Pooch to 5k – Page 4 – Running with dogs

Book Review – The Summit Seeker by Vanessa Runs

July 15, 2013 by Admin

If you’ve browsed through our site at all, you may have already met Vanessa Runs. She wrote a great guest post on 5 Things My Dog Taught Me About Running. The Summit Seeker is her first book, but hopefully not the last!

In The Summit Seeker, Vanessa takes you on her journey from her very first 5k to her third 100 mile run. Along the way, you will share her struggles, as well as her triumphs. Most importantly, you will come to understand how running helped Vanessa to transform her life. Her writing style is very accessible and personable, and as you read it is almost like having a conversation with a friend. One of the best things about The Summit Seeker is the way that the author inspires you to keep pushing yourself to become empowered and to transform your own life.

The book reads more as a collection of essays, rather than a straight-on chronological narrative. While this may prove disconcerting to some readers, in my opinion it makes you feel closer to the author and her thought processes. In fact, the openness and honesty that comes across in her writing is very refreshing. It is also very personal as she shares the ways in which running helped her to overcome the pain from her upbringing, as well as enormous stress in her personal life. It is hard to imagine reading this book and not be left with an overwhelming urge to run.

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Exercise after Meals – Does it Cause Bloat?

by Admin

The reason for the picture to accompany this post is because if your dog has bloat, you need to hot tail it to the nearest vet straight away. It’s a life threatening emergency and there’s no time to waste.

Bloat, or gastric dilatation (we say dilation here in Aus <G>) occurs when your dog’s stomach is rapidly distended by an accumulation of gas, fluid or food, or some combination of them. This results in compression of the large blood vessels in the abdomen and interferes with the circulation of blood back to the heart, resulting in shock and often death. The huge distended stomach can twist, which makes things catastrophically worse.

Treatment involves decompressing the stomach, supporting the circulation with fluids and if your dog’s stomach has twisted, surgery to get it back into the right position and anchor it there.

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Pocket Rockets: Small Dogs That Run Like Big Ones

by Admin

For many people having a small dog is the most practical way to experience the love of man’s best friend, whether it be because of space limitations, budget constraints or just having fallen in love with a particular small puppy (I am personally an absolute sucker for the Tenterfield Terrier). But even for the most avid runner, small dogs can make excellent partners and a few in stand out as mini-athletes.

Jack Russell Terrier

The Jack Russell is an extremely popular breed of small terrier, well known for their intelligence and active nature. Originally bred in England to flush foxes out from their underground homes during hunts, the Jack Russell was specifically bred to be a small dog that could keep up with larger hunting hounds on the run, giving it unique traits for a small breed. Their fearless natures means that you should be careful when running with them as they won’t be afraid to enter a melee with much larger dogs. The Jack Russell is actually one of the most durable running mates and can actually run for much longer than many other breeds. They are generally short haired making them capable in hot conditions.

Toy Poodle

Known more for as a beauty dog, to pamper and own as a status symbol, the Poodle is actually an admirable runner. Much quicker than most people would give them credit for and full of beans, the actual reality of poodle ownership is in stark contrast to the perception. Poodles were originally bred to be retrieving dogs so they are an active breed. Like all dogs, they are susceptible to arthritis in later life, which can be reduced with good weight control and exercise.

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Race Etiquette

March 30, 2013 by Admin

We had a great night at the Twilight Half Marathon last weekend, it’s one of the few dog friendly runs here in Brisbane. Cinnabar, Guinness and Bobbie were running in the half marathon, and we were delighted to see another dog in the event – a small white fluffy dog running fast in what I suspect was the 10km race. I’m always happy to see dogs running, and particularly smaller breeds whose abilities are often underestimated.

What did concern me was that this little dog was running fast, amongst a reasonably sized group of other runners. Even though the dog was extremely well behaved, I feel he was still a trip hazard. He was amongst a lot of flying legs and was small enough such that runners may not have seen him. If there had been an accident involving the dog, it would have jeopardised our participation in the run in future, as well as caused injury and possibly led to a runner missing out on a personal best that they hard worked very hard to achieve.

Here are our suggestions for fun run/race etiquette if you’re bringing your canine running buddy along.

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Running Buddy Breed Review – the Border Collie

by Admin

Why Border Collies Make Great Fitness Buddies

Border Collies make fantastic pets. They are full of energy, acrobatic, love the outdoors and the water and are perfect as a running buddy. Border Collies are generally very friendly and are great with kids, so you can find yourself stopping in many places along the way when your pooch decides to befriend a random stranger. To top it off they are extremely affectionate, good looking dogs.

Border Collies are in the upper echelon when it comes to doggie intelligence. They are highly responsive to verbal language and non-verbal communication which make them great pets for people of all ages. Border Collies are, when compared to other breeds of dog, not difficult to train and they acclimatise easily to different indoor and outdoor settings.

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The Benefits of Shelter Dog Running

by Admin

If you’d love to be involved in the care of shelter dogs but aren’t able to adopt or volunteer as a staff member, shelter dog running may be perfect for you. There aren’t many of us who wouldn’t benefit from a little extra exercise, and dogs are no exception. The problem is that many shelter dogs don’t get the exercise they need – and that’s where you come in!

Studies have shown that shelter dogs that get exercise and interaction with people on a regular basis tend to be calmer when prospective adopters come to see them, which may make them more likely to be taken home.

There are a number of programs across the US that encourage runners to take shelter dogs for a run. Whether you’re a keen runner or just want to get outside more, shelters are looking for volunteers to pair with some of their well behaved dogs. The runs are usually group based, at least to start with, so you’ll be teamed up with other volunteers and at least one shelter staff member to make sure everything goes smoothly. Even if you don’t live in the US, it’s worth approaching your local shelter to see if you can borrow a running buddy. One Australian runner did just that, and loves running with her shelter dog.

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