1. Desensitize your dog to the skateboard: make sure they are comfortable being around it and not scared of the sound/sight of it. Slowly introduce the sound and the sight of it, versus jumping right on when they first encounter it
2. Make sure your dog is physically fit enough and enjoys a lot of exercise! It’s a lot of running for your dog
3. Don’t skate with a dog under a year because they are not fully developed yet and it could hurt their joints (same with any kind of active sport or long walks)
4. Use a harness if you want your dog to pull you. If you don’t, make sure you train your dog to heel before you start skating with them, that way they already have learned not to pull.
5. Make sure your dog is a good distance away from you so you don’t actually skate into them!
6. When first starting out, try not skating in areas where there will be a lot of distractions (wildlife, other dogs, people, lots of cars) so you can make sure that your dog will reliably stay with you and not bolt after a squirrel and pull you over!
7. Make sure you are fully comfortable skateboarding before adding your dog to the activity
8. Make sure the pavement isn’t too hot for your dog’s paws.
9. Skate in moderation, especially during hot summer months. It’s a lot more exercise for your dog than it is yourself! Plus running on pavement is hard on your dog’s paws, so if you can ride at a place there your dog can run on grass beside you, that’s ideal.
Great shots especially the tired pup & the b&w of mom & best friend showing the bond they have for each other. Explaining the training tips needed for skate boarding with your dog provided some important information about whats involved to do this and protect the health and well being of animal & person.
Thank you so much! They had fun and were such a joy to photograph! Luckily the evening was slightly cooler than it’s been 🙂
What a coincidence that I watched a girl skateboarding with her dog today! It was clearly new to the dog and it was very hot today, but she was taking it slowly. This blog post has some great tips!
That last image is just so endearing. Emma’s smile!!
Today was sooo hot to be doing this activity! We were fortunate to be out there on a cooler evening – we had to push the date forward a few times 🙂 Thank you so much, Jacqui!
Great photos, as always Darlene! I love, love, love the black and white and the end! The expressions on both pet and owner tells a wonderful story!
Thank you so much, Maggie, I appreciate it! Mom and pup were so much fun to work with 🙂