Running with a dog

msarro

Hey everyone!
I am going to be revisiting C25K. I've fallen out of running due to work and lack of time, and I want to get back to it. We also have adopted a greyhound around 2 months ago, who we would love to train up to being able to run a 5k with us. Right now he can handle a mile or so, but afterwards is exhausted. So, I am going to take him with me as I redo c25k. Has anyone else gone through the program with a dog at their side? Any tips?

terbee

Awesome! I think it's a blast to run with my dog. I have a big shepherd with a ton of energy, and I always thought he could run a marathon if he wanted to. We used to walk 7+ miles together daily. But with running, it turns out he can really only do 3 miles before he's burned out, and this is over the course of several months of training even, and at a pretty slow pace. This is a little bit of a bummer for me, since I'd love to have him with me on my 5-6 mile runs.

At one point I had been interested in adopting a greyhound, but learned that they are built for sprints and not long distance runs or hikes, and that's what eventually swayed me from getting one. Yours might not be able to do a 5k distance, so best to check with a vet first. My other advice, though maybe a greyhound is different, but I always have my dog in a harness. Once in awhile he darts towards a bird or squirrel and at a jog pace, he could easily knock me over or make me lose my footing. The harness helps give me more control. Also my death grip on the leash and keeping it very short

prettyfitchick

My 5 pound chihuahua love doing c25k with me she has lot of energy and she loved going jogging on the days we didnt jog she would look for her leash and she kept me motivated I always had jogging buddy that was ready to go and never had an excuse not to and We did get alot of stares

johnlatv

i have a boxer and he loves to run as long as it isn't above 50-55 degrees he isn't good in the heat on long runs. I have taken him on 8 mile runs and i got the feeling he could have went longer. Of course he is spent the rest of the day but he is good on the run.

I would think the greyhound should have no issues at all. I would double check with your vet.

cls_333

how old is the dog? my vet hollered at me for running with my dog when it was under a year old. she said wait til a year old, or you will damage its joints. so i drag my other 2 older ones. my beagles can now run 11+ miles, and they LOVE it, they get so excited when i put on my running shoes! of course, i worked them slowly up to that distance. good luck, your dog will love you for it.

HealthyBodySickMind

I believe someone else mentioned, greyhounds aren't really great distance runners. They are meant for short bursts, not endurance. Most greyhounds are actually kind of couch potatoes.

That said, you might be able to work him up to it. Keep an eye on his foot pads for wear, especially if running him on pavement. An xray to assess his joints is a good idea, both before trying to run him and after he's been doing it awhile. Bring water with you for him as well as you. Also, dogs get muscle soreness just like we do, so watch him for signs. If he's sore for a day or two after running, you might wait until he recovers to bring him out again to make sure he's still enjoying himself. If he's not enjoying his runs don't push him.

Spanaval

I believe someone else mentioned, greyhounds aren't really great distance runners. They are meant for short bursts, not endurance. Most greyhounds are actually kind of couch potatoes.

That said, you might be able to work him up to it. Keep an eye on his foot pads for wear, especially if running him on pavement. An xray to assess his joints is a good idea, both before trying to run him and after he's been doing it awhile. Bring water with you for him as well as you. Also, dogs get muscle soreness just like we do, so watch him for signs. If he's sore for a day or two after running, you might wait until he recovers to bring him out again to make sure he's still enjoying himself. If he's not enjoying his runs don't push him.

This, exactly. I don't really know any Greys that enjoy distance running.

msarro

Our dog is just about 6 years old. You are correct that naturally greyhounds are sprinters, however they can be trained for distance. We had him to the vet and they gave the thumbs up. The xray idea, and the harness idea are both really good ones.

I'm kind of worried about him taking off if he sees a squirrel or bunny or something. It can be a bit tough to work with even when walking!

Spanaval

I'm kind of worried about him taking off if he sees a squirrel or bunny or something. It can be a bit tough to work with even when walking!

You're not going to have him off-leash, right? Just teach him to loose leash walk properly.

PeachyPlum

My 6lb Mini Chiweenie is doing Couch to 5K with me now - we just started Week 4 and he LOVES it! I never would have stuck with the program for so long if he wasn't my running buddy!

DFWTT

I have a friend that won't sign up for races unless she can take the dog. Her times are good and I actually told her she was cheating because it looked like the pup was doing all the work. Last race was a 10K and he (dog) did it pretty effortlessly at least that's how it looked. She said he has done halves in the past. Breed is some kind of herding dog like a Healer.

msarro

I'm kind of worried about him taking off if he sees a squirrel or bunny or something. It can be a bit tough to work with even when walking!

You're not going to have him off-leash, right? Just teach him to loose leash walk properly.

He's fine walking 99% of the time. The issue is that he is a sighthound, so when he sees a bunny run in front of him, he chases. You can't train that out of a greyhound, even if they have almost no prey drive.

maddymama

I'm kind of worried about him taking off if he sees a squirrel or bunny or something. It can be a bit tough to work with even when walking!

You're not going to have him off-leash, right? Just teach him to loose leash walk properly.

PLEASE have your dog on a leash or in harness. Please.
It's not fair to other runners to get tackled by a dog that is jogging with an owner, but not on a leash.
And please don't tell me that your dog wouldn't do that, because my friends and I seem to only get tackled by dogs whose owners swear that it couldn't have been their dog.

msarro

I'm kind of worried about him taking off if he sees a squirrel or bunny or something. It can be a bit tough to work with even when walking!

You're not going to have him off-leash, right? Just teach him to loose leash walk properly.

PLEASE have your dog on a leash or in harness. Please.
It's not fair to other runners to get tackled by a dog that is jogging with an owner, but not on a leash.
And please don't tell me that your dog wouldn't do that, because my friends and I seem to only get tackled by dogs whose owners swear that it couldn't have been their dog.

You really can't let greyhounds off leash without putting them in severe danger. Plus I am not legally allowed to let him off leash, our adoption contract stipulated that he be on leash at all times.

rchupka87

I just started C25K again last week, running with my Dog, Harley. She is a German Sheppherd/Lab mix, and only 2 years old, so she is FULL of energy. My biggest tip - Don't put a harness on her... the kind that goes around their chest. When she does see an animal and she lunges for it, the way the harness sits encourages them to keep moving forward, instead of restraining them as it is designed to do. Whatever collar you use, put it up as high on their neck as you can get it. This, along with a short leash will give you more control. Plus, once she gets in the groove of running, she will be focused on that, and won't pay as much attention to distractions. Before you know it, she'll be running right past them. My crazy girl is living proof!!!

We started a C25K group last week if you are interested.... C25K - Get off that couch!!!

HealthyBodySickMind

I just started C25K again last week, running with my Dog, Harley. She is a German Sheppherd/Lab mix, and only 2 years old, so she is FULL of energy. My biggest tip - Don't put a harness on her... the kind that goes around their chest. When she does see an animal and she lunges for it, the way the harness sits encourages them to keep moving forward, instead of restraining them as it is designed to do. Whatever collar you use, put it up as high on their neck as you can get it. This, along with a short leash will give you more control. Plus, once she gets in the groove of running, she will be focused on that, and won't pay as much attention to distractions. Before you know it, she'll be running right past them. My crazy girl is living proof!!!

We started a C25K group last week if you are interested.... C25K - Get off that couch!!!

Different harnesses are designed for different things. Some, like tracking harnesses, are designed to not restrict pulling in any way. Others are meant to discourage pulling. He should be able to find one that works for his dog. The freedom harness might be a good one. With a short haired breed, the material of the harness can be important, too. I would not recommend doing the collar-behind-the-ears thing with most sighthounds.

Quarrysider

Try a cani-X harness or running lead (attaches to belt via a bungee type arrangement) so that the chances of you jerking the dog (and vice-versa :bigsmile: ) are reduced if one of you 'takes off'! If you are not familiar with Cani-X, it's worth a google for anyone who wants to run with their dog!

Spanaval

Different harnesses are designed for different things. Some, like tracking harnesses, are designed to not restrict pulling in any way. Others are meant to discourage pulling. He should be able to find one that works for his dog. The freedom harness might be a good one. With a short haired breed, the material of the harness can be important, too. I would not recommend doing the collar-behind-the-ears thing with most sighthounds.

Agreed.

OP, is your Grey on a Martingale?

badgerbadger1

Someone suggested the Gentle Leader in a previous thread and I bought it. My shepherd X is a puller in every direction and impossible to run with. I bought that thing and it's a miracle worker. Walks are pleasant now, and I actually ran with her. She attempted to go after a rabbit once but didn't persist this time.

msarro

Different harnesses are designed for different things. Some, like tracking harnesses, are designed to not restrict pulling in any way. Others are meant to discourage pulling. He should be able to find one that works for his dog. The freedom harness might be a good one. With a short haired breed, the material of the harness can be important, too. I would not recommend doing the collar-behind-the-ears thing with most sighthounds.

Agreed.

OP, is your Grey on a Martingale?

Yup!
I've been looking at possibly getting a harness, and have seen a few suggestions (Wiggles Wags and Whiskers nopull is the one we've been looking at). The one concern is that the harness puts pressure behind the front legs and across the shoulders so it will force the dog to change their normal gait.

ninpiggy

How old is your grey hound? If it was a retired racer, that could be another clue as to why it doesn't really seem to enjoy running with you for longer than a mile.

jules1984

Someone suggested the Gentle Leader in a previous thread and I bought it. My shepherd X is a puller in every direction and impossible to run with. I bought that thing and it's a miracle worker. Walks are pleasant now, and I actually ran with her. She attempted to go after a rabbit once but didn't persist this time.

This product was the worst thing I have ever bought. My stubborn dog absolutely did not care that it was on him and would continue to pull and try to take off after rabbits - never learned a bit. On top of that it rubbed a bunch of fur off on top of his snout and now he has some snoring/breathing issues. I blame that thing - I checked the fit OVER AND OVER AND OVER again.

Check harness fits carefully too, some of them can really irritate skin where they touch.

Bring water for your dog so it doesn't overheat! If their tail is down or you start to hear their feet scuffing it is time to stop!

Now that my dog is 6 and less crazy we run and he LOVES it. When we're running he doesn't notice anything - he's totally in the zone. The only time I can just use a regular collar is running with him. It's all about the run and nothing else. He's a German Shorthaired Pointer.

Spanaval

I'm not a big fan of GL/Halti. It's a tool like any other, and when introduced properly, may work to help with the pulling. However, it may be harder to transition to a plain flat buckle collar. After all, the idea is to use it as a tool until the dog is properly trained, not to use it as a crutch for the lifetime of the dog. Besides that, dogs can (and do) develop neck injuries from sudden momentum/direction changes while on a head halter.

HealthyBodySickMind

I'm not a big fan of GL/Halti. It's a tool like any other, and when introduced properly, may work to help with the pulling. However, it may be harder to transition to a plain flat buckle collar. After all, the idea is to use it as a tool until the dog is properly trained, not to use it as a crutch for the lifetime of the dog. Besides that, dogs can (and do) develop neck injuries from sudden momentum/direction changes while on a head halter.

^^^^What she said. The key is training. Flat buckle is the way to go for collars, as far as I'm concerned. Sighthounds (like greyhounds) are the exception, in that martingales work very well for them, not necessarily as a corrective tool, but simply because they can be quite talented at slipping their collars what with their narrow heads. My girl that I do run with, runs at heel. My foster dog currently goes on walks with cheesy hotdogs in front of her nose because that is my training tool of choice. Right now the foster pulls like she's had training for pulling (with out treats, anyhow), but we will teach her how to properly walk on a leash before she finds a permanent home.