Make Walking a Daily Routine
My daddy takes me on 5 walks daily. Ugh. The first morning walk is very short, just outside until I pee.

At around 11:30 I take the longest walk. It is about 1.5 miles, maybe up to 2 miles. We go all around the neighborhood, following a fairly regular path.
Between 3 and 3:30 comes the second longest walk, about 1 to 1.5 miles. We hit basically the same blocks, but not going as far away from home.
At 6:30 ish I take a walk around the block. It’s a sort of meet, greet and pee. Then at 9 ish I take a simple pee walk.
I’m exhausted. I hate walking and I make sure my daddy knows it.
In fairness, when I put the brakes on my daddy will pick me up and carry me for a while. We call that “air-walking”. Once I recognize we’re halfway, I’m eager to walk because I know I’m going home.
Why Walk Your Chihuahua
You’ve got a perfectly good backyard. Why bother taking your little Chi on a walk. There are fleas, other dogs, hot sun, cold winds, wet sidewalks, garbage trucks, oogies to eat. Yuck.
In spite of my feelings on the matter, there are apparently several good reasons for walking your lazy little Chi.
- Good exercise. This will keep your Chi lean and healthy. Especially if you tend to overfeed the little guy.
- Creates interest, keeps your dog’s brain active as they sniff the neighborhood.
- Helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease in dogs (they get it too). This is because new sights and sounds, people and smells, all serve to keep your Chi’s brain active and alert.
- Can be fun. See what’s going on in your neighborhood. Watch houses being remodeled or torn down. Peek inside your neighbor’s open garages and make snap judgments in your head. Oops, I don’t think most Chihuahuas do that.
- Breath in fresh air and clear your head. This may help the human more than the Chi.
This routine works well for my daddy because he works at home doing some kind of graphic design. I don’t understand it, but he sits in front of a machine all day tapping a keyboard.
Some people have to work outside their home. If that is you, you may not have the freedom to walk your Chihuahua so much. Because you left your Chi alone all day you may want to take an extra long walk in the evening, weather permitting. An early morning walk and lunch walk (if possible) would also be welcome.
For more information check out these links:
Basic Obedience Training for your Chihuahua Puppy
How to Teach a Chihuahua to Walk on a Leash
Share your stories on walking your Chihuahua. Anyone else have a Chihuahua street anchor?
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A Well Behaved Chihuahua Should Walk At Your Side
How do you get your little Chihuahua to walk nicely with you? In my case, you don’t. I’m in control most of the time and I know it.
The trick is to not let your dog be in control. If your dog knows it can get away with being stubborn it will. With one daddy I usually win. He’s a pushover. The other daddy will not give in to my stubbornness so I relent and walk nicely. Sort of.
At the beginning of each walk I get excited to go and explore. This lasts about one or two houses. Then I want to take my time and sniff everything. And if I find a treat, so much the better.
But daddy wants to exercise. He wants me to move and I don’t. Unless, of course, I see another dog, a squirrel, a cat, a kid on a skateboard, a garbage truck or any other object of particular interest.
At a certain point on my one to two mile hike I realize we’re going home, finally. So I take the lead and pull. Unless I find a really good smell or the wind blows a leaf my way.
If I protest long enough my easy daddy gets frustrated and “air-lifts” me for a while. It’s certainly a quicker way to get where we’re going.
Personally I don’t see the point in all these walks. True, I get to meet new friends and find treats. I catalog new smells and mark my territory. Occasionally I leave a gift which daddy insists on bringing home. These are all important jobs.
But in the end we get home and I’m exhausted and need to take a nap. Maybe that’s what daddy had in mind all along.
Helpful tips:
- Try coaxing your little dog with praise and words like “Let’s Go”
- When/if your dog walks nicely give a little treat. Not too much, you don’t want to overfeed them.
- If your dog refuses to budge, try waiting them out. If they move toward you, reward and praise.
- Use a harness on your Chihuahua. A collar can hurt their little throats.
- Try not to drag your dog. It could hurt their feet and looks really bad.
- If all else fails, pick up your Chi and carry them a bit. Then put them back on the ground and see if they get the hint (probably not a good training tip).
- If your Chi pulls you, be grateful they are finally moving. Try walking faster to keep up. (This is probably not a good tip either.)
I was chosen one of the 20 finalists in the TrainPetDog blog contest. Alas, I did not win first place. Nevertheless, I get to give away free 10-year memberships to the Elite Dog Owner’s Club to 10 lucky readers.
The Elite Dog Owner’s Club is a unique online club that helps members get access to exclusive videos, audio recordings, and articles on different aspects of dog training, and also features exclusive interviews with some of the most famous dog trainers in the world.
Membership to the Elite Dog Owner’s Club costs $37 per month. Therefore, a 10 year membership to the Elite Dog Owner’s Club would cost $4,440. But I get to give away 10 such memberships for free.
Such a deal. If you or someone you know would like one of these “free 10-year memberships” let me know and I will give your name and email address to TrainPetDog.
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I need your help. I have entered my blog in the “TrainPetDog.com 2010 Dog Blog Award” Contest and I need at least 50 votes by the 20th of February to qualify for “Round 2″.
So I am asking all my friends and loyal readers to visit TrainPetDog.com and cast your vote for AllMyChihuahuas. Here is my unique Voting code:
WvG6E
All you have to do is copy and paste the code into the bright yellow box on the TrainPetDog.com home page. You will not be asked to sign up for anything. Winning will help me increase my blog’s readership quite a bit. It will also allow me to give away some freebies from TrainPetDog.com.
I appreciate you taking the time to do this for me. It will certainly cheer me up as I anticipate my upcoming combination surgery for repairing my umbilical hernia, fixing my dislocated kneecap (Luxation of the patella) and pulling a pesky baby tooth that refused to fall out. More on that in a future post.
Thanks in advance.
Lucy and her daddies.






