Girls' Best Friend

After seeing so many people running with their dogs these past couple of weeks I wanted to try it myself. AS I've said before, my own dogs are small enough to get tired playing fetch in the house and would make for some lousy running companions. Lucky for me, Seattle is an incredibly pooch-friendly area and it wasn't any trouble to find someone who was willing to let me borrow theirs.

I chose Titan, a three-year-old black lab, because he was a dog I already spend quite a bit of time with. I knew he would be perfectly well behaved as I worked out the mechanics of holding a leash on the move.

We went to Greenlake Park on what must have been the prettiest day of the month. The sun was beaming down on the autumn leaves and the wind was creating little waves on the top of the lake. There weren't any clouds in the sky which meant a significant drop in the temperature but it was so beautiful no one seemed to mind. The trail around the lake is roughly 2.88 miles and though I had been warned Titan might be a little out of shape he finished the run with only one pit stop. Over all, incredibly well behaved, especially compared to my own pups. Titan's owner went with us to the park and walked with his other dog while we ran. The four of us met back up after Titan and I finished a 3.5 mile run.

Titan and his younger brother, Nike

What I learned about running with dogs proved to be helpful.

First, do a little research before you run, know where you're going to be, who is likely to be there with you, and how you'll want to hold the leash in order to not completely obstruct your form.

Run with a dog who is well behaved enough to be around tons of people without losing control. Titan is so well trained he can sit with a bone balanced on his nose. I'm not saying your dog has to be this perfect but it does help if you end up in a populated area. There were over a hundred people out at the lake with us, walkers, joggers, runners, cyclists, not to mention those with strollers, roller blades, and other dogs. You need to know you will have control over your running buddy if something were to happen, like ducks in the water, a squirrel crossing your path or someone riding their bike too close.

Do not let the dog pull you. This is another reason it is so important to be in control. If you're being pulled you're likely to go much faster than planned and run out of energy before you intended to end your run. Not to mention the pulling motion will give you a sore arm! Titan's owner put him in a harness so he wouldn't pull. I was incredibly grateful since the giant dog only weighs about ten pounds less than I do and is taller than I am if he stands on his hind legs.

Pay attention! There were people going every which way on the trail and I had to make sure I could navigate not only myself but also the moose of a dog through the crowded areas. Sometimes this meant slowing down to let others pass us or the reverse. Regardless of what everyone else was doing I needed to make sure I kept Titan close by my side and out of everyone's way.

Your splits are no longer the most important things to pay attention to. You need to have constant communication with the dog. Encouraging him with words like, "good boy", or "Let's go" turned out to be a huge help to me. I lucked out with Titan because he happens to be a master communicator. He'd give me a look if we were going to fast or nuzzle my leg if he wanted to speed up a bit. He didn't get any treats from me but several pets and atta boys seemed to do the trick.

Making sure we had water waiting for us back at the car was also incredibly helpful since Titan needed to refuel once we had finished.

Something Titan's owner had mentioned to me that proved to be incredibly useful: make sure you wear gloves! Mine have a grippy web pattern on the palms which were super helpful in holding onto Titan's leash.

Finally, if you're not the dog's owner make sure they're not too far in case you need their help. I didn't need any help during the run but getting Titan in and out of the car proved to be more difficult than it is with my lap dogs. He also helped with the cooldown, taking over walking Titan as we walked back to the car from out meet-up spot.

Overall, I loved having a running companion who was happy being silent unlike some of my other running buddies (I'm looking at you, Dad). He let me pick the pace, mostly, and did a great job following instructions when I needed him to. This experience makes me reconsider my idea of never racing with dogs. I would be thrilled to run with Titan anytime.