National Walk Your Dog Day is February 22nd, so this is the perfect time to refresh your dog walking routine! Some days it can be hard to get outside and exercise your dog. Maybe bad weather is keeping you indoors or you’re exhausted from work. But for your dog, going on a walk is often the best part of their day!

A daily walk is an important part of your dog’s routine. It gives them a chance to burn off energy, stay in shape and bond with you. But those aren’t the only benefits. A recent study shows that walking your dog can actually make you happier!

Ready to gain all of those benefits? I put together 5 ways to make your dog walk more fun. Which approach is right for you? Check out the list and make sure to let us know on social media! Find Monro Pets on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Walk Around a New Neighborhood with Your Dog

Your daily dog walk can get a little repetitive if you’re strolling around the same block every day. Why not mix it up and drive to another neighborhood for your walk? Relocating will give your dog all sorts of new things to sniff! Using their senses to discover new smells will tap into your dog’s natural instincts. Plus, exposing your dog to new experiences will make them more confident.

A new neighborhood full of new people and places will give you new things to look at, too. One of my favorite things to look for is a neighborhood with a lot of street art. There’s nothing better than admiring an outdoor art gallery with my dog. Plus, it’s a great excuse to take new Instagram photos!

Make sure your pup is dressed to match the murals with this abstract Kawaii Pinku collar. 

Track Your Dog Walk Miles

One of the best ways to encourage more walks with your dog is to make it a little competitive! Set a goal for yourself and see how far you can walk together. Start off with something achievable like 30 miles in 30 days. Or push your limits and try to walk your dog 100 miles in a month! I’ve done it before, and I know you can, too!

You can track your distance using built-in features on your phone or a pet activity tracker. There’s also an app called Walk for a Dog that will turn your logged miles into donations to animal shelters.

Walk With Your Dog Friends

Socializing is just as important for you as it is for your dog. So reach out to another dog friend and go for a walk together. Your dogs might be a little wild and excited to see each other at first, but if you keep moving they’ll learn to walk side by side. Think of it as your own little pack!

Simply walking together like this will teach your dog how to be calmer when they interact with other dogs in the future. This is also a great way to socialize a dog who can’t handle off-leash play with other dogs. The dog park isn’t necessarily everyone’s happy place! If socializing at the park makes your dog nervous, a pack walk might be more their speed. 

Leash Up with Colorful Dog Gear

Your dog collar and leash are something that you use every day. So you should have something that’s durable, stylish and makes you smile each time you grab it to head out for a dog walk.

Whether you like something out of this world, something inspired by Japanese pop culture, or something geometric… Monro Pets has the best colorful gear for your dog!

When you’re shopping for a new dog collar and leash set, make sure it’s just as functional as it is stylish. I love that all the Monro Pets leashes feature a padded handle and are water and sun resistant. That means we can use them every day and not worry about fraying, fading or funk!

Browse the full collection of collars and leashes. 

Incorporate Training Into Your Dog Walk

If I don’t have time to go walk in a new neighborhood, I can still mix up our walking routine by making the experience of the walk different. How do I do that? With training!

Instead of doing our normal walk at a normal pace, it can be fun to work on obedience training. Have your dog “heal” at your side for a block. You can also have them sit at each corner or go into a “down stay” while waiting for cars or other people to pass.

For training walks, I recommend a 6-foot leash like any of the styles here.

How Do you Make Your Dog Walk More Fun?

Now that you have all these new ideas to make your dog walk more fun, I hope you hit the streets together. Do you have a great idea that we missed? We’d love to hear about it! Comment below or tag @MonroPets on Instagram so we can see what you’re doing on your walks with your dog. 

About the Author:

Tori Mistick is a dog lifestyle expert and the founder of Wear Wag Repeat, a multimedia brand dedicated to spreading positivity through a shared love of dogs. You can find her on Instagram @tmistick.