Running 2.4 km with Choya

The Ruffwear Roamer.

Choya's stamina is greater than how her delicate paw pads have held up to walking and running. She walks fine and covers 3 km easily. But to run that distance, I had hesitated. I didn't want to run her till she's fully ready. Now that I know how sensitive her paws are, she is put through antiseptic foot baths after each walk. Once a day, I either put soothing balm or a hot spot spray on her paws.

After four months, Choya's paws have finally toughened up somewhat. Her stamina has leveled up rather quickly, but her paws haven't fully caught up. She has a long leash that we haven't used because her paws were healing. Now, it's out twice a week when we take her to the beach or the parks where she could run around a little more.

To be honest, I'm still not hot about running. It's just that with a dog, I have to get some runs in for her at least thrice a week. Just like humans, she needs to maintain cardiovascular health. One morning, I clipped the long leash around my waist, and went running with her at East Coast Park. Oh wow, that girl can run! She loves the smells of the beach and the water. She also loves running along to this well-designed shock-absorbent roamer leash. Ruffwear makes good stuff lah. I was prudent and didn't run her for 3 km. The paws still can't take the friction burn. I had to stop her from sprinting at full speed and instead do a fast trot. We took it easy and completed a proper 2.4 km run in a very respectable timing of 15 minutes. After breakfast, the dog was completely flat out for the day. Woohooo.