INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY DAVID QUINONES

It's no secret that the best workout routines involve partners, and few companions are as reliable as the canine variety. With boundless energy, many breeds of dogs are always up for a run. But even older or slower pooches need their exercise, just like us.

We canvassed a few places where owners and dogs share fitness activities and asked the owners how their best friends help keep them in their best shape:

SCOTT MULLIN, KENDALL

• Dog: Striker, 4, Golden Retriever

• Energy level: High

• Activities: Mullin and Striker are actually co-workers -- Mullin's a lieutenant with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, and Striker is his partner on the canine team. But during their off time, the partners put each other through their paces on bike paths. Mullin can ride for several miles with Striker running at his side thanks to a rail device attached to his bicycle's frame. Once a week, the pair climb piles of rubble at the Miami-Dade Search and Rescue course in Kendall to keep their skills sharp. For Mullin, Striker is all the motivation he needs. 'In the morning he comes and nudges you and says, `Hey, come on. Let's go man.' ''

DEBI CARIDEL, FORT LAUDERDALE

• Dog: Rebel, 1,

Staffordshire bull terrier

• Energy level: High

• Activities: Despite bull terriers' nasty reputations, Caridel is quick to point out that the temperaments of ''pit bulls'' like Rebel are products of nurture and not nature. Rebel's good nature and sturdy frame make her an ideal wrestling-mate at the Bark Park in Fort Lauderdale's Snyder Park, where her owner takes her five days a week. ``People think you have to go to a gym to get in shape, but playing with a dog like [Rebel] is a great workout.''

PETER OBRE, WEST PALM BEACH

• Dog: Zappa, 10, Rhodesian Ridgeback

• Energy level: High

• Activities: Obre brings Zappa to Hollywood's Dog Beach between Pershing and Custer streets; the beach opens up to dogs and their owners after 5 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Zappa likes to chase his toys into the surf. 'The best workout for him is when we play `stand and throw.' '' At the beach, Obre also runs a mile to work in his own exercise.

MARIANNE GONZALEZ, COCONUT GROVE

• Dog: Stella, 6, Airedale

• Energy level: High

• Activities: Gonzalez goes out twice a day with Stella for a brisk session in the Dog Chow Dog Park at Kennedy Park. While there, she walks around the park for 30 minutes before finishing up with a game of fetch. ``If we don't have a group [of dogs] to play with, we use the Frisbee.''

MIRIAM BARKLEY, FORT LAUDERDALE

• Dogs: Sonny, 6; Shayna, 2; Abby, 1;

Labrador retrievers

• Energy levels: Medium

• Activities: Abby joined the family on June 1, but she fit right in with Barkley's other two labs. Of the exercise she gets on her daily runs with the trio, Barkley said: ``That was the whole idea behind getting them, to get in better shape and be healthier.''

ROBIN PARKER, COCONUT GROVE

• Dog: Desdemona, 10, Great Dane

• Energy level: Low

• Activities: Each morning Parker takes the gigantic ''Desi'' on a leash-walk around Kennedy Park. ``She used to do four laps, now she's getting a little older so we're down to two . . . I have to keep her going with treats, or she'll sit down on me.''

JIM McFERRAN, FORT LAUDERDALE

• Dogs: Aubergine Sabine, 7 months, French bulldog; Hammond, 4, Jack Russell terrier

• Energy levels: High

• ACTIVITIES: McFerran uses his frequent daily walks with his diminutive dogs to know his surroundings better. ``It's good because I've gotten to know my neighbors, my neighborhood. It's little things, like before I had them I had never seen a blue jay on my street before. You see so much more.''

JULIANA PRADA AND ANGELA BONTI,

DOWNTOWN MIAMI

• Dog: Sama, 1, American bulldog

• Energy level: High

• Activities: Sama stakes out the stretch of lawn between the shopping complex and condominiums at Midtown Miami near the Design District. ''We take her out here to run and play about five times a day, usually at night and in the mornings when it's cooler out,'' Prada said.

INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS BY DAVID QUINONES