Walking The Dog Observations

[Melissa]

I have started walking one of my Chihuahua's every morning before work and I notice some things about my neighborhood and neighbors.

everyone who is outside at 6:30-8:30 -very friendly, talkative and smiling.
Most homes out here are well taken care of.
Lots of free stuff is offered by various residents-I have gotten plant stands, a fern, succulent babies (for trading)
It smells really good out there with lots of flowers in bloom.
Silence is the only noise for blocks.
Many other dogs encountered on our walks just want to play and have fun.
Some of the dog walkers do so as well.
Lots of kittens running around.
The turkeys and their babies sure do cover alot of ground.

That's it for now.
How about you? Notice anything out there?

 

[afm199]

Dog Walks! I walk Lake Merritt. Streak has one friend there who gives her treats every time he sees her. We love going there to catch up. I wince at the number of people not wearing masks, all of them young. It's a great walk, most people are nice. Gives me a chance to buy a coffee latte at my favorite place.

Streak gets so excited for walks she jumps up and down, spins around and wags her tail madly.

 

[i_am_the_koi]

No puppy with us but our daily walk around the neighborhood has been entertaining.

The plight of the lost lawnmower. It's slowly moved around the area getting more and more parts taken from it. Currently at 3 wheels.

The lady who is always smoking in her garage with her army of cats. 7 in the morning, she's there. 9 at night, she's there. 105 degrees, she's there. Raining, she's there.

The plethora of puppies that say hello to us as we walk by. "Diablo" is our favorite, as he is a small pony with teeth that no longer wants to kill us after his owner left the garage open and he came to sniff us. Now he just jumps at the fence. We've also rescued two escaped puppies and returned them to their yards.

The friendly couple who we think just dig up their plants and move them around the yard. They haven't added, they haven't taken away, but they're always planting or removing things.

The hidden family of turkeys

 

[wazzuFreddo]

I like to take Snoopy for walks in the evening right after the sun has gone down but there is still twilight. Don't need sunglasses and there isn't anyone out.

I even ordered a new harness for the dog this morning that looks to be a lot more comfortable than the face harness. (he pulls a lot. when he was a puppy his first owner used an extendable leash which taught him that the harder he pulls the further he can go :rolleyes) This one goes over the shoulders and has side hooks so if he pulls, he turns.

 

[westie]

We have coyotes in the hayward hills now.
there are a lot of pissed off dogs confined to garages.
Renters don't give a poop about their yards compared to owners.
People with masks are frightened of those without.
Dusty can poop and walk at the same time.

 

[Bowling4Bikes]

I'm fortunate to live near a walking path surrounded by grass and trees we call the Greenbelt. I can see it from my house. I look out and see no one walking there, but as soon as I get my yellow lab (Penny) on the trail, there's people everywhere! It's like they wait for me...haha

I love walking in the grass far away from everyone else using the walkway. Penny loves the environment and the smells, but she's very social and wants to say "hi" to just about everyone she sees. It's a bit of a struggle of wills betwixt us, but a good problem to have.

The wife and I have fun looking at other houses and discussing how to incorporate something we like into our own.

The teenage kids usually moan about (us making them) joining us on dog walks. But once they're out and walking, they open up and we are able to have some of our best conversations.

 

[tzrider]

We used to encounter people on walks who would stop and chat. After our dog passed away, we'd walk the same routes, encounter the same people and most of them would walk right by without recognizing us.

 

[Melissa]

Great stories and observations.
Tomorrow morning we'll do it again.

 

[Archimedes]

The bobcats and mountain lions around us are more active in the early morning and early evening...that's what I've noticed. Oh and the Turkeys can make quite a lot of noise in the early morning.

 

[Eye Heart Pasta]

We used to encounter people on walks who would stop and chat. After our dog passed away, we'd walk the same routes, encounter the same people and most of them would walk right by without recognizing us.

There are neighbors all along our route that say "Hi Rudy!" to my dog and just say "hi" to me. I'd estimate it's about 3:1 people who know just Rudy vs. know both our names. :laughing

 

[Free_Bird]

The Dog walk becomes a piss everywhere and smell absolutely everything. Takes hours to sniff out and pee-on a mile walk.

 

[ScorpioVI]

We used to encounter people on walks who would stop and chat. After our dog passed away, we'd walk the same routes, encounter the same people and most of them would walk right by without recognizing us.

Guilty.

I know every dog in the neighborhood. I don't remember their humans' names. I'm sure we've exchanged names in the past. I just don't remember it 9 times out of 10.

My dog loves people, he'll literally drag me across the street to go say hi to people he knows.

There's been an easy 50% increase in foot traffic since March. Used to be a lot more during the actual SIP but now I think people are slowly going back to their old routines.

 

[ScorpioVI]

The Dog walk becomes a piss everywhere and smell absolutely everything. Takes hours to sniff out and pee-on a mile walk.

Same.

When I first got him I tried to train him to ignore everything and just power walk with me. Then I gave it up. I figured the walk is for him. He gets out of the house twice a day, it's his time, I'll do whatever he wants to do. He wants to sniff every piss stain, that's what we'll do. He wants to go left, we go left.

It does get to be a pain in the ass when I'm running late for work or something and I need him to get his business done quickish and it gets to be a battle of wills that I only win about 80% of the time. :laughing

 

[Butch]

Humans are going for walks all the time now in my hood. It is a healthy hill. Jeeze, I used to skateboard it regularly.

The walkers are typically quite friendly. There are some folks that drive into their garage and roll the door down before possible inter neighbor interaction. Some folks.

Mostly, way cool sayings hi to folks on walks.

Edit. The dogs are rockin it.

 

[Pushrod]

Owls, hawks and Sand Hill Cranes in my yard as I write this. The Sand Hills are the size of flamingos and are in a family group that show no fear or alarm as neighbors walk past them.

 

[littlebeast]

LOVE this thread!

my SO and i have had multiple dogs at a time our whole lives until a few years ago when we lost the last of our beloved kids. and after that, the pressures of work life on our time led us to decide that it would not be fair to bring new ones into our family with such little time for the attention we would want to give them. that said - it’s an ongoing massive void in our lives. in our view, a house without dogs is not a home. as the situation has evolved, we are currently looking forward (and plotting) to bringing our next babies home.

we still walk though. morning is relatively quiet in our neighborhood, but in the evenings, it is usually reminiscent of a halloween night (many moving about). and likely due to COVID, there seems to be a shared sense of community and camaraderie among all of us who just want to get out and breath some fresh air. it’s especially heartwarming that even with face masks on, people are still able to smile with their eyes.

 

[Maddevill]

Since I moved to Shingletown I walk our 2 dawgs every morning and evening. Bayek is 90 lbs and very good off leash. Aya is around 2 months old and is picking things up quickly. Their favorite thing is seeing a deer. Bayek just stares at it. He's not a barker. Aya heads for home as fast as her big feet will take her.

Mad

 

[Melissa]

new harness type thing today rather than a collar. She'll get used it.....eventually. I need to keep using it so she will not find it too strange.

Couldn't find the turkey family today but a neighbor told me to watch her dog-German Sheppard, jump on a brick wall and hurdle over each large post. was fascinating since Mamma Love can't even jump over the curb!
Enjoy your walks!

 

[ScorpioVI]

Last night's walk and fetch session.

 

[ScorpioVI]

So due to my work hours I don't usually make it home until 8PM. Which means half the year our walks are in the dark. I ended up buying a Noxgear Lighthound vest for the pup (and a Tracer 360 vest for me) for safety's sake during our nightly walks.

He loves wearing the vest now because it gets him a lot of attention, especially if we're walking in Willow Glen or Los Gatos.


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