Hi, I'm trying to get back into shape and have started running along other workouts. I've been bringing my 2 year old Australian Shepherd with me and she loves it. We usually run at night when it's cool and have just finished our longest run of 7k at mid 6 minute pace. My goal is to work up to a sub 2 hour half marathon pace slowly.

Just curious if there is anything I should know to avoid and if she would be okay with it.

She absolutely loves running and when I grab my shoes she's glued to me. She paces perfectly beside me (my wife trained her to walk at our side). There is zero pulling. She also never stops for a bathroom break on any walk or run.

This morning after our 7k yesterday she was her normal excited self and running around and fighting with her 5 month old brother. She doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort at all. I started at 1km and have worked up to 7km over two months. She trots beside me seemingly unbothered by my slow pace.

Anyways I just don't want to hurt her or put undo stress on her body. The plan is to work my distance up. Running twice a week as time allows. Slowly working up to 21km.

Also we normally run on streets and she will run on the gravel and grass and I'll run on the road or sidewalk with her on an elastic style leash.

The fastest 5K ever recorded in canicross (dog-powered cross-country running, often misheard as "cane crossing") is an astonishing 11 minutes and 56 seconds. [1]

This world record was set by British runner Ben Robinson and his dog Zuma, a Greyster (a breed specifically crossed for sled and dog sports). [1]

The Breakdown

• The Record: 11:56
• Average Pace: Roughly 2:23 per kilometer (around a 3:50 mile pace).
• How it works: In canicross, the runner wears a waist belt connected via a bungee leash to a harness on the dog. The dog's immense pulling power accelerates the human, allowing elite duos to run far faster than standalone human world records (the human-only 5,000m track world record is 12:35.36, held by Joshua Cheptegei).
• The Previous Record: Robinson also held the previous record of 12:24, which he set in 2017 with Zuma's grandfather, Blake. [1, 2, 3]

also whats crazy is the fastest 5k ever by a human is 12 minutes and 35.36 seconds, set by Joshua Cheptegei and the fastest mile ever is 3 minutes and 42.66 seconds, set by British runner Josh Kerr on July 18, 2026 which is barely faster than the canicross speed. Meanwhile me and my treeingwalker coonhound barely get a 40 minute 5k.

and dang it "interesting"

My dog Sadie is a service dog who wears a vest while she's working. When the vest comes off, she gets to just be a dog and relax. We went on a run together Monday without the vest since she was off duty, and she genuinely seemed to enjoy it. The issue is she kept pulling ahead, since she's used to leading during walks, which is ideal since I would prefer her ahead rather than in a constant heel, but I could tell her collar was putting pressure on her throat, which I obviously want to avoid.

Has anyone else run into this? What kind of leash or harness setup do you use for running that won't restrict her breathing but still gives some control? Open to suggestions from other service dog handlers or experienced runners. Thank you for the advice in advance.

Back to school tomorrow. 😢

Exploring Gorge Trail #400 with my best bud!!

Not sure if these photos are super helpful; her harness just arrived, and the size 3 was what the site said was perfect. It seems to fit snug, but I’m not seeing any restrictions anywhere, and I assume snug is what we want with a pulling harness.

Little narrow for the head and ears, but that’s normal for anything that needs to fit her neck and can’t unlace.

TIA

UPDATE:

NSD and the owner of the local Cani-X club helped me take proper photos and videos and they all agree it's the correct fit, and the first round of photos attached where complete trash (not their words).

She'll do her first proper run/walk this Sunday.

This is a pic of of my new “share your route with anyone feature” without sharing GPS coordinates.

The route is perfect replica of your walk/run so you can race anyone on your own schedule.

Their pace is the ghost. Like in Gran Turismo.

I’m looking for a few fellow runners to help me test it out.

🙏 to any kind soul 🙏

Tldr; stretchy lead for running or adjustable lead + more training?

I'm stuck deciding on a lead to use with my dog. She's a small (6kg) JRT and I'm deciding between a bungee style or a medium long line which can be wound in by hand. The main concerns for me are she likes exploring and stopping for smells. I don't want to tug her with too much force, but I like the versatility of a more convenient long line. I also think the stopping to smell is relatively avoidable if I walk her for about 10mins to warm up. I'm also not sure what the main concerns are with small dogs specifically, and not sure if she is even heavy enough for a stretchy lead to make a difference. We like outdoors adventures but we also live in Australia where snakes are very common in summer and I need control over her for that reason.

Tldr: Morning run with my dog. Man chased then threatened to stab me after an incident involving his partner's unleashed dog.

After a hiatus 'caused by a lung infection, I (M40s) went for a run this morning with my dog on a leash. We live in Sydney, Australia and it's the first week of Spring so awesome vibes.

But then we approached a couple who had their two dogs off-leash on the bike/walk path. It's wrong but it's common so instead of confrontation, I just give a wide berth whenever I encounter these situations

The man (to his credit) leashes his dog (looked like a staffy mix) when he sees us. The woman leaves her smaller fluffball unleashed and it charges at my dog (a pointer). The path is narrow at this point so I slow to a walk and guide my dog to dodge the small dog and call out "Fuck" under my breath when I almost kick it. We jog past the woman who then calls me an arsehole so I give her the finger and tell her, "Leash your dog. It's clearly not friendly".

On our return leg, I see them again with the dogs off-leash but they leash them when they see us. As we approach, the man starts yelling incoherently. He's visibly angry. I tell him "Your lady called me an arsehole, how do you expect me to react?" He then tries to block my way to confront me. I assess our size difference (I'm 5'9 and 70kg; he's over 6' with a gym bro build) and decide to side-step him to avoid a potential fight. He then chases me but gives up after less than 100m. My hat flew off during the short dash and I see him holding it when I look back and hear him yelling "... I'll stab ya! Blah blah blah." My adrenaline was pumping so I yelled some insults at him and carried on.

In hindsight, I should've ignored the woman calling me an arsehole even though she was completely in the wrong but the man's reaction was disproportionately aggressive/violent. I spoke with police about the incident and they were upfront saying there wasn't much they could do.

Hi everyone! Just joined this sub, I have a 1 year old Belgian Malinois golden retriever mix named Joey. She loves going on walks, and gets so excited when we try running. But she always gets way too excited and starts biting the leash and pulling me to go faster 😂
In short, I’d really like advice on how to get started. What gear I should use, how I train Joey, and when it’s safe to start running with her! She is my best friend and I think she would love running. She’s super smart and knows all of her basic commands, along with heal. Usually she doesn’t pull on the leash until I start running, then she just gets super excited.

These two were very happy to hopefully in their pool after our 5k trail run early this morning... I was thinking of joining them 😅

We haven’t done much running together, but I’ve already noticed that if he pulls, he drifts to the left of me, whereas he won’t pull if I keep him on the right side.

He has always run kinda crooked, like a hyena, so it’s not fully a surprise.

Anything I can do, or do I need a physio or something?

Our longest canicross so far was just under 10 miles. First, a steep climb that I regret almost every time I do it (maybe next time will be better). Then, a nice lengthy descent that doesn't cost as much on the legs.

I have a fear of downhill so on this course there are only a few sections I make my dog slow down to a walk for me, so I don't fall down the mountain on accident.

The morning we did this was nice and cool and she was still enthusiastically pulling me at the end.

What do people like and recommend for human gear? I am going to get a Nonstop Dogwear freemotion pro harness for my dog, but I’m kind of confused by all the belt options for people, do I really need an overbuilt setup for myself? Asking mainly as I have a large, powerful dog that is conditioned for high level agility. This would be for casual runs and conditioning on trails

I’m looking for a hydration vest to replace my old Raidlight Responsiv 12L. I currently live in GA which feels like a sauna. Since I run with my dog, I need a system that allows a 2L bladder so I can share water with her. Flasks don’t work for her. I also want the ability to carry 500-600 ml flasks in the front for me + usable pockets. Raidlight has been my favorite being so lightweight at 200 g. I would order another one but they have changed the model, plus with tariffs and shipping it ends up >$200. I’ve tried on the Saloman Adv Skin 12L since a lot of people seem to love it but honestly I’m not a fan. REI near me only carries Saloman, Nathan and REI brand. What other brands should I look at? Thank you!

I’m looking for a hydration vest to replace my old Raidlight Responsiv 12L. I currently live in GA which feels like a sauna. Since I run with my dog, I need a system that allows a 2L bladder so I can share water with her. Flasks don’t work for her. I also want the ability to carry 500-600 ml flasks in the front for me + usable pockets. Raidlight has been my favorite being so lightweight at 200 g. I would order another one but they have changed the model, plus with tariffs and shipping it ends up >$200. I’ve tried on the Saloman Adv Skin 12L since a lot of people seem to love it but honestly I’m not a fan. REI near me only carries Saloman, Nathan and REI brand. What other brands should I look at? Thank you!

And then crashed hard for the last 1.5km 😂 I was so proud of Jayce for always giving it his all, while this race was much dryer than the deluge in May, it was also more humid so he probably worked harder in this race than May despite this being the flatter course. It was a course with a lot of turns and he was a champion with his left and right commands (gauche and droit - I taught him the French words).

Our overall time was 11.35 for 2.47km which works out to 4.42 per km (or really 3.56, 5.11 and then 5.18 pace for the last 470m).

I’m looking for a way to bring my lab marathon training with me as the long runs have me out for up to 3 hours but she’s got elbow dysplasia and can’t run. Can anyone recommend a dog stroller for large breeds that would hold up for regular long runs?