People who run with their dogs - some advice please 🙂

[mynameisnotmichaelcaine]

I have a nearly five month old working cocker spaniel. I love to run and one of the reasons I chose the breed was that she would be able to run long distances with me.

I know that she is not allowed to run with me yet. I have done some running with her off lead in my garden and she tends to see it as a "let's nip legs" game, which is obviously not ideal!

My question is, what things can I be doing with her now to encourage good running habits for when she is older? She will mainly be off lead of runs as we have a long railway track nearby which has been turned into a walking route/cycle track. However there will obviously be parts of runs near roads where she will have to be on a lead. Do I need to buy a special running lead now to get her used to it?

Thanks 🙂

You are right she can not run for miles yet.

However what you can do is what you have been doing and running with her.

I would start with walking in a circle on lead. If she can not walk well next to you you will not get her doing it when you run. So really work on heel work.

I know you will not run with her to heel but you will need control and over time you will be able to increase her distance from you.

If she can walk beside you happily and not pull on the lead and will walk beside you, without crossing over sides you can move on.

This time walk faster in the circle

Then add in a gentle trot.

As you go faster she is more likely to nip etc and chase you.

So get a long tuggy and run with her holding the tuggy. This is fun to her and also stops the nipping.

Change directions turn in tight circles, run in straight lines.

Do this for mins at a time.One for health reasons two so she does not get over aroused.

Hi, I run a Canicross group so get very excited when I see someone thinking about running with their dog!
For a spaniel we would suggest 12months before proper Canicross, however free running can be earlier as it doesn’t cause the same strain on them.

Teaching her left/right, and to run infront of you rather than the side are important.
Steady is also a good command!

Proper Canicross gear has a bungee lead to help absorb any jolts.
Research harnesses too as many will restrict shoulder movement or sit too high and restrict breathing.

I recommend looking at K9 trailtime website as they have great articles about intro to Canicross.

Definitely get a lead with a stretchy bit - if the dog suddenly stops to pee/poo/sniff or whatever, you'll be very glad you have it. Halti do one that you can clip round your waist, so you can run with hands free - upgrade to canicross gear one you know you both like it.

Definitely on a harness.

Only run longer distances once your dog is over 1 year old, and start off somewhere fairly flat and grass/earth surfaces not road/tarmac whenever possible

I didn't do any particular prep, just stuck her on the running lead and off we went. Good behaviour on the lead generally will help enormously. But I find she's better behaved when running than when walking in lead - she likes to run, stays to one side and usually slightly ahead. When walking, she likes to stop and sniff and will zigzag

If you parkrun, your dog must be on a short lead throughout, so make sure she can run happily on lead. Only run off lead when you are absolutely sure her recall is good even in the face of temptation.

Thanks so much everyone - that's really helpful. Heel walking is not her greatest strength so plenty to work on there. Her recall is excellent at the moment, but I am well aware that she has not yet hit the teenage stage!

I walk my dog in collar & lead only, run him in a harness.
So he knows that collar & lead means walk to heel, harness & 'let's go' means running so he can go ahead.

I always keep my dog on a lead when we run. Otherwise there are either too many distractions for her and I spend half my time looking backwards, or, if we're somewhere familiar, she tries to wait at the start/finish for me!

For the nipping... she's doing that because what you're doing is exciting fun for her. As soon as she nips, stop and turn your back. 30 seconds of stationary silence will soon teach her that nipping and its consequences ruins the fun.

Enjoy... it's so lovely running with your dog, and especially lovely afterwards when everybody is tired and happy and hungry

I'm a runner and I have 6 month old staffy puppy who I'm about to start teaching some of this to out on walks

I will practise on the lead in woods hopefully with twisty paths etc

blog.dogfit.co.uk/2015/06/canicross-commands-top-tips/