Have dog, will hike

LITTLE ROCK — Dogs are born for action. Hunters, herders, retrievers, ratters and Heinz-57s all like to have an agenda.

And they’re self-starters. If there’s nothing to do, they’ll take up a hobby: gardening, shoe lab, public speaking, that sort of thing. So, why not give them a job as your personal trainer?

The fact that you and Ol’ Duke get a workout would be one advantage.

There would be the added perk of venting a bit of his steam. And going out for a game of fetch, or neighborhood patrol, will strengthen your relationship with your four-legged friend.

A small 2007 study by the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri-Columbia seems to show a connection between dog walking and improved physical functioning in senior citizens.

Researchers tested 54 adults age 67-97 over a 12-week period, five days a week, separating them into three groups. One group was assigned to walk dogs at the community animal shelter. The second group was assigned to walk with a human companion. People in the third, or control, group did not change whatever routines they had.

Findings showed physical functioning for the senior citizens in the dog-walking group improved 28 percent; the human-walking group’s functioning improved 4 percent; and the control group saw 6 percent improvement.

Researchers concluded in part that human companions help each other make excuses for ditching a walk.

The dog-walking participants also said they enjoyed being around the shelter dogs, adding that the prospect of walking the pups encouraged them to get outside and increased their confidence.

The university study is ongoing and has partially morphed into a program in the city of Columbia that recruits volunteers, young or old, to walk shelter dogs for the benefit of both species. There are similar programs in Indianapolis and Cleveland.

Dogs are social creatures, and they love a team project as much as they crave quality time with their people.

Dogs seem to draw people together, too. They’re great for breaking the ice with strangers, and are often irresistible conversation-starters.

DOGGAGE

One Arkansan has taken that hiking, hounds and hobnobbing idea online.

A recent expedition in Little Rock’s Allsopp Park with a motley crew of mutts (just a figure of speech, Buttons) and their owners was just one of a long list of tail-wagger walkabouts organized by Krin Collins of North Little Rock.

When she moved back to Arkansas after years away, Collins looked for a way to gather like-minded people who love hiking, dogs and meeting new people.

She found the answer on the website meetup.com and in September started a group called Hikers and Walkers With-Doggage. The page pops up when you search meetup.

com for “doggage.”

As of Wednesday, the group had had enrolled 65 “dogwalkateers” and been on 26 meetup outings - in central Arkansas, Hot Springs, Petit Jean Mountain and Pedestal Rocks (near Pelsor). Forthcoming get togethers are updated frequently on the meet up page.

On the doggage group’s loop-trail jaunt in Allsopp Park, damp and breezy conditions kept everybody moving along, including Collins and Katie, her “Lesser Bernese Mountain Mutt,” age unknown, adopted from a breed-rescue group, Just Us Beagles and Friends in Alexander. Also hiking were Chris Ghent of Little Rock, with Buttons, an 8-year-old male miniature poodle; and Candy Sutton, also of Little Rock, with Allison, a 6 1 /2-year-old Irish setter-black Labrador retriever mix.

During the hike, it became clear that for the humans, it was all about the conversation and enjoying the fresh air and woods, but for the dogs, it was all about sniffing The Next Big Thing. And for proper sniffing coverage, you can’t stop for long.

But Collins says the meetup group is also a social event for the dogs: “I think they really like it that there’s a group of people who like dogs.

There’s a special bond of understanding around most of the people who have dogs.”

In Allsopp Park the group encountered about a dozen other people,and every walker or group of walkers was accompanied by at least one dog, most of them friendly. Little Buttons proved fearless when the group met a couple of very large, grumpy dogs that were pulled a few feet off the trail by their kindly owner.

And this brings up a sticky subject.

GOOD OWNER!

These dog-hikers say courtesy is key on public trails. Aggressive and messy dogs are not welcomed by other users, even other dog lovers. If Bella is a nuisance, or worse, you’ll be giving ammunition to those who would ban dogs on popular paths.

And we’ll all appreciate it if you pick up anything your dog leaves behind.

Around other people, your dog should be under your control at all times, which often means leashed. In many Arkansas cities and most public parks, leashing is the law.

Sure, dogs are playful and affectionate companions, but they also have a thing about control. Think about it this way: If you have a dog in your home, you are part of a pack.

Even if you don’t buy that, little Princess believes it and will act accordingly. In a pack, there’s always an alpha dog, and trainers will tell you that dogs don’t like any uncertainty on that point. If you’re not going to be the alpha dog in your little pack, then guess who is?

Trainers say one clue to which is which comes when you and yourdog(s) are leaving for a walk or returning home. Human or dog, the first one through the door is the alpha.

Likewise, it’s best not to let the dog think it is initiating playtime.

When Big Red pesters you to get away from the couch or computer, you can pretend to ignore him, wait a few minutes, and then announce: “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Let’s go outside!”

HAPPY TAILS

Dogs do love being part of a team, so it may not be a stretch to say that, in their own small way, they have a tendency toward unselfish devotion to a cause.

Is Roxie fetching the ball or going for a walk because she likes it, or is she just doing it because she thinks you want to and she wants to please?

The answer is yes.

Good dogs are a joy to be around and they enjoy being around people.

And verily, enjoyment is the most important ingredient in a successful exercise program.

Katie is always ready to go, Collins says. “As soon she sees a leash, or if I put my shoes on, and they’re not work shoes, she comes running to the door and starts wagging her tail, so I know then that I have to take her out.”

Sutton gets a similar encouragement from Allison.

“There’s a trail behind the apartments where I live, and she’s always ready,” she says.

“And I have to take her out early in the morning and in the evening because I work 12-hour shifts, and I have to get up at 5 to take her walking. And I wouldn’t get out like that if I didn’t have a dog.”

Perhaps you just want to get out for your evening constitutional and you’d like some company, but the spouse is unavailable and your buddies are busy. Never fear, Mr. Peabody is always available for a spur of the moment outing.

And he’s always ready to remind you of his philosophy: Take time to stop and smell … everything.