Training a dog to run with you

JenHuedy

If you go slowly and gradually, exercise is actually very beneficial for strengthening joints and the muscles supporting them. Keep repetitive exercise (like running) to a minimum at first, but make sure your puppy gets plenty of self-directed exercise like playing, tugging and fetching on grass and hills.

The biggest contributor to joint damage in young dogs is over feeding. Make sure you keep a large breed dog lean, and feed specially formulated large breed puppy food to keep calcium levels LOW.

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/developmental-orthopedic-disease-large-breed-puppies

robininfl

I jog with the dog.

First, you have to teach him to heel on a walk. That's the hard part. But you have time, he's not big enough to run with you yet.

Once he was pretty well organized on a walk, then we started jogging with him.

I tie the leash around my waist so he's on a pretty short lead. We take a few breaks at the beginning, in the warming up walking time, so he can sniff-pee-poop, then tie the leash on and go. He gets in trouble if he starts to either pull ahead, or slow to sniff, and he's figured it out now and likes to go for a run.

Also you have the cutest dog in the world. That is a great picture.

stealthq

3dogsrunning wrote: »

stealthq wrote: »

Good suggestions above.

Also, as he matures, make sure to nip any signs of crittering in the bud. You can have the best heeling dog ever, but you will go flying when he unexpectedly launches after some squirrel or bird and you happen to be in mid-stride.

Ask me how I know.

One evening I took our tracking dog for a run. He looked distracted so I thought he needed to pee. I gave him the "free" command and just about ended up in the ditch when he ran after some critter in the bushes I did not see.

Sounds about right.

Mine jerked me sideways and flat on my face going after a cat hiding under a car. Removed a good bit of skin off me, too. Now, one of my neighbors pointedly avoids me after watching me stagger up and continue my run while bleeding freely and cursing a blue streak at my dog. Not that the dog could have cared less. I think he dropped his head for a couple of seconds, if that, before going back to his goofy self.

Carlos_421

quafferj wrote: »

Be careful, due to the stress on their growing joints they recommend not running with your pup until they are at least 1, 2yo for bigger breeds

Seconding this. You want to make sure he's all done growing before you start forced exercise with him. Waiting until he's 18 months old will protect his growth plates from damage.

Also, as for getting him to jog nicely, training him to walk nicely will be 90% of it. The last ten percent will be teaching him to control himself when you turn up the speed. They tend to want to run full bore and need to learn a middle ground.

jgnatca

https://youtu.be/DePFiF-nNoE

I figure it pays to separate his recreational walk from yours. His first. The regular circuit around the neighbourhood with all the mark-and-sniff stops. Then yours. You can signal the change of pace and if he has learned to heel you two should do fine.