Now, let's move on to the fun part: training! I'm happy to say that even though she had to take several months off running (I had an injury and this summer was wayyy too hot!), Layla has remembered all of the training I taught her last year! #ProudMomMoment hehe
This is going to be something that is again specific to each individual dog. Let me start out by saying that if your dog does not do well with walking on a leash, you'll probably want to conquer that one first before you add in any running.
The way I trained Layla is I did it in layers. When she first came home I did all the basics like setting boundaries, potty training, introducing her to walking on the leash, simple commands (sit, stay, come). Then, I added in the stuff like walking on the leash properly, more complex commands like drop it, lay down, leave it, etc. It wasn't so segregated like that but rather a fluid process of adding in more complex training.
Why am I rambling on about this? My point is that by the time I introduced her to running, she had a handle on everything else. I already made sure that she could walk on the leash properly without pulling me, wanting to stop and smell everything, or wanting to say hello to everyone and their mother.
Above all, just like with any of the other training the key components with this are consistency and communication. If not, your dog will not understand what expectations you have of their behavior. They'll get confused, you'll get frustrated, which will only make them more confused and make you more frustrated! It's a cycle so to break it or make sure it doesn't even start, be patient and calm with your dog. It's not going to work out perfectly fine the first time!
I am no expert on dogs or dog training, this is simply what I have found that worked for me and Layla. All this post is going to be is about tips and tricks that I found useful when training Layla. It may not work for your dog and it may be easier/harder for you to train your dog to run with you. I admit I lucked out with Layla's good breeding because true to her Golden Retriever nature she's easy to train and eager to please.
Ok now on to the actual running part! Sorry, I know this is long-winded but there are a lot of components to consider. So here are some general tips I found useful when training Layla:
1. Keep Your Dog to One Side
This is the first thing we started doing and I chose my left which was completely arbitrary. My one friend said you should always do it on the right so that when you pass another person, you will always be between them and your dog. That's pretty smart considering it but by the time she told me I had already trained Layla to stay on my left. It felt more natural that way to me so it's just what I do now. If we're approaching someone and they look uncomfortable, I give them a wide berth out of respect.
Again, be consistent with it! If you start with the left then stay on the left. I did this because I didn't want Layla wandering all over the sidewalk and risk me tripping over her if she got in my way. She stays on my left side the whole time. Every time she would wander or move, I'd gently give her a tug and show her the appropriate place. When she got back on my left, I'd give her some praise and scratch her ears. Eventually, she learned that's where I wanted her to be. You can use treats if you want but Layla was at an age where food rewards aren't always necessary, she can be just as happy with praise! Do what works best for your dog.
2. Don't let your dog run ahead of you.
Have them stay by your side and I mean right by your side. Layla runs level with me, her shoulder is next to my knee at all times. I don't let her go ahead of me for both control and safety reasons. If she were to pull unexpectedly, I'd have an easier time controlling her with her closer to my body and center of gravity. I also don't like her to go ahead of me for simple safety reasons. If we're approaching an intersection I always make sure Layla is right next to me because I don't want to risk her getting hit.
It's also dark out in the early mornings and drivers and other pedestrians might not see us at first. So, I just like to make sure that Layla is right beside me so I can keep an eye on her and have enough time to react to any situations as necessary.
3. Teach your dog directional commands
This was especially useful in the beginning when Layla didn't know our routes. I began teaching her "keep left, keep right, and straight" so that she would know the direction as we were approaching a turn. This prevented any collisions and avoided tripping over each other. Call me crazy but it worked!
When we were away last October at our camp, we had Layla off leash the whole weekend when we went hiking. At one point she was a little ahead on the trail and there was a fork so I called out to her "keep left" and she took the path to the left! My dad was amazed and was like "I can't believe she actually went to the left!"
How did I teach her this? Whenever we were approaching a turn, I would gently pull the leash to make Layla go the direction I wanted. As soon as she began to turn, I'd immediately take the pressure off the leash and say "keep left". I made sure to wait until the pressure was off the leash and not before I gave her the command. Otherwise, she wouldn't properly make the connection of what I wanted her to do. I wanted her to associate the independent movement (turning to the left) with the command. That way she would learn that the actual movement of going to the left and not the pressure on the leash means "keep left". Same thing with going to the right!
I have no idea if that will work for other dogs and I didn't look this up at all, it was just something I thought I'd try out on my own with Layla. It worked for me so hopefully it will work for you as well!
4. Don't let your dog stop to sniff everything
When we are on a run, Layla knows it means business. I joke around and says she goes in "pack mode" as she can get real serious, and her migration instincts kick in. Her demeanor is different than when we're on a walk because that's more of a casual outing. I think a lot of it has to do with me as well because I get in my running zone and Layla picks up on the change in my energy. Running is more serious than a walk, and she knows it.
Layla knows that she's not supposed to stop arbitrarily and nose around. She sniffs things as we go along and I don't mind as long as she keeps moving. Of course, she's allowed to go to the bathroom but that's on my terms. I can tell the difference between her sniffs to go to the bathroom and when she's just being nosey (again, know your dog). So if I see that she needs to go to the bathroom, I'll pause and tell her "go potty" so she knows it's okay that we take a break. Otherwise, I give the leash a gentle tug and firmly tell her "come on" and keep running the whole time. This way she knows that I'm in charge of the run, and that it's not about stopping whenever we want.
5. Pace your dog
Your dog doesn't know how far or how long you'll be running so you have to be in charge of the pace. You can't tell them "we have another 3 miles so you better ease up" because they're not going to have a clue what that means. In the beginning, I had to reign in Layla a lot because she'd get so excited that she'd want to really push the pace.
What I did was whenever she was getting too far ahead, I'd give the leash a gentle pull to get her attention or say "hey". That's the word that I use to get her attention, whatever it is that you use to let your dog know you want them to focus on you. As soon as she gives me her attention, I'd gently pull her back to where I'd want her and when she began slowing down I'd say "ease up". Whenever she would stay consistently by my side for awhile I'd give her lots of praise to show her that's where she needed to be and at my pace.
6. Keep Your Dog Calm
Even if your dog loves running and gets so excited to go, it's important that you don't get them too hyped up about it. Think about it this way: your excited energy + your dog's excited energy = SO MUCH ENERGY. It's going to be like energy overload for your dog, especially if you have one that is easily excited and high energy. I can easily over-excite Layla with the simplest of things even if it's just babbling nonsense in a high-pitched excited voice. She picks up on my energy and tone and immediately goes berserk. Then, promptly stops listening to any kind of commands for about thirty seconds before she calms back down. This means it's important for me to keep her calm before her energy escalates to unwanted behavior.
So this is how I handle Layla:
In the beginning when I would ask her if she wants to go for a run she would usually turn in circles, sometimes do a lap or two around the coffee table before plopping down on my foot so I could put the leash on her. I taught her that being excited or obnoxious does not get her what she wants (a.k.a. getting the leash on to run). This took a lot of patience but I would always wait for her to calm down before calling her over, asking her to sit, double check that she was really calmed down, and THEN put the leash on her. So she learned that being calm and submissive lead to moving forward with the run. I do this same exact thing for walks, meal times, basic training, meeting new people, etc. She has to be calm and obedient before getting the reward.
Then, as soon as we get outside she goes right to our starting point, practically bouncing around in circles waiting to start. I make sure to wait a couple minutes again until she is collected before we start to run. Sometimes, though, she gets excited again when we start to run so I immediately stop in my tracks and firmly tell her "stop" to remind her that she needs to calm down. I have her sit and wait again until I'm sure that she's gotten control of herself again. She still is only a year and a half old and it happens a lot when we go to run because she's so gosh darn happy but I make sure to stay consistent with her so she learns that being calm and obedient is what I want. It's very important that you keep your dog calm and attentive to you so that they will be receptive to your commands. A lot of people don't realize that disobedience is simply mishandled and misdirected energy in a dog.
Stopping Any Unwanted Behavior
This isn't really part of the other tips but it's something that I wanted to include because it seems like a pretty common problem that I've seen not only with Layla but other dogs as well. The main thing that Layla does that absolutely drives me nuts is when she takes the leash in her mouth and tries to play tug-of-war. This is what she'll do at the beginning of the run when she's getting herself too excited. I don't know why but it's a behavior that drives me crazy and one that I immediately wanted to break. Whatever the reason behind her behavior with this, I knew I wanted it gone.
So, when she puts the leash in her mouth I INSTANTLY and I mean instantly, stop dead in my tracks (i.e. when she misbehaves, the fun stops). She'll give me this look as if to say "What's the deal?" and I stare. her. down. I don't smile, I don't laugh, I don't use a loving voice. I firmly tell her to "sit" then "drop it" and if she doesn't spit out the leash by the second time I ask then I will open her mouth with my hands and take it out. I follow the 2-command rule in that Layla has two chances to obey me or else we do it the hard way. This is to ensure that she doesn't just listen to me when she feels like it. She learned that she can either listen to me the first time I ask or else it happens anyway because I won't back down. There are times where she tries to push the envelop a bit but I remain consistent and don't let her get away with it.
So, if you see any kind of unwanted behaviors such as my example then you need to stop immediately and correct it. Dogs live in the moment which is why you have a very small window of time to act or else they will not make the proper association.
There you have it! This is generally what I found to be most useful for me when I first introduced Layla to running. Like I said, it's not going to go perfectly smooth the first few times you take your dog running with you. There's going to be some adjustment so it's important to not get frustrated and be positive with your pup. Layla and I run together because it's something we both enjoy!
The video cuts off but she then started to dance around in excitement haha!
As always if you have any more questions feel free to email me :)
