It’s Fun! It’s Great Exercise! And No, You Don’t Get to Go

by Kerry Bleskan

Imagine: it’s a beautiful summer day. Your dog is blazing up a deserted forest service road, veers off into a field of wildflowers, then cools off, happily splashing in and around a small, quiet pond. Sounds great, yes? Don’t worry about packing your swim trunks just yet. While Fido’s enjoying outdoor recreation, you’re still cooped up at work.

Welcome to the next era in dog walking. It could be a trip to a busy dog park, a hike in the woods, or a campout. Businesses are offering outdoor fun, exercise, and companionship, canine and human, for dogs whose people are gone for long stretches of the day.

Andrea Vincent’s MoonDoggy Dogwalking Adventures offers open-trail jogs and fetch sessions as well as swim outings, for which the North Bay area is perfect. “We have the bay, the ocean, creeks, and waterholes,” she enthuses.

She thinks the demand for MoonDoggy’s services reflects society’s changing view of pets. “When I started the business, people were just starting to use dog parks. They were beginning to think of pets as children. [Most] weren’t just adopting pets and chucking them in the backyard.”

Get me outta here

First and foremost, these outings are for exercise. The positive-training mantra “a tired dog is a good dog” is practically an old saw now, but that saw still cuts. Proper exercise can keep stay-at-home dogs out of trouble long after the walk is over.

“Regular exercise is as important for canine health and happiness as love and good food,” says Mark Assem, a trainer and owner of K9Extreme. “In fact, weight gain and most behavioral problems such as digging, chewing, excessive barking and inattention stem from boredom and lack of exercise.”

Runs, walks, and trips also provide mental exercise (all those sights and smells!) and training reinforcement, whether it’s you on the other end of leash or a pro. However, a business can offer on- and off-leash socializing opportunities not found in a quick walk with you after work. Walkers establish groups of dogs (MoonDoggy calls theirs “packs”) according to geography and some businesses break those down by age and activity level. Vincent says that since dogs are off leash while “adventuring,” aggression is hardly ever a problem. If a dog is aggressive with other dogs, though, she usually hears about it during the screening process. “I find that people are usually up-front about aggression,” she said. “They want to be responsible, and certainly don’t want anything to happen.” Dog-aggressive pooches can still go on trail walks and other fun activities, just not in groups.

It’s important to watch out for other animals, too. Ask whether your dog will need _ ea and tick protection. Vincent points out that larger forms of wildlife which might be annoyed or frightened by playing dogs are most active at dawn and dusk, so midday romps are best to avoid encounters.

Give me land and the starry skies above

“Adventures” are a stepped-up version of dog walking; camping is kennel-free boarding with the fun turned up. John Polzoni of Petaluma Dog Walkers offers Friday-to-Monday camping trips several times a year. He and up to five dogs (including his own) drive to the Sierras in the “Doggie Bus,” a van customized for canine travel safety. They spend most of Friday getting to a remote area and setting up camp while the dogs supervise. Polzoni has a campfire when allowed, and the dogs crash around it. Then it’s off to sleep, all in the same tent. The rest of the weekend is spent hiking, playing, and swimming in nearby creeks.

Polzoni says the trips are fun and tiring for the dogs and more so for him. Keeping a watchful eye on five dogs while tending to their needs for four straight days “is a huge responsibility,” he said, and exhausting. “I don’t really sleep.” To maximize safety, he must know all the dogs on the trip, all who are well socialized together beforehand through previous play dates. “Bolters” aren’t allowed. They all bond further over the weekend. “They are with me all of the time. You can’t get much more ‘in a pack’ than that,” Polzoni said. “I learn so much more about the dogs. It’s a great experience for them.”