Running alone is fine. It relaxes you, evades you and, although it sounds paradoxical, it also allows you to rest. But sometimes the company is important. For the lazy days, when we are too lazy to put on our shoes or for those in which we can not travel that last kilometer, having a partner to pull for us is essential. Your partner or a friend is a good option but so can your dog. Also you can buy a dog run outdoor exercise cage for your pet to keep him/her more active.
More and more people go out to train accompanied by their pet. And it has many advantages. Dogs are runners by nature. They do not obsess over the calories or the kilometers traveled, they do it for themselves. Because they enjoy. Also, they are not lazy and do not look for excuses to skip the training. According to a recent study from the University of Michigan, people who go out for a run or just walk with their dogs are 34% more likely to leave sedentary life and practice more than 150 minutes of physical activity a week that people with other animals or none. “A dog can do more for us than a treadmill,” says Rebecca A. Johnson, co-author of Walk a Hound, Lose a Pound.on how to lose weight, stay fit and have fun with our pets. Always bearing in mind that workouts should never replace the exits to the street, which should occur at least twice a day.
Dogs are animals of habit and will help us to comply with our training plan because if you do not go running, he will manage to get up from the couch or the bed. But just as he does that for you, you must also do something for him. Before you start running with your pet – we do not talk about participating in a perroton or a canicross , but to spend some time with them – you must take into account a series of things and the first is that you must respect the other runners: if you train In a public place, your pet must always be tied.
- Wait until it grows . If you have a puppy, wait. “In general it is preferable that the dog is more or less trained, and this will depend on its size as an adult.Excessive exercise can damage the joints of a developing animal,” explains veterinarian Manuel Lazaro, of the Mirasierra Veterinary Clinic . According to this expert, they must be allowed to reach musculoskeletal maturity. In the dogs of small race it would be to the six months whereas in the great ones it is advisable that they have fulfilled the 10 or 12.
- Better some races than others . All dogs can practice amateur running although it is more advisable in some cases than in others. “In principle to be a not too demanding exercise any dog ??can accompany us to run, since they are more adapted to the races than the human being”, explains the specialist and adds that there are very appropriate races for the sport like the dogs of shepherding, those of hunting or even many small breeds like terriers. The “brachycephalic” dogs are more problematic. We speak of very short nose species, such as the bulldog or carlino, which can present respiratory problems during exercise, or some toys or miniature dogs. Veterinarian Timothy B. Hackett defines running companionsideal to “dogs with large breeds, short hair, young, and elongated snout” and points out that we should avoid training with “small dogs with snouts and short legs”. On the dogbreedinfo.org website you will find a list of the best breeds to go running.
- Do not run in the sun because dogs do not transpire as humans do and their thermoregulation capacity is less effective. Their only sweat glands are in the pads of the potatoes and their effect is minimal. “The elimination system they use is panting, which is much less effective, so it is important to avoid running in the sun or when it is very hot, since the risk of the so-called heat stroke, in which there is a significant increase in body temperature is high, which can be fatal “, explains Manuel Lázaro. Some specialists point out that we must take special care when the 20 degrees are exceeded and that it is advisable to always carry a bottle of water so that the dog can drink (without passing) when needed.
- Visit the veterinarian . Just as we must go through the doctor before starting to run (especially in the cases of people who have not done sport before), it is important to take our dog for review so that the veterinarian can explore it and assess its health condition. “It is good to try to detect any disorder that has gone unnoticed and, of course, consult whenever we notice something strange during exercise such as excessive tiredness, lameness, etc.”, continues Manuel Lázaro. From the Kynós Veterinary Clinic recommend that this checkup be annual, especially if our pet becomes an elite athlete: “Very intense exercise can cause kidney and / or musculoskeletal injuries.” Knowing that you are in top form both inside and outside is a tranquility for all!”.
- The strap must be special. It’s not worth the same one you use to take it for a walk. To go running it is advisable to take a different method of restraint, which does not bother you or him. Your dog must wear an ergonomic harness that does not limit its movements and is less harmful than a collar, the run must be more flexible (not extensible) of a maximum length of two meters and the grip on our body must be through a belt. This will be wide and padded to prevent damage.
- Wait to give him water Hydration is important but can not be carried out in any way. In general, we should wait until the animal calms down before offering food and / or drink. The veterinarian Cintia Costas explains it in the book Women Who Run : “In the recovery period it is important that the dog does not drink a lot of water at once, due to the panting, they swallow air and, together with a large volume of liquid in their stomach, can develop a dilation with or without stomach twist (large or giant breeds are more predisposed.) The result: in a few hours can enter hypovolemic shock and die.
- Choose the surface well. You and your dog can go running anywhere, but they are always better than others. Asphalt or excessively hard earth can be very abrasive to the foot pads and cause injuries, especially in specimens not used to training. For them (and in general for all) it is better to run on grass, sand or soft earth.
- Train gradually. Just as you did not run ten kilometers on your first day of training, neither should your dog do it. It is better to be patient and not to exhaust the first day. The training should be progressively so that the dog can adapt to the routine. “Even if they run faster than us or faster, they have to adapt their bodies to the distance and we are in charge of managing that at each exit”, explains Juan Carlos Zapatero on the website Mr. Perro . In addition, with a progressive training, we will achieve that the pads harden little by little and do not injure themselves.
- Take care of your pads. Progressive training is usually more than enough to make them harden although it is also advisable to wash them with a warm cloth and soap. In this way we will prevent dirt from the road from penetrating between your fingers, causing irritation and even infections. “Only in the case of running on icy snow or rocky surfaces may need some special protection (rubber boots or similar.) In any case it is good to know that there are also specific products that our veterinarian can prescribe and that help to harden the plantar cushions, “says veterinarian Manuel Lázaro.
- Control your diet It is important not to feed the dog for one hour before and one hour after running the exercise. The expert Elizabeth Simpson explains that her stomach is a holding tank during digestion and eating in the hours close to exercise can cause the dog to suffer gastric problems or swelling.
- Rest Our pets have much more tolerance to exercise but since we should not go running every day , they should also rest. As they point out in the Kynós Clinic, you have to rate the careers . The ideal is to perform the same breaks as we do.
- And do not forget the bag for excrement. Because besides runner you are also a citizen and you must respect the basic rules of coexistence. In addition to this form we will save unnecessary fines .
