Running with a dog

[shorewife]

I'm not really enjoying running with mine right now.  It hasn't been that long and I'm hoping we're still getting used to running together but wanted to see if any of you have any thoughts on this.  

He is paying more attention to what is going on around us than what we're doing so I'm pretty sure I'm going to get tripped, which means I have to pay attention to him 100% of the time.  He's also either out in front a bit and pulling just enough to be annoying or he's next to me too close and crowding me.  

He's gotten much better at walking on a leash so will running get better eventually too, or are running and walking completely different things to a dog?

[lb2006]

I run with my two dogs and it was a learning curve.

We trained with them running on my left, i'm closer to traffic (if there is any) and I taught them verbal cues, "this way" and "let's go home" guides with turns and turning around.

I do use pinch collars on my dogs for our runs, as their combined weight is the same as me and they have 8 legs to my 2 . I love running with them every morning and do feel safe with them. Now, if they see cats/bunnies/squirrels, they will perk up and try to pull a bit, but I redirect or say "leave it" and it helps.

I would start with short distances and verbal cues, then work up. We fostered and I would work with each foster until they were running 2-3 miles with me (these are energetic dogs to begin with). Our female is also a good, habitual runner with me, so she was a great leader.

And...ensure your dog is over a year before you start running with him - my standard PSA

[Susie]

How old is your dog? My dogs behave better running than walking, because we're moving too fast to stop and sniff everything.

I still don't think either of them will ever be a great running buddy though. My older one is donezo at 2 miles no matter how gradually I try to build him past that, and my younger one is only now barely old enough to run, but is always underfoot.

[shorewife]

He's an almost 2 year old Brittany spaniel so he does love to run but I think his preference would be to run at 40mph instead of a 9 min/mile! I have been using a pinch collar which helps immensely and he's gotten much better with 'let's go' meaning leave that dog/bird/squirrel/leaf alone. I've never had a good running dog before but I think he could be, especially if I can somehow get him to focus a little better. Sounds like I should keep at it...

[gt7301b]

My dog needs a nice little warm up walk before we can run. I walk him for 5-10 minutes and off we go. When he was a pup he ran with me during half marathon training, now he is done after about 3 miles or so. He also loves to run on the track with us, if there isn't anyone on the track we let him do speed work with us.

[humpforfree]

Mine has responded really well to the gentle leader- even better while running than walking. I have to still tell her "leave it" over and over, but try to do it before we get there as a head's up for her if I see something she would be interested in (poop, another dog, person on a bike, squirrel). She might take a quick sniff as she runs by but we don't slow down.

[G22]

My hound dog does similar things. He likes to be right in front or next to me, and tries to go back and forth between those two places, therefore tripping me. So when I run with him I just have to guide him where I want him.

My other two dogs never give me issues and are always out in front of me. I taught my dogs some verbal cues for when were running. If they see another animal and try to pull towards it, I tell them to "keep going" and they know to keep moving forward. If I want them to cross the street I say "let's cross.

[emuni04]

Mine was such an asshole at first, but practice made "somewhat" perfect. And mine is just as terrible walking on a leash as running. That's why walking him is now my husband's job

[woowoo]

I'm in the same boat you are. My dog has a crazy amount of energy and I really want to be able to do shorter runs with her, but we're definitely on a learning curve.
I just starting using a doggie backpack (at the recommendation of my dog trainer). with just 1.5 lbs of water on either side and that seems to be helping (but we've only done a few walks and one run). We bought a more expensive one; my trainer strongly recommended against any of the cheap ones.

This is what we have:
www.ruffwear.com/Approach-Pack-Dog-Pack

I also bought this leash because it allows you to wrap it around your waist for hands free running. It's easier to run this way.
www.ruffwear.com/Flat-Out-Leash_6?sc=2&category=15


I'll update you if this is my miracle cure!

[shorewife]

Nov 19, 2013 15:44:50 GMT -5 woowoo said:

I'm in the same boat you are. My dog has a crazy amount of energy and I really want to be able to do shorter runs with her, but we're definitely on a learning curve.
I just starting using a doggie backpack (at the recommendation of my dog trainer). with just 1.5 lbs of water on either side and that seems to be helping (but we've only done a few walks and one run). We bought a more expensive one; my trainer strongly recommended against any of the cheap ones.

This is what we have:
www.ruffwear.com/Approach-Pack-Dog-Pack

I also bought this leash because it allows you to wrap it around your waist for hands free running. It's easier to run this way.
www.ruffwear.com/Flat-Out-Leash_6?sc=2&category=15


I'll update you if this is my miracle cure!

Hmmm so the doggie backpack is supposed to wear him out/slow him down?  Interesting….yes please do let me know how this goes!

[woowoo]

Yes, the doggie backpack with the additional weight wears her out faster and she does not pull at ALL once she has it on. But dogs are like kids...what works for one might not work for another!

[tuggyruns]

I find that my yellow lab is amazing running in the morning, and a total Marley at night. Also, when I first start him back running with me, I grab a long stick and hold it in front of him if he tries to run in front of me- it seems to do the trick within 5min

[jaylea]

I tried to run with my dogs for the first time this weekend. My younger dog is not a runner. She pulled a mule (going slow and fighting any attempt to be pulled along like able) the second we left home and a quarter mile in I took her home to get the other one.

Dog runner #2 did better, but she cut me off twice so she got a foot stepped on and a knee to the ribs when I was trying to not die from falling over her.

I will keep trying but it certainly wasn't relaxing this weekend!

[katinthehat]

Gentle leaders are really really wonderful. I much prefer them over a pinch collar. Start short and praise often - that's the best advice I have.

[Deleted]

I occasionally run with mine and I use a strappy sort of light harness and the lead is a bungee type thing which is great for when he stops abruptly to wee. My dog is okay, not great. He stops too frequently for me plus I worry about him near road (even though he's on a lead), so when I really want to get a run done I won't take him, I'll get back then take him to the fields separately where he can run off lead.

[setsail1999]

I run with my little border collie/spaniel mix. I'm really lucky that she's an awesome pacer once I find the right pace for a trot instead of a run. When she starts to try to "jack rabbit" to break out into a hard run I occasionally rock back a step to distract her and praise when she looks back. I also run with a thing of string cheese (she's a bit reactive with dogs when she's on the leash so it helps to have a food reward to constantly reinforce good behavior). I occasionally pinch off a bit to reinforce a looser lead and encourage her to remember where I am so she stops weaving in front of me. I also taught eye contact so when she's being a real spaz or there is something super distracting I get her to look at me instead. I like the string cheese because it easily fits in my hand and I don't have to touch stinky dog treats lol.

To help with the bolting and weaving, when you're in a boring place like at home have him on leash and slightly behind you. Take a step or two ahead really quick and your dog will probably naturally follow you and have to "catch up". Praise and give a treat before they get ahead of you. Stop, set them up in the same position and do it again. It should help to reinforce the position (beside/slightly behind) and encourages them to follow you/focus on your position instead of blindly running ahead or bumping and tripping you. you can do the same thing with run intervals. It helped with my little steam engine puller lol.

And my girl's leash manners are MUCH better running than walking but I've seen a lot of improvement since we started running together last year so you might see some improvement just by focusing on leash skills.

At least you don't have my problem. My dog wigs out in the middle of a run and start playing tug with her leash and growling at it *sigh*. www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lmImKGhXxM  I can train out bad manners.....I can't train out batshitcrazy.

[InBetweenDays]

I agree with whomever suggested to take them out for a walk before your run. Someone once told me that for dogs, going on a walk is like reading a newspaper - it's their way of finding out what is going on in their world/neighborhood. Maybe if you let him get a good 10 minutes of sniffing done he'd do better.

For us, my dog really started being better about running when he was around 4-5 and had grown out of most of his puppy energy(but not all of it - he still has a good deal at 12). And we too used the pinch color. We tried the gentle leader when he was younger and he HATED it. He would actually hide under the table when we brought it out. But the pinch color worked wonders for us.

[badgergirl66]

This makes me feel better I've done a few 1-2 mile runs with my dog lately. I think we just still need practice. I feel like my pace is slow and boring for her. She lags behind me unless I'm sprinting. (Normal pace is 10:40-11:40.)

Good luck with running with your pup!

[shorewife]

Thanks for all your great advice! I took Miles on a practice run just now. We did some walking to warm up a bit, then more of a run/walk. Every time he started to get ahead or get distracted, I'd stop and then we'd start again. I think he's going to get it, we just need to keep practicing, and I think I'll stick with the shorter run/walks until then.

The one thing I cannot get him to do is make eye contact with me which would help a lot I think. He doesn't care about treats at all, and even when we are stopped and I bend down and physically turn his head to look at me, his eyes are still looking around. He's fine with eye contact in the house but I guess outside is just much more interesting than me! Any thoughts on this, or is it something that will hopefully come with time?

[setsail1999]

Hum, lack of food drive does make it a bit harder. And you might want to try super high value treats that he can't seem to resist and only use that for working on focus in high distracting environments. My spaniel girl is a ball nut and my older guy would sell his soul for a disc so I've used toys as well. Dogs don't generalize well so sometimes you have to retrain known beahviors in new situations and the more stimulating the environment the harder it is. Does he do it on command in the house? If so I would keep training in the house to keep him familiar with the command. Step it up a bit by asking for it in the backyard with a little refresher if he doesn't seem to understand. Randomly reward whenever he voluntarily makes eye contact and randomly ask for it so he learns to anticipate it. When you are in a distracting environment repeat the same steps as you when you first trained him at home. If they are too over threshold to think just find a quiet corner and wait him out a bit, cluck at him, jog back a step. I don't start a run with my girl until she makes eye contact with me when we first show up at the waterfront.

The basic rule is to make yourself the most exciting thing on the planet. I've been known to make some kind of sound and shuffle away quickly to get their attention and most of the time they will look at you in confusion lol. That helps you capture the action and break their focus on the environment.

Hope that helps a bit.

[shorewife]

Nov 20, 2013 14:46:16 GMT -5 setsail1999 said:

Hum, lack of food drive does make it a bit harder. And you might want to try super high value treats that he can't seem to resist and only use that for working on focus in high distracting environments. My spaniel girl is a ball nut and my older guy would sell his soul for a disc so I've used toys as well. Dogs don't generalize well so sometimes you have to retrain known beahviors in new situations and the more stimulating the environment the harder it is. Does he do it on command in the house? If so I would keep training in the house to keep him familiar with the command. Step it up a bit by asking for it in the backyard with a little refresher if he doesn't seem to understand. Randomly reward whenever he voluntarily makes eye contact and randomly ask for it so he learns to anticipate it. When you are in a distracting environment repeat the same steps as you when you first trained him at home. If they are too over threshold to think just find a quiet corner and wait him out a bit, cluck at him, jog back a step. I don't start a run with my girl until she makes eye contact with me when we first show up at the waterfront.

The basic rule is to make yourself the most exciting thing on the planet. I've been known to make some kind of sound and shuffle away quickly to get their attention and most of the time they will look at you in confusion lol. That helps you capture the action and break their focus on the environment.

Hope that helps a bit.

This is good!  Yes in the house is great eye contact, close to the house is pretty good, then the further away from home the worse it gets.  I'll try to get his attention more often next time and then backtrack if I'm not the most interesting thing out there!

[Brit]

Can you train him while walking not to get distracted by stuff? My border collie was awesome to run with because she didn't pull, knew she wasn't allowed to sniff around, bark/pull/get excited by other animals/dogs/people, but that came from really awesome leash training while just walking as well. She was first trained while walking, then started running.

(Sad face. She was pretty much the most perfect, well behaved dog that I will probably ever have.)

[brittmk0922]

I will add another vote to the use of a Gentle Leader. I use one with Dav and its a world of difference on handling with her! There was definitely a learning curve but now that she's using it comfortably and knows my commands its been great!

[katietornado]

I run with my insane dog, and it wasn't easy at first. He had to smell, pee on, check out everything, he pulled, he barked at other dogs, etc. But he's absolutely gotten the hang of it, and now I can't bear running without him. We have SO much fun together!

For me, I just kept moving us on our way when he'd try to stop. Sometimes I let him stop, if I perceive that he has to actually do something. But if he's just being curious, I don't even break stride. A verbal cue, like, "ah ah," gives him the alert that if he doesn't move his butt along, he's going to feel that leash pull his neck when I get to the end of it.

It took some time and work, but now he seems to feel like running with me is his job. And there is no better exercise for him; it's been great for our physical health, as well as our relationship.

I vote to stick it out, and keep working with him!