Walking off the Wiggles

Tuttle is a busy little guy and when a person isn't entertaining him then he finds his own fun, which often isn't an activity I'd like him to be doing. He also will start to bug the other dogs, barking in their faces to get them to play with him. Don't get me wrong, he's a very sweet guy, but he's all terrier and can be a handful.

"Wanna play?!"

Today it got to the point where I was a bit concerned someone was going to strangle the little guy - either Chima, Sal, Frodo or me. So I decided rain or no rain Tuttle and I were going for a walk.

I can't say he was super excited about this. He loves to sniff though so off we went at a snails pace, him inspecting every blade of grass and fallen leaf and me doing deep breathing since I really don't like to walk slow.

Reading the "p-mail"

But this walk was for Tuttle, not me. While us humans love to walk in straight lines at a brisk pace, that's not how dogs walk. For them a walk is about exploration and all that sniffing and wandering and experiencing new things uses all of their senses, working their brain and really wearing them out.

Another leaf to sniff and bark to walk on

Checking out one of the many waste bins along the route

Along with all the sniffing and licking of things, Tuttle worked on being brave as garbage trucks and cars drove by, dogs barked at fences, and strangers walked down the other side of the street. He sniffed the trash cans at each house which probably had a load of interesting smells, and walked on a bunch of different textured surfaces: grass, various grates, asphalt, moss, beauty bark and wood chips.

Tuttle went all the way under this hedge and then popped his head out to get a sniff of it

About 1/2 mile into our walk the rain really picked up and Tuttle started to drag. He was no longer having much fun or even doing much exploring - he was just cold and wet. By the time we reached the 3/4 mile mark he was really done so I picked him up and carried him the last 1/4 mile back to the house. There he practiced more bravery as he experienced the garage door opening near him and the recycling bin being wheeled into the garage.

Hitching a ride home after deciding he was too wet to move his legs. 

Hopefully we'll get some nicer weather so Tuttle will get to walk in the sunshine. Then maybe it won't take us a full 30 minutes to get around the block.