Dog Walking in Encinitas: What a Good Walk Actually Looks Like

A mile on soft sand is not the same walk as a mile on pavement, and neither is the same as twenty minutes of sniffing every bush on your own block. For most dogs, a good walk is a mix: somewhere to move, somewhere to read the news, and something new to look at.

In Encinitas that usually means a beach or bluff walk when the weather's mild, and the neighborhood blocks when it isn't. Older dogs and flat-faced dogs do better on the flat, shaded stuff. High-energy young dogs need the open sand. I pick the route for the dog, not for my step count.

Seven in the morning the sand is cool and the beach belongs to about four people. By four in the afternoon the same stretch has a drum circle and a parking lot that smells like sunscreen and stress. Your dog will still have a nice time — it just won't be the same walk.

The one rule I won't bend: if the sand is too hot for a bare foot, it's too hot for paws. We walk the bluff instead, or we go early. In summer that's often a 7am or 6pm walk, full stop.

After every walk: fresh water, a towel-off if we were at the beach, and an honest note. Not just "great walk!" — whether they pooped, whether they drank, whether they pulled, and whether they wanted to keep going at the end.

Ask any walker three questions before you book: where do you go, what do you do if my dog won't walk, and can you do same-day? The answers tell you more than a price ever will.