One of the saddest things about having a large, energetic dog in New York City is the lack of large, off leash areas for him to run.  Dog parks are great, but Mr.Brown just isn’t that into socializing with other dogs and chasing after balls in smallish, chain gated, cement cells is pretty depressing.  I know he has tons of energy which contributes to some occasional bad behavior.

One of my favorite parts of Cesar Milan’s show is in the opening credits where he is zooming by, semi-squatting on these bizarre looking rollerblades, attached to a pack of 10 dogs.

Exercise, Disclipline, then Affection.

Yesterday, I was determined to rollerblade with Mr.Brown down the West Side Highway. Like most of my sports equipment, my Rollerblades have been patiently sitting in the corner, but I had all these horrible images of embarrassing/injuring/killing myself so I’ve just ignored them.  Yesterday, feeling inspired, I packed up my stuff and walked a vERY excited Mr.Brown over to the West Side Hwy.

From the moment we took off, Mr.Brown was ecstatic, but surprisingly responsive to me. I began to trust him more and realized that I remember how to rollerblade and our 45 minutes passed by wonderfully. He has been tired ever since, and I feel joy knowing that I can deman discipline and give affection without feeling guilty that I’m short changing Mr. Brown.

Can’t wait for the weather to be better to go more often!

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Running outdoors has become much more enjoyable for me for a number of reasons. Some examples include, more consistent running (aka. practice), measurable improvement (aka. progress), and most importantly, running with Mr.Brown (aka. killing two birds with one stone).

In the famous words of Cesar Milan, “Exercise, Discipline, then Affection”  This pithy little mantra is more challenging than it seems, especially when the first thing Mr.Brown wants in the morning is food and lots and lots of affection. Personally, the first thing I want to do in the morning is settle my belly with a warm bowl of oatmeal or cereal, not exercise; inevitably, affection proceeds exercise and discipline.

But, I do strive on a daily basis to ensure that Mr.Brown gets some form of cardiovascular activity.  Usually, striving on a daily basis amounts to ~4 days of actuality.  Besides throwing the tennis ball at the dog park (Mr. Brown’s utopia), I really enjoy running outdoors with him.  Its taken some practice and a few adjustments for him to be a non-disruptive companion but I think we have our routine organized and things have been going pretty smoothly of late   As daunting and wearisome as the idea of going out for a run may be, its a great feeling of accomplishment for me to know that Mr.Brown is exercised and tired out from a long run.

Here are a few helpful tips for running with your dog:
- Keep the leash short for better control- running is challenging enough without having to chase after an energetic dog
- Expect that practice will make perfect- I found that the first few runs were more about getting Mr.Brown adjusted to the terrain/environment and figuring out his endurance level
- Bring an extra doggy bag with you!- Running and moving is equally stimulating to humans and dogs. Mr.Brown always has to pause and make a doody during the first part of our run
- Prepare appropriate hydration- So far, I have run up to ~7 miles with Mr.Brown without stopping to get him water.  I do thing that after ~5 miles he does need some fluid, but I’ve been pushing him with no side effects.  All dogs are different, so prepare some form of hydration (drinking fountain, water bottle) for your long runs
- Be consistent! Mr.Brown’s endurance has improved tons since our first run.  Whereas he used to burn out after ~3 miles, he can run up to ~5 miles before looking up at me with the ‘what the hell are we doing/when can we stop’ eyes of desperation.

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