Monday, July 22, 2013

SociaBulls: On Creating a Dog-Walking Culture

We are lucky in Chicago that we have a strong dog-walking culture. Since most of us don't have backyards, we need to take our pups on several daily walks for both positive exercise and bathroom breaks. Dog-walking has become a habit and the norm with pups accompanying their people allover the city. 
I think this is one of the reasons our Chicago SociaBulls group has been so popular with its ever-growing waiting list. We all need to take that morning walk, so why not do it with some friends?
Though as I've been speaking with some people interested in starting dog-walking groups in their own cities, it has been interesting to hear the challenges of getting people to commit to attending when dog-walking isn't a big part of the city's culture. 
Is dog-walking part of the culture in your city? If not, I'm curious to hear how you think more people could be encouraged to walk with their pup. Or if it is, why do you think it is such a big part of your city's culture?

Join our Chicago SociaBulls  Facebook page for more photos and information about group walks. And check out the Hikabulls page where we first learned about the benefits of group walking.   
Please Note: As the weather has warmed up, bikers, runners, dogs, and kids have come out in full force in many of the areas that we walk. While we had previously been introducing new members a few at a time to each walk, we've decided that in order to continue to keep our group safe and make our walks a positive experience for everyone, we are putting new members "on hold" for the summer. You can still submit an application, and it will go on our wait list in the order it is received. Once things quiet down a bit more in the fall, we will resume introducing new members a few at a time to each walk, and will be contacting people on the wait list in a first-come, first-served manner.

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1 comment:

Hannah@Eriesistibull said...

We wanted to comment on this sooner but (yes I ready your posts at work and can't comment) our evenings got busy and I never got around to it!

Erie is NOT a dog community. Although there are dogs in nearly every house we pass on our walks, we only see the same few out and about. I think the big culprit is that although Erie is technically a "city" many people have yards.

That's what we're loving about our PEDs group -- we're really trying to give Erie to the dogs, so to speak! and make Erie a dog-friendly city!

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