Dog friendly outdoor activities: 5 Ideas for adventurous days out with your dog

Dog friendly outdoor activities: 5 Ideas for adventurous days out with your dog

Dog friendly outdoor activities: 5 Ideas for adventurous days out with your dog

Having an adventure with your dog can be a rewarding experience. Watching your four-legged friend explore a new location or activity can bring enormous sense of satisfaction as well as being a form of exercise and mental stimulation. This article covers some of our favourite ideas for adventuring with your dog.

1. Take a hike in the woods

Dogs love a good sniff and there are few places that offer a richer variety of natural smells than in a forested area. If you can trust your dog off-lead, the woods give them a fantastic level of freedom. Following-their noses off the beaten path and into the trees and undergrowth. Spending time in the woods can be restorative for both humans and dogs, particularly if you live in a built-up area. Several studies have demonstrated physical and mental health benefits of spending time in forests. Along with the higher air quality the woods really are good for you and your dog.

When planning your trip, just make sure the woods are dog friendly. It’s also very wise to plan your route and bring a map and plenty of water for you and your dog. It’s always important to be respectful in nature, so take care to stick to established paths and avoid disturbing the wildlife.

2. Discover a new beach

We love beaches. Especially big sandy ones. The best beaches offer the best of both worlds for dogs who like to both run and swim. Big open space, soft sand good for the joints and a place to cool off too. If you already have a beach you like to take your dog to you will certainly know how much fun they have. Taking your dog to the beach you’ve not visited before can be an exciting experience. Even if it’s not quite Barbados, your dog will have a great time digging, running and sniffing in a new place.

Watch out for tide times and dog-friendly seasons. Most dog-friendly beaches will have months where dogs are not allowed so check this out before you travel.

3. Go swimming together This is one of our favourite dog friendly outdoor activities to beat the heat. Swimming is incredible exercise that’s comparatively gentle on the joints. Sea swimming can be a lot of fun - just ensure you check to see if it is safe to swim (there will usually be flags to indicate conditions). Alternatively, fresh water swimming can easily be incorporated into country walks by streams, rivers and lakes. Again, if it is a well used route there should be water safety information displayed.

4. Paddleboard/Kayak/Canoe with your pooch You’ve probably seen plenty of dogfluencers, calming paddling along with a serene dog aboard. This is certainly achievable but will take time and practise. But, as with most dog friendly outdoor activities, the practising can be part of the fun if you include plenty of rewards and encouragement and turn it into a game.

5. Let your dog ‘Sniffari’

You can turn anywhere into an adventure of you let your dog follow their nose! Although it may be boring to humans and drag out a walk, it’s essential for a dog’s health and happiness to have a good sniff of their environment. Even routes they know well will be alive with new ‘updates’ that are imperceptible to humans. This is because dogs have approximately 300 million scent receptors compared to a human’s 6 million. If you have time and know that the area is safe, allowing your dog to amble along, choosing their own adventure is a great way of exercising their brains.

Preparing for your adventure

For all dog friendly outdoor activities, the best experiences are a combination of spontaneity and preparing for the unexpected. While that might sound like a contradiction, you’ll feel far more confident throwing yourself into the moment if you know you have all the right planning and gear to support your adventures. The 3-in-1 Outdoor Dog Water bottle is an invaluable piece of kit. Not only does it keep drinks cool, houses 2 durable bowls and a pocket for dog bags; it also comes in a durable, easily portable carry case. We’ve taken it hiking, mountain climbing and to the beach…with our dog of course! And it has always been extremely handy. This Guest Blog was written by Two Humans and a Dog - Helping adventurous humans find unique travel experiences with their dogs.

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