I’ve got 3 good reasons for you to run hands free with your dog today. Mom loves to run with a dog or two, and she says running hands free with the Umbilical Belt is the best thing since sliced bread! I received an Umbilical Belt back in June and posted a review if you would like to take a look.
These days, Bailie is Mom’s running buddy. Mom has run with a dog for the past twenty years or so. Every one of her dogs has been a running partner for many years. I do still run on occasion, but I prefer to walk instead on most days.
Bailie loves to run with Mom, and the Umbilical Belt makes it so much easier for both of them. We never really walk using a heal command, but while running we almost always automatically run in a heal position on our own.
Many times, Mom was able to run with dogs off leash which really helped her running form, but with Bailie and I or most dogs in a suburban area, it is to dangerous with all the cars. Holding a leash while running causes humans to move in the wrong ways. Because of this, I came up with my 3 reasons to run hands free with your dog.
- You can run in the proper form, move your arms naturally, no leaning one way or the other or pulling of our arms or shoulders. The Umbilical Belt creates stability around your waist which keeps the rest of your body from being strained
- The Umbilical Belt provides a core workout while you run. With the leash attached to the belt around your waist, your core is controlling the dog. After the first run with the Umbilical Belt, Mom could feel some of her core muscles had been used, but it was a good feeling.
- Amazingly, if you have a dog who pulls or all of the sudden chases a critter, your core will be stopping the dog. Your core is much stronger than your arms, and the dog will learn pretty quickly not to pull or chase anymore.
We made this short video showing Mom and Bailie on a short run. See how happy they are and how easily they can each move? It is just a miracle, really! Next time cousin Lena is here, she is going to try running hands free with two dogs.
Mom was concerned at first about how strong the Umbilical Belt would be, especially when Bailie wanted to chase a critter, but it is amazingly stable! In an extreme situation, she can always grab the leash with her hand. The leash is a good length, and the zipper pocket is perfect to house spare poop bags.
I highly recommend the Umbilical Belt if you run with your dog. It would be great for walking as well, but right now for our family, running is the best use and we love it! I was not asked to post about it today, but I love to share great products I find with my friends and readers! I bet if you try running or walking hands free, you will not ever want to go back to holding onto a leash!
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Very cool. Going to try it b
It works really well for walking too, but right now for us it fits running better.
Great idea for runners! Love the video π
Thank you. It is great for walking dogs too, but it fits our family best for running right now.
That looks like an awesome leash!
For hands free it is perfect. It gives running and walking a whole different feeling.
it’s a very good idea and it looks very strong, so I think it works even for big dogs. and it is much better to have your hands free instead to shake a leash around… if the hook of the leash hits our legs with Mach2 the result ist a big OUCH!
It would hold all of us if we pulled, the only part that wouldn’t hold would be Mom who would be forced to go where we take her! I think up to two of us would work well.
How cool is that? I loved Bailie’s expressions as she got near the videographer. Happy trails to you! XOXO Sparkle the PBGV
That’s my PR Dog sister! She loves people, and pups. Always super friendly!
You mom is in such great shape! Sparkle
She calls us girls a lot of things but one name is her fitness buds. We all work together to stay in shape.
Thanks for the tip Emma. We used to have one of these when I ran with Tino…don’t know what happened to it, may need to get a new one.
In Germany Mom ran hands free most of the time, and it was great, but here we need to be leashed and it is perfect.
Awesome! I have a walk belt…not quite like this one, but it does the job, and I love having it! It makes things much easier when walking multiple dogs too!
α¦ husky hugz α¦ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Most of our walks are on long leashes so we can explore as there aren’t lots of people around when we walk and there tends to be lots of space, so we haven’t tried multiple walking yet.
Emma, this is a great idea – much better ( and more comfortable) than just looping the lead around my torso and letting the dogs run
The creator is actually a weight lifter and the belt has some support for the back built into it. Mom says it actually feels kind of good when it pulls. It is super secure and has lots of room for adjustment so it can be worn over summer and winter clothing.
Mom has one of these… she should use it!! Bailie does love to wag her tail! What a happy girl!! have a great Friday Emma. your doodle friend Dash
We are afraid some day that tail is just going to fall off with all the wagging. One very happy girl for sure!
Looks great! One quick question – is this belt length adjustable? On city streets I need to keep Penny pretty close to me.
The belt adjusts to your waist size, and has lots and I mean lots of room to make it long enough for going over a winter coat, to short enough for summer clothes. You can also choose between a 2 and 3 inch wide belt. The leash length is what you could change by using a different leash. You can use any leash that has a hook on both ends or you could attach a regular leash with a caribiner. Now I wonder why Penny would need to be so close to you… π
That sure seems to make a lot of sense. It would be great for those humans who are always on their cell phones too MOL!
Oh that is bad. Mom carries her cell with her for emergencies or photos, but when she is walking or running with us, she has a no phoning rule as it is our special time. No music or ear buds either.
I can’t even begin to imagine running with one of my dogs. LOL they cut me off all the time.
Running is where we are the best behaved ever. From day one, we learn to stay to one side and run at a heal almost all the time on our own. It is awesome for us and for mom with the hands free. Now if she trips and falls, she has hands to land on instead of her face for a change, LOL!
I’m not a huge runner but this is a great technique.
It works just as well for walking, but we usually walk with long leashes which wouldn’t work well with this.
We’ve seen these, or at least Mom has, and think they are pretty cool. She wishes she had one when she had to walk the family dog when she was growing up (both of them, really, since the dog came into her family when mom was 11). And her older brother–I think he would have liked it, because he ran with the dog and also biked with him. Pretty great idea all around!
Mom loves it for running and Bailie seems to like it too.
You’re so right about all of it! I’m glad the Belt has been working out so well for your Mom running. I still love it too. I also believe that Cricket pulls a lot less when I use this for walking. There is something about the resistance she meets from my core when she tries that deters her I think. I might even get brave enough to try it with Sheba (who tends to weave back and forth when we walk), and see if it helps her walk better (though I do also use a longer leash for walking dogs sometimes as well).
Yeah, walking isn’t good for us with this because we like long leashes all the time but running is awesome. Can’t wait until she tries it with two dogs.
What a great idea! Sounds like it would be much better than a handheld leash.
Mom is really surprised as what a difference it makes and how much she likes it.
That look like it would be great for walking or running! I can see how that would work for us.
It is great for walking too, but we almost always walk on long leashes unless we are in a store or something but then Mom likes to have hand control. She loves running with it!
Great video footage! Umbilical training is wonderful on so many levels! I first came across the term when reading Brad Pattison’s book “Unleashed” π
It is awesome, Mom didn’t expect to really like it for running but now she is addicted!
I don’t run with Mr. N but this looks like it would be handy for people who do. He doesn’t pull and his leashes are pretty lightweight so it’s usually not a problem.
It would be great for walking as well. We just use long leashes most of the time for walks and that wouldn’t work well.
I love the idea of this leash. Although I don’t run anymore, I still take regular walks that require proper form to be effective. It would be nie to use one of these when I take 1 dog on my walks.
Mom wants to try running with two. You can walk with a whole herd of dogs, but they would need to be somewhat behaved. It really feels good to be hands free from what she says.
We just started using ours and with two dogs it’s a lot of fun!!!!
That’s great! We walk with long leashes so it doesn’t work for that, but for running it is perfect for us.
Our Mama does a lot of walking and hiking….Do you think they are long enough for a small dog like Arty (12lbs) and my tall Mama (5’9″)?? It sounds like a great product!
Smileys!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo
Definitely, and if you want a longer leash you can always use a carabiner to attach your own leash to the ring. She would love the hands free thing.
Two knee surgeries ago, Mom would have loved to run with a hands-free leash for my BFF Tucker. He tripped her more than once! BOL!
My mom doesn’t even need a dog to fall on her face! Now we hope she has hands free to break her fall instead of using her face.
A strong dog, leash around my waist plus a squirrel resulted I my flying lessons. Sometimes the ability to let go is useful
LOL! Mom knows she always needs to spot critters before we do, but even when she doesn’t, the 40 lbs of Bailie charging off do surprise her, but so far she has remained upright! Mom has had many flying lessons from all of us over the years!
That looks like a really good way to run. I do wonder about how it would work if the dog decided to bolt.
Mom can tell you how that is since Bailie tries it frequently when she sees a wabbit or squirrel. It is a jolt, but instead of pulling your arm out of the shoulder socket, your core absorbs it and the dog is stopped much quicker and tends to not try to keep pulling so much. Even a 40 lb Bailie has lots of power when she bolts, but so far, Mom says it is much easier to control with the belt.
This looks awesome – Something I would definitely like to try with Charlie some time. Rach used to run with Harley on occasion years ago but he has no interest in moving that quickly anymore! I love that you are free to move your arms in proper form.
Katie was mom’s biggest runner but she retired a couple years ago, I was also a runner but the last couple years I usually prefer to take walks instead. Bailie is the current runner and loves it. They both say the hands free is wonderful. You can use it for just walking as well if you walk with shorter leashes and you can have both dogs on it.
Hi Y’all!
Wow! Looks fantastic. My Human has come up with a bum foot, ankle and stopped running. It’s hard for her to even walk right now. I have to run circles around her. BOL! I always could anyway!
Y’all come on by,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Your human sounds like she needs some repair work? Bummer. My mom usually powers through her injuries which they say is the wrong thing to do, but she can’t stop running.
What a great idea for runners. I’m sure I could still get tangled up in with or without hands with Sam. π
My mom was very skeptical of this working but surprisingly, it is awesome and there is no tangling, Bailie runs better than ever using it.
Makes total sense – our mom’s often wondered if her form would be impacted much if she got a running stroller for us kitties….
My mom can’t imagine running with a stroller of any kind, but lots of people do it with children.
Bailie looks as though she’s enjoying it.
Bailie and Mom love running together. I used to as well when I was younger.
sounds like a great thing to have when running with your dog, sadly I don’t run so I wouldn’t be able to test it out on a run.
I works just as well for walking, but right now in our family running is the best use.