Samantha Immer

I always envied people who could run with their dogs. They both seemed so happy and content running side by side enjoying the morning. I was so excited when I finally got Mushu. He was high energy, needed exercise, and running seemed like the perfect way to do it.

We headed out for our first run together…and it was a disaster! He kept circling around me, or pulling to try and get squirrels, or stopping to pee, or cut in front of me. I tripped and got yanked and had to stop more time than I can count. We barely made it a mile before we were both sick of it and had to turn around.

If I wanted this to work I was going to have to train Mushu to run with me. I used the same method with Shep when I got her as well and it worked like a dream!

 

Don’t make your training runs their training runs

When training your dog to run with you, the focus needs to be on them. You can’t work on training if your worried about your own pace or mileage during the run. That’s only ensure that both of you will be frustrated and discouraged at the end of the run. Keep your dog’s training runs separate until they start to get familiar with what their doing.

Make them focus on you

There’s lots of distraction in the outside world! Lots of smells, animals, new people. It can be hard to keep your pup focused on you and the task at hand (running). Pick a side that you want your dog to run on. Begin your run with your dog on your chosen side. Every time they get distracted or unfocused or cross over stop running. Make them circle around you and then sit on “their” side of you. Wait 5-10 seconds then continue on. You have the option to reward here with a treat as well. Do this as needed throughout the run. (When I first started it was almost every 20 yards)

Make sure to reward often whether through praise or treats! If your pup is doing something right they deserve to know.

Have commands and rules

Have consistent commands for your runs. Some of the ones I use are turn left/right, stop pulling, stay with me. Shep tends to try and go further ahead on her leash than Mushu and several miles of that can make my arm ache. She knows stop pulling means she needs to slow down a bit. Turn left/right comes in handy because I can direct the dogs and not have to worry about tripping over them while turning a corner. I use stay with me when I need them closer to me and focused on me because we’re about to pass another human/dog and we won’t be stopping to say hi or disturb them.

One of our rules is when the dogs can go to the bathroom. Since Mushu is male he especially likes to try and stop several times to mark things. I run with the dogs on leash so if one of them stops it means we all stop. This was interfering with my runs when I was trying to maintain a certain pace, so I had to develop rules for it. The dogs are only allowed to go to the bathroom if we are walking (this is a run specific rule only, not when we are hiking or on our daily walks). I make sure at least once a mile to stop and walk for moment to make sure they are able to relieve themselves if needed. It also helps to ensure that I don’t accidentally yank on them because they stopped suddenly.

Build mileage slowly

Just like people, dogs have to build up stamina. Ease your pup into longer and longer runs. It will help prevent soreness and injury. Depending on temperature and length of run make sure to bring water or have some sort of water source for your dog.

Consistency

Like with pretty mush everything else in life consistency is key! Making running with your pup a priority will expedite results and make all parties better runners. Running together is such a great way to bond and get exercise. And the post run snuggles are pretty great too.