It was released in the late summer of 1993, more than nine years after its predecessor, Mother's Spiritual.

[3] Walk the Dog and Light the Light received positive critical notices,[4][5][6] and Nyro supported the album with a string of intimate dates with a harmony vocal group.

Walk the Dog and Light the Light grew out of Nyro's 1988 tour, which resulted in her live album Laura: Live at the Bottom Line.

Thus, the music is similarly laidback and features largely the same cast of musicians, including percussionist Nydia "Liberty" Mata, with whom Nyro had collaborated since the mid-1970s.

[1] The sound is smooth and soulful, with Nyro's rich and smokier vocals singing her lyrics concerning topics such as feminism, animal rights and Native American rights.