There’s something rather lovely about autumn when you share your life with a dog.

The mornings become cooler, the pavements are quieter, leaves begin to cover familiar paths and suddenly a walk you’ve done hundreds of times seems to contain a thousand new things that absolutely must be investigated.

For many dogs, autumn is a brilliant time of year.

After the heat of summer, cooler temperatures can make longer walks more comfortable. And while we might see a pile of fallen leaves, a damp hedge or a muddy footpath, our dogs experience an entire landscape of smells.

Let Them Sniff

It can be tempting to measure a good dog walk by distance. But your dog probably has a very different idea of what makes a walk worthwhile.

Sniffing is a huge part of how dogs explore and understand the world around them. Autumn brings changing vegetation, damp ground, fallen leaves, wildlife and countless new scents.

So slow down occasionally.

Let them investigate that lamppost. Give them another minute with the apparently fascinating hedge. Take the route where they get to stop and explore rather than concentrating on how quickly you can complete the circuit.

A shorter sniff-filled walk can sometimes offer far more enrichment than marching several miles without stopping.

Embrace the Mud

There is, of course, one unavoidable downside to autumn. Mud.

It gets on paws, legs, coats, leads, floors, furniture and occasionally in places that seem to defy the laws of physics.

Keeping a towel near the door makes life considerably easier. Dogs with longer coats may benefit from a quick check after walks, particularly around their paws and legs where mud, seeds and bits of vegetation can become caught.

And sometimes you simply have to accept that a dog who has discovered an enormous muddy puddle is having a much better day than you are.

Darker Evenings Need a Little More Thought

By October, our evening walks are rapidly becoming darker.

Visibility becomes more important, particularly around roads. Reflective or brightly coloured walking accessories can help dogs and their humans to be seen, and a small light attached to a collar or harness can be useful on particularly dark routes.

It’s also worth checking your usual walking areas in daylight occasionally. Paths, gates and surfaces can change, and something that is obvious during the day can be surprisingly difficult to spot after dark.

Autumn doesn't have to mean abandoning the evening walk. It just requires a little more preparation.

Bring Some of the Adventure Indoors

There will inevitably be days when the weather is thoroughly miserable. That doesn't mean your dog has to be bored.

Hide treats around a room and encourage them to find them. Scatter some of their food for them to search out. Use puzzle toys, practise a few simple training exercises or hide a favourite toy.

You don't need complicated equipment to create enrichment. Sometimes ten minutes of searching, thinking and problem-solving is exactly what a dog needs.

And if the rain is hammering against the windows, you may both be quite pleased that today's adventure is happening indoors.

Make Time for the Cosy Bit

Perhaps the best part of an autumn walk is coming home.

Wet coats come off. Muddy paws are cleaned. The kettle goes on. Your dog circles their favourite bed three times before settling down as though they have just completed an expedition across the Arctic.

Dogs need stimulation and exercise, but they need rest too.

A warm, comfortable place where they can sleep undisturbed is just as much a part of their wellbeing as walks and play.

And there is something particularly satisfying about a dog sleeping deeply after a morning spent exploring cold air, wet grass and crunchy leaves.

Autumn Is Better With Dogs

Dogs have a wonderful ability to make us notice the seasons.

They don't care that summer has ended. They don't complain about shorter days. They simply discover that the world smells different today and set off to investigate it.

Maybe there's something we can learn from that.

Put on your coat. Take the slightly longer route. Let them sniff the leaves. Accept the muddy paws.

Then come home, get warm and enjoy the very best part of autumn, having a dog curled up beside you.

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