Running with a BC

[Chanse]

So I am a runner, but an injured one. It looks like my injury period might finally be coming to an end and I am hoping that once I start running again I will occasionally be able to take Archer with me. He is still too young to do any substantial mileage, but I plan on just starting him with short jogs on grass just to get him use to running next to me. I've run with dogs before, but never really tried to train one to be a good running partner. I figured someone on here might have some tips&tricks that have made running with a BC easier, or maybe just some general advice on running with BC/dogs in general.

[Gideon's girl]

The first thing I think of is that BCs, in general, are very sensitive to motion, which may mean yours gets over excited when you try to run. What I did with Gideon was to treat it like a walking on the leash exercise. I got him walking on a loose leash near me and always on the same side. I taught him not to cross over. Then I started changing speeds, just a couple steps at a time, both fast and slow. As he was able to accept my speed changes without getting too excited, I started increasing the number of steps at each speed. My point was to teach him that his job was to calmly pay attention to what speed I was going and to calmly adjust his speed to stay with me, nothing more. As he got better, I lengthened the amount of time at each stride until we were actually jogging instead of just changing speeds. I don't think he ever noticed the change.

[CptJack]

I was coming here to say what Gideon's girl already did.

You're going to need to teach calm behavior when you run, probably. I know when I first started running with Molly (not like going FOR runs but running sometimes) her response was to try and get in front of me, or to leap up and try to latch onto my arms with her teeth. Neither one is really very conducive to... well, anything good.

[Gloria Atwater]

I'd also recommend getting him accustomed to whatever things you may encounter on your runs, such as passing bicycles, cars or other joggers. Neither of you will have much fun if he's tying himself in knots reacting to things around you.

~ Gloria

[alligande]

I run Cani-cross style, with the dog out front. We do use a shorter tow line than normal as I found in an urban environment the regular canicross length meant he was to far in front of me for control and safety, so experimented to find the perfect length for us.

Do not use a collar or a front clip harness when running, even if they running beside you, use a back clip harness. Rievaulx and I started running together when I did the couch to 5k program so we it was introduced to us both gradually.

[teresaserrano]

I don't Run, but as CptJack I often run short distances with Tess, and I think it's just a matter of training it. The dog should be comfortable with it's surroundings, but then that's also truth for walks in the same areas (I found that Tess was actually calmer when running, less focused on this and that)

 

First time I tried a bit of running, at the beach, I triped on her and fell. But she was quite young, and her leash manners wheren't the best. As she understood the concept of walking at heel, it easily transfered to running. Now she runs by my side, off leash when safe, without a problem. We don't do longer distances because I can't, but she certainly could.

[Chanse]

Thanks for the tips. I figured motion would be my biggest issue. Were in the city so he has gotten use to a lot of stuff. He is even pretty good with bikes. We are still working on skateboards and other dogs.

 

when I first started running with Molly (not like going FOR runs but running sometimes) her response was to try and get in front of me, or to leap up and try to latch onto my arms with her teeth. Neither one is really very conducive to... well, anything good.

 

That made me laugh because Archer basically had the same response when I've tested him with some pace/gait changes. The biting/nipping with puppy teeth was not appreciated. He seems to be over this phase though.

 

 

I found that Tess was actually calmer when running, less focused on this and that

 

I am hoping Archer will be like that. I am hoping that he will treat running a bit like work and be more focused then he is on walks, but that's a lot to hope for. So I'll just have to see what happens.