Running with my dog!

[rose_jc]

I've wanted to get fit for a while and love to swim, however I find the times that I can go are inconvenient and also to go three times a week would be expensive for me. I used to look at runners and see how healthy they looked, and thought I wish I could do that. I also thought how good it would be to take my dog (Jim) with me. So I decided to take up running, I'm still on week one but I've been doing it a couple of weeks now and almost feel ready to go onto week 2.

What I have found is though, is that I can't do It without Jim. I tried it, and I couldn't. He's my buddy and my pace maker (he's a springer spaniel, so it takes a lot to run him out of energy). It was a weekend and we'd been for a family dog walk and I wanted to try running my own I got to the top of our row of houses and I stopped and turned back. I had to have him with me. He makes me feel secure. So I love him for that.

Just wondering now if anyone can give me tips on keeping form (because I'm holding a lead) and any other advice that you might feel is useful when running with dogs.

Thanks

Jenny

[Landesman Graduate]

I'd love to do that (but inbetween dogs at the moment).

This looks like a good place to start ( cani-cross.co.uk/cc_whatis.... )

[Cazvs Graduate]

I was going to suggest the cani-cross website too. There are loads of other articles online, running with dogs is getting very popular. We're going to be looking for rescue dog later this year to be a family pet/running buddy for me. You need a good harness and you can get a lead with a waist belt and a bungee section to avoid any sharp pulls. This is a really good website- poochto5k.com/

[bikergirl Graduate]

i have a springer spaniel too, i only take mine out with me once a week at the moment because he tends not to like my routes, he prefers his own routes that usually involve straight through the burns and streams and rivers and puddles and round trees with me following suit. lol hes getting better tho with practice. learning the difference between a walk and a run. i agree they are great company. Good motivation. A friend told me about the belts Cazvs just mentioned says they are fantastic. oh and i walk my dog 1st round the block before the run so he can do his business before we start the run so we dont have to stop mid run to scoop

[RainbowC Graduate]

*Always* make sure you have a couple of poo bags with you. The time you haven't got any is the time you'll need them...

I've loved running with our Dog, but sadly am going to have to stop taking him with me. The last few weeks, he's been running out of steam for the last half mile or so, and last week I had to almost drag him round half of my four-mile route I know the weather was much warmer than it had been, but it wasn't much fun for either of us. He's getting on a bit now, so maybe we're best off sticking to walking pace together or off-road routes where he can poddle along at his own pace and just catch me up occasionally...

I've never had a problem with holding the lead while running - especially now he's used to it, Dog just trots along nicely by my side so a lot of the time I just have the loop loose over my wrist, and only actually hold on to the lead when I need to move him out of the road for traffic!