Teach a Dog to Run

Day 3. (Yes, I'm aware I missed blogging about Day 2!)
We're slowly progressing. Today we ran 3x 10 minutes. The first 3 minutes in were a disaster. Brizzy was so over-joyed at being out running he was leaping and biting and tugging at his leash in his exuberance. Running is not for the exuberant! At least, it's not for exuberant dogs.
But after the first three minutes he really settled in. I was glad there weren't too many other runners out in the morning, as I was constantly saying, "Good jog, Brizzy! Good jog." Sometimes followed by "No!" and "Drop it!".
I think he's starting to get the concept, and we had a nice run after those first few minutes of frustration on both sides.

I still take 3 minute breaks in between my running sets to let him sniff and do doggy things. We're progressing fairly well, and my next step may be to move to 2x 15 minutes. I admit I'm also enjoying it more and more. The only thing that is still hard on me is how cold it is. I learned to run in the heat of Brisbane, and I really miss it on these cold Calgary days. This morning my thermometer read -2C. Brrr! I know some runners who thrive on cold weather running (and wouldn't even call this 'cold'). But I prefer my balmy 15C+. Bring on summer!

"Jog!"

This is it. Day 1 of officially teaching the pup how to run with me. As in really run with me. Right now he thinks running = bite on the leash and wrestle it in exuberance. Or chasing things. Like a ball or a rabbit. Or running away because he knows I saw he has a sock in his mouth and darned if he’s going to give such a delectable delight up so easily!

This morning I brought with me a pocket full of treats. We started with a nice easy walk, then I gave the command “Jog!” and set off. Having never heard that command from me before, I wasn’t expecting much.

I broke down the run into 3x 5 minutes, allowing walk breaks in between for him to be a dog and sniff out the p-mail. While Brizzy has boundless energy, normally he associates running with chasing things, or play, and has not had much opportunity in trotting beside me on a short leash. The first 5 minutes were a disaster, with me constantly saying, “No!” and making various loud angry noises to interrupt his violent mauling of the leash. Then we’d stop, I’d make him sit, say “Jog!”, and off we’d go. At least for another 2 seconds before the whole thing started again.

 "Yes, Mom! I'd LOVE to come for a run! I'm vibrating with energy at the thought!"

The second 5 minutes were much better! We got through the entire thing without a hitch, and it gave me hope. He was bright and attentive. It might have helped that I had shown him the treats in my hand and was occasionally reaching down to give him a little treat as we ran.

False hope. The third set of 5 minutes proved too much, between rabbits and other dogs and the tempting leash dangling before his mouth, I can’t say I got any quality running in. But here’s hoping I’ll make a running dog out of him yet! With all the energy he has, I’m seeing some 5k’s coming down the pipes. But not tomorrow, and not next week. I didn’t learn to run 5k in one go, so I can’t exactly have the same expectations for him.

Still, I have the warm fuzzy feeling that this is going to be the start of a beautiful new running friendship. Kind of like the feeling I get when I buy a new pair of running shoes.