When I was first looking to adopt a dog my original plan was to find a black lab (I grew up with one) that I could take running with me.

Life had a sense of irony because the dog that pulled at my heart-strings the most at the shelter was a shepherd/chow mix with an amputated front-right leg. But when we play fetch at the dog park he can out-run most of the other dogs in the place.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Budd…

http://www.amazon.com/The-Budd…

Beagle Rakker is the dog of my mother in lab and my running partner for my endurance trainings. Last weekend we did a 10 miler in the pouring rain. The passage about the dog’s obvious joy as motivator was very applicable.

Very good article, I’m particularly enjoying some of the links. As a vet, I have access to information from board certified orthopaedic vets, and the current research suggests that running with your dog too early does increase the risk of orthopaedic problems. I year is a good reference point, but dogs such as Rottweilers may need to wait a little longer.

My dogs don’t enjoy drinking water when we’re running, but they’ll happily take it if I add a little electrolyte powder. They don’t need the electrolytes as such, because they don’t sweat, but they seem to like the taste.

Nice tip on the flavoured water! Dave will only tend to take a couple of slurps now and then so I might give that a try. I also favour the dunking technique – I have a park near me with a small river that runs through it so in the summer every couple of laps I stop to let him swim for a couple of minutes to wet him down, which seems to keep him cool enough not to mind the heat too much. Running with a dog is a really rewarding experience and I can see me and Dave together in this for a good few years if my knee’s hold up!

Thanks for the comment – Jack and I are still running strong together, we
did a 10+ miler just last week and he did great.

PEte

Thanks for the comment – running with a dog is great for both of you! It’s
definitely harder in the heat of summer, but I do what I can for Jack.

Pete

Panting is a dogs way of cooling down – they don’t sweat the way they do –
so it’s normal for them to do this when they run. However, if you see
foaming near the mouth it’s probably a good idea to slow down or get your
dog a drink. I generally try to build a couple of drink stops into my runs,
which seems sufficient for my dog. My Jack likes to mark his territory
frequently when we run (sometimes moreso than others), so I also think
that’s pretty normal and natural for a dog. As for diet, I’d direct that
question to your vet since I don’t know much about the subject. As long as
you pay attention and try not to push the dog to hard, it’s a great form of
exercise to share together, and yes, just like a human, a dog will get
slimmer and more defined due to running!
Pete