Walking your dog in a crowd

Did you know that Leash Your Fitness has a walk and run team for many of the dog friendly 5k’s in San Diego?  We usually do the warm ups for them too!

There are more and more dog-friendly organized walks going on in many cities and today I wanted to share a few important tips when walking in a crowd to keep everyone involved happy.

1. Take your dog for a pre-walk. During this walk your pooch can potty, get the smelling thing they do out of the way and burn off some excess energy.

2. Use a 6′ or shorter leash. Retractable leashes are very dangerous in a group setting. Even if the leash is “locked” the thin lead can cut, tangle or trip people. Plus, you have less control over your dog with a retractable leash as you do with a regular one. Keep the retractables for open areas like the park or beach.

3. Don’t forget your poop bags. There is nothing worse than only bringing one bag and then facing the possibility that your dog will be nervous in a crowd and get diarrhea. Bring extra bags!!

4. Has your dog ever walked this far before? If your dog is not used to walking 3 miles at one time–this is not a great time to train him. Practice before the organized walk in a one-on-one setting on the same sort of surface and terrain to make sure your dog is ready.

5. Keep your dog close to you. Just because you love your dog does not mean the other thousands of people doing the walk feel the same way. Many people are afraid of dogs so be considerate of that. If your dog likes to jump on new people or pull you down the sidewalk during your daily walks, doing an organized walk may not be the best idea until Fido is a little more in control.

Taking Fido out in public is great and it is the best feeling having your dog by your side. Having a well trained dog is worth the time and investment that is needed to be able to do this in a safe and controlled manner.

Remember that Leash Your Fitness has a walking and a running class that can get you ready for a 5k or a 10k race.We even have a Trail Dogs team that does night runs and trains for endurance races.  Try one of our Saturday classes, you may be surprised at how well you like it!

If you have any questions or would like a few other tips, feel free to email me anytime: dawn@leashyourfitness.com.

I hope you’re feeling inspired to get out there and sign up for a group walk,

race or hike with your pup.   Have fun!