Any dog joggers?

I am thinking of starting to go running with Merlin now that he's old enough
He has a comfort flex harness and I got a buddy system hands free leash...

anybody have any advice?/anybody else partake in morning doggy runs?

It's the city so it will be on pavement mostly...but I think the exercise will be great for him

I've just started Feist in going running with me, just for little bits to get her used to it/trained. She doesn't have any difficulty understanding what we're doing. When Wesley first started, he would turn into a jumping up lunatic, and he couldn't handle more than ten minutes without getting overstimulated from omg running next to you on a leash wow. I'd just say work up duration slowly, and keep an eye out for squirrels.

I use comfortflexes. I don't go very far (or very fast), but I love jogging with the dogs. Just start super slow, don't go far, do intervals instead of one steady jog to start. How tough are his pads?

That's another thing I was worried about..a lifetime of manicured grass and sidewalks has created a dog with soft kitten pads.
While cute... I worry about him really running on them.

I use mushers secret on them! Anything else I could try?

Just give them some time to toughen up! He'll be okay. Musher's secret is a good idea, does he have booties?

I haven't really found booties that will stay on. He's ok with the PAWZ ones (that look like balloons) but those are for winter I think...not sure he'd run in them lol

Herding folk swear by this stuff
http://www.handhills.com/pad_healer.html

I just use a collar connected to a jogging belt I made. She also hears a Huurta high visibility micro vest.

But honestly, we only jog on pavement on leash in the colder, darker months. In this weather we hit the trails off leash. I won't go as far in the city because my knees start to hurt and I worry about her joints/pads. On the trails that's not an issue and she also doesn't have to run at the same speed all the time.

I've been trying to.
Bought a whole canicross kit and everything.

Turns out Rigby (who's DNA said she was mostly Husky apparently) flat out refuses to run or pull. It's been nearly a month of training and still a no go for her.


Definitely as everyone else has said, start slow and short. And gradually build it up from there.
With it being pavement, definitely early morning would be best for the paws.

Have fun with him!

I run Venice in a comfortflex too, and she does pull me along a bit. I like and encourage the extra help, especially up hills.

Teaching directions can be helpful, especially if you him running out in front of you.

And if you DO want him to run out ahead of you and pull you along, the hands-free leash will be awesome. I haven't gotten my belt yet and having her pull on my arm while running is a workout in itself and screws with my striding sometimes.

Yep, I run with all three of my adults, sometimes together and sometimes in groups (right now only the brown dogs, obv -- Mira gets walks with Da Puppy instead).

I just leave them on collars and hold the leashes in each hand. I prefer they not pull since it messes with my balance/striding, so there's no real advantage to a hands-free version for me and holding leashes gives me more flexibility if we pass another dog (Web takes some management).

I mostly run dirt trails so pads have never been an issue for me, but I've heard good things about musher's secret. There's also a product a herding friend uses but I can't remember the name...I guess a lot of herding people use it to heal pads while also toughening them.

Until his pads toughen up, avoid wet pavement. I've found it tears up feet quicker than everything. Not sure why.

I do when it's cool enough, I use a 26 ft flexi leash (bad I know but I'm out in the middle of nowhere) she loves it and just and sure Merlin will love it too.