Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Running/jogging with dogs.

35 replies

WildRosie · 27/03/2020 08:52

If you are a runner, do you ever take your pet pooches with you ? I saw a woman run past my home earlier and she had something on a lead (it was hidden behind the garden wall) so obviously a dog of some sort. Is it something they enjoy ? Do you let them off their leads in a park or in the countryside ? I can imagine some boisterous, energetic breeds like Weimaraners would love it.

OP posts:
mooboy · 27/03/2020 14:35

I would say our dog has mixed feelings about running with dh - preferred to run with both of us. Dh will ask and sometimes the dog goes and other times would prefer to wait for a better deal! He needs either off lead time or to be walked on the way home - an outing is all about the sniffing for him...he'll sprint or meander when he's off lead - he'd never chose to trot beside us.

Cherrysoup · 27/03/2020 23:14

@LochJessMonster, as Wildrosie says, horses for courses! One of mine will mostly run alongside-DH’s ‘spirit dog’, the other would just piss off for a sniff, but they’re spaniels, so very into their sniff fests. They warm up with long runs/retrieves then get very into sniffer dog mode. 🐶 One of them would’ve been a cracking drugs dog.

sweetkitty · 27/03/2020 23:19

I think I was far too slow for our dog she’s a Ridgeback do bred to keep up with horses all day. My slow jogs bored her.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Dogs Exercise & fitness Fitness
VetOnCall · 27/03/2020 23:50

I run with my younger dogs twice a week (time of year/weather dependent), usually 5-10k at a time, but only ever moderate paced trail runs on soft ground and off-lead so they can slow down, stop, sniff, pee etc. if they want to. I do my faster paced road runs on my own. Running long distances on hard surfaces can be hard on their joints, they have to be built up to that level of fitness carefully and gradually. Dogs don't naturally tend to run non-stop in a linear fashion for kilometres on end.

If they are on the lead they must be on a good-quality harness as pps have said, and preferably on a bungee type lead that has some give in it in case of sudden stops. Some breeds are much more suited/amenable to it than others. It should not be done with dogs under 12 months, giant breeds under 2 years (if at all tbh), elderly dogs, brachycephalic breeds and any dog with joint or bone issues.
Obviously it is also very temperature dependent, dogs can dehydrate and lethally overheat extremely fast and should never be made to run continuously in very warm/hot weather, even if it's not in direct sun.

Spanielmadness · 27/03/2020 23:58

I run with my cocker regularly. He loves it - the steady motion is calming and helps with his fear and anxiety. He will happily run in areas he is afraid to walk. I stay off-road.

Yeafortwo · 28/03/2020 00:02

Vetoncall please can I ask which bungee harness you would recommend? Thank you

Wewearpinkonwednesdays · 28/03/2020 00:10

Mine comes all the time. He much prefers it in parks or the beach where I can let him off the lead and he can have a sniff around. He's very good and stays quite close. He runs on lead. Well he doesn't need to run, just trot, I don't go very fast 😂. He doesn't like that as much, but having to do it more at the moment.

Wewearpinkonwednesdays · 28/03/2020 00:13

If he is running on lead, I let him off as much as possible. I can't really do more than about 6k.

mooboy · 28/03/2020 10:08

www.ezydog.co.uk/dog-leads/runners-collection

We have this one - we put a harness on the dog and there's a shock absorber bit which has been great when the dog spots a cat!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page