CaniCross

Anyone with a dog will know that there's nothing they love to do more than run in the great outdoors (well, beyond chewing your shoes and sleeping upside down on the sofa). That's why CaniCross was created - to allow people to enter races with their dogs and share the experience!

While some people will head for a run and just let their dog run alongside them without a lead, to enter a CaniCross event there are some rules that you need to follow. Firstly, check you have the right equipment:

• A dog harness, which is comfortable for the dog to pull into as it runs.
• A belt for you to wear, which will connect to your dog and saves the need for holding a lead.
• A bungee lead, connecting the harness and your belt. The elasticated line is important as it reduces shock for both you and your dog.

Many dogs will become pretty overexcited on their first CaniCross event so it's worth doing some practice runs first! As you would for a new runner, start slow and steady, keeping the distance short and sticking to terrain that will be comfortable for your dog to run on. You need their first experience of running with you to be positive if they're going to compete!

You can start to train your dog to react to verbal cues (in CaniCross lingo, "gee" means right and "haw" means left, alongside various other commands) but so long as you maintain good control over your dog and they're enjoying themselves, we can't say it's necessary. Most importantly, let them know that they're a good boy/girl!