Trainging a dog to run with you.

[Jenergy]

Hey all, One of my friends was running with her dog this week when he darted in front of her, causing her to lose her footing and smash out her front teeth. Another friend had a similar thing happen the same day and kept her teeth intact.

Both have dogs that will walk beside them quite well.

Does anyone have any tips on running with a dog? The type of lead to use for example or different tactics?

Also, what about when you're running and your pooch needs to poo? It's mighty uncomfortable to run with a bag of poo banging against your hand. Anyone know of any methods that can get the puppies to hang on for just a bit longer?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[ihartgonzo]

My friend's dog also jumps in front and on her when she runs with her... it must be incredibly annoying, not to mention dangerous.

Teach a 100% solid walking heel at your left side. Practice every time you go for a walk, with a treat bag full of tiny, tasty, smelly treats. Speed up your walk gradually, until the dog can do a perfect heel at attention at any speed. If a dog heels at only one speed, they do not have it down. Hands-free leashes or a short traffic lead (3') would be a good idea. Bring a treat bag with plenty of compartments on every run, full of treats, and with a section that you can easily store a poop bag in. Some treat bags have multiple compartments for keys, clickers, iPods, etc, which is super handy. It's also important to pay attention to your dog AND keep your dog interested in you. You can do this by changing your pace, zig-zagging, turning left/right, doing a 360, and rewarding your dog with treats and an excited voice/praise.

As far as pooping... that's tough. I would go ahead and get them to poop before going for a run.

 

[comfycorpse]

It's funny, because my dog is a pain when she's on the leash, but when we run it's a whole different story-she's nearly perfect. In the start I remember her being a bit of a challenge. I use a HALTI for her; works like a charm. You probably know what a HALTI is already, but if you don't, it's a tool that acts like a horse halter, with the idea that where the head goes the body will follow. It looks similar to a muzzle, only the dog can still drink, eat, bark, bite, whatever. Anyways, I find that it has helped me TONS. And, whenever I would go to turn a corner or change directions, what I would do was pretty much pretend that she (Dakota) wasn't even there. If she tried to continue running straight, I would just let me leg lean into her while I was going. Nothing harsh, just making sure that she didn't get in my space. When we run, she seems to be really good about pooping and peeing-she doesn't do it much-in fact, I don't think she has ever pooped while we were on the run. She usually goes before, and once we start I think she does tend to treat it like a job. I have heard on forums before that for those people whose dogs do poop on the run, they just bring them for a bit of a walk first, and hopefully that will do the trick.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and as for leash length-I've heard that a lot of people like 6ft. leashes, but that a lot of people also like to start with a shorter leash in the start, so they have a little more control. With the HALTI though, you should be able to use a 6ft. leash, because it's very easy to control them with it-oh, and make sure that you let them get used to it-some find it uncomfortable in the start. Don't let them scratch at it though-the woman who sold it to me in the first place said that they can be ripped by their claws.

 

[lizzybeth727]

I agree with ihartgonzo, you'll have to have a really solid heel before you can start jogging with the dog, because it takes more coordination on your part to find your footing and reward your dog at the same time. There is a dog I'm working with now whose an EXCELLENT heel-er, and is great to run with. The trick with her, though, is that she's great at heel at ANY pace. When I started with her, I taught her to walk with me when I'm walking at a natural pace, at a slow pace, and at a fast pace (and the numerous paces inbetween). She caught on very quickly to match my pace no matter what else is going on, so then I started jogging with her. Sometimes I sprint, sometimes I jog slowly, and often I change my pace every few steps to keep her engaged and thinking. She likes running, so I don't worry too much about giving her treats for running with me.... I do praise her a lot, and I continue to treat her when she heels in speeds that she doesn't enjoy so much (like walking).

I guess my point is, it's not necessarily that you're teaching your dog to heel while you're running; it's more that you're teaching him to heel with you no matter what speed you're going, fast, slow, REALLY fast, REALLY slow, etc.

I would be careful about using a head halter when jogging. If the dog gets going really fast and then you stop abruptly, it could jerk his head around and cause whiplash. I do agree that a head halter is a great tool to help teach dogs heel, but I'd suggest weaning off the head halter before you do a lot of fast running with him. I'd also be hesitant to use a leash attached to your waist, if you stop abruptly and your dog keeps running, he will (if he's not tiny) pull you off your feet. But, it might be a good thing to use if you're very confident in your dog, after a lot of practice with running.

Agility is also a good way to help a dog learn to run with you. There are a lot of twists and turns, and it's not pretty in the beginning (at some point you WILL trip and fall over your dog), but the more you and your dog get used to working together the more aware of each other you'll be and the easier it'll get.

 

[Jenergy]

Oh my! Thank you for the detailed replies. You are all wonderful. I like the idea of using the halti after training. I do have a halti for my dog but she hates it so much. She actually refuses to walk when she has it on! Not even for her favourite treats. When Bella sees me get the halti she puts her head and tail down and goes and lies on her bed. LOL. Luckily she is great on lead so I've not used it more than twice.

It's because she is so great on lead that I had no idea what to offer in the way of advice for my friends.

Agility training is an excellent idea too.

Thanks guys!

xx

 

[Dekka]

Actually agility won't help you too much. As a good agility dog doesn't really run with you. They are MUCH to fast for that. (or at least that is the goal) The dog runs taking direction from you.

Now doing agility will help your dog be more intune with you and help you train your dog in general.

 

[MafiaPrincess]

Cider is more intune with me after years of agility.. she hasn't been trained to run beside me though.. Occasionally she pulls a little, but we jog together without problems.

I wouldn't be using a halti with 6 feet of leash. Sounds like a neck disaster in the making.

 

[bubbatd]

My vet just recommended a gentle leader easy walker harness which I've ordered. At 76 I want to walk Ollie , but one lunge would put me on my face !! She just acquired a BMD and found this harness a God send ! The leash attachment is in front , not on top . I'm so anxious to try it !!!!

 

[MafiaPrincess]

My vet just recommended a gentle leader easy walker harness which I've ordered. At 76 I want to walk Ollie , but one lunge would put me on my face !! She just acquired a BMD and found this harness a God send ! The leash attachment is in front , not on top . I'm so anxious to try it !!!!

Cider learned to pull on that one by walking sideways.. Not as much pressure as she can apply on a collar, but likely bad for her body long term.

 

[bubbatd]

I'll report when I get it !!

 

[v-girl]

My dog is hard to walk, pulling and such. A halti works great for walking. But when running I'v always just let him run in front of me. He likes to stop and start quite a bit, but I've gotten used to and just watch his body language. Works for me.