What kind of dog walker are you?

When you’re out with your dog, do you chat to everyone you pass by or do you simply want some time on your own to unwind? Try our quiz and discover which dog walking tribe you belong to.

Just walking the dog

Talk to 100 different dog owners and you’ll hear 100 different reasons why they enjoy taking their dog for a walk.

Some love the chance to get out of the house and escape the daily chaos. Some use a dog walk to punctuate the day and get some fresh air. Some are keen multi-taskers, combining a dog walk with a run. Some take the opportunity to exercise their human children at the same time as their fur babies. Others find a dog walk is a wonderful way to clear their head and think through important decisions.

Take the quiz
Discover your doggy tribe

Flip flops or hiking boots?

The clothes, and particularly the shoes, you wear for your dog walk provide some major clues about what kind of dog walker you are. Anyone who’s walking their dog wearing flip flops is probably planning a short, hill-free walk in the sunshine. Whereas if you’re wearing hiking boots, a waxed coat and a water-repellent hat, you’re ready for an all-terrain 10 mile muddy stomp, whatever the weather throws at you.

The sound of silence

Do you often find yourself leaving the house, dog in tow, to get some time to think? If so, you’re not the only one.

More than half of the dog owners in our survey say their daily dog walk is the only time in an otherwise hectic schedule that they can get some peace and quiet.

And according to our poll, almost 8 in 10 people use their dog walk as a time to clear their heads while another 73% see it as a chance to escape the stresses of everyday life.

Decision time

It follows that if people are taking advantage of walking the dog to clear their heads, they might also make some important decisions while they’re out.

In our survey, it emerged that one in five dog owners had made a major life decision while out walking their pet. A third had decided to move house while one in four had decided to end a relationship. Others had made the decision to change jobs, start their own business or try for a baby.

People also told us that while walking the dog they’d made up their mind to:

• “Go on a once in a lifetime holiday.”
• “Spend a very large amount of money.”
• “Tell my girlfriend I love her.”

The talkative types

Some solo strollers admit to taking routes where they’re unlikely to bump into anyone else, in order to screen out external noise and preserve their own headspace.

In contrast, some dog walkers just love to stop and chat. These are the people who seem to know everyone. And they don’t just know the dogs’ names; they know the names of their owners too.

For this tribe, conversations are part of the fun of a walk. They never know who they’ll meet up with in the next half hour, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Their dogs swiftly adapt to the stop-start style of the walk and get involved in their own inter-dog communications as their pet parents chat away.

Who do you walk with?

In our poll, we discovered that:

• 65% walk their dog alone.
• 29% go for a stroll with their dog and their partner.
• 16% take their kids along.

The more, the merrier

For some people, the fun of any dog walking activity is multiplied by the number of people who tag along.

For this tribe, a dog walk inevitably involves a great string of children, trailing bicycles, scooters and much-loved toys. Everyone is adorned with dog walking accessories, with ball flingers in their hands, bags stuffed with tennis balls and pockets crammed with dog treats.

What with all the crowd management and accessory-carrying, this tribe expends three times more energy than anyone else, simply getting out of the door and into the park.

And they love every device-free minute of it. In our survey, one in five people say walking the dog together has improved their relationship with their family and 40% say that walking the dog with other people brings them laughter and enjoyment.

Is it a bird, is it a plane?

No, it’s a dog owner who’s signed up to run a half-marathon in three weeks’ time.

While some dog walkers prefer a gentle amble along the ridge of a hill, punctuated by frequent rests to appreciate the view, others are driven by the need for speed.

For this tribe, a dog walk is an unmissable opportunity to clock up the kilometres and tick off the goals on their fitness training plan. The furry blur next to the human is probably a Weimaraner if it’s silver, a Vizsla if it’s reddish brown, or a Dalmatian if it’s spotty.

NB: Some dogs, like Charlie the chocolate Labrador, are firmly in the ‘ambling’ camp and simply refuse to play this game.

Find your tribe

Take our quiz now to discover your dog-walking tribe. And stay up to date with the Lintbells tribe too by joining the Lintbells Club. You’ll get 25% off every order and be one of the first to hear about tail-wagging special offers and promotions.