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Dog and Graffiti walls

Skateboarding With You Dog

Do you have a favorite sport or activity that you love to do with  your dog?

I love to snowshoe with my dog Kota.  We both are winter lovers.  When she was younger, we enjoyed roller blading together.  It was fun, but there was quite a bit of training involved… mainly with how to “stop” 🙂  Huskies LOVE to pull and stopping isn’t there #1 priority! 

I recently was in search of dogs who do a fun activity with their owners, and I was connected with a local fellow dog trainer and her adorable pup, Emma.  Emma loves to run alongside mom while mom skateboards – perfect! Let’s do this! 

We decided to meet at a location that was new to me, but comfortable for Emma. I was excited for the graffiti wall!  Emma did a great job posing with the wall as a fun backdrop before we got into the action. 

skateboard with your dog
Dog and Graffiti walls

Now for the fun!  The location was  a local “rail trail” that had a nice, smooth path for activities like biking and skateboarding.  

I asked Jenny, Emma’s mom, if she would share some tips with us on how she got started with skateboarding with Emma.  I’m happy to share this with all of you!   

Training Tips For Skateboarding With Your Dog:

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. 
Skateboarding with your dog
Emma Skateboard Blog2

And here’s a little pose – tired pup!!!  

Emma Skateboard Blog4

Here’s mom and her best friend!  Love their bond!  

Emma Skateboard Blog5

Thanks for stopping by this week!  Let me know if you have any training questions – whether it’s skateboarding or rollerblading with your pooch! Both Jenny Weiss  and I are dog trainers north of Boston.   

Every now and again I am looking for dog models and people for certain projects.  If you have an interest, drop a comment below and I will be in touch with you!  Have a great weekend!

6 thoughts on “Skateboarding With You Dog”

  1. 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.

    1. Thank you so much! They had fun and were such a joy to photograph! Luckily the evening was slightly cooler than it’s been 🙂

  2. 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!!

    1. 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!

  3. 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!

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