Old pets should take the lead on walks to boost their brains

DOGS should be allowed to sniff lamp posts as often as they want when out on a walk and not be yanked onwards by bored owners, a canine expert has said.

Walks are often seen by owners as being solely for exercise and to keep a dog fit but they also play a vital role in mental stimulation, veterinarians say.

Some dogs, especially as they get older, walk with less vigour and for shorter periods of time, preferring to plod slowly and investigate the scents around them. This should be embraced by owners, even if it is frustrating, counter-intuitive and boring for them, veterinarians believe.

In a talk on how to adapt to living with a geriatric dog at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) Congress 2023, experts spoke about the value of ensuring a dog was still fulfilled, active and stimulated even as its body slows down or it develops agerelated health issues, like osteoarthritis.

“I think you have to make a mental switch when you’ve got a dog with osteoarthritis; instead of it being you and your mate going out for a really nice walk wherever you want, there has to be some walks that are for the dog,” Zoe Belshaw, a veterinary surgeon working on the BSAVA Old Age Pets project, said.

“As most dogs age, they become increasingly motivated to sniff. I think it’s a massively important part of their quality of life, being able to sniff.

“[Older] dogs don’t need to be marching for the whole ten minutes of a walk.

“If you have ten minutes and they go ten metres but spend nine and a half minutes sniffing a lamppost; for that dog that is probably so much better than you trying to drag it around a circular walk around the block.”