Running with a dog...

libelula

Any of you do this? Any tips or wisdom to share?

I've taken my boyfriends fella out a couple of times now when I'm doing an easy run. He's extremely well disciplined and well trained until another dog comes into sight, then nothing will do him but pull like hell to go have a look/growl. Then he's back to me apologising with that "sorry I couldn't help myself" face.
In general though, it goes well. He stays tight to my leg and I have him on a short lead.

Two things I'd like to get him out of the habit of while running are what I mentioned above about going baldy-headed for other dogs, and also that 'peeing on everything' craic. I want him to know that we're out for a run rather than out for a wander if that makes sense?
He'll respond very well to a bit of repetition so I'm sure the more we go out the better, but is there anything more I can do?
I do positive reinforcement the whole way already, and give him a small treat when we get home.

All tips and suggestions welcome, thanks

Firedance

I have no advice to offer really, my dog absolutely must stop and sniff every.single.tree although to be honest I've never tried very hard to train him to run, he's probably too small to be running miles. You gotta love that 'sorry I couldn't help myself face' though

One thing that did work with mine though with regard to his behavior on seeing other dogs, if you give them the treat as soon as they see the other dog and before they react to it they will eventually see other dogs as a good thing and stop reacting.

Valentina

I take an 80 lb Ridgeback on runs so I know how important it is to keep her by my side and not let her drag me into the road or wherever she feels like!

You have to retrain the dog not to react/pull on sight of other dogs.

What we did was the following:

1. Ask dog to sit. You stand one side of the dog, your boyfriend on the other.

2. One of you says the 'instruction' word. In our case it's "Look!" Said in a slightly higher voice than usual. You can use any word you want once it's not their name.

3. As soon as the dog looks at you or even turns their eyes towards you, you reward them. It has to be a 'high value' reward e.g. ham to make it really interesting. Repeat this for a few mins every day. Once your dog has mastered this you can try the next step.

4. Go somewhere quiet with few distractions for a walk. Keep the dog at your side. If he gets ahead of you, use your instruction word and when he reacts positively, reward him. Do this for a few days or however long until you feel comfortable to go to a more 'distracting' place.

5. Continue using the instruction word, whether there are distractions or not. Hopefully your dog should respond in the way you want.

My dog was about 16 weeks when I did this training with her. She's now 2 years old and always responds to me saying "Look!" whether it's at home or out in the park. Depending on your boyfriend's dog it may take a while for them to get it, but stick at it and you'll see results.

I hope I've explained the steps properly but if you're stuck PM me and I can send you on notes a trainer friend did up for me.

Whispered

You can get a running belt which would leave your hands free. A longer lead on a running belt would allow you to clock just as he's likely to stop for a sniff and give you time to encourage him to move forward.

The running belt, or if you'd rather not use a belt a different harness, would become a cue for the dog that this isn't walk, but a run. For ours we have different harnesses for when we need them calm and well behaved vs when we want them excited and ready to run.

libelula

Some great advice there, thanks so much. I'll try some of those over the weekend and see how we get on