When my poor shattered lungs are well enough for me to go out running again, I want to try taking Captain the Incredible Pull-Us-Into-Traffic Dog. (Captain needs some training and some time with the Gentle Leader, obviously.) I’ve never had a dog big enough to keep up with a runner before. I mean, my 16 year old dog with kidney failure probably could have run faster for longer than I can, but I didn’t try it.
So is there anything I need to know? I assume I’ll need to take water for him as well as for me - can he carry our water? How? Is there a good harness or something for him to Sherpa it around on? Does he need electrolytes? Is that a stupid question? Do they make doggie Gatorade? Is there a distance beyond which he should not run? I guess not, since they make sled dogs, right? Anything to look out for? Anything that makes it easier and more pleasant?
I dunno what the vets are going to say, but I ran with my dog up to about 17 miles. I had to stop running with him after the first time he blew out an ACL. I never gave him electrolytes and never brought water for him. But then again, I always ran early morning when it was cooler and I never brought water for me, either. Also, if it was warm that morning I’d leave him home unless it was a short run (6 miles or so).
I think a lot will depend on the dog, terrain and temperature. Running in hot weather on cement will wear your dog out much faster than running on trails when it is cool. If I biked on the streets with the dog his pads would wear out after a few miles. But as I said above, running for 17 miles on those same streets wasn’t an issue at all.
I’ve often read that it is not suggested to run dogs that are younger than a year - I think some folks say 18-24 months.
How far are you going in what temps and on what surfaces? I agree the dog (and you) would be fine without water for relatively short distances (<5 miles or so) in nonextreme temps. I know some people who have taught their dogs to drink out of bottles, which makes it easier. And you can check on-line for any number of doggy backpacks to make the beast carry his own (and even your!) water.
It does depened greatly upon the breed. I ran for years with a Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound), but they are bred to run, like Huskies, hunting dogs, etc.
When I first started her, she was accustomed to running only on grass, so I got something called “pad toughener” to get her feet tough enough for running on aspalt roads. She loved to run, and we did about 60 miles a week. I had trained her to heel, but always kept her on a lead for her protection. Never know when a dog will take it into its head to dash across the road, chase after a squirrel or other dog.
No matter the temperature, it is a good idea to take water if it is going to be a long run. You can have an extra bottle and just squirt water into its mouth, or they have collapsable water dishes. They also have sadde-bag type carriers for dogs so they can carry water, etc.
If you get a big enough dog, they may take passengers.
Captain’s 6 months old, and he’s supposed to be a Catahoulan Leopard Dog - I’d assume a huntin’ dawg like that ought to be able to make some miles, wouldn’t you? The longest I’ve been running so far is 5 miles, but I want to run a marathon this fall.
And I am totally getting something for him to carry the water with. So long, fanny pack!
Eh, I think it’s marketing to help the shelter get rid of some dogs. He kinda does and kinda doesn’t look like the examples I saw online - he certainly isn’t the really striking blue tick glass eyed kind. Looks more like a junkyard dog to me.
Just remember that he’s going to take a while to get into running shape. Expect the same kind of sore muscles and need for rest you have when you haven’t run in a long time.
When he starts panting heavily and / or whitening at the mouth, stop.
He’ll whip into shape quickly and be a great running companion as long as you ease him into it.
I did this once. It was not a young dog by any means and just a border collie/alsatian cross - not particularly a recognised “running” dog.
Man, any fears I had about whether the dog would keep up soon evaporated. It was more the other way round. The dog just trotted ahead of me the whole time occasionally glancing back wondering why I was so red-faced and huffing and puffing.
I was going along a river and, every so often, the dog would sprint ahead and nip down to the river for a drink. While it was doing this I would overtake it but it would finish it’s drink then catch me up in another sprint and back to trotting ahead again.
Remember dogs in the wild may run up to 40 miles a day. There’s nothing you can do, in running terms, to faze a dog.
Beware of the dog who runs in front of you rather then beside! My younger dog did this last summer, I tripped over him, landed on my right hand and broke it!
Our mongrel (about the size of a tall lab) tuns about 6 or 7 miles, 3 or 4 times a week. He got into it very gradually because he was out of shape, and just like a person, you just can’t push a newbie that hard when he starts jogging.
We check his paws regularly, since he once partially tore off a toenail (not sure how or when), and he has boots for winter runs because of salt.
We have found that he does have clear limits. More than 7 miles is too much. He will look achy and lethargic for a day or two afterwards if we go farther. Definitely not happy and obviously uncomfortable. So on longer runs we leave him home. Luckily he seems to know his own limits and he will start bumping into you or trying to trip you up when he really needs to stop, which also helped us figure out that 7 miles is his limit. By 8 miles he will try to grab your ankles.
We also have a temperature limit and don’t take him running on really hot summer days or exceptionally cold days when he could hurt his feet. We’ve never really needed to carry water for him on 7 mile runs because he slurps from creeks and puddles, but we have a collapsible, doggy dish that we can carry in a pocket or fanny pack to share water with him. It’s made out of that plastic tarp material and you can get one any place that sells camping gear.
He does have doggy saddle bags when we take him on long hikes or multi-day trekking journeys so he can carry extra food and water. If we’re carrying the canoe, he’s carrying his own food!
We also found that he’ll bounce around for the first bit of a run, but once he got the hang of jogging he realized he couldn’t goof off as much without getting tired faster,. So now when jogging, he just heels without being commanded to do so, but YMMV depending on your pooch’s personality.
If you use a leash, make sure it’s the really short kind and keep him next to you. In the city, ours is just long enough to run from my hand to the dog at my side. I’ve seen a jogger-with-dog accidentally closeline a kid because at the last second the dog veered and tried to pass with the kid in between pooch and dog. Dogs can be bad tripping hazards, so you want a leash that will keep him heeling.
It depends on your pooch and what you need. We got ours at a gear shop for hiking and camping because on multi-day excursions he has to carry 3-4 pounds of food.
But my teamate’s daschund comes to watch baseball games carrying his own snacks collapsbible bowl and various accoutrements wearing a Neo Paws pack like this one. Generally, it’s a good idea to find a place that has a good variety of packs and boots for dogs, so you can have the pooch try on a few. Most are adjustable, but doggy will suffer from chaffing if it doesn’t fit right.
I don’t remember the brand we use, I’ll have to look at it at home.
Oh, I remember. We have this one from Ruff Wear. It’s probably too fancy if you just needs something basic for carrying water, but if it’s for running with the pooch you will want something that will suit high activity. Now that I see ours again, I remember that one of the reasons we got it is for the design of the yoke. The one we have has a Y shaped yoke so it can’t ride up. The one in my previous post has the front chest strap ride up when the daschund runs around like a fool, so it ends up more around his neck rather than chest and gets a little chokey for the spaz.
The Y shaped yoke also keeps most of the weight on the dog’s shoulders instead of his back (heavy pack in the middle of the back is lousy for the pooch), the former one slides back a bit as the spaz moves a lot. Ruff Wear makes great outdoor gear for dogs. They actually have boots with Vibram soles! (The stuff you find on quality hiking boots for humans.) Their boots don’t work on our dog though because his toes are too long.
Sigh. I took off work early today to try to see if I maybe retained enough of my endurance to not have to give up on the half marathon after all, and I found out it is impossible to run with this stupid bastard. It’s pull pull pull pull OH LOOK SOMETHING PEED HERE pull pull pull - he doesn’t pull as badly when we’re running, but he still puts pressure on the leash, and I could tell by looking at my shadow that my whole body was twisted around trying to hold him back - surely a recipe for some sort of painful injury. It’s incredibly frustrating. I think the edges of the leash actually bruised my hands.
He make take a little time to learn how jogging works. I run with my friend’s akita/husky mix, and the first couple times it was a lot of yanking on the lead or bumping her with my knees. I recommend a gentle leader or halti collar, it makes it easier to get the dog to stay on task. The huskita wonder dog also does better when carrying water, like she knows she is “on duty”. Now huskita pup has the idea and is a great jogging companion.
Does “Fucker” also pull when he’s on a walk with the Gentle Leader? It may help him become accustomed to it to start with short walks. Every time he pulls, give a sharp pull on the leash and say “no, walk” or whatever. Just as long as you’re consistent, he’ll ultimately get the idea that you are the one in control, not him. Sooner or later, you’ll see that he will start to actually look at you for instructions which is what you want. He needs to look to you for guidance.
Fucker is distracted while on walks with the Gentle Leader by… the Gentle Leader. He needs some more practice with it - we’ve probably screwed up by using it when we know he’s going to get over-excited - in other words, when he’s already all wound up and freaking out, we put a thing on his face.
He kinda does and kinda doesn’t look like the examples I saw online - he certainly isn’t the really striking blue tick glass eyed kind. Looks more like a junkyard dog to me.