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The following is a guest post by my energetic friend and coworker Alex.
So here I am in the City of Angels, and as far as I'm concerned, they mean the City of Furry Angels. I didn't know Los Angelinos were so dog-crazy! Everywhere I go, I'm seeing humans with their dogs, and more often than not I'm seeing sweet, beautiful, rescued mixed-breeds (a sign that these folks really love dogs).
It's a bit of a problem because I've been trying to go to meetings or have a good run or take a walk in order to recuperate from one of my many vegan restaurant overdoses and I keep getting sidetracked by furry sweetness. Little dogs, medium dogs, hyper dogs, slow dogs, shy dogs, gentle giants … they're all asking me to come pet and admire them. It does sometimes seem like I'm the only one who can hear their voices beckoning to me, and the dog people do sometimes look a bit startled as I descend on their dogs with my affectionate gushing, but this is LA, so I pretty much fit right in.
One sad and unexpected thing, though: Many of these folks don't realize it, but they are abusing the dogs they love so much!
This morning, I went out for a quiet, peaceful run, and I found myself surrounded by other runners. Many of the runners had their dogs with them. Now, I don't want to complain about taking dogs for a run. In fact, I encourage people to take their dogs running. So I was not happy to turn into Miss Negativity, giving good dog people a hard time.
But the problem was that they were overdoing it. It may be January, but this is LA, and it was at least 65 degrees with the sun beating down. Many of the runners were moving along at a brisk pace and dragging their poor dogs behind. I saw one guy with marathon-runner thighs (and pace) running with a Chihuahua! How do you think those short little legs were doing, keeping up with Mr. Strong and Speedy? It was so upsetting to see that sweet little dog running as fast as she could, way back at the end of her leash, eyes wide with fear and exhaustion.
What could I do? I had to stop him. I complimented him on his great pace, I complimented his cute little dog, and then I very politely said that I thought he was running his dog too hard and too fast. Perhaps he should just take Fifi on the warm-up run or the cool-down walk and leave her safe at home during the heavy-duty run. He looked at her, and sure enough, she was actually lying down on her side panting like crazy. He got it! I was so nervous (especially because―let’s face it―if he had wanted to chase me down and beat me up for messin' in his business, I wouldn't have gotten very far).
Phew.
This happened three more times. One woman "got it" and thanked me for pointing out that her old husky was really struggling. Two others, a couple of guys running together with big old labs whose tongues were practically on the ground from heat exhaustion ... they didn’t like me so much. I can only hope that maybe they had to act tough to save their self-image in front of me but that in the future they'll think twice before taking their dogs on such a long run.
It IS great to run with dogs. But please, make sure that your dog is young and healthy and trained, just like you! A dog can't run 10 miles on the first run, either. Don’t take Fido on hot days, unless you're going in the evening or morning or there's a body of water for him to jump into. Don’t take Fluffy if she has a thick husky coat and it's sunny out. Shave her down and/or skip the mid-day runs.
If your dog is old and/or tiny, please―think twice! I've had dogs who could run miles with me without missing a beat, but I've had others who joined me for the initial warm-up run, for long leisurely walks, or for the cool-down walk after running while staying home, safe and cool and resting, during the more challenging runs and hikes.
Humans tend to treat dogs as if they're invincible. They're not. They're just like us: They can get tired, overheated, sore, injured, and even seriously ill from excessive exercise. They love us so much that they'll do whatever we ask and keep running behind us even when their little hearts are about to give out, so it's up to us to watch them carefully and set safe limits.
Comments ( 4 )
While reading Alex's blog about running with dogs in LA I realised that among the many things that dog lovers don't know about dogs is that 1) dogs never gallop over long distances but always trot. A rhythmic, calm trot. Gallops are only for the last minute of a hunt. And 2)dogs feel the heat much more than we do, their only way of cooling off is by panting (cooling their tongues) and through their foot pads. This makes them highly susceptible to heatstroke.
I wonder why PETA doesn't produce a pamphlet or something similar to tell people about this and all the other things that people do without knowing they are harming their dogs. (like feeding them only once a day, leaving them too much on their own, not allowing them to socialize with other dogs from the age of 80 days, etc etc.,) this list is very long and it shouldn't take that much to inform people who are not cruel but simply ignorant.
>>>KP's Response:
Hi Shirley!
I guess PETA spends more effort trying to help dogs who are starved, chained, injured with no veterinary care, beaten, left outside in the cold, etc., but you're right, these subtler forms of neglect and abuse need to be addressed too. That's one reason why we started this blog!
But we also have a lot of companion animal literature and factsheets that address some of the things that you mentioned.
Here's the Web address for all our factsheets about companion animals: http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_companion.asp.
Our Web site http://www.helpinganimals.com/ is also packed with information about companion animal care. And here is our literature site, the companion animal section: http://petaliterature.com/departments.asp?dept=55.
I hope that helps!
KP
Posted by shirley moore | January 27, 2008 3:53 AM
Posted on January 27, 2008 03:53
lol. i have to laugh with you when you talk about being surrounded by dog-accompanied runners. i started running with my dog by just messing about down at the park, and when he loved it so much i got serious. i am now one of those people who aspire to a marathon. and when we trot together through our favourite run along a local river, i love watching JJ get the zoomies and dash through the water as fast as he can, running circles of joyousness around me. and often other people start running after me calling their dog who has decided to tag along. happy days:) but i also agree with you about watching how your friend is handling it. sometimes i have to sneak out without JJ knowing cos he has pulled up sore, or bruised a foot and is lame. i hate leaving him at home, he gets so upset, but i know i am doing the right thing. i do run very early in the morning, but being summer here down under, it would often be 75-90 degrees F before sun up, so i try to find routes that are shaded from the morning sun, or go by the river. you are right, there are ways to work around it, and if your training partner does not look eager to go with you? take the hint.;)
Posted by kylie | January 27, 2008 7:13 PM
Posted on January 27, 2008 19:13
Hi KP & Shirley !
Yes Shirley you're absolutely right. some people aren't cruel just ignorant. Take my case I feed my dogs only once a day. The vet told me it was ok but I read your post and I'm wondering if it's right after all.
What should I do? One of them is overweighted he's really old and can't go for walks or do any excercise any more.
the other one is around 4- 5 years old and has no weight problems.
Please advice me !
Thanks,
Laura
>>>KP's Response:
Hi Laura!
Thanks for writing! You should definitely feed your dogs twice a day. If they're having weight problems, just give them lots of veggies. Raw and grated veggies are the most digestible, but you could also steam them or put them in the blender or food processor. Mix them in with the other food and then divide the food into two portions--one for morning and one for evening. I feed mine every 12 hours. Vegetables that you could try include carrots, zucchini, summer squash, cabbage, broccoli, collard greens, kale, green beans, and many more.
Let us know how it goes. Good luck!
KP
Posted by Laura | January 29, 2008 3:03 PM
Posted on January 29, 2008 15:03
hello. you are absolutely right about how people strain their dogs while running. i have a puppy and i jog at his pace and he loves it, but it does annoy me when people's dogs are thirsty and it's not safe to drink the pond water at the park i go to with my dog chubbs..i personally take my dogs water bowl and a bottle of water for him to put in my side bag to carry along for him. so i also think people should concern themselves with bringing water along for their dogs.
Posted by tiffany | February 14, 2008 7:21 PM
Posted on February 14, 2008 19:21