Who let the dogs out: how to start (and how not to start) canicross running

A running dog and its owner competing in the canicross category of the Henrik Senik dog mushing race in Hrae, Slovenia.

I have a dog who loves to run. I mean, really loves to run. He doesn’t need a ball to chase, a frisbee to catch or a fox to pursue, he runs purely for the fun of it. And we’re not talking about gentle ambling here – we’re talking Usain Bolt levels of speed.

Show Finley – a greyhound-cockerspaniel cross – an Olympic 100m sprint final and I reckon he'd show Bolt a clean pair of heels on the way to smashing his world record in half. This little chap flies – and he does it all with pure joy etched all over his soppy little face.