My favorite kind of walk with my dogs is the meandering kind. The walk when we have no timeline to follow or places to be. Where we have no direction in mind, except for where their noses lead us.

Of course, I don't always have time for those kind of walks. I have human kids, a business, volunteer duties, deadlines, and meetings. Sometimes our walks are short. Sometimes our walks are just for potty purposes. Sometimes our walks are to reduce the late night zoomies. Those are all fine. They all serve important purposes.

Oh, but the walks on a Sunday morning when we can just linger, and wander, and sniff the lovely mountain scents, those are delicious. My dogs operate closer to the ground and sniff things I wouldn't dare touch my nose to. I enjoy deeply inhaling the different mountain born aromas that waft with the breeze: dead decaying leaves, pine needles, briny river water, sage brush, and on and on. 

On these kind of walks, I don't navigate. Of course, I'm the alpha, the leader of our pack, but on these days I let their noses do the route mapping. Within reason, of course. We don't trample deep into neighbors yards or put ourselves in dangerous situations. Safety and property respect are my only conditions. Other than those, the dogs decide where we turn and where we keep going straight. They decide when we stop for a minute or two or when we skip an interesting sight or smell. I let them choose what side of the road we will be on. Sometimes we even walk down the middle of the street. Our neighborhood is quiet with little traffic, so this has spoiled us with mid-road walking. 

I feel like these walks give them some autonomy. As human pet parents, we are their end all and be all. We control nearly every aspect and second of their lives. They're entirely dependent on us. For everything. And yes, on our walks, typically, they're leashed. We live at 9,000 feet elevation in the Rocky Mountains. We encounter bear droppings on almost every walk. There are mountain lions that roam the residential areas. Unleashed walks, especially at specific times of the year, looking at you autumn and spring, is just not the safest option. Letting them choose the twists and turns gives them an iota of choice in how and where our walks go. 

They get to be curious doggo explorers, following the path that interests them the very most, taking in those sights and sniffs that make them so happy. It gives their brains exercise as they input the information absorbed through their sniffs.

Give it a try, when you have that free time. Let your dog(s) choose when you turn or continue straight. Observe them as they make these choices, watch their body language and their mind gears turning over. It's a delight to witness their decision making process, to be let into that little canine world.