[nagdu] Amount of walking

Thu Mar 18 18:40:57 UTC 2010

Hi Gary.
I'm lazy in the morning, too.  I walk a couple blocks to the bus, another
block getting out of the terminal and catching another bus, and 4 blocks
to work.  That's plenty for the morning me.
In the afternoon I have more energy, and I try to walk across the city
back to the bus terminal, or get off the bus early in my town and walk
home.  And who cares if I get home tired and sweaty?  Better that way at
home than at work, ay?

Shucks, if I could afford to take a cab into work regularly, I'd be
tempted.  Lot quicker.
Tracy

> Hi Tracy:
>
> That is a good question. I too live in the urban setting but have been
> asking those  with dogs how much walking / exercising they do with their
> guides.  I know I have some changes ahead of me and have planned some
> routes
> home from work where I can wwalk for 20 or 30 minutes. Will walk on a nice
> 10- 15 minute walk to rapid transit line where I can catch a bus that will
> drop me about 10 blocks from home. I worry about my new pooch  getting
> enough exercise but since neither me, or my girlfriend, drive we get
> around
> by walking and bussing. I think the hard thing for me is getting to work.
> I
> have to admit to being  lazy first thing in the morning and take a cab to
> work. I'm hoping I can take my dog out in the morning to do it's thing,
> feed
> him/her (in which ever order that goes) and still cab it to work. My boss
> had a good idea though (she's a real dog lover with two labs). She
> suggested
> taking the cab 3/4 of the way and walk the last 10- 15 blocks. I thought
> that was a great idea since then I can control how fast / leisurely we can
> do the last bit.  Also, that means I have a clean dog getting into a cab
> too. :)
>
> Anyway, I'm curious about how much exercise people give their dogs. Like
> Tracy was saying, if you are driving or even bussing if the stops are
> close,
> how much more do you exercise your dogs?
>
> Thanks
> Gary
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
> Of Tracy Carcione
> Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 6:50 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Amount of walking
>
> I'd like to bring this back to the original topic, if I may.  It really
> interests me.  I was hoping to hear from some of the people who don't walk
> miles and miles.  I think there are folks on this list who don't have the
> physical ability to do it, for one.  Are there others who live in what I
> call the land of the car, where walking is difficult because there aren't
> any sidewalks?  I don't mind walking along a fairly quiet road with no
> sidewalks, but the thought of walking along the side of a highway scares
> me.  Maybe it's not as bad as I think?
> If a person is one who gets a ride to work and back, does the incidental
> walking get the dog enough exercise?  Like, going to lunch, running
> errands, etc?  Or do all those errands have to be done with a car, too?
> I know other people live in a different world than I do, and I'm curious
> about it.  I live in a fairly urban, just outside the Big City.  My
> husband and I chose our house partly because it is close to several bus
> routes, and is within walking distance of a grocery, several restaurants,
> and one of our town's business districts with some good shops.  Some
> places we need have closed, because our neighbors would rather drive a few
> miles to get something cheaper.  There are a lot less grocery stores in
> our town than there used to be, for instance.
>
> What with the bad weather and all, it was nearly a week that I didn't
> really get out and walk much.  Even going in to the City for work, we took
> a taxi because we had Echo with us, plus the stuff we needed to stay
> overnight.  So Ben only walked a few blocks at a time.  But it seemed
> enough to keep him happy, I suppose because of the novelty of going new
> places and staying some place different.
>
> I particularly asked TSE for a dog who would be happy to walk 2 or 3 miles
> one day, and a few blocks the next.  They got it right, giving me Ben.  In
> fact, I don't think he wants to walk a lot every day.  Once in a while is
> interesting and fun, but he wants his rest, too.
>
> A friend of mine is worried that the schools will be breeding lots of dogs
> who don't want to work too much, the sort who could be happy with a pretty
> sedentary lifestyle.  But they still seem to have a wide variety; her
> young shepherd needs 3 or 4 miles a day to be happy.
>
> One last thing I want to say in this rambly email.  My folks old place is
> really nice, location-wise.  It's about 5 miles out of town, so it's real
> quiet.  No neighbors on top of you all the time.  But those 5 miles are
> along a highway, and even after you hit the edge of town, there are at
> least a couple more miles to go before you hit the shopping district.
> When I'm there, I feel pretty isolated.  I feel like I'm totally dependent
> on someone with a car to get out and go to town, or even take a walk.  Is
> that the reality, or do you folks who live in the land of the car have
> ways to get out on your own?
>
> The urban life is good because it's easy to get around, but it's annoying
> because the neighbors are all right on top of us. We wouldn't mind looking
> into alternatives, but we have to be able to do the things we want and
> need to do.
> Tracy
>
>
>
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