Activities For Dogs With Adventurous Owners

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Activities For Dogs With Adventurous Owners

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Introduction

Adventurous people are often looking for new and exciting activities and hobbies to take part in, trying to wring as much as they can from this lifetime. Dog people are often looking for something fun and entertaining to do with their dogs, determined to get as much time as possible with their best friend. Adventurous dog people are known to frequently combine these two goals by participating in exciting new experiences with their canine companion.

Geocaching

Popular

0 Votes

Any Day

Cheap

Hard

15 - 90 min

Items needed

Cell Phone

Souvenier

Activity description

Geocaching is an exciting activity that utilizes GPS and satellite technology to engage people from all over the world in a planetwide scavenger hunt. When geocache searchers locate the container that they are searching for they typically note their name on a small booklet inside the container, often taking the souvenir in the box and leaving a new one in return. Souvenirs in the geocache containers can range from paper cutouts to plastic toys to trackable metal coins. This adventurous but inexpensive activity gets both you and your dog outdoors and helps you to more effectively explore the world around you, together.

Step

Create an account

In order to participate in geocaching, you will want to create a free account on a geocaching website. Setting up an account and downloading the geocaching app will track your phone’s location and provide you with an online map showing the coordinates of each container as well as information about the container and how difficult it is to get there and find it.

Step

Follow the map

The app and webpage both provide an interactive map that helps you to discover the location of a hidden container somewhere nearby. Using this map, you and your dog can navigate to an area nearby and start searching for the container, which may be hidden in, behind, or under something in the environment.

Step

Share!

Once you and your dog have located the geocache, you will sign and date the logbook that is found inside, then you can either leave the souvenir that you find or you can exchange it for a souvenir of your own and if your dog helped you find the container, give them lots of treats and praise. After logging your information at the geocache location, you can visit the geocaching website again and log your geocaching experiences online.

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Parkour

Popular

0 Votes

Sunny Day

Cheap

Normal

5 - 45 min

Items needed

Treats

Harness

Leash

Activity description

Developed in France in the 1980s, parkour is a training discipline that turns the world into a constantly shifting obstacle course by using the objects in our everyday realm, such as park benches, curbs, and even fallen logs, as the obstacles. While the parkour training method started out as a human activity, it has quickly spread to the canine community and is becoming more popular. This method of training can be done anywhere, costs little-to-nothing to engage in, and is constantly changing and adapting, forcing you and your dog to use both your mind and your muscles.

Step

Gear up!

While there isn’t a long list of things you and your dog will need to participate in parkour, a good, sturdy harness that can be worn around your dog’s chest is absolutely essential for your pup’s safety. The harness should be checked before each adventure to ensure there are no defects, damage, or fraying, and securely attached to a four to six-foot leash to give you the control you need to help your canine companion if they happen to get into a difficult spot.

Step

Training the basics

In order for your dog to be ready to join you in a session of parkour, they will need to know a few specific obedience commands in order to safely navigate their terrain. Some of the common actions for canines that are involved with parkour training include jumping gaps, balancing on narrow objects like logs and curbs, putting all four paws on objects, from picnic tables to narrow posts, and slowly backing up to get out of sticky situations. It is important to note that treats, while useful as a reward, should never be used to lure your dog into any situation in which they are uncomfortable. Canine parkour is about fun, not fear.

Step

Go!

One of the great draws of a training method like parkour is the fact that you can engage in it anywhere and at nearly any time, without having to get a lot of specialized gear or having to wait for a gym or other facility to open up. When you are ready to start your adventures in parkour, just pick a nice sunny day to start your adventures - a day in which there aren’t many wet or icy objects to slip on and when the sun isn’t so hot that the surfaces of reflective obstacles become dangerously heated, grab some water, and go!

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Summer Camp

Popular

0 Votes

Sunny Day

Expensive

Hard

12 - 48 hrs

Items needed

Leash

supplies may vary according to season

Activity description

For those canine/human duos that are not only adventurous but also fairly social, there are several different summer camps available that cater to you and your canine. These camps are designed to give your dog and yourself a chance to socialize in an outdoor setting as well as to experience new activities and learn new things. Most of these canine summer camps have several different organized activities going on at the same time and may include pursuits such as obedience training, flyball, lure coursing, and of course, swimming, allowing you and your canine companion plenty of opportunities to find your next new thing.

Step

Choose your experience

There are several different types of summer camps available, including the Dog Scouts of America, Camp Dogwood, and Camp Winnaribbun among others, each of them in different places with slightly different focuses. When choosing the camp you want to visit, you will want to consider not only the activities that are available but also the climate of the area and how this will affect you and your canine. A dog with a thick coat like a Malamute or Chow may be less than thrilled at a camp in hundred-degree heat, and breeds like Greyhounds and Chinese Crested dogs may be more susceptible to chills.

Step

Prepare for the adventure

Ensure that you have any immunization and medical records handy and updated for both you and your pooch well in advance of the trip, and if it has been a while since you have visited either of your respective doctors, now might be a good time for a quick physical. Most camps will have a list of items you will need to bring with you, both for you and for your dog, usually including some sort of protection from bugs, sun, and other environmental hazards, appropriate clothing, and food for your dog.

Step

Immerse yourself

These retreats are meant as a relaxing or invigorating break not just for your dog, but for you, too. While you are at the camp, make the most of it; try new activities, explore nature, interact with new people and their pets, and focus on your well-being and the well-being of your dog.

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More Fun Ideas...

Rafting

Several rafting companies make accommodations so that you can include your well-behaved pup along with you on your next whitewater excursion, although most companies restrict dogs to trips with milder class I and II waters, for the safety of your canine.

Camping

Tent or RV camping with your dog can be another fun and relaxing way to enjoy nature together. Remember to check and make sure dogs are welcome at the destination you have in mind, and be sure to bring along plenty of fresh, clean water for both of you.

Skydiving

Well, this isn’t much of a recreational thing yet due to safety concerns, but canine soldiers have been jumping out of helicopters for decades and several brave dogs have been trained to skydive in an effort to stop poachers in Africa. Some experienced skydivers have even created tandem rigs for their adventurous canine companions, but for the average canine citizen, they may have to wait a little while to experience this one.

Conclusion

If you consider yourself to be an adventurous individual, there is a good chance that the pet that you chose to share your life with is also an adventurous creature and would love to share the excitement with you. While there are some undertakings that are out of reach for your canine companion, there are still plenty of adventures that can keep you and your pup doing new and exciting things for the rest of your lives together.