There’s No Such Thing as a Dog Walk

I visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium a few months ago. I hadn’t been there for several years and had no memory of the place, so it was like my very first time. After getting through the ticket line, I followed the pathway to the gigantic exhibit area on the first floor. To my right were lights, displays, colors, photos, video monitors, otters swimming about, a gift shop, and more tantalizing stuff further down the hall. To my left were the same, minus the otters and gift shop.

Which way to go? Quite simply, I went to the thing that peaked my curiosity the most, so otters it was! I bee-lined over to the enclosure and let my eyes soak in the otters diving, swimming and eating. I don’t know how long I was standing there, but it was probably for some absurd amount of time. Once satisfied with the exhibit, I turned to walk down the left side of the hall. Why? Because my eyes detected a larger density of displays in that direction, whereas continuing to the right would have required more walking before coming upon additional exhibits. And besides, I would get to that other side later.

The next 45 minutes went something like this:

Step 1 – Walk 5 feet
Step 2 – Stop at display
Step 3 – Read posted explanation
Step 4 – Press nifty display buttons, if any
Step 5 – Stare at marine animal that is staring back
Step 6 – Absorb what is being seen
Step 7 – Walk 5 feet to next display
Step 8 – Stop and repeat from Step #3

And that was just half of the first floor. I still had to venture down the “right side”. Oh, and there was a 2^nd floor also crammed with marine life. I made sure to stop at every display, no matter how boring any of them looked. I had to ensure I didn’t miss anything. I enjoyed every bit of it and was a little tired afterwards even though my feet had not traveled far in distance. It took me a few hours to walk the whole aquarium.

Scratch that. It took a few hours to do a lot of standing around and staring.

If I did not stop so much, I could have easily walked the entire place, browsed the gift shop and taken a power nap, all in 30 minutes. But what’s the point of that? Who goes to an aquarium with the goal of exercise? No one thinks, “I’m going to the Air and Space Museum to get in some walking. Those displays will come in handy as obstacles.” Going outside for a dog is like going to the aquarium or museum. The displays can change daily and even if they don’t, it’s always wise to stop anyway to ensure nothing is overlooked.

The human goal is to walk. The canine goal is to explore.

Leash laws are in place for safety reasons, but leashes tether two different species together, and each has its own distinct and competing objective. Because it is impractical and unsafe to be pulled around, we teach our dogs to walk properly when on leash; “properly” being code for training dogs to walk like we do.

But we should also respect the need that our dogs have to explore and experience. Imagine how frustrating it would be if you were constantly interrupted every time you stopped at an aquarium display, especially the one with grass eels. (Do a video look up of “grass eels” for a look at these cool animals!)

During your walk, give your dog designated time to sniff around and explore. Whether for 2 minutes or 10 minutes, you are not allowed to pull on leash during this time.

Don’t go on a dog walk. Go on a dog outing and learn to explore.