Parkrun, running with dogs

10 watchers

Bonio Nov 2018 9:19am, 29 Nov 2018 228 posts	0 Bonio Are there many parkruns that have banned running parkrun with dogs in canix type harnesses? Stipulating only hand held leads. I understand there is one in the Sheffield area.
Curly45 Nov 2018 9:36am, 29 Nov 2018 3,823 posts	0 Curly45 There are a few and a couple that stipulate no dogs completely. Best for Cani runners to check before planning to visit one. Some of them it's to do with the landowner, sometimes the course design. You can't have dogs on Severn Bridge for example.
chunkywizard Nov 2018 10:56am, 29 Nov 2018 6,245 posts	0 chunkywizard No dogs at all at Henley as it's too narrow. We welcome all, canicross included, at Dinton Pastures!
TomahawkMike Nov 2018 11:12am, 29 Nov 2018 1,708 posts	0 TomahawkMike I always presumed dogs are welcome unless explicitly stated that they can't come along (eg because of course design or landowner rules).
blindcider Nov 2018 11:21am, 29 Nov 2018 193 posts	0 blindcider Canix type harnesses are better than handheld as there is less danger in the dog running off loose IMO. The problem is the bungees are often longer than what I would consider compliant with the parkrun short leash stipulation. My personal opinion on dogs at parkrun is that multilap or narrow courses are often not really suitable for full-on (fast) canicross type running and canicross works best in small fields (of competitors not grassy areas...) where space develops far quicker. For me parkrun is (or should be) more about exercising your dog rather than racing round for a quick time. No dogs at Somerdale anyway due to the landowners edicts on dogs on or near sports pitches.
The_Saint Nov 2018 11:23am, 29 Nov 2018 6,357 posts	0 The_Saint The "runners" that are pulled along by the overly aggressive/excitable dogs tend to be a menace and in one parkrun I can think of led to silly WAVAs that frequently got reported as the best performance of the day in this person's age category. At Cardiff one such person turned up for a few weeks and was tolerated through gritted teeth until a week when people in the leading group repeatedly had to take evasive action, he was asked to not do this in future and promptly vanished.
larkim Nov 2018 11:33am, 29 Nov 2018 6,110 posts	0 larkim It would definitely be helpful if parkrun allowed for profiles to be flagged as cani-x, etc so that a runner could choose to use either profile A (non-canix) or profile B (canix) depending on which barcode they bring along. Not that it really matters if there are daft WAVAs or course records set, but it would just make it more visible and easier to manage. I'm broadly ambivalent about dogs at parkrun with the exception of those dogs that bark and yap all the way through the briefing, and those who are canix-style but are actually mid-pack anyway, just because of the chaos they can sometimes cause at the start. (Though I can never actually understand dog ownership - they make your house smell disgusting, and divert money / emotion that really should be directed to people instead).
Nick Cook Nov 2018 11:54am, 29 Nov 2018 31,811 posts	0 Nick Cook "and divert money / emotion that really should be directed to people instead" What a stupid comment!
swittle Nov 2018 11:58am, 29 Nov 2018 51,568 posts	0 swittle ....police dogs; hearing dogs, guide dogs, sheepdogs....
The_Saint Nov 2018 12:04pm, 29 Nov 2018 6,358 posts	0 The_Saint Personally I think if dogs are quiet and well-behaved, they are great . . a bit like kids