Running with your dog in the city can be a challenge.  Follow these four tips and make your active urban dog life a little easier.

Have the right gear.

Running and walking wih your dog in the city is a lot easier when you have the right gear.  Hands free leashes are becoming a near necessity (with all the things we humans are carrying these days) and products like our SportPack help take your active dog owner life to the next level by including pockets for your phone, keys, wallet/IDs and poo bags (you never want to leave home without one of those).  

Find the quieter neighborhoods.

No matter what city you live in, there are always areas that are less busy than others.  Hancock Park in Los Angeles, Central Park in New York, to name a few.  As city dwellers (and or visitors) and dog owners, it is crucial to know these little pockets where the traffic is less crazy.  So find them immediately and add peace and safety to your daily walks and runs.

Know your route in advance.

Preparation is integral to everything in life, and it certainly applies to running/walking with your dog in the city.  Know your route in advance (or at least have a good idea) so you are able to direct your canine friend appropriately and safely.  It's also important to know your pups limits and just how far they can go.  With so much going on in cities (construction, development, human activity) knowing and prepping your route is key.

Hint: MapMyRun, mapmydogwalk and Nike+ are great apps to use for route mapping and tracking.

Find the scenery.

It sounds obvious, but it's not always easily applied because cities are filled with "stuff".  Finding the areas where the "stuff" is soothing to look at and absorb, will just make exercising with your dog that much easier.  Not to mention, your dog will feel much more at ease when you have to make one of those sudden pit stops.

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