There someone in my neighborhood I see running frequently with his dog, but the dog runs behind. It's a general rule if your dog can't keep up with your pace, it is too much for him/her and you should slow down. Your dog is even more sensitive if he/she is older. My dog will be 17 this year and can only walk around the yard for potty time. I do take her on walks in a stroller, though.
I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. If the dog is barely keeping up and clearly under stress or causing the human to slow down, maybe. Certainly not all dogs are cut out for running. You shouldn't run with dogs who aren't fully grown or who are elderly. You should watch out for the road temperature and for salt. If the dog's pads aren't used to running on the road, they might need musher's secret or boots to protect them from the surface. If the dog is just behind the person and keeping pace and looks like it is having a good time, it might be perfectly fine. My brother and his 3-year-old husky run together. The dog is trained to run behind him, so they take up less space on the road or if the trail is narrow. That dog can go on a 5k run with him, nap on the drive home, then run around in the yard full of energy. His humans (my brother & his girlfriend) run the same path at different times a day and the dog goes happily on both runs. He needs that exercise and very clearly enjoys it BUT he always runs behind them because that's where he's trained to be.
I guess it depends on the size of the dog and how fast they run. I have walked dogs that I can keep up with and some that walk very slowly. Some people bike with their dogs, but most dogs like to keep up with their owners. Sometimes when I have walked friend's dogs many like to stay by my side and run or walk whenever I do.
Like you, I have my dog trained to walk beside me. I can run for a few yards and my dog will keep up without getting overly excited or slowing me down but he's a senior and we typically don't go faster on-leash than a jog across the street. My brother's husky, Mercury, would prefer to be ahead pulling on the leash. Mercury can easily outrun a human though and if he's in front he pulls REALLY hard and forgets that he can't run all out. Since they often run either on narrow trails or on back roads that do not have sidewalks, being in-line rather than side-by-side works better and is safer. By training the dog to run behind him, the dog isn't pulling and can still get his run in (which is actually more of a slow lope for the dog).
17 years?? That's wonderful! I have an older dog and I can't even take him on walks anymore. He's fine at first, but on the way back I'm walking at a slow pace and he still can't keep up. I swear 2 months ago it was me who couldn't keep up with him! But I guess he's starting to feel his age now. He also had largo as a pup so he's aging a lot faster than he should.
In 2001, our first dog Jedi was afflicted with distemper. She almost died but for the immediate attention given by the vet who said that the disease was airborne. That means Jedi was contaminated through air. And our main suspects are the stray dogs in our street. So that closed the door for dog-walking for fear of our dogs getting sick.
That's a really good reason to quit the walks! I had no idea it was airborne. Is it always airborne? Or just that strain? Now I'm adding distemper to my list of things to watch for. I'm going to have to research it. I actually don't know much about it at all.
Distemper info:Log In Distemper is commonly vaccinated against in the US. I'm not sure where you're located. Here, most dogs get a yearly or every-three-year booster of rabies and DHLLP, which is the distemper combo and includes other common canine diseases. He gets a nasal application vaccine of bordetella (kennel cough) because he goes to daycares and the groomer. My dog also gets a lyme disease vaccine because there are ticks in the local area and if we're going to be spending time in the south west, he also gets a rattlesnake venom vaccine, which doesn't substitute for taking them to the vet but can give the dog a better chance of recovery.
I've never even seen a dog with distemper. I'm in the SE United States. You can't step foot outside without at least one tick getting on you. The problem with Lyme disease is you can't see the bullseye under the dogs fur. I've seen what it did to my dad, and he caught it early. I can't imagine what it would do to a dog.
We likewise have a 13 year old dog at home and every now and then, I walk around the neighborhood with him in tow. He knows how to keep up with my pace but recently, when I tried to test how fast he could go, it was really impossible for him to run beside me. He just trailed behind. After noticing that, I decided to let him walk at his own pace. Exerting too much muscle strength might ruin his health.
I've ended up having to let him go out in the front yard and side yard whenever I go. It's a cheap substitute for his walks, but at least he gets out a little bit.
