friendly. When I'm out with Max and I see a dog walker approaching whom is doing everything possible not to make eye contact, my heart literally sinks. Now, please don't think I am criticising them; I realise not everyone wants to exchange small talk whilst their dogs sniff each other, but that's the thing because as a general rule of thumb, dogs are highly sociable creatures and they don't seem to understand any other way to be. Dogs see one another, they stop, have a look, make a quick assessment and decide if they want to say hello to the other dog (99% of the time, they want to say 'hi, now please let me sniff your butt'). If the owner is a non eye contact type of person, you are then left trying to manoeuvre your canine out of their way so the owner doesn't feel uncomfortable when you, as a chatty dog owner feel obliged to speak to them. It really is a minefield, particularly if your dog does manage to get to theirs and they're doing the sniffy thing. Sometimes I make it even worse for myself by speaking to the dog whilst the owner looks at me like I've just escaped Bedlam. I can't help it though, my dog is sniffing your dog's butt, what am I meant to do? There isn't a manual on this sort of thing. None of the dog owner books tell you how to deal with unsociable dog owners and I'm not one of those people who knows how to keep my mouth shut (which can cause a lot of trouble, but that's a different story). Awkward, plain and simple. Thankfully, I did manage to avoid such a situation this morning, though I did feel sorry for the dogs, because they were desperately pulling on their leads to say hello. I'd love to know if any of you fellow doggy owners have encountered this and how you deal with it. Please feel free to leave a message in the comments. Perhaps we can collate the information and write our own manual.