Doggone it, get walking
Grant Hambly is in the minority of dog owners in New Zealand – he walks his dog Oscar at least once a day.
Dogs need to be walked once a day, says the SPCA, but research the animal organisation commissioned found less than 30 per cent of Kiwi dog owners were actually doing it.
A combination of SPCA research and a spike in complaints has led to a campaign called Walk your Dog to the Moon, encouraging Kiwis to, well, walk their dogs.
For Hambly and Oscar, it’s twice a day in the weekdays and once a day in the weekends.
‘‘He doesn’t bother too much in the evenings so I’d say he does get exercise,’’ Hambly said.
‘‘It does depend on the type and the breed of the dog and how active the dog is, Oscar’s very active ... it’s good for both to get out and about.’’
SPCA chief executive Andrea Midgen said the statistics needed to change – dogs need exercise.
‘‘[Walking the dog] is good for everybody, it’s good for the dogs, they need exercise every day in some way, shape or form,’’ Midgen said.
‘‘And it’s good for people ... I fundamentally believe it destresses, if you’ve had a pretty hectic day and you go out and walk your dog it helps clear your head.’’
However, the statistics did not surprise her.
‘‘People often think they’re doing things more than they often are anyway.
‘‘It’s like eating food and going on a diet ... if you start thinking about it and logging a diary of it you say: maybe it’s a bit more than I thought.
‘‘I think it’s the same thing with walking dogs.’’
Geoff Bowers, director of Christchurch’s Kuri dog care centres, agreed dogs needed a lot of exercise.
He said dogs needed to go for walks as often as they needed to eat.
‘‘Dogs don’t actually go for a walk, people walk, dogs hunt. The reason they leave their home in nature is to hunt for food.
‘‘Ideally [walk] twice a day, but I understand people have busy lives so as long as it’s a decent hunt, half an hour to an hour.’’
Sam Andrist said although his dog Kaia could be antisocial it was important to take her out for a walk. ‘‘When we bought her she hadn’t really been outside before, she was scared of the rain and she certainly hadn’t been round other dogs before.’’
Andrist’s family took Kaia out for a walk at least once daily to make her less afraid.
The SPCA received more than 8000 dog welfare complaints in 2017, nearly 5000 more than any other animal.
Midgen said the increase in complaints was a ‘‘good thing’’ as people were starting to understand what wasn’t OK and would report it.
Six rescued dogs have been recruited from across the country to front the Walk your Dog to the Moon campaign.