Running With Your Dog

How many of you guys go for a run with your 4 legged friend? How do you find it? Do they run on or off the lead?

I get my puppy in 2 weeks, and once all grown, I can't wait to take him

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  • Getting a Bedlington terrier. My plan was to start running in a morning and tire him out before I go to work. SWMBO works Monday and Tuesday full days and just morning Wednesday. I will be taking him to work Mondays and Tuesdays, and need to trust he won't move from my desk if I pop down to the warehouse etc. So if I tire him out first, that will give me an advantage image

  • I always run with my dog - she's a Pyraneean collie cross so is the perfect type for running: lean and athletic with loads of energy! I take her with a friend and her dog once a week as well. I only do trail running so she can be off the lead a lot of the time. It's great for her as she loves it, and save mes walking her as well as going for a run. Plus she then sleeps for the rest of the day while I'm working!

  • We've had German Shepherds and White Shepherds for over 30 years and have always run with them. Our current two, 6 year-old Nemo and 16-month-old Charly are happy to go for a run at any time and for any distance, I get tired before they do. There have been a lot of previous threads on this topic - go and search for them, there's loads of info available.

  • I have a Bedlington and he runs off the lead but we only run off road. Great dogs!

    Good luck with wearing him out image
  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    I've had Archie, a Welsh Border Collie, for about 4 months and he's gone from rather unfit to a max of 17 miles so far with me out in the hills.  He's well behaved and doesn't need a lead.  He often ranges out to one side or the other up to 100m away on open hillsides but on trails he'll be pushing the pace just ahead.

    He'll have a couple of hours' rest and then be up for the next adventure.

  • I run with a 2 year old whippet, pretty much all off road so he can be off the lead.

    He used to go haring off at geat spead, tiring himself out in the first couple of miles, but, he seems to understand now that we may be out for a while and it might be best to trot along at my pace - still goes off at speed if he spots a rabbit or deer though!

    Bedlingtons are lovely dogs, have fun running with him.

  • If I'm not on a serious training session I love to take a dog along with me. My Jack Russell cross Springer spanial was fine until he got a big belly! Now I also have a lovely Cavipoo. He enjoys the slower runs to give him a chance for a sniff around. One dog who was not a runner was my Tibetean Terrier. Lovely dog but just did not want to go faster than a walk. The best dogs in my experience are collies but a Bedlington sounds lovely.

    Enjoy!

  • Thanks guys. Really can't wait to get him, and then wait for him to be old enough. I guess for the first few weeks he'll be running in the back yard, before going to a field to run and play. I believe I can't really run or train him (I want to do agility) until he's 12-18months old

  • You just need to make sure his bones are fully formed and grown before you can run with him to ensure you don't store up any bone issues later in his life.  Also, I was always told not to walk a pup too far either to start with.

    As for training - although you can't do agility too early, you can start doing basic training from the word go - i.e. sit, down, recall and various other stuff which will all provide excellent grounding for agility.

    Hope you have a fab time with him.

  • At our club we do the sit, down, stay commands with the young dog or pup on a table and reinforce a success with the clicker followed by a treat. My Charly loves that so much he's always trying to head for the table when we're heading out to the practice field. You certainly can train the basics at a young age but not too much too early as a small pup has a very short attention span. I second the caution about the bones, we never run too much nor allow our dogs to jump obstacles prior to having their hips and elbows x-rayed. It's tragic to find out too late that your dog has bad joints.

  • Great choice of dog!  If you're interested in meeting up with other people who run with their dogs, check out the various canicross forums on Facebook and the Web.  Some people meet for social runs only; some of us race with our dogs in canicross events.  The two main organisations running races are Canicross Trailrunners and Canix UK.  Most of these races are short, sprint distances (around 5k) but Canix also organise a half marathon on Salisbury Plain each May. lots of human races accept canicross entries too: Brutal, Mudman, Endurancelife (dogs do Ultras too), etc etc.  If you race, or take part in the more organised social runs, you'll need your dog on a lead of some description; most comfortable for you and your dog is a proper harness and waist belt with an elasticated line connecting the two.  There's a great choice of kit now - anyone on the FB canicross forums will point you in the right direction.  Hope you have fun - and see you racing in a year or two?!

  • Our miniature schnauzer loves any run up to an hour long, but beyond that it starts feeling a bit cruel. Doesn't help that he sprints back and forth for long spells.

  • I used to run with my black Lab until she left us to "chase rabbits in the sky" image.

    + 1 Beth Roberts.You must wait until the dog's bones and joints are fully formed or you can cause problems in old age. And, make sure the dog's recall is "bombproof" so you can get him back to you if need (sorry to sound a bit "preachy" but its important).

    We now have a 8 month old Lab. I can't wait until he gets a bit older and he can start to come out (probably about 15 months old minimum). Labs develop a bit slower some smaller breeds, so your vet should be able to tell the age he'll be ready.

    Have fun training and running with him - hope you can keep up with him image

     

  • Think it depends on the type of dog. I have a 9 month old border terrier who is lovely, but a bit mad. There is no way I could take him for a run as soon as he sees another dog/runner/cat/squirrel he's off. I could run with him on the lead I guess....but even that would be hard work I think. Maybe when he's a bit older and calms down a bit he could come out with me...maybe not though..

  • That's where the correct gear would help, 15West: harness that energy (literally!) image

  • My dog has been the only thing keeping me running for the last 12 months. He  is a border collie rescue dog, called Murphy and is perfect.he runs off the lead, never strays far from me, I only put him on the lead when we're on a main road. THe one thing I trained him to do was to come by my side and sit when a vehicle approaches so he could be off the lead on the lanes. hE has started to do it if he hears them before me now. HE doesn't move till I lift my hand from his head. A dog never complains that you're too slow,  is always happy to add an extra loop, never needs to be anywhere else, does not go on endlessly about injuries/ pbs/ that sniffle that's turning into a chest infection etc. A dog waits for you to catch up, or slows his pace accordingly, always looks back to check you're still with him, never complains about the mud on his feet, and best of all will drink from a puddle or canal so you only carry your own drinks. a dog is always up for a run, to the point of being unable to contain his excitement when he sees you putting your shoes on, and does you the courtesy of , upon your return panting for ages as if you,have just done the workout of his life.

  • I run with my beddy x whippet and she's great. On my regular run there are loads of

    rabbits who know she's on the lead so leave it to the last minute before disappearing down there holes. Its like interval training - steady jog, see rabbit

    sprint for 50m, stop to sniff and then back to jogging.



    Certainly makes an evening run more interesting!
  • Monique, Murphy is just lovely. My brother and family have 4 of those, they do agility with them.

  • MoomkinMoomkin ✭✭✭

    I wouldn't get out half as much if it wasn't for my four legged running partner. Great start to the day to get three miles in together in the morning and it does get the walking business over and done with a wee bit quicker. He is still around for  longer run in the evening or at the weekend and it didn't take long for me to get used to his stop/sniff strategy and for him to get used to my 'come to heal' demands. Enjoy your running! 

  • I run darley park run with Ted my dachshund x yorkie image. He loves running next to me on the trail up to about 10k

  • RicFRicF ✭✭✭

    A friend of mine who runs at least 10 miles per day had a Border Collie. Was it any good for running with? no it was useless.

    It would only run after a ball.

    🙂

  • My whippet/lurchers Twiggy and Lulu you would think would be great for a run, but truth is they're a pain for anything that's not speed work. More than 3 miles and they flag quite badly - makes sense I suppose as they are built for speed, and by the time they have chased each other, rabbits, squirrels, pheasants, etc, they've probably run 5 miles to my 3. They point blank refuse to go in the rain too, so longer  runs are based around the weather, or when the other half has taken them out. Wouldn't change a thing though - beautiful to watch in full flight.

  •  RicF if I throw a ball for Murphy he rolls over, he thinks it's a sign of anger. Rescue dogs have their hang ups but fortunately running is his absolute favourite thing. 

    IW we tried dog agility once but he couldn't concentrate or cope with thepresence of lots of other dogs. Maybe I was exaggerating when I said he was perfect.imageimage

     

  • Oh that's a shame Mon, but every dog is different. Nemo is great at security dog work but doesn't do so well in classic obedience - he goes 100mph to fetch the wooden dumbbell and retrieves brilliantly over the hurdle and the A-frame fence, but I can't stop him chewing the dumbbell instead of sitting still in front of me and just holding it. That's a 3-point deduction each time. Charly at 16 months is still just learning but showing great promise is both disciplines. At our club we teach the sit, down and stand positions on a table - he loves doing that so much he tries to drag me to the table every time I'm taking him onto the practice field!

  • I run with my dog - a border collie, almost every day.  He's done up to 10 miles with me but to be honest he flags a little after 6 or so miles.  We tend to do routes that are off road for a portion usually at the start and then on the roads (sometimes with a lead depending on the road)

    I absolutely love going out in the summer just running miles across fields with him.

     

  • SJJSJJ ✭✭✭

    I've got two rescue welsh working sheepdogs who absolutely love running! They are the best running partners I've ever had; they make me get up in the morning, never complain when I put in a rubbish run and always encourage me to run faster!

    As mentioned before, just make sure the bones are fully developed and you build it up slowly. Training is essential, mine are never on the lead and I trust them totally - the only problems we encounter are irresponsible dog owners who let their dogs snap and chase at me and them!

    Mine come out with me every time. As I'm up running in the pitch dark during winter at 5am during the week it makes me feel safe knowing they are with me. I run 45-50 miles a week so goodness knows how many they run!

    Also, make sure you invest in quality high-vis collars and jackets if you are running in the winter/at night.

     

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