Running with your Dog?

Hello everyone - I love running and my 2-year old pit mix loves coming with me! He's still working on his running with momma etiquette, but he gets better everyday so we'd like to keep it up.I alwasy seem to run a little faster when I have him with :smiley:
I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of gear to use while running with my pooch.
Right now we use his easy-walk harness (he's a big puller without it) and his 6 ft regular leash.
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Replies

  • MelissaPhippsFeagins
    MelissaPhippsFeagins Posts: 8,063 Member
    That gear should be fine. My dog is a hunting breed and thus terrible as a running partner. She needs to investigate every scent and our walk speed averages out to 2.5mph. I didn't get her to run with though and she is a very good retriever and companion for my kid who loves to swim.
  • 2011rocket3touring
    2011rocket3touring Posts: 1,346 Member
    Pits are such sweethearts. I've got a mix too and she'll lick you to death.
  • luluinca
    luluinca Posts: 2,899 Member
    I run with my dog (a 5 year old mixed breed with some pit in her) on the horse trails here and she does fine with just the harness and about a 6 ft leash. I took her to training as a pup and so the etiquette for running is essentially the same as it is for walking. She runs right next to me without veering too far in or out. We only stop once for a sniff and pee break (for her not me) and the rest of the time she acts like she's in doggie heaven.
  • sparklyglitterbomb
    sparklyglitterbomb Posts: 458 Member
    My dog is a herder... doesn't work so well on runs. lol
  • maroro123
    maroro123 Posts: 14 Member
    I always tell him how lucky he is to be able to just pee when he wants!

    He's got a lot of energy so I figured running would be the most controlled way to get that energy out. He likes to see what is happening in town too. Social butterfly that one.

  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    Sorry, nothing to offer, but I am just following along for the advice. I have a 7 month old hound mix and I want her to become a running partner. My vet advised waiting until she is a year old to do any distance running with her, but we work on little walk/ run drills on her walks. She seems to pay more attention to me when we are running, but I also see her speed becoming a problem. When she is free to run in the yard, she likes to bolt at warp speed!
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    Yaaay, a fellow pit owner!! I am thinking of starting to run with our youngest pit (he's about 2 years old and full of energy!) he is also a big puller and I've been thinking about trying the easy-walk harness on him, but had issues with the fitting on pits in the past. Might try it anyway!
  • maroro123
    maroro123 Posts: 14 Member
    My pup definitely pays more attention when we jog than when we simply walk. I'm guessing that's just because he has less time to be distracted by the things that usually catch his attention (other dogs, squirrels, geese). I do occassionally have to stop while we're on a run so he can compose himself and I remind him that it's a marathon not a sprint (not literal marathons yet, but maybe someday :smile: )
  • maroro123
    maroro123 Posts: 14 Member
    the easywalk harness is a little hard to fit on him right because of his gigantic chest - but we have a large for him (he's right around 70lbs and he's a mix with lab so he's got longer legs) and it fits pretty well. The only problem I have with it is that it rubs under his arms a little and if we go for longer walks/runs/hikes, it can cause chaffing and then he has to take a few day break.
  • kaspatore
    kaspatore Posts: 95 Member
    I run my 2 pits several times per week over the last 6 years, since they were 1. I use pinch collars (instant behavior, the last thing I tried and only thing that worked) and a much shorter leash. When we are running, they need to be right next to me. Other than that, I wear a running belt to hold my phone and a couple of poop bags :)
  • ItsMeGee3
    ItsMeGee3 Posts: 13,254 Member
    I have an Australian Shepherd/Catahoola Mix (hearding dogs). He is 2 and has been running with me since he was a puppy. I trained him with a very short lead. He runs right next to me. Never out front. I think the key is consistency. Whatever you are comfortable with but, be consistent. Most of the time, he runs off the leash and never leaves my side. Of course, that is not along a road with cars. I would never take the chance of that "one" squirrel that he decides to chase out in the road. I love my running buddy. He has his own running gear too. An LED light up collar (for early morning runs) and his own special dog water bottle.
  • TarahByte
    TarahByte Posts: 125 Member
    I have a boxer that I might start running with. I jog here and there with her but she always want to sniff stuff. I just don't want to overheat her because of her short-ish nose. Brachycephalic dog breeds have a tendency to overheat. Just keep an eye out for that.

    I also have a husky/pit who is only a year old and still wild. I always see those leashes that you attach to your waist being advertised on Facebook. Yeah, if I have any desire for road rash, I'll order that.
  • kaspatore
    kaspatore Posts: 95 Member
    kaspatore wrote: »
    I run my 2 pits several times per week over the last 6 years, since they were 1. I use pinch collars (instant behavior, the last thing I tried and only thing that worked) and a much shorter leash. When we are running, they need to be right next to me. Other than that, I wear a running belt to hold my phone and a couple of poop bags :)

    Also, always give VERBAL queues before physical ones, especially with pinch collars. I always say what I need first before gently pulling on the lead (never yank!). They listen great now, and in the last 7 years, only had one YIPE from one of them getting a pinch.
  • TarahByte
    TarahByte Posts: 125 Member
    Yaaay, a fellow pit owner!! I am thinking of starting to run with our youngest pit (he's about 2 years old and full of energy!) he is also a big puller and I've been thinking about trying the easy-walk harness on him, but had issues with the fitting on pits in the past. Might try it anyway!

    I just started my husky/pit with a head harness. It took me a week or so of giving him treats and putting it on him for a few minutes at the time for him to get used to it but its working pretty well. He's 75 lbs and way stronger than me. Even the prong collar was nothing for him. Now he's been walking for about a week with the head harness and there's still that initial power struggle when we first go out but he calms down and realizes that he's not the one in charge. He's crazy stubborn.
  • maroro123
    maroro123 Posts: 14 Member
    TarahByte wrote: »
    I always see those leashes that you attach to your waist being advertised on Facebook. Yeah, if I have any desire for road rash, I'll order that.

    hahaha -- I feel the exact same way! Not a good idea for my dog.
  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yaaay, a fellow pit owner!! I am thinking of starting to run with our youngest pit (he's about 2 years old and full of energy!) he is also a big puller and I've been thinking about trying the easy-walk harness on him, but had issues with the fitting on pits in the past. Might try it anyway!

    I just started my husky/pit with a head harness. It took me a week or so of giving him treats and putting it on him for a few minutes at the time for him to get used to it but its working pretty well. He's 75 lbs and way stronger than me. Even the prong collar was nothing for him. Now he's been walking for about a week with the head harness and there's still that initial power struggle when we first go out but he calms down and realizes that he's not the one in charge. He's crazy stubborn.

    By head harness, do you mean gentle leader? I've used those on shelter dogs and the German shepherd I grew up with. It worked well on some, and not at all on others as they couldn't get used to it and would spend the whole walk trying to get it off.
  • JeepHair77
    JeepHair77 Posts: 1,291 Member
    maroro123 wrote: »
    TarahByte wrote: »
    I always see those leashes that you attach to your waist being advertised on Facebook. Yeah, if I have any desire for road rash, I'll order that.

    hahaha -- I feel the exact same way! Not a good idea for my dog.

    I was skeptical too, but seriously, it's a godsend. My dog is a GSD/husky mix - he's strong, he's stubborn, and a general PITA. The waist thing has a bungee in it or something - just enough give so that if he pulls, it doesn't pull ME and I have the opportunity to correct him. It's 110% easier than running with a standard leash, and I'm much stabler than I would be otherwise. Don't knock it 'til you try it.
  • TarahByte
    TarahByte Posts: 125 Member
    TarahByte wrote: »
    Yaaay, a fellow pit owner!! I am thinking of starting to run with our youngest pit (he's about 2 years old and full of energy!) he is also a big puller and I've been thinking about trying the easy-walk harness on him, but had issues with the fitting on pits in the past. Might try it anyway!

    I just started my husky/pit with a head harness. It took me a week or so of giving him treats and putting it on him for a few minutes at the time for him to get used to it but its working pretty well. He's 75 lbs and way stronger than me. Even the prong collar was nothing for him. Now he's been walking for about a week with the head harness and there's still that initial power struggle when we first go out but he calms down and realizes that he's not the one in charge. He's crazy stubborn.

    By head harness, do you mean gentle leader? I've used those on shelter dogs and the German shepherd I grew up with. It worked well on some, and not at all on others as they couldn't get used to it and would spend the whole walk trying to get it off.

    Yes! I was trying to think of the name of it and couldn't. That's it. Yeah he still tries sometimes to get it off but like I said, I gave him treats a couple times a day while making him put his nose thru the hole to get them and then had him wear it while he ate his food for about a week. He got used to it slowly before I even took him out with it.
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    Daughter runs with the Belgian Shepherd mix. He is a high energy dog (understatement.) and smart. I used to but am pretty sure that the bad form I had to use to jog with him was the cause of the heel injury (acute insertional achilles tear) so i don't, anymore.
    I do like to sprint with him in the schoolyard when the kids are out for summer. I run down the sidewalks on the quad, and he bolts past me, I turn around and go the other way, he hears it and comes tearing up the sidewalk to me, and darn it I sure wish he would fetch, that would be so awesome. He's fast.

    Our old guy is too old to run, he can barely walk (German Shepherd/Akita mix) and the girly girl is not trained enough, we got her when we combined households and the fiance had never trained her, since she's small and not scary, but since she's untrained her leash etiquette sucks. We have been working with her some but it's slow.
  • adremark
    adremark Posts: 774 Member
    I run with my Cur (a hunting dog found in the south of the US). That boy can run-- I got 7-10km with him, and it doesn't phase him at all. He pulls for the first 1/2 mile, and smells things. Then he realizes "Oh, it's a running day!" and then just runs with me-- nothing distracts him!