Take your dog on a trail run in Chattanooga!

True story:  A woman from Chattanooga is walking to her hotel in downtown Atlanta and stops at an intersection to wait on a light. A runner comes up with a dog and asks if she could hold the leash while he ties his shoes. He finishes with the laces, straightens up, and without another word sprints down the block and around the corner. Long minutes pass. Finally the dog looks up at the woman and says, “It’s just as well. I’m a trail runner, anyway.”

OK, it’s a true story up to the part when the dog talks, but I like to believe that’s what the dog was thinking. Dogs really do love to run, and the best place for that is out in the wild. When it comes to runs and hikes, trails are better for dogs for the same reason they’re better for us: softer surfaces, lack of traffic, and the variety of terrain and scenery that inspires exploration.