Beyond the Daily Walk

Do you walk your dog daily?

Several times a week?

The same route?

Here is an idea to make the walk more interesting.

On you walk, add something challenging along the way. When you pass a vacant bench, teach your dog to walk along the length of it, or duck underneath if you have a small dog. How about teaching your dog to climb on a tree stump and sit, or hop over a fallen log.

Giving your dog simple tricks adds to the fun and enhances her listening skills.

Be sure to bring plenty of treats!

Children as Dog Walkers

Older children and teens can be the perfect solution to friends or neighbors in need of a dog walker. But like many areas of development, readiness to take on such a task varies greatly by the child.

Consider these issues before you decide if your child is ready for being a dog walker:

1. Is your child dependable, or will you be reminding him or her to visit the dog?

2. Does your child have control when walking your own dog, and will he or she pick up waste and avoid off-limit areas?

3. Will your child uphold his or her commitment, even if it means going out in the rain or declining a social opportunity?

4. Does your child remember details like locking doors, checking windows, and latching the fence?

5. Is your child patient with all canine personalities, from rambunctious puppies to slow moving seniors?

Once you feel your child is read, dog walking can be a great way for him or her to develop an early sense of responsibility and make some extra money in the process.

Dog Walking Good For Your Brain

Yes, walking your dog can help boost your memory!

Besides enjoying the outdoors, getting some exercise, and bonding with your dog, it has been proven that walking can modestly expand the hippocampus and improve memory.

In healthy adults, the hippocampus — a part of the brain important to the formation of memories — begins to atrophy around age 55 or 60.

In a study published on January 31st in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers randomly assigned 120 healthy but sedentary men and women (average age mid-60s) to one of two exercise groups. One group walked around a track three times a week, building up to 40 minutes at a stretch; the other did a variety of less aerobic exercises, including yoga and resistance training with bands.

After a year, brain scans showed that among the walkers, the hippocampus had increased in volume by about 2 percent on average; in the others, it had declined by about 1.4 percent. Since such a decline is normal in older adults, “a 2 percent increase is fairly significant,” said the lead author, Kirk Erickson, a psychologist at the University of Pittsburgh. Both groups also improved on a test of spatial memory, but the walkers improved more.

While it is hard to generalize from this study to other populations, the researchers were delighted to learn that the hippocampus might expand with exercise. “And not that much exercise,” Dr. Erickson pointed out.

So, keep on walking to stay healthy and mentally sharp.