Okay, but why? What makes Walk the Dog even remotely compelling to see after witnessing a combo that is far more interesting/challenging?
It would be like seeing (someone like) Tony Hawk do a wild routine and then asking him, “Hey man, can you heelflip?”
Cuz they like it, man.
I’ll do it with pretty much any yoyo I carry. That being said I’ll find something other than concrete to do it on.
I’m not sure how to word it any differently than my previous response. 
Okay, well I guess all I can say is that I understand your words, but I don’t understand the point of view they describe.
Same here, If I do happen to have a yoyo that I really don’t want to mark up I’ll walk the dog on the grass.
Walk the Dog, and Rock the Baby are two of the most iconic yoyo tricks ever. Nearly everyone knows those two tricks. So when they see someone doing tricks and they want to request something, because they’re excited about what they just saw, most likely one of those two tricks are going to be requested. Really, last thing that should be done is to shoot someone’s excitement down.
Whoa, hold on. Just because I don’t understand why anyone would want to see those two tricks (no matter how “iconic”–or rather, old–they may be) after seeing tricks that are far more advanced–and I would argue objectively more interesting–doesn’t mean I want to “shoot someone’s excitement down”. Wow, you guys really like to take a question/exploration of something down a deep dark hole, don’t you?
That is what most do. Most give sarcastic comments, at least on the boards, or just shoot them down as to why they wont. To a lot of people a “more advanced” trick isn’t that interesting. I’ve been doing this 30 years and find a lot of “advanced” tricks, or speed tricks uninteresting
Yeah, I’ve noticed that there’s a bit of fatigue creeping in regarding the really complex, techie tricks (as seen in competition), but that phenomenon seems limited to veteran players who’ve been around long enough to even be fatigued by what they see. I seriously doubt that the general population is so afflicted. In fact, most reports I hear are that tricks like Double or Nothing or Kwijibo really impress the uninitiated.
People may misinterpret the “walk the dog” request as a slight on their ability. The trick is arguably the most famous (along with rock the baby as @AaronW mentioned) yoyo trick in the world. Someone asking to see it means they’ve taken notice of what you are doing and are (possibly to be polite) interacting with your yoyoing.
My point of view is this is a positive thing, not a negative one.
I never really thought of it in terms of positive or negative light.
Until last summer, I had no idea what modern yoyo play looked like. My introduction to it was seeing the video of Evan’s 2018 US Nats freestyle that went viral. It blew my mind. Had I been present at the contest that day, I assure you I would not have walked up to Evan and asked him to Walk the Dog, even as some sort of conversational ice-breaker. I can’t fathom the mind that would do so after seeing his freestyle. That’s all I’m saying.
Ya know what Evan would do if that happened?
… I know what he’d do. He’d walk the dog. And he’d have that infectious smile on his face while he did it.
I’m sure he would.
For me, this isn’t about what the yoyoer would (or should) do. It’s about what is going on in the mind of the person who asks to see Walk the Dog after seeing a mind-blowing combo (or freestyle).
To add to this, when someone shows interest they will try to communicate with the tricks and language they know. Someone who only has a shallow relationship with yoyos doesn’t have the vocabulary to talk about or appreciate more complicated tricks.
Once you show that you can talk the same yo-yo language as them by rocking the baby and walking the squirrel on your arm or whatever, you can gently introduce them to more complicated stuff like double or nothing and beyond, and they’ll be pleasantly surprised. 
You (and vega) may very well be right about it, but I will have to take your word for it because it just doesn’t make any sense to me personally.
When someone asks you to walk the dog, I think what they’re really saying is “Hey, I know the name of a yo-yo trick.” It’s more a show of interest, and their own knowledge, than it is about actually wanting to see any specific trick.
It’s just someone making conversation and showing interest in what you’re doing. They know “walk the dog” is a yo-yo trick, and they know you’re playing with a yo-yo, so it’s more like “hey, I know something about what you’re doing…”
I don’t know too much about cars, but if I’m making conversation with someone who has a cool old car or is talking about them I might say “No power steering huh?” or something stupid and obvious like that. That’s kind of how I view the “can you walk the dog?” question.
It is equivalent to “Do a Kickflip” while driving past a skateboarder.
Sure, making conversation and showing interest is something I totally grasp; it’s using “Can you Walk the Dog?” as the way someone would choose to do that which eludes me.
Why not, “Wow, how long have you been yoyoing?” Or, “How long does it take to learn to do tricks like that?” Or, “Is that a special kind of yoyo? Is it expensive?” I mean, I can think of a lot of more meaningful ways to engage a yoyoer–without the need for any of the lingo or slang or informed insight–than to ask them to Walk the Dog (after seeing them do a fancy combo or routine). That’s why I don’t understand why so many people engage in that way.
