As Caesar gets older, he walks slower – it happens to all of us; it’s the laws of nature, I suppose. And like all of us, he has his really good days where we easily walk 4 miles in around an hour, but he also has his slooooow days where it’s a struggle to walk 3 miles in under two hours. Usually, it depends on the weather and how interested he is in his surroundings.
On our slow days, I’ve had to remind myself that there is no need for me to push him to go faster and that he sets the pace. Sometimes, our walks go something like this: get out of the car like a wild man, and run to the nearest grassy area to pee, start to walk at a steady pace…. Wait – stop. Smell that weird patch of grass. Start to walk again. Wait – abruptly stop to roll in the grass. Get up, smell something else, start to walk again. Repeat.
For someone that loves to get moving, this can be a tad frustrating, but as Caesar gets older, I find myself getting more patient. Rather than pull him, I stop and wait until he is done smelling whatever (unless it’s cat poop – no dog of mine is stopping to smell, or taste, that!).
I see a lot of people set on walking their dog as fast as they can like it’s a chore that needs to be checked off a list, but for your dog, their walk is a wonderland of sights and smells and perhaps the only chance they get to explore the great big world.
According to PBS, dogs have 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses. In comparison, we humans only have 6 million. I’ve got a pretty good sense of smell, and on a recent walk, I enjoyed the scent of a bonfire and thought about how much that smell brings warm memories and feelings to me. Think of a scent you love, now enhance that by around 40 times – I can’t imagine what they are experiencing through their noses.
As I noted in the above scenario, Caesar likes to roll in the grass. This can happen as much as four times before we really get started on a walk. I’m not 100 percent sure why he does it; I think part of it is dry skin which we have been battling with Omega 3 oils, oatmeal shampoo and conditioner, and brushing, but for whatever reason he rolls in the grass for, I patiently wait for him to finish. It must feel good, and life is too short to not roll in the grass to make yourself happy.
I spend a good part of my week driving to various places to walk Caesar. It’s just Caesar and me in the car and usually on the way back home, when he’s worn out from his walk, he rests his little gray face between the seats where I can see him perfectly.
Seeing him, tired with the face of an older man, reminds me that life goes quickly. The past eight years have flown by with him. My life will go on long after he is gone, and I never want to say to myself, “I wish I would have slowed down and appreciated the moment with him more.” I enjoy seeing my dog enjoy the world, so waiting patiently while he sniffs the weird patch of grass is a small thing I can do to make his world better and more adventurous. I’m sure there is a whole story being told in that spot on the grass that his little nose is discovering.
I think there’s a lesson here for all of us – slow down, enjoy the ordinary and simple pleasures of life, and don’t be in such a rush finish spending time with those who love you and move on to the next task. You never know when it will be the last time you or your best friend get to stop and smell that weird patch in the grass (or the roses, if you prefer).