Animals have the ability to create an instant connection with people. If you take a giant Rottweiler out for a walk, you may get some frightened looks from complete strangers as you stroll around the park. While this might not be the most pleasant reaction, it is still some form of interaction that you may not receive if you were walking alone.
Find love
There is a theory that you could actually find love just from walking your dog. If you meet a nice person during your dog walk who is also walking their own pooch, you will instantly have a talking point. Having the same breed can lead to discussion about particular characteristics or habits, as well as exchanging stories. If the breeds are different, you may find that you can pick up useful tips for training methods or even new places to walk your dogs.
The conversations may lead to the two of you taking your dogs on a walk together and a deeper relationship may develop. Of course, you could also end up simply making a new friend which is nice. Your dogs could develop their own friendship which is also only going to be a good thing for them.
Children
When people have children, they can often find themselves subjected to incessant pestering to get a pet. If other children at their school or nursery have dogs or cats, it can make them even more keen to have one of their own. These animals are a great way for children to learn how to take care of something. They will have to understand about feeding and walking their pet every day and also begin to form a bond with them. Having pets is also a way of teaching children about the life cycle.
Family events
If you are throwing a big family party or have been invited to one, you can often find that pets reduce tension. When the whole family gets together, you may find there are a number of different issues bubbling below the surface with various family members. A pet can easily diffuse these issues as they draw the attention onto them and relax the people around them. Petting a dog has been thought to calm people down and reduce stress levels With that in mind, bringing your dog to any large gatherings may be well worth it. Of course, you will need to be aware of any phobias that people might have and ensure you don’t make anyone else feel uncomfortable.
General interaction
You might find that taking your dog for a walk is just a simple way to have some human interaction. Some people might go the entire day without speaking to anyone so having a brief conversation during a walk may be the only human contact some people get. If your dog is unusual looking or particularly cute to look at, you should expect more comments and people to stop and pet them. Try to be open minded about this and you might find you make a new friend in the process.
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Read the Easy Animal blog for more doggy-related insights such as this. This article was written on behalf of the brand by UK based journalist Lauren Sutton.
