(Just) a walk with the dog? Animal geographies and negotiating walking spaces

Abstract

In this paper we present findings from interviews conducted with people who walk with dogs. Drawing on new walking studies and animal geographies as our theoretical framework, we adopt the view that walking is more than just walking; it is often a highly sensual and complex activity. We argue that walking with dogs represents a potentially important cultural space for making sense of human-animal relations. We show how the personalities of both dog and walker can shape not only walking practices, but also the human-animal bond. We contend that the walk is a significant arena where relations of power between animal and human are consciously mediated. We also provide evidence which indicates the contested nature of walking practices and spaces. We conclude that the dog walk is a useful practice through which to examine human-animal relations and thus to contribute to the field of animal geographies.

Slower, shorter, sadder: a qualitative study exploring how dog walks change when the canine participant develops osteoarthritis

“…Walking with a dog is a complex public activity that involves negotiation between dog and walker [1]. Dog walking research has predominantly focused on health gains associated with walking exercise.…”

“…Environmental and psychological motivators associated with dog walking include: a sense of obligation; support and motivation provided by a dog; an accessible, pleasant, safe and interesting environment; a desire to keep fit or lose weight; and positive interactions with other owners and their dogs [1,4,6]. Barriers may include: local legislation on how and where dogs can be exercised; ownership of a smaller, old, ill or unsociable dog; adverse weather; the owner's health state; and poor relationships with others using the same dog walking spaces [1,4]. Several studies [1,4,13,14] also point to the importance for the owner that they perceive their dog to be enjoying their walk.…”

Thinking critically about health and human-animal relations: Therapeutic affect within spaces of care farming

“…Whilst my focus here has been on the emergence of health within the context of CSA farms, as mentioned earlier, there are an increasing range of settings where non-human life is imbricated in the opening up of therapeutic possibilities; from the hospitals and care homes visited by 'Pets-as-Therapy' dogs (Pets As Therapy, 2016), to the 'puppy rooms' increasingly appearing on university campuses to help students cope with exams (BBC, 2015). Besides these more formal healthcare settings, there are also opportunities for future research to explore health in the context of people's everyday lived relationships with animals, whether brief affective encounters with rats (Clayton, 2016) or on-going relationships with pets (Fletcher & Platt, 2016), and how these relations play out in enacting, defining, and enabling what bodies can do, regarding people's (and animals') health.…”

Slower, shorter, sadder: A qualitative study exploring how dog walks change when the canine participant develops osteoarthritis

“…Walking with a dog is a complex public activity that involves negotiation between dog and walker [1].…”

“…However, the same meta-analysis [10] demonstrated that not all dog owners walked further than nonowners. Environmental and psychological motivators associated with dog walking include: a sense of obligation; support and motivation provided by a dog; an accessible, pleasant, safe and interesting environment; a desire to keep fit or lose weight; and positive interactions with other owners and their dogs [1,4,6]. Barriers may include: local legislation on how and where dogs can be exercised; ownership of a smaller, old, ill or unsociable dog; adverse weather; the owner's health state; and poor relationships with others using the same dog walking spaces [1,4].…”