There's a charity 5k walk/run coming up at the beginning of May that our office always puts together a team for (the organization is one of our clients). I've participated in a few run/walks of this type, mostly with my office, in the past 6 years.

I always notice people who bring their dog with them. I assume they're jogging partners and it's just a fun thing to do with your dog. I've never seen rules for or against people bringing pets, and the course is usually in a public area.

Has anyone participated in something like this and taken your dog? What was your experience?

To be honest I really don't like running/jogging, lol. Put me on a bike and I'll ride for hours but don't ask me to run a mile . I was thinking as long as I'm probably going to do this particular event again maybe it would be more fun if I took Dixon with me this time. I know he'd get a kick out of it. He's always been pretty stable around strangers, loves to go for walks, and I have no problem starting at the back (since I will probably end up there anyway, lol) out of the way of the pack.

On the other hand we would be around a lot of strangers and he is small gsd size (he's the fuzzier one in my sig. pic.) which could be intimidating to the other runners. He also sometimes whines around other dogs that are freaking out and walking their owners; I usually give him a tiny reminder leash-pop and keep moving and we don't have problems. In addition I would probably feel guilty for leaving Jake at home while Dixon and I went to the run (although I know Jake is not great around strangers, and a crowd would probably be his worst nightmare so it would be totally unsuitable to take him).

Any thoughts or suggestions? Or even ways to get Dixon used to jogging with people he doesn't know? I haven't decided one way or the other it just occurred to me last night. Last year I did it cold without training and while my heart kept up, my muscles were complaining the next day, lol; this year I need to train a bit!

If you see other dogs with their people at these runs then I think he sounds like he would be just fine. From his picture he doesn't look scary at all and as long as he is well mannered and under control He wouldn't be bothering any one.

That being said people are afraid of Loki because of his black and tan markings, and he is the biggest mushy love muffin of a dog. I just keep him under my control and give anyone who seems wary or afraid plenty of space.

Don't forget to train him too if you decide to take him along.

If there are going to be people who race this (and some people do race charity races), stay to the back so you guys aren't in their way. Excessive human traffic can be infuriating at races; just an optic thing of 'having dogs here is great!' vs. '@#$@%&^&$ dogs!'.

Other than that, if dogs are welcome, sounds like a fun event for you guys!

I did many charity walks with my previous dog, both 5 and 10km. We had a great time and raised a lot of money for worth causes. There are usually not that many dogs on a charity walk, unless you're doing the SPCA charity walk! If you have any doubts, just start walking towards the back of "the pack" and gradually move up.
The only thing you have to check out is that sometimes they don't allow dogs in the buildings where the registration is (of dourse if registration is outside you have no problems). During our city's last 2 MS Walk-a-Thon's I was a volunteer and among my duties was "dogsitting" while the owner was inside getting registered.