Anything For Animals

posted by admin on May 25

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Dogs don’t need to get fit - so why make them run?

I am seeing a growing trend in people who are going out cycling and making their dog run beside them.  It’s not safe for several reasons - but it really isn’t in the dogs best interest anyway.

Reason 1:
Usually, a dog running like this will not have a lead on - and that could be an issue by itself!  What if you were not watching your dog as you peddled around some trees or whatever - and your dog chased a rabbit/cat/jogger/anything.  What if it got injured?  It may well continue to run along with you anyway - trying to keep up with you while ignoring the pain! 

And even if it did have a lead - that is even worse!  There is obviously the risk of the lead affecting your steering on the bike - which could cause a nasty fall; you could go either side of a tree causing an accident - and worst of all, the lead will make the dog feel compelled to keep running beyond it’s ability because it is attached to it’s owner - you! 

Reason 2:
Domestic Dogs are not endurance runners!  Why would any sensible owner think that this was a good idea?

If your dog is running along with it’s whole tongue hanging out the side of it’s gaping wide mouth - it is out of breath and needs to rest!  Especially if it is a sunny day.  If you are hot just rolling along on your bike - imagine how hot your dog is running by your side!

Many heart problems in dogs are identified during hot weather periods.  This is not because hot weather makes canine hearts go ‘bad’, it is because dog owners put their pets hearts under extra pressure in warm weather by taking them out in the midday sun, having them in hot cars (even when you are driving the car it can still be too hot for dogs) and making them run around for hours!

Reason 3:
It’s plain selfish.  You get a dog as a companion, and you take it for walks so it can enjoy itself.  Don’t you?

How can it enjoy itself (in doggy terms) if it has to just run and run and run?  When can it stop to say ‘hello’ to other dogs?  When can it scent mark and have a sniff of everything else?  When can it roll in the cool grass and splash through puddles if it has to run?

To be honest - your dog is better off being left at home than made to run alongside a bike.  It would be far healthier for your hound to have a few quiet strolls around the block than an epic marathon in the countryside.  If your dog doesn’t ‘train’ for these long runs, it can pull a muscle just like humans.  The few days after the run could leave your dog aching all over like we do after a ‘once in a blue moon’ game of tennis!

But, dogs want to please, so will get up and do it all over again if you ‘asked’ it to - whether it hurt or not!

So, give your dog a day off when you want to mountain-bike across a national park or anywhere at all for more than 10 minutes to be honest.  And if you are too hot in tee-shirt and shorts yourself - don’t even take you dog out for a long walk - it’s just not really fair.