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Benefits of Running With a Dog

Benefits of running with your dog
Written by Mark Braeden

Running in general is already a healthy way of living a healthy lifestyle. It becomes even better when running with a human buddy, but if you don’t have a friend available to go for a run with you, the best thing to have as a running buddy is your furry friend. There are many benefits in running with your dog:

1. Great Running Companion

You’re in good company when you run with your dog because your dog is not only your running buddy, but he can also double as your bodyguard. You, of all people, know your dog best, therefore when they sense any danger, you will definitely know their reactions and this will help you become more cautious about your surroundings. Not only that, but your dogs are able to do anything to be able to protect you from the thing that is threatening you.

2. Fun and Challenging

Running with your dog becomes more fun and challenging in a way that you have to keep up with them because we all know that dogs have that uncontrollable urge to run after other animals or sometimes, they just get way too excited when you guys are out for a walk or run. We know that it is hard and can be exhausting sometimes, but this can surely help you up your game. And in this way, your monotonous running routine can be much more dynamic because you will be forced to keep up with the changes in their pacing.

3. This Gives You Motivation

Dogs can inspire you and give you the motivation to go for a run. How is that? Well, when we think about only ourselves, it is so easy to just procrastinate or become lazy on a Saturday morning run and just give up for that sweet couple of hours more sleep on the weekends. But it feels different when it comes to our dogs. It’s hard to say no to those pleading puppy eyes. It’s also difficult to say no especially when we think about their health and seeing our dogs happy and healthy is one of the best things to have in life.

4. Saves You a Headache

When our dogs are not tired enough or when they don’t get enough exercises, they become restless because they are not able to drain down that energy. This can turn into a nightmare for you around the house because they may start becoming irritable and this can then turn into a destructive furry friend. The only thing that can help you with this is exercise, and aside from playing fetch, one of the best ways to tone this down is taking them for a long run. By doing this, you are avoiding yourself and your loved ones from headaches of having torn pillows and curtains or garbage scattered around the house when you get home.

5. Dogs Never Complain

Running with a human buddy makes it complicated sometimes. This is because you have different bodies therefore different rhythms when it comes to exercising so at some point, your human running buddy is going to complain along the way. Whether it’s about the weather or the path is too steep, there will always be some complaining. But when you take your dog as your running buddy, you bet you will be the one complaining and not your furry friend. Your pup loves you so much that he will go anywhere and do anything with you, no problem.

6. Fitness Trackers Doesn’t Matter

Your dog does not care at all about your mile split. We sometimes care too much about how long you have taken to run a certain number of miles. We keep checking our fitness trackers to monitor everything but your dog can surely take your attention away from that even for just a while to help you enjoy the beauty of nature and the environment.

But let’s not forget that fitness trackers are very useful when going out for a run for both you and your dog; This is because dog fitness trackers could be handy when running with a dog because they track dog fitness activity and health, which I am pretty sure is very important in monitoring the daily activities and health of your pup.

7. Heightens Your Senses

When you have your dog as your running partner, it helps you become alert when going for a run with them. You have to take responsibility, as their owner, for everything that involves the safety of you and your dog. You have to keep in mind the routes you take and the traffic situation on the path you choose to take. You also have to watch not only for other dogs and animals that they can prey upon but also other pedestrians or joggers that might attract their attention too. This makes you become more aware of your surroundings and helps you keep track of everything around you.

8. Better Planning Routes

Going for a run with your dog makes you a better planner. As mentioned earlier, you are responsible for the safety of your dog. You most probably or oftentimes plan your routes and workouts to be able to achieve your goals but then, running with a dog takes a little more effort in planning all these. You should take a lot of consideration regarding the surfaces on the route which you are gonna take because running on pavement or gravel especially in hot or warm weather might damage or hurt your dog’s paws.

And maybe the best routes to take are near a lake or a river, or maybe you can go to parks, leash areas, or shady areas where you can run around with some other dogs around, which can be fun for both you and your dogs. You don’t have to worry when going to areas where they require your dogs to be on a leash as you can always use hands-free leashes and it surely won’t affect your running technique, because dog walkers more often than not, also use handsfree leashes when taking multiple dogs on a walk.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that having your dog as a running or training buddy will never be as easy as when going alone, but taking your dog for a walk can surely make not only your exercise day brighter but most especially theirs. They will always be excited about going out for a run with you and this will boost your morale, and both your and your pup’s mental and physical health.

Author

  • Mark Braeden

    Mark is a Boston University graduate and former electrical engineer. In 2017, he decided to combine his tech knowledge with his love for dogs. He spent a year familiarizing himself with the latest GPS tracking collars, invisible fences, and other hot pet gadgets before he wrote his first product review. After selling Technobark, Mark remained a writer and consultant but spends more time on his other passion now: raising and training his growing family of dogs.

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