Prescribing for nature

On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, welcomes Krista Halling DVM, CCRP, DACVS, HAB-Certified, to discuss dogpacking. Through the show, Christman and Halling chat about what exactly dogpacking is, the benefits of clients and patients doing physical activities together, and how keeping a pet on a regular routine but incorporating new experiences can help foster optimism bias in dogs.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity.

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA: I love this, so let's unpack this. See what I did there, and let's talk about what exactly is dog packing, and how does it differ from "just walking your dog?"

Krista Halling DVM, CCRP, DACVS, HAB-Certified: Excellent question, and walking your dog can count as dogpacking. It's it's a mindset and a lifestyle. So the way I define the word dogpacking is you picture people know what backpacking is. So dog packing is you take a pack, like just a backpack, you take a pack, you take your dog, and you head out your door, past your front porch for an adventure. The adventure can be around the block, around the city, around the world. That's not the important thing. It's you and your dog are out there doing something together, being active and being in nature, even if it's short, low hanging fruit of the park down the street, it's a mindset change that's very different from I'm just going to take the dog for a walk, because there you show up as you and the dog happen to be going for a walk together, but you're not showing up really present for your dog. There is so much when you go down the rabbit hole of the benefit of shifting your mindset to my dog and I are doing something together. The second you say that to yourself, you've shown up differently, and emotion goes up and down that leash, and so does your dog. The dog knows if you're present and if you're doing it as a team activity, or if you just happen to be doing it as as a chore, need to walk the dog, and I think you'll find you're less likely to be on your phone. You're there, showing up with your dog, paying attention to your dog.

And we can get into this, but it unleashes, pun intended I'll follow your your initial lead. If you like puns, it unleashes so many benefits. And how I developed that is, I've been a veterinarian for a while, and I've been outdoorsy for a while, and I like bringing my dog along, but I didn't always know how to do that and how much activity you can give a dog. How long can you hike with a dog? How do you take a dog on a bike ride? So I started looking into that. Turns out there really isn't a dedicated site for doing stuff with your dog outdoors. And maybe the geeky part of me thought, well, let me look into some benefits or the science behind all of this. There is so much there Adam.