Dogs should be taken out for walks at least three times a day, the type of walk depends on the size and physical condition of the dog. Taking walks makes dogs happy and healthy. It isn’t just great exercise for your dog, but it influences the perception he has of you.

Having a large backyard for your dog to run around is not enough, he needs to go out and take walks with you. Another mistake people make is thinking that small dogs don’t need to take walks, all dogs need it. Dogs are pets that need to go outside their comfort zone, explore smells, mark territory, exercise and distract themselves. How would you feel if you could never leave your house all day? We bet nobody would like that.

Many of us may think of this activity as a chore, something boring or something that you are forced to do. Nobody forced you to have a dog, so you must be responsible and take care of his basic needs, since you love your dog and want him to be happy. One way of making daily walks a little more fun could be to ask a friend or other people who have dogs to take walks together.

Walks also have the purpose of creating stronger relationships between owners and pets, walks should be relaxing and dogs shouldn’t pull on their leash. Here are some tips you can apply when taking walks:

• The walk starts at home, don’t leave until your dog is calm, his mental state is very important.
• When you are leaving home, make sure you go out the door first and come back inside first. This will let your dog know who is in charge.
• If possible use a short leash, using a long one is more complicated when trying to control your dog.
• Take your time. Don’t rush back home as soon as he has gone to the bathroom, remember your dog needs time to explore, feel free and connect with other dogs.
• Take him out for walks three times a day, morning, afternoon and night. During the winter, don’t take him out when it’s the coldest time of the day or the hottest time during the summer.
• Take control during the walk, don’t let him take control, walk together and don’t let him go anywhere he wants, your dog must follow you, not the other way around. This is important for him to respect you.
• If he was well behaved during the walk make sure to give him a treat, so he starts to understands what is expected during daily walks.
• If he pulls on the leash, stop and start again, make him walk by your side and at your pace.
• Don’t look at what he is doing the whole time, he is the one who should be looking at you the whole time.
• Don’t get nervous or pull on the leash when you see other dogs, you will transmit that energy to your dog and he may not communicate with other dogs as he should. Remember: be calm and transmit security.

Remember that the length of the walk depends on the characteristics of your dog, some dogs may only need 30 minutes, while others may need an hour. The most important thing to know is that this is a time to share with your pet, connect and enjoy. There isn’t anything better than sharing time with your dog. ¡Happy walking!

We bet you’re curious about what’s your dog’s human age, and like most of us you just multiply his age by 7. This traditional way of doing it is old fashioned. There is a reason that shows it’s the wrong way of calculating our dog’s age. If we calculated our dog’s age by multiplying by 7 it would mean that at age one, age 7 in human years, he would start his fertile age, since dogs start their fertile age at 1. And we know that humans don’t start their fertile years that young.

Establishing the exact formula that corresponds to the age between dogs and humans is not possible. For example, dogs from different breeds don’t live the same amount of years, all dogs are different, like humans. Having a formula that is the closest to the truth can be useful when it comes for us to organize our life in relation to our dog, his needs and ours.

Even though the formula 7×1 has an unknown origin and little scientific proof, it’s the most popular way of doing the calculation. Some say that the formula became popular due to a marketing strategy created to encourage veterinarian visits; this way dog owners would worry about how fast time went by in regards of their dog’s life.

In the past few years other formulas have appeared, being more logical by considering the dog’s evolution during his first years of life. This way one dog year would be equal to sixteen of human years, which is when reproductive years usually start. There is an important variable which is the dog’s size. Smaller size breeds tend to have a longer life span than larger dog breeds. When a large dog is 4 years old a small dog is 3 years old.

Recently, studies done by University of Georgia have incorporated a new variant: breed. If breed is included in the calculation, the formula gets more complicated. For example, analyzing two small sized dog breeds: a Chihuahua and a Beagle, at 4 years old, the Chihuahua would be 34.7 years old, while the Beagle would be 35.4. (Chihuahua: two first years = 12.5, after the third year 4.87 must be added each year. Beagle: two first years = 12.5, after the third year = 5.20 years must be added.

At this point you may feel confused trying to add up the numbers and missing the old formula 7×1. To make it easier there is a table below to help you understand, which is based on size. How old is you dog? What do you think of this formula?