Attention: Dog runners

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  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
    At about 7 months, my Boston Terrier was running 5-8 miles with me and still wanting more.
  • tabbydog
    tabbydog Posts: 4,925 Member

    This is an area of concern of mine and a strong personal opinion, so put my remarks in context. I have mixed feelings about the issue of people running with dogs in general. I know that many people--maybe even the majority--are conscientious and the dogs love it and its a great experience, but I also see a lot of people who are both selfish and clueless and drag their dogs around under conditions that are not appropriate. Be patient.
    I would like to add that where you live, running dogs in the summer heat can be fatal. Remember that they have no sweat glands and the air they breath for cooling themselves 12-18 inches above the ground may be 30+ hotter than the air temperature you feel. And keep off the pavement.

    Personally I would rather see you get a human running buddy that can choose to run or not. A dog will run itself to death just to please you.

    This is important. I don't take my dog over certain temperatures/humidity levels. Up to 75 degrees she is okay for 3 miles or so, up to 65-70 degrees 3-5 miles, below 65 degrees she is good for up to 12. And will run laps around the house when we get back afterwards. As I stagger up the drive. :laugh: I always carry enough water for both of us (I don't let her drink out of puddles or ditches on the side of the road because of oil and such that could be in the water).
    65 degrees where she lives is now, in the middle of winter.

    Yes, my point was that she needs to be aware of her specific dog's limits and be careful not to over do it. My dog is particulary sensitive to heat because of the shape of her face and muzzle, and I was surprised at what low temps were actually too hot for her. Her dog may be less sensitive, but it is still harder for dogs to cool themselves than humans, so what is not too hot for her may well be to hot for her dog.
  • ohrandi
    ohrandi Posts: 28 Member
    All the people saying their dogs snap leashes and collars.. have you tried using a gentle leader? My Shiloh shepherd (the biggest dog I have, oddly) has always been wonderful on a leash but can't run with me due to a heart defect. My other 2 dogs, however, were AWFUL on a leash. My pit/chow mix is I swear strong as a bull, even at now 10 years old, a pinch collar is the only thing that slowed her down. My year old lab isn't stupid strong, but has serious ADHD and would pull until he choked himself. A gentle leader works SO well for him. It helped him learn he needed to focus on me, he's learning it's MY walk, and he needs to respect that. I imagine soon we won't even have to use the gentle leader anymore. Very exciting.

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