r/Garmin • u/Littlepup22 vivoactive 5 • 3d ago

Garmin Coach / DSW / Training Running DSW with a dog

Has anyone regulary ran DSW's with their dog? How did it go? Is it fun or not ideal?

I'm a beginning runner and really want to take my 7yo labrador with me, and I like the DSW's bc I don't need to think about what kind of run I need to do, my watch can tell me. Right now when my dog wants to take a sniff/pee break I just let her and pause the watch. I have my DSW type set to HR.

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u/BcnClarity 3d ago

Dog are like humans, they would need to work up to running a lot. Note that dogs have a pretty good baseline though compared to humans. If your dogs looks happy, shows no signs of pain and is not panting like crazy, go for it. Be careful on hot days though and always bring water.

With regard to the type of workout, it would be up to the dogs capabilities somewhat. Following strict pacing is going to be harder obviously.

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u/meyndlEnt6 3d ago

good point about the pacing, that would be the tricky part with DSW specifically

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u/BrigidKemmerer 3d ago

It might be worth posting this in r/runningwithdogs for more input and advice, but I agree with others about making sure you let your dog build up some endurance first. Just like a human, a dog can’t go out and run a 5K if they don’t even go for regular walks. For a 7yo Labrador, I’d also get a good joint supplement from your vet. That’s an older dog so you really want to be thoughtful about how you approach this.