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A Dog's Walk

11/12/2019

4 Comments

 
Picture
On morning walks, I often wonder what the world looks like to our dog Milo. Many experts on canines, including Alexandra Horowitz, recommend taking a walk in your dog’s footsteps and imagining what he sees, smells, and experiences. I call these stop-and-sniff walks, and I’ve started doing them whenever I have enough time in the morning to let Milo set the pace.

I have some ground rules: no more than one hour spent outside, and I follow Milo’s lead—within reason. That means no unsafe terrain where snakes might lurk (rock piles, tall grass) and no trespassing on someone’s private property. Here’s what I’ve learned from our stop-and-sniff walks.

We amble, we circle, we meander. We are almost never on a path, or at least, not a path that I recognize. I believe these twisty, turning trails follow the rabbits and kangaroos.
The rabbit blends into the background
There's a kangaroo beneath the dry leaves if you look closely
We never wander all that far. Most of the time, we’re no more than two-tenths of a mile from home. Who knew that Milo, like Thoreau, believes in the value of discovering all the possibilities of a single patch of ground rather than exploring the entire world?

That patch contains multitudes. When I looked at the ground rather than up at the sky, I saw all kinds of fascinating things. ​
A curved bit of bone
A massive ant hill
Fungi
A feather
Almost like driftwood
Scat, probably kangaroo
Rather than approaching kangaroos gradually from a distance, we happen on them unexpectedly, in the cool shadows of trees. 
Can you see the kangaroo in the center?
A mama and her joey
We stared at each other for a while
​On these walks, I learned to look down and appreciate what I saw. I learned to use my ears and my nose, not just my eyes. I learned to cultivate patience. After all, there’s always time to chew a stick.
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I knew how valuable these stop-and-sniff walks would be for Milo, but what I didn’t know was how good they would be for me too.
“I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself.”
— Henry David Thoreau, Walden
4 Comments
Diane
11/13/2019 05:21:04 pm

I appreciate the introvert in you! Clever blog post!

Reply
Rose
11/13/2019 05:55:48 pm

Thanks! And thanks as always for reading and commenting!

Reply
Bob
12/1/2019 09:52:39 am

I tried that once and got arrested for sniffing people. Great article very much enjoyed as all of your posts are great. Thanks a lot

Reply
Rose
12/1/2019 08:21:11 pm

Thanks, Bob — your comment made me laugh out loud. Glad that you are enjoying the posts. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Reply



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    Rose Ciccarelli is an American writer and editor living in Canberra, Australia.

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