4-Paw Drive: Running with Sherpa

Who needs a Garmin when you have a four-legged running partner! Our lab Sherpa loves a good run-walk-job mix around our neighborhood streets, paths or trails.

Pros & cons of running with Sherpa:
+ her natural sense of pace
+ her company when I need it
+ her dog vision for night running
+ her scary growl/bark to protect me if I need it
- the poop bag
- her sense of smell
- holding the leash

I'm not sure if dogs' gaits are described like horses' gaits, but when I run with Sherpa, I consider her gaits & speed levels to include:

1-paw drive - the walk: a slow four-beat gait; pleasant, time for Sherpa to smell things and to explore as my legs warm up for my run-walk-jog.
2-paw drive - the trot: a two-beat gait; as I pick up my speed, she shifts into a slightly quicker pace but it's "no big deal" for her to stay ahead of me, she appears bored.
3-paw drive - the canter: a three-beat gait; as I top out my speed, she seems surprised & excited to run alongside of me.
4-paw drive - the gallop: a faster, four-beat gait; a rare mysterious speed that shocks us both.

Active.com Expert Gale Berhardt recently blogged about running wih her dog Meeka & shared tips for running in the heat. Running With Your Dog in the Summer: & see her cold-weather tips as well Cold Weather Running With Your Dog:. Also see Active's article: 10 Races to Do with Your Dog.

And find tips for handling scary dogs on the bike or foot in my earlier post "Chopper, sic 'em boy!" (includes a classic Stand By Me clip.)

Questions for you:
- If you have a dog, do you like to run with him/her? What speed/gait do you reach?

- What tips do you have for running with a dog?

- What bothers you most about other runners who bring their dogs along?