There are many benefits to owning a dog. From unconditional love to an instant workout partner, dogs continue to be the most popular choice for a household pet year after year. If you’ve never considered taking your dog running with you, here are some tips to help you get started! Invest in safety gear. As a pet owner, your number one responsibility is the health and safety of your pet. When running with you, your dog could come across many potential dangers. Cars, other dogs and even other humans all pose a danger to your pup. Invest in all the proper safety gear, such as one of our silicone pet tags, to ensure your pup stays safe while out with you. You and your pup will be beyond grateful that you’ve got all the gear you need. Even if they hate wearing the reflective vest at first, it’ll go a long way in keeping them safe while the two of you run outside. We recently debuted our Tile for pets, which features Bluetooth tracking technology that allows you to track your pet as long as they’re in range with Tile’s handy app. This has been a game-changer for a variety of pet owners. If you’re considering going running with your dog who tends to be a bit of an escape artist, then we can’t recommend our TraQ dog tag enough. Train them first. If your dog has never trained on sticking by your side while on a leash, now’s the time to train them. Many dog owners wonder about how to leash train their dog, and the process is a bit simpler than you might think. Dogs respond well to positive reinforcement, which is a training technique where they get rewarded for doing specific tasks in the way you want them to. Once you complete their leash training, then you can start taking them on runs with you. Start out small. Don’t try to complete a 5k with your dog if you’ve never been running with them before. Instead, start out small, such as running a few laps around the dog park or at the local high school track on the weekend. This way, you and your dog can get a feel for what the experience will be like. You have to learn each others’ gait, plus you’ll have to get used to holding a leash while you run. If you don’t normally hold things in your hand while you exercise, this will definitely be a change. Thankfully, our dog collar and leash sets are extremely comfortable for both dogs and humans! Reward them for sticking with you. What dog doesn’t love a treat? Bring some of their favorite treats along so you can reward them at the end of your run or at a stopping point. They’ll deserve it, especially if they don’t normally do much physical activity or complete a long trek with you. They’ll appreciate the snack and will use it as fuel for the journey back home! Talk with their vet. Before running with your pet, make sure to have a conversation with their vet about safety and keeping them healthy while running. Not every dog breed is suited to running, such as bulldogs or any other brachycephalic dogs. This is because they have short noses, which makes them less likely to regulate their breathing well, so they overheat often. Talking with your vet before taking them on a run and checking in with their vet from time to time can help to keep your dog safe and healthy while you both exercise together. Bring some water with you. Just like you sometimes need to stop for water, your dog will need to, too! This is especially if you’re out running with your long haired dog in the warmer months. Their fur weighs more than we think, and exercising outside in the heat can easily make your dog tired or exhausted faster than you as a human. Bring some water with you and be sure to watch them for signs of heat exhaustion, such as their tongue hanging out of their mouth or lots of drooling. Instead of sweating, dogs pant, and when they can’t pant enough to regulate their body temperature, that’s when heat exhaustion will set in. Heat exhaustion can be very deadly for dogs, just like heat exhaustion can be deadly for humans. Do your part and keep your pup hydrated!