The days are growing shorter and nightfall is coming sooner. Shorter days usually drive people indoors to the gym to make sure they get their daily exercise, but that unfortunately leaves your dog at home to become a couch potato for the winter.
A lack of daily exercise for people and dogs can lead to obesity, diabetes, circulation problems, joint damage and a long list of other health problems. Exercising with your dog not only strengthens you bond with him, it is also the healthy thing to do to help you and your dog avoid a myriad of health problems.
We all occasionally need a nudge to get off the couch and start exercising, particularly if you get home later in the evening. As the sun is rising later and setting sooner it can be hard to muster the energy to exercise outdoors, but once you commit to taking even a short daily walk or jog with your dog as part of your routine, the habit is an easy one to maintain even while it’s dark outside.
If you regularly walk your pet in the evening, there are some basic tips to follow to help keep both you and your dog safe. First, always follow the basic rules of the road when out with your pet. Walk against traffic so that you can see oncoming cars, and try to stay off the road when you can.
Common sense dictates that you should never walk at night where you feel unsafe. If you don’t feel comfortable where you are walking find a quick way out. You should carry a small map of the area if you plan to walk in a part of town you are unfamiliar with.
It is an excellent idea to get you and your pet some nighttime safety gear to alert passing motorists of your presence. Luckily there are lots of products that can help make you and your dog more visible at night. Using a high-visibility reflective cycling or running jacket or a high-visibility reflective night vest is an easy way to make yourself more visible while walking at night. When a car’s headlights strike the clothing, the reflective material illuminates, making you visible to the oncoming motorist.
For your dog there are a plethora of products out there to help make him more visible. There are collars, leashes and even some dog coats made with the same highly reflective material as jogging and cycling clothing for people, and those are a wonderful and relatively inexpensive investment. You can also find some battery powered collars and leashes that light up or you can add LED lights that are made to attach to a dog’s collar for even more visibility. The nice thing about the battery powered collars, leashes and lights is that they can be seen from many hundreds of feet away and do not require a secondary light source (like car headlights) to be visible.
Lastly, carry a flashlight for yourself. You’ll be able to easily light up what the dog is sniffing at, in case he’s suddenly interested in something dangerous or something you’d rather not have him get into. Plus a flashlight will help you to pick up after any mess he leaves behind.
There are many benefits to walking your dog, even in the dark hours of the day. You don’t have to worry about heat exhaustion or your dog walking on hot asphalt. Additionally walking at night, under all the stars, can be very relaxing and even a short evening walk can help you and your dog sleep more soundly. So don’t let the lack of sunshine discourage you and enjoy some regular evening walks with your dog.
