Walking your dog can not only be a daily routine, but also an enriching experience for both humans and animals. Regular walks offer numerous benefits and are an excellent way to strengthen the bond between dog and owner.
Benefits for the dog – physical and mental health
Walks are a fantastic way to promote your dog’s fitness. Regular exercise helps to prevent obesity and strengthens the cardiovascular system. It also contributes to joint and muscle health, which is particularly important for older dogs. Of course, the routes should always be selected according to the dog’s age.
In addition to physical health, mental stimulation through walks is also very essential. New smells, sounds and environments provide variety and keep your dog’s mind active. Walks also help to reduce stress and boredom, which in turn prevents destructive behavior.
If you take your dog for a walk on Tenerife or one of the other Canary Islands, you should always be aware of the sun. The sun is great, but it can be just as dangerous for dogs as it is for humans. Therefore, it is always best not to plan a walk at times when the sun is at its strongest. Early morning or early evening, when the sun is not so high, is always ideal for dogs.
Furthermore, the dog owner should always have enough water with them and consider shady places on the route to take breaks. Older dogs in particular need a break more often and ideally these should be in the shade. Dogs absorb the temperature through the pads of their feet and can therefore quickly overheat. In a shady spot, the dog owner can also put a little cool water on the pads of the feet, which the dog will welcome.
Correct behavior for dog encounters
Dog owners always have different views on dog encounters. The fact is, however, that every dog is individual in its nature, character, history and temperament. Therefore, every dog owner should react appropriately to their dog during dog encounters. In general, the rule of decency should be that everyone wants their space and, if necessary, their peace and quiet when walking and everyone should respect this.
Encounters with the dog and the dog owner
If we meet another dog owner on a walk with their pet, every owner should put their dog on a lead beforehand, but why?
- It is never immediately obvious whether the dog has behavioral problems, such as fears caused by experiences.
- Perhaps the other dog is in a training session with its owner, so it would be wrong to simply disturb it.
- Just like us humans, dogs have the right not to “have to like” every member of their species. This can avoid unpleasant situations and, in the worst case, dangerous situations.
- Even if your dog has great impulse control in the best-case scenario and is 100% on call according to the dog owner’s wishes, there is always a residual risk. As a dog owner, you should never disregard this.
- Maybe the other dog owner just wants to go for a quiet walk with his dog and have some peace and quiet.
- Of course, there are countless other reasons why we should keep our dog on a lead at this time.
Encounters with the dog without the dog owner
This situation should NEVER occur. Unfortunately, the reality is a little different, especially on Tenerife and the other Canary Islands. Many local dog owners let their dogs out of the house without supervision, following the motto: “He’ll come home again and he won’t do anything”. Drivers, cyclists, other dog owners or simply walkers, who may be afraid of dogs, end up in a situation that they cannot control.
In our opinion, such dog owners should have their dogs taken away and be banned from keeping dogs. It is the dog owner’s responsibility to ensure that nothing happens to their dog or causes damage to others. The dog can run onto the road and be hit by a car or, in the worst case, be killed, chase and injure wild animals (rabbits or quails are common in Tenerife) or put other people in uncontrollable situations.
Encounters with wild dogs
Unfortunately, even on Tenerife, it is possible to come across wild dogs on a walk through a beautiful forest. These are dogs that were abandoned a long time ago and lead a life in the forest or, to put it more simply, far away from people. Wild dogs are usually found in groups (packs) and are rather shy and very fearful. You should therefore avoid stroking these dogs or catching them as a layperson. The existing fears of these dogs can even become dangerous with the wrong impulse from a human. The best thing to do if you encounter wild dogs on a hike are to simply avoid them and leave them alone.
Encounters with aggressive dogs
Tenerife is an island with many fincas that are used for farming. However, these fincas are not always inhabited, but are only visited by the owners for work. To protect these fincas from squatters or thieves, the owners often hire so-called finca dogs – in most cases, these are Presa Canarios. Unfortunately, many finca owners aren’t concerned about the welfare of these dogs, but only about their exercise and task – to protect the finca.
Therefore, these dogs are regularly not socialized and if they are, then only in their pack if the owner has several finca dogs. These dogs are usually very territorial and very vigilant, but also aggressive towards strangers. However, beautiful hiking trails typically lead past these fincas and are therefore frequently crossed by strangers.
Now, if the finca dogs are well secured or the property is well fenced, incidents are generally unlikely. However, the irresponsible finca owner may not give as much importance and attention to these safety measures as they should and the finca dogs may break out to explore the surrounding area.
As already mentioned, finca owners keep the Presa Canario dog breed because of its strength and size. These dogs are considered “potentially dangerous dogs” in Spain, which is comparable to listed dogs in Germany. This means that the owner of these dogs needs a special license, which is usually not available. So if there is an incident, the finca owners deny any responsibility. The authorities also check far too little or not at all whether every dog owner of such a dog actually has the license.
So if you should ever find yourself in such an unexpected situation, use the following behaviors, which are successful in most cases.
- Never run away! This encourages the dog’s hunting instinct and it has four legs. The dog will always be faster than you.
- Do not throw anything at the dog (stones, sticks etc.)! This encourages the dog’s play instinct.
- Don’t show fear – We know how easy that is to say, but you have to try. Stay still and don’t make any quick or jerky movements.
- You are the boss – make yourself big and speak to the dog in a strong voice if necessary. You must control the situation as well as possible.
- Try to continue slowly and firmly on your way and always keep an eye on the dog and never turn your back on it.
If the dog attacks you unimpressed, try to defend yourself. A walking stick is very helpful here. You can also hold your rucksack in front of you so that if the dog bites, it will only get the rucksack. Another thing that many locals carry with them on hikes are legal pepper sprays (please ask a specialist dealer for advice).
