Canicross: France's fastest-growing sport

Canicross, a sport in which dogs and humans run together as a team, is enjoying a decade of uninterrupted and accelerating growth across France.

More than 5,500 people have joined one of the 200-plus clubs in the country

Competitions start at a regional level with a minimum qualifying time required for French championships, a decision made as a result of the growing number of participants. 

Equipment now also features in the Decathlon chain of sports stores.

The sport is organised around the Fédération Française des Sports et Loisirs Canins (FFLSC), which was officially listed by the ministry of sport in December 2022.

Get fit, make new friends

Canicross is enjoyed for the companionship it offers with dogs, the sense of mutual accomplishment, and the opportunities to get fit and make new friends, two presidents of FFLSC told The Connexion.

“There really has been a Covid effect. People used to take out their dogs during confinement, which felt liberating. Once restrictions were lifted, many looked to turn it into a habit,” said Sébastien Simon, the current president of FFLSC.

Mr Simon is building on the success of Yvon Lasbleiz, FFLSC’s president from 2006 to 2013 and 2016 to 2020, who said the turning point was when the federation opened its Facebook page in 2013.

“Back then, the word ‘canicross’ meant nothing to people. Nowadays, it is pretty established nationwide,” said Mr Lasbleiz, who took part in his first canicross race 30 years ago.

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Mr Simon’s introduction to the sport was by complete chance.

“I was browsing “running with my dog” on the internet and stumbled upon the federation. That was 10 years ago. Now I am its president,” he said.

Canicross is the brainchild of Gilles Pernoud, a vet from Lyon who was inspired by skijoring, a sport practised in Scandinavian countries and Finland in which a person on skis is pulled by a horse, dog(s) or other animals.

Skijoring became a popular activity in French ski resorts before canicross was introduced as both a leisure and sport activity. The first canicross competition was held in the 1980s.

Canicross varieties

The sport grew over the years under the FFLSC umbrella, and evolved from one to five disciplines, each differing depending on what the dog is pulling. People can now practise cani-VTT, using a bike, cani-trottinette, using a scooter, skijoring and cani-marche, where a person walks while strapped to their dog.


Courses vary from 2-3km to 25km, such as for the Canitrail. Participants are organised in age categories, similar to track-and-field competitions. There is no restriction on the participant’s choice of dog breed.


The 2025 edition of the Championnat de France was held in March, and was the third year for the competition.

“Canicross has changed people’s interaction with dogs around here,” said Sophie Dautel, president of Natur’O Pattes Club, a canicross club in Breuil-en-Auge (Calvados).

Previously, people in the area viewed dogs merely for hunting or as pets, she explained.

The club offers twice-weekly activities.

“Practising sport alongside your dog is a precious thing that requires connection and concentration,” said Mr Simon.

“How many people have put on their trainers again [thanks to the sport]?” added Mr Lasbleiz. “They’ve progressed from cani-marche to cani-hiking to canicross.”

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Mr Simon also pointed out the social benefits, citing his own experience of having made new friends from canicross training.

For Connexion readers looking to extend their social circle, the sport could offer invaluable opportunities, he added. 

He gave the example of fellow canicross fan Mark Jimmy Dunbar. Born in East Kilbride in Scotland, Mr Dunbar is a retired member of the Royal Air Force who settled in Queige (Savoie) and became a well-known figure in the canicross French scene, taking part in numerous races.