You may be walking your dog wrong, PETA founder says
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Well, this is ruff to hear — there’s yet another thing we all may be doing wrong.
PETA founder and president Ingrid Newkirk said that pet owners are most likely rushing their dogs along on their daily walks — and probably being a little too distant for the dogs' likings.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}If you’re one of the roughly 44 percent of Americans who own a dog, chances are you’re familiar with the walking demands of your pooch. However, a simple walk around the neighborhood as a “bathroom break” isn’t going to cut it if you want to be a good companion to your dog, Newkirk claimed.
More than letting your dog lead the way, Newkirk states owners need to be more present during the walk. (iStock)
“It’s their walk, you know?” Newkirk said in an interview on Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross. “That’s a very special occasion for a dog, to be outside and to smell and to look. They don’t want to be stuck in a room all day with their legs crossed, hoping to go outside. It’s more than a bathroom break, it’s an excursion.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The solution?
“Let them sniff!” Newkirk said. “That’s their way they read the news, that’s their Internet. Don’t drag them along.”
But more than letting your dog lead the way, Newkirk also states owners need to be more present during the walk.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Get off your phone," she added. "People are so wrapped up in their own things they want to do."
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And finally, no collars.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“I would go with a harness,” she said. “Because a collar can cause a lot of problems, and never a choke or prong collar.”