On Reading While Walking My Little Dog

If you see me walking my dog, I am probably listening to a book. I have a 13-year-old mini-Dachshund, Boston (Bosti), and she cannot walk for very long, but I make it a point to take her on a 30-minute stroll every day, so that she stays as fit and healthy as possible, for as long as possible. A while back, I read a book called The Blue Zones¹; which explores the best strategies for longevity, and walking every day, if possible, in steep terrain, is one of the secrets of centennials. That’s why Boston and I try to walk up and down the small Uintah Park hill every day. It takes some bribing, usually about 3 kibbles, to motivate Bosti to come up, but we’ve been doing it religiously for almost 4 years. 

I am originally from Europe, where walking is often the preferred mode of transportation. Consequently, I try to limit the instances where I must take my car. That definitely applies to my daily doggie walks. I do have a trailhead 2 miles away from my home, but Boston cannot walk for 2 miles and back. That’s why we go to the small nearby park instead, which is only 0.3 miles away. Sadly, there are no pedestrian walkways along the main road, and Boston refuses to walk on a leash, so for that short section, I put her in our baby stroller to keep both of us safe. It’s very entertaining to the city and railroad workers as well, who do not miss an opportunity to tell me that, “your little dog has it made!”.

Boston sharing her stroller with her human brother.

Walking the same short walk every single day could get a little boring, which is why I have been introducing some novelty to it by listening to audiobooks. I started reading books in 2012, after my leadership coach asked me to read the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.¹ I enjoyed the book right away, but I would only find time to read it just before bed, and I would only read 2 to 3 pages every other night. It took me over 6 months to read it, which was both painful and disappointing because I wanted to read more books like this one. One day, I was sharing my frustrations about my daily one-hour commute to my coach, and I also shared that I wanted to find a way to put aside more time to read. My coach smiled, and she asked me if I had tried to find a synergizing idea about my dilemma. Too much time wasted on the road, and not enough time to read books. Synergize is the 6^th habit in the 7 habits book. Once she pointed it out, it did not take long to find an answer to my perceived time limitation problem: I could listen to books while driving! I still remember how excited I was to try this new idea. I used to read 2 books a year, and almost overnight, I was reading 1 to 2 books a month. I was not dreading my commute anymore; I was excited about it! What a positive change in my life.

Evening stroll at the local park.

I applied the same synergizing idea to walking Boston. Like James Clear would say in his book, Atomic Habits³: for a habit to stick, make it attractive. Listening to audiobooks added some novelty and excitement to my walks and helped me be more present as well. It allowed me to always keep my eyes on my dog, instead of being tempted to read a text or an email on my phone. Fighting the urge to overly multitask has always been a real challenge for me and listening to books while I walk keeps me present and centered.

Timing is key to finding the best time to walk my beloved dog. As explained in, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing,⁴ our lives are a never-ending stream of “when” decisions. The decision (and rule) I made for myself was that every time I see my productivity going down, or when I feel stuck in solving an issue, I go for a walk to clear my mind and get my energy level back up. Doing so with my dog just adds a boost of happiness to the whole experience. There is nothing quite like watching the hairless ears of a tiny Dachshund flapping in the air like two miniature black capes. It makes me smile every time.

Staying warm during a cold day.

Walking is healthy. Spending time with my dog makes me happy. Continuous learning is one of my core values. By walking my dog while listening to books, I feel like I created a win-win-win habit in my life.

References:

[1] Buettner, Dan. The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest. National Geographic, 2008.

[2] Covey, Stephen. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. Free Press, 1989.

[3] Clear, James. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Avery, 2018

[4] Pink, Daniel. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Riverhead Books, 2018.

 

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About the Author

Émilie Mesnier holds a master’s degree in food science from France and has been dedicated to the pet food industry since 2007. She is committed to leverage her almost two decades of experience to pets and animals in general, the pet food industry, efficiencies, palatability, environmental stewardship, responsible consumption, and international expansion. Passionate about continuous improvement, sustainable living and innovation, Émilie actively applies her knowledge to both her professional and personal life. In early 2025, Émilie will return to her roots in France to bring BSM Partners’ full suite of consulting services closer to clients across the European market.