I had briefly mentioned in one of my first posts as a blogger that we enjoy rollerblading with the pups (Understanding & Fulfilling Your Breed), but hadn’t actually written about it.
Well, the weather in NC has its temperature roller coaster moments, so when mother nature spoiled us with sunshine & blue skies in the low 60s this past weekend, I decided to dust off my rollerblades & take the pups for a spin.
Great Physical Activity
If you have a medium to high energy dog, rollerblading is an excellent means of providing some additional exercise. Breeds who are extremely hard to tire out could also wear a doggie backpack, adding a job and thus mental stimulation.
Safety First
You should obviously be fairly comfortable on rollerblades before taking your pup for a roll. Wearing a helmet should be a no-brainer. I also like to add kneepads during spring & summertime.
Rollerblading With My Dog Missy
Checking with your vet is advisable before adding the new activity to your exercise routine. Take your pup in for a health check-up & discuss rollerblading with your vet.
Start Slowly
Before you begin your rollerblading adventure, you should get your pup used to those funny shoes on rolls. I wore mine inside our apartment a few times & rolled around a little bit, allowing the pups to see me in rolling action & to familiarize themselves with the new activity.
Prior to rollerblading with the pups for the very first time, I had them observe me on the blades for a few minutes. We had all walked downstairs into a little park area at our apartment complex. I exchanged my shoes for my rollerblades, tied the pups to a tree and gave them a yummy treat. I then began rolling around the area within their sight.
High-Value Treats To Focus
After a few spins in the park, I added a pup to the rolling equation. In order to keep her focused on walking nicely next to me, I handed out quite a few treats at first, and it worked out very nicely! [I had the treats in one of those clip-on treat bags on my shorts for easy access.]
My Clip-On Dog Treat Bag
I alternated between rollerblading with Missy & Buzz in that park for about a week. We then ventured into deeper waters and began rollerblading together, all three of us. Daddy would join us on occasion, but his rollerblading involvement was limited to a demanding job schedule.
Water Breaks & Doggy Boots
I would always bring a water dish down to the park with us, and incorporate frequent water breaks for both the pups & myself as well 😉 We didn’t rollerblade when it was too hot outside, simply because the pups don’t have an insulating undercoat and don’t do well in the heat.
For those of you whose pups have built-in insulation: Adding doggie boots in hotter weather will protect your pup’s paw pads from burns & cracking. Checking his pads after each rollerblading session is a good idea as well!
I’m so glad we tried out this new activity back in 2012! We’ve been having lots of fun with it since ~ do you rollerblade with your pup(s)? As always, we’d love to hear from you in our comment section!
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26 comments
Just be careful. Mom tried rollerblades without a dog and didn’t like them at all. She has biked with dogs which is similar in safety and exercise for the dog. We stick to running the old fashioned way and even then she manages to land on her face every few years but keeps on running. Enjoy! It is a great workout if you can stay safe!
Oh no! Hope you mom didn’t hurt herself too badly! You definitely have to be able to rollerblade before taking any dogs along. We prefer rollerblading over biking actually ~ I feel like I’m more in control when blading 🙂
That looks like such FUN!!!!!!!
It really is! Missy really gets a kick out of running fast, so she’ll actually pull you! Amazing how much power she has!
I used to love rollerblading and took my family dog out with me all the time when I was growing up–but then I got to know a tree up close and personal when she decided to chase a squirrel one day, so that put an end to that fun for us! I tried it again several years ago without a dog and it was much, much harder than it was when I was kid 🙂 I’m sure Barley would love being able to go that fast, though!
Oh noo…bet it was way too personal..Thankfully, the pups have spared me from getting to know a tree up close and personal so far.
That looks like fun, although I don’t think we kitties would do it! Happy Parading!!!
MOL, now that would be a sight 😉 Happy Parading!
I wish I was a good enough roller bladder to be able to do this 🙂
You could always try & practice ~ you’re a great runner & athletic, right?
I haven’t been rollerblading in so long!
Aaah, sounds like it’s time to dust the blades off and take them for a spin!
Woo boy! Not something we’re going to be doing any time soon, but looks like tons of fun! *wags* – Gilligan from WagsAhoy.com
It is fun, Gilligan! You’d look cute next to your rollerblading human, though!
I’ve thought about it but I think we have too many off-leash dogs to make it feasible unfortunately.
Ah, yes, I 100% understand that problem. We have off-leash dogs around here too, which is why I have only put the rollerblades on when Ian is around with me. We never had that problem up North in the D.C. suburbs. Real bummer down here.
That looks like such fun. Jan would have a heart attack on moving shoes, though. We think she’s past the rollerblading age. 🙂
Aww, are you sure? It is fun!
That looks like so much fun! I would love to try rollerblading with our dogs sometime! I will have to see if I can find my old rollerblades!
That’s the spirit ~ just go for it, I’m glad I did 🙂
I’ve always wanted to do this but haven’t rollerbladed in years! It does look like a blast and I’m sure Haley would love it!
I hadn’t rollerbladed in several years either until I figured, “hey, let’s try this with the pups!” So glad I went for it again ~ you should just try it again, too!
I’ve done a lot of biking with dogs (Ace, foster dogs, dog walking clients), but I’ve never tried rollerblading with them just because I’m definitely not comfortable on rollerblades. I always liked how Cesar Millan used rollerblades to exercise dogs though, and that’s what this reminds me of. What a great way to pick up the pace, since us humans are generally pretty slow compared to athletic dogs.
I’ll have to try it someday! 🙂 I’ll have to practice on my own first!
I’ve never tried biking with dogs because I feel less in control than on roller blades, but that’s definitely another great way of exercising your dog! I’ll have to give it a shot sometime 😉 I also liked the way Cesar Millan used rollerblades with high-energy dogs, and that’s who I got the idea from!
Have fun practicing!
We love this! We do what is called urban joring, where the dog actually pulls us on the roller blades. Step one though they must learn the commands at a walk pace for safety reasons. And then we never go anywhere where their is traffic just to be extra careful.
They love it though! The bike paths are perfect for us! And after pulling for a good 20 min they are usually tired out. 🙂
Awesome pawsome!! It’s such great & effective exercise, isn’t it?! We’ve let the pups pull us as well, and especially Missy loves it! Buzz prefers jogging next to us, his favorite all-time activity is playing fetch!