How To Choose the Best Walking Route for Your Dog

By Dr Alicia Fuller

September 14, 2021 08:52

View Dog-Friendly Tracks & Beaches Near You

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service has a web page highlighting dog walking parks in NSW. In addition to this, check your local council’s website for other areas to enjoy with your pet.

This will help you get an idea of the length of the walk, the terrain and suitability before you both head out.

Length of Walk

This is a common misconception about greyhounds. Because greyhounds spend their time training as athletes to then race around the track, some people assume they must require a lot of exercise to maintain physical health.

Greyhounds are actually pretty happy couch potatoes. In most cases, we suggest the average greyhound requires twenty minutes of walking, twice per day.

The rest of the time, they’re happy to be hanging out and sleeping.

Some Greyhounds Like Taking a Swim

Interestingly, some greyhounds will actually use swimming as part of their training for racing. As such, you will find that a lot of greyhounds are competent swimmers in pools and lakes.

Greyhounds typically enjoy the water, and swimming is great for all dogs. Hydrotherapy is an impact-free way of exercising that keeps your dogs fit and healthy. Hydrotherapy is also tolerable for older dogs who may be living with arthritis.

At GAP NSW Wyee facility, we have a pool dedicated for the greyhounds, we can advise whether your new best mate likes the water or not.

Similarly, there are a number of privately-owned hydrotherapy pools for dogs throughout NSW, which is another way to go for a swim.

Negotiating Terrain

There are many GAP greyhounds that lived rurally and primarily spent their life on natural terrain.

When they come into the Greyhounds as Pets program, we help them acclimatise to man-made terrains, such as cement, carpet and footpaths.

When in our care, greyhounds are walked through nearby urban environments to prepare them for their forever home. One example of this is learning to negotiate stairs, as this movement can be new to some greyhounds.

An excellent strategy to help negotiate terrain is to practice nose targeting.

Learning About Your New Best Mate Before Adopting

Our teams spend a lot of time collecting information on the greyhounds in our program now, as well as greyhounds coming in soon. This helps us provide adoptees with as much information as possible.

When they're with us, we learn about their preferences and what type of owner they would be ideally suited to. Many have been in foster care too, allowing us to gain additional insight into their behaviour.

That information allows us to make sure that we find your new best mate, and you’ll have a good idea of who your greyhound is before you meet them.

To view our greyhounds available for adoption, please visit our greyhounds page.

“I love my greyhounds as trustworthy companions and such a lovely breed. Normally, we go for two twenty-minute walks a day, but if it’s raining, we’re all pretty happy to just go for a car trip”

Todd McKenney