Walking with Rumpy these past few days has been fun. The air is crisp and cool, and the Rumpster is filled with energy and excitement.
Our walks are interesting. I am the one in charge. But I give Rumpy plenty of freedom.
I set boundaries, such as no walking up in people’s yards and no peeing on tires or trashcans; otherwise, he decides the route we take.
He stops frequently to sniff things, but I don’t want him eating anything he finds.
It’s not how the experts tell us how we’re supposed to do things. We are supposed to be in control, and we’re supposed to train our dogs to always do our bidding.
But that’s not a thing with this breed. Malamutes are bred for survival, and sometimes that means ignoring a command in order to save a life.
After a walk, Rumpy expects a cookie, then it’s time for a nice morning nap.
It really is the best part of my day.
Dogpaddling Through Life 
It is :o) it’s sometimes not really relaxing to run behind a nordic pup, but at the end I always felt like an iditarod-winner after such a wak :o)
As an older dog, he’s not as fast a runner as he used to be. It’s more of a fast-paced stroll now.
Rumpy couldn’t take a bad picture if he tried. Between the blog and facebook, he always is smiling and happy looking and just gorgeous! So glad you don’t overmanage him. I have cats. Much as I enjoy them, I can’t take them for a walk.
I’ve seen people walk their cats on a harness. I tried that once with June Buggie, and I needed a tetanus shot after the experience.
Wouldn’t work with mine either. Morgan is the only one that wouldn’t be scared of an approaching person or dog and she would in insane on a harness.
I can relate to this. So can Max & Bella ❤
We try to have our walks mean exercise for us and the dogs, but we let them stop and sniff as they wish. It’s more of an interval walk, I guess. What’s the point in walking them if it’s not fun for them?
I love this one – they are such great walking companions. I’m sure to have pointed out to me all manner of things I’d likely have missed if walking alone. 🐶
You got that right…. especially all the best places to pee in the neighborhood!
I miss walking with a dog after Kevin has gone…..then I was thinking to take my cat for a walk with a harness but after reading what happened to you with June Buggie, I gave up……
You know what? That was lovely! We understand why that is the best part of your day. 🙂
Thanks! It really is.
Malamutes are different, all right. Took a while to get used to that. Molly and I have almost the same “walk agreements”. We’re pack – as in closely related to wolf. Molly gets to run wild with friends in a fenced field once of twice a week as I can’t keep up with her and she needs to run. Walks are for seeing the world, greeting friends, and not marching military style. (But darn she will sneak and gobble up stuff if I don’t keep a close eye on her…gotta be the wolf and survival instinct)
Rumpy does have that movie dog look down!
(Oh, can you show the harness arrangement you have there?…always looking for an improvement….Molly was brutally choked as a young dog and can’t have any thing tug her neck. Collar is just for identification. We’ve got a easy walker harness, but wish there was something better so she didn’t keep hitting the lead with her leg)