Canicross

[nousernameideas]

I'm interested in trying canicross and wondered if anyone here does it and can suggest how to get started. Also, if anyone does it - when you are running with your dog, does it stop other dogs randomly running up to you?

My dog doesn't like boisterous dogs running up to him and has been known to growl and snarl (though only in response to males). This really stresses me out and makes me not enjoy walks as I am always looking out for the bouncy dogs that are likely to run up. I consulted a behaviourist who confirmed it's not aggression and said he's giving perfectly appropriate signals as a dog that doesn't want to play - but it still stresses me out as I worry that a bigger dog might react to his growling with aggression of its own.

I wondered if canicross might be a good solution. If my dog is tethered on a harness and we are running, are other dogs less likely to see us as potential playmates? Again, my dog isn't aggressive or reactive and will happily go past another dog without paying it any attention at all. He just dislikes it when very bouncy dogs barrel up and get in his space.

Canicross is a great sport with a great community there’s lots of info here
www.canicross.org.uk/canicross

I know someone who does it very competitively and my one work of warning is you do need to essentially teach your dog to pull on the lead, so getting them not to when handwalking can be hard

Thanks for the link. My dog is already a puller, so at least he won't be losing any good habits! Though if I jog he will keep my pace so I hoped that canicross might make walking him more enjoyable from that perspective too.

My worry would be that other dogs may see a running dog as one who is up for playing and you would be tethered to your dog if anything kicked off.

I do canicross - dont worry about the pulling on lead. It will not affect the heelwork of your dog. Dogs are clever animals and work out different harness and set up different behaviour. (Dont expect him to go at your pace if you speed up he will as well! ) If your jog means he goes into a trot he will be faster than his pulling walk if that makes sense,

I would speak to a group and get some info. Canicrossers are a really friendly group of people. If you are running in a group you are less likely to meet other dogs. They will also let you try out equipment and help you decide what is best for you before you buy. There are some basic commands that make life much easier and they will show you how to train these from the start and create good canicross discipline.

If running on your own there is no guarantee that other dogs will not run upt to unfortunately - however if your dog is concentrating on the run it may be less stressful for them.

And if that happened; the other owners would be the ones at fault for having out of control dogs off the lead.

@whataboutsecondbreakfast absolutely. But too many inconsiderate dog owners out there and I wouldn’t want to put a reactive dog in that position.

I actually find if a reactive dog has a job to focus on, they're less likely to react as they're occupied elsewhere.

Besides, OP could just carry on running and leave the other owner in a panic

Thanks all, that's pretty much what I've been wondering myself - will the fact that we are running make us more interesting to random dogs who want to play, or will the fact that we are focused on running mean that we just jog past them and the dog goes to bother someone else?

I'd love to hear from anyone who does canicross about how other dogs react to them.

But thanks for the suggestions to contact local clubs, will search and see what is around. (And the link posted by lastqueenofscotland has great suggestions for getting started)

Also, I don't think my dog is reactive as such - if the other dog doesn't come up to him, he won't approach it or react to it at all. He just doesn't like them running up to him and bouncing around. Which seems fair enough, really. The behaviourist I went to said that he actually has appropriate doggie manners but bigger dogs might not take his signals to back off. And if that happens, he is more likely to get hurt, even if it was the other dog's/owner's fault.

Actually a lot of my concern is with my own response and the fact that I tend to panic when large dogs come up to us. I think I am probably the reactive one that needs a job to focus on, to be honest.

I canicross with my reactive dog. When approaching or passing other loose dogs I just give him encouragement on so he doesn't pay too much attention - if the other dogs look like approaching I just bring him to heel and keep running and giving him my 'lets go' command.
To be honest I've only had other loose dogs approach us on one or two occasions in a couple of years - it seems that the aura of 'dog at work' is quite strong!
One thing I do is use a 'shorty' canicross harness, the more traditional long x back ones are quite floppy when the dog isn't pulling, so are pretty useless for control. My non-stop shorty one is more rigid so I can pull him away/restrain him better if I need to. Which I generally do more at starts and rests when he is very excited by other dogs.

Thanks @Ihaventgottimeforthis (great user name by the way!) A deterrent aura of dog at work is exactly what I was hoping for! I genuinely think my dog would love canicross anyway, and it would be good for both of us, so deterring other dogs isn't my only reason for wanting to try it. But am definitely hoping it might be an additional benefit. Good advice on the more rigid harness too. My dog is small but powerful and anything that gives more control sounds like a good idea.