In late 2022, I discovered the fun new world of Urban Dog Mushing. You can see a video of Titus mushing with Fafi, below. I don't know who is having more fun, me or the dogs : D. If you're looking for a way to give your Shepherd (or other large breed) some really good exercise and tire them out.... this oughta do it!

Poppy and Titus mushing for the first time together

I discovered this sport after Titus started to develop a weird skin rash on his back, and I was looking for a way to allow him to run and exercise a lot more than he was used to, because I knew aerobic exercise is one of the best things for liver health, and liver issues are related to allergy issues.

I couldn't find fleas on him, so I took him to the vet, who said even one little flea bite can cause an allergy. So he got a flea medication plus some kind of shot (I think it was a steroid). And he stopped itching for a little while, but the itching returned, and his allergy remained. All the dogs seemed to develop allergies or health issues of some sort, but especially Titus.

I may never know the cause, but couldn't help wondering if it may have had something to do with the vaccinations they got as soon as I adopted them. All my dogs are vaccinated and I'm not saying you shouldn't vaccinate your dogs. But I do think it's important to be aware of their side effects (which you can read about in this post), and I'm all for the development of SAFER vaccines, if the current ones cause more problems than they fix. If you aren't aware of some of the toxins that are in vaccines (and the research that shows how they can lead to health problems), CLICK HERE.

Anyway, I had done a ton of health research on how the liver functions (and can be fixed) because my late husband had liver problems. And one of the things I learned is that running is one of the best things you can do for your liver, which can help to clear up allergies. Figuring dogs may be the same, I decided to take Titus running. But unfortunately, I wasn't able run as fast as he could. This dog is kind of built like a horse, and I didn't know if I'd ever be able to keep up with him. You can see in this video below how he just kind of glides along the sidewalk, while I'm huffing and puffing!

I started looking into different ways that I might be able to ride alongside Titus. Maybe I could ride a bike while he ran. I looked into different videos, and soon discovered the art of URBAN DOG MUSHING.

I was so freekin excited about this concept, I immediately wanted to get a sulky like this one. I really want to get one of these sulkies, one day. Titus and Shelby would LOVE doing this together. For anyone in interested in learning more about this sulky, CLICK HERE.

Newpanion Sulky with brakes

But to be realistic, it's not that practical for me to get one of these big contraptions for my suburban neighborhood (maybe if and when I move to the Big Island with the dogs, and we can get a few acres)! Till then, I thought, maybe I should start out with something a little smaller.

So, I decided to try out a simple scooter, and did a lot of research to find a good one. I ordered one with really good reviews, and took Titus mushing for the first time in February of 2023.

I did a post about the experience, below.

My wiseass older sister couldn't resist saying:

"I mean... what could go wrong?"

I should mention that my Dad was a proud Irishman, and we are related to the Murphy family. My sister once pointed out that this would explain why we have so many "Murphy's law" type incidents in our family : D.

I decided to take Titus to a beautiful local Parkway, and we had an awesome time scooting, until, guess what.... he got SKUNKED. I couldn't believe it. I immediately thought of what my sister had said. What could go wrong??? Argh, I hate when she's right!

It was so frustrating and disappointing that Titus went after that poor skunk when I was yelling for him to leave it alone, and dragging my feet on the ground to try to stop him. It did NO good. Titus has a very strong prey drive... I think he may have had to literally chase after his own food in the past, because he was found wandering around when he was taken to the shelter, and I've seen him literally drooling while looking at small animals and even my cat!

But I also knew it wasn't Titus' fault that he chased after that poor skunk (thank God it got away). I was learning as I went along, and I soon realized I needed to get him a training collar. It took several weeks to get rid of that skunk smell. The training collar helps me to keep him far away from small critters and other dogs while scooting. I rubber band it to the bike's handlebars, and it works great. I RARELY have to use the "shock" feature on him, because he hates it so much, he will usually stop whatever unwanted behavior he's doing as soon as I press the "ring" or "buzz" buttons.

One really awesome thing about going mushing is that it's an EXCELLENT way to get in shape and burn fat. I did NOT start doing this for exercise, and I don't care too much about burning fat, but I have to say it was kind of annoying that I was starting to get some extra fat around my midsection in my 50s.

I got a Fitbit, and was surprised to see how many calories I was burning while I was out mushing with Titus. It didn't seem right, becuase HE was the one who was pulling me and doing almost all the work. But then I realized, I was burning fat and using muscles and getting in shape for the same reasons that SURFERS and SKIIERS are in shape. It takes a LOT of muscle just to stay upright in certain sports, and Urban Dog Mushing is definitely one of those sports.

You are constantly having to pay attention to everything around you. Just like with skiing and surfing, you have to constantly be aware of your surroundings. In the same way a skiier is always looking for the best, smoothest past and avoiding dangerous bumps, trees or bushes, I'm constantly scanning for cars, cats, dogs, and cracks in the sidewalk. Every day is a little bit different. I think that's why I never got bored with it and every time I did it, it was like a new and exciting adventure. And Titus (and all the dogs) absolutely LOVE IT!!!

It's not just MY dogs that love it. I've seen so many videos of other dogs mushing on Youtube, and man, you should see the looks on their faces. They're having the best time ever, and if you're mushing with more than one dog, it's like a PARTY!