A quick lesson in why you shouldn’t run with your dog on a collar and lead
I recently saw a British news article which included the below photo of our current Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, running with his dog in a local park and it’s this type of article and accompanying photo that always makes me cringe.
(Image taken from the article I read in The Times newspaper)
To be fair, his dog looks quite comfortable and relaxed and the lead is not tight but there is a whole community of people who run with their dogs like this, and not all of the dogs look so happy.
I’m a member of a group on Facebook where people consider this the only way to run with your dog and I’ve also purchased and read a book that purports to tell you all about how to run with your dog like this. However, I still can’t understand why people think this is the best way to exercise with your dog when the alternative is so much better.
Obviously, I’m talking about canicross and the sport of running with your dog, which has a few differences from what you see pictured above.
I’ve discussed the differences before in blog here: https://www.k9trailtime.com/2023/11/21/why-canicross-isnt-just-running-with-your-dog/ and on my podcast here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theactivedogpodcast/episodes/Episode-10-Why-canicross-isnt-just-running-with-your-dog-e2c79f5 but for anyone who has missed this, the main differences are the use of specialist equipment for the comfort and safety of both you and your dog, the use of specific training that will ensure you are both exercising in a controlled way and also a consideration for the terrain you are running on, taking into account your dogs’ needs as well as your own.
The image below is a summary I created of the differences between running your dog on a collar/harness and a lead and the proper canicross setup we use for the sport.
BUT if you are running your dog on a collar, there are even more reasons to use the proper equipment, particularly for your dog, as outlined in this graphic by Anne Corless, Copyright of Dog Games Ltd
So if you’d like to know more about the best way to run with your dog then do get in touch. We have lots of information and courses to get you started here: https://www.k9trailtime.com/product-category/online-courses/
If you have any questions please do just get in touch with me, Emily, emilyt@k9trailtime.com
Happy trails!
