"Dogs walk faster than us"Fact: no, they don't. They run faster than we walk.

This is why you need not worry too much if your dog is always on lead. Unless you have a particularly large dog, then your dog will be trotting during your walk.

Although, I always understood pacing to be a sign of pain or extreme fatigue. I didn't realise it was a natural gait between walk and trot.
 
Does my nut in when people let a dog pace on the treadmill or in the showring and don't even notice!! For me it's a sign of tiredness but it can become a habit if allowed.
I suppose horsey people are more inclined to notice these things but it boggles my mind how many people don't, even in a gaiting breed community.
I told someone their dog was changing their lead in an exercise today, and wondered if he was quite right, blank stares ahoy.

Also, walk is the easiest gait to see lameness, IME.
 
CorvusCorax said:
I suppose horsey people are more inclined to notice these things but it boggles my mind how many people don't, even in a gaiting breed community.
I told someone their dog was changing their lead in an exercise today, and wondered if he was quite right, blank stares ahoy.
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I'm not surprised people don't notice dogs changing leads - most dog owners doesn't even seem to recognise if their dog is head-bobbing lame in trot, let alone that the dog's avoiding using its hock as it walks, that its back is quite restricted, that it doesn't move straight (still waiting for the day I see a Frenchie move correctly behind...)

The equestrian world has its (many) issues but at least most riders will recognise lameness when it gets to head-bobbing.


CorvusCorax said:
Also, walk is the easiest gait to see lameness, IME.
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Interesting - how so? I've always assumed, following the horsey mindset, that the trot is easiest to see issues in.
 
stangs said:
I'm not surprised people don't notice dogs changing leads - most dog owners doesn't even seem to recognise if their dog is head-bobbing lame in trot, let alone that the dog's avoiding using its hock as it walks, that its back is quite restricted, that it doesn't move straight (still waiting for the day I see a Frenchie move correctly behind...)

The equestrian world has its (many) issues but at least most riders will recognise lameness when it gets to head-bobbing.



Interesting - how so? I've always assumed, following the horsey mindset, that the trot is easiest to see issues in.
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True!!

It's just my experience, when they move up a pace they tend to be able to hide it better. I know when I've been asked to film lameness by a vet, it's in walk only, flat surface, at the dog's level, coming and going, and both sides.
 
Very true. When my lad was in rehab from his TPLO, we had to WALK. His natural gait was a diagonal trot, since he had little Jack Russell legs, so to keep him at a proper 4-beat walk was a snails pace for me, and hard work for him - good for rebuilding muscle.

We also did the filming for the vet physio - it was tricky juggling a lead in one hand, and a selfie stick held at dog level in the other.

Perhaps it’s a horsey mindset, it’s definitely the months of rehab, but it makes sense to warm up a dog in walk, and exercise them across all paces.
 
I think my eyes get boggled now with how much I'm looking at how Ivy moves on walks. No doubt I've learned a huge amount over the last 6-months, that will certainly help me pick up issues more quickly in the future.

It's amazing how much muscle Ivy has built up in her hindlegs and hip muscles over the last 6-months, just from walking and not especially far either. That and the raised pole exercises but again it wasn't loads, just little bits every day. If I'd realised it would be quite such a difference, I would have taken some close up 'before' pics.

I find it so distressing seeing lame or very stiff dogs out on walks. We've obviously had a bit of a weird rollercoaster situation with Ivy, but actually now we're on a treatment pathway it's not been particularly difficult to get her comfortable and moving so much better. I just wonder how many dogs out there would benefit from just a little bit of medication and physio/rehab input which would make a huge difference to their quality of life.
 
Thanks everyone for this info and discussion. Hadn't really considered doggy gaits but it all makes sense, especially regarding rehab etc. I just hope I never need to film a doggy 'trot up'/walk up!
And it's reassuring to know my 3.6kmph is average, as dog and hubby tend to go much quicker 🥵
 
My old dog would pace in trot off lead, but not on lead, even if the lead was loose. This is why both mine and a German judge's head nearly exploded when he tried to explain that I should do my offleash gaiting (basically, running heelwork) onleash. Him in a foreign language and me being very, very stupid.
 
Thinking about it, most of my dog's exercise or 'fitness' is walk on leash, with a bit of galloping on a flexi line or long line. She does get to do explosive stuff but it's mostly in training rather than out and about.
 
I am a huge believer in slow walking for dogs, and even horses now. My dogs have seen a physio who recommended slow walking, have had it as part of their walking routine for two years and it has completely changed their physique. They are muscular and strong and move much more correct than before.

You have to walk incredibly slow. I am sure I am known as the crazy woman in the village who walks in slow motion with her dogs but for the difference it makes I don’t care. They do find it much more difficult at first and try to break into a jog. But as their strength builds they can sustain a walk for longer.
 
I just tried on the lunch time walk. Keeping T the terrier to a walk requires a snail pace. His trot nicely matches a leisurely walk.
Monster, being the tallest, can walk to a "browsing the car boot sale" walk, but if I want him to trot, I have to really power march and would probably be better off jogging. He is the only one of the three that falls into pacing, he is the oldest at 7yo and occasionally looks stiff the day after a long walk so I was planning on a course of boswellia for him this autumn anyway, I'll keep an eye on him and see if he paces less on it or not.
Liberty can walk at a slightly lower pace than Monster, but her trot seems to be more variable in speed than the other two, going from "collected" to "extended". No pacing.
 
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