"Wogging" the Dog?: Why You Shouldn't Jog with Your Pooch

I run three times a week and today was my day off. But it was such a beautiful morning I thought I would take a quick run up the hill to drop my son off at school instead of driving as usual. Milly, our puppy, usually stays home, but today as I was walking out the gate she was so excited to join us that I thought, "What the heck, how hard can it be to run with a dog and a stroller?" That was my first mistake.

I wish I had read this before I walked out the gate: "If you expect your dog to control herself while walking on leash, you must also expect her to control herself before you go for a walk." via Pets Web MD.

I know what you're thinking. "She's small. How hard can it be to walk a little puppy?" Don't let her size fool you; she's strong.

So here are 7 reasons why you shouldn't jog with your dog:

1. You will fall flat on your face, because she decided it's important to cross your path to sniff the dog who just peed on the tree on the other side of you.

2. Your jog will be more like a wog (walking and jogging) because she's panting like she's about to die and you've only been out for five minutes.

3. Oh, then there are those random sprints because she's trying to chase the car who has the sassy dog with it's head out the window.

Related: 25 awkward family photos with pets

4. She will get her leash wrapped around a tree because you have a stinking long leash. You thought that would be a good idea, so she could have more space, right? No. Not to mention, you're not accustomed to being responsible for something attached to you. You go on one side of the tree and she goes on another, then she's stuck. So she tries to untangle herself only to find herself wrapped around the tree even more.

5. Then there's the long pauses because she decides she NEEDS to stop, smell and urinate on everything and anything.

6. She decides she's going to walk you because she wants to catch up to the dog in front of you.

7. Then there's the stairs. For some reason she will decide she is afraid of ten stairs (which are much smaller than the stairs in your home) and she will refuse to go down, so you end up practically carrying the dog down the stairs.

Needless to say, I arrived home slightly frustrated because my run turned into a frustrating wog. Later I got online and found articles like: "How to master the dog walk" or "How to walk your dog for dummies." If only I had read these beforehand! Who knew walking your dog is an art? I sure as heck didn't.

Maybe one day I will be able to write an article on how to properly walk your dog with lots of great tips, but for now you will have to Google it because I have no advice for you. Happy dog walking, jogging or wogging!

- By Mari Hernandez-Tuten

For 15 ridiculous photos of pets wearing other animals' ears, visit Babble!

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