Jogging with Journey

As with most dogs, when I grab the leash out of the cupboard, he begins to go berserk.

I'm talking about our 10-month-old dog, Journey, a westie/spaniel mix, who loves nothing more than running in our neighborhood.

Most dogs take to running (or walking) on a leash with some time invested to train them. I've had plenty of dogs in my life, but when Journey came around, I buckled down and did some research on how to train him.

To get him used to the leash, many websites said to attach the leash (and a harness if you're going to use one) and then just let him wander around with it on, so he can get used to something being attached to him.

Once he got used to it (every dog will vary on length of time, but I gave Journey an hour a day for over a week), the sites said to pick up the loop end and get him used to having someone hold onto it. I wasn't supposed to go right into keeping the leash taunt, or even trying to lead him with it. Instead, I was just supposed to hold it and make sure he was aware I was there and doing something with it.

The sites said that once he finds something else to hold his attention, let go of the leash. I did this process for about another week, about 15 minutes a day.

Next, it was time for actual leading of Journey. I was to provide some gentle guidance in one direction, and I found it helpful to have him sit (I taught that to him previously) and then have a family member call him and together we'd walk or run to them. I did this a few times a day for almost another week before I started leading him around the yard with no actual destination. After a few times, he got the hang of trying to stay close enough to me that there wasn't a struggle, with him trying to go in a different direction that I was heading.

We had bought Journey a nice top-ring harness from Good Dog in Coeur d'Alene, which has one ring below his neck and one behind it. I used the one below the neck for training, since it's easier to get him to follow and maintain a direction. After a few months, he is now able to work with the leash attached to the top ring, which still provides the guidance, but enables us to run without the leash constantly dragging on the ground (and Journey getting tangled up in it).

So now we were ready to go out on a walk around the neighborhood. I made sure that I got him pretty tired (we chased each other around the back yard, a daily exercise ritual) and then we headed off, so Journey could discover his neighborhood.

He did well on that initial walk, and I made sure that he knew the task at hand was walking, and not marking territory. Let a dog do that too much, and they'll want to stop every 20 feet and repeat the action.

We worked up the distance over the course of a month, with Journey getting used to keeping "on task," and not stopping to investigate every little thing. I now limit him to one stop, at the same tree, to do his business. The rest of the time he knows to keep the pace.

We have a route that is just over a mile in length, which gives both of us a good workout.

Once I got him used to the route, we started in with short bursts of running, just to get him used to where he needs to be, so we can run in unison and not get in each other's way. He picked it up fast, and after about 10 days of sporadic running, we would run a quarter mile, then walk a quarter.

The owner is responsible for determining if the dog is capable to running for long distances. Some older dogs may need extra walking exercise to get themselves in shape enough to do running at all, especially if they've been overfed, which is a common problem in our society today.

Make sure your dog has access to water when he returns from a run or long walk. Even if they don't go to it immediately, they'll have to take in more than normal at some point.

Another issue is the route itself. Make sure that your route is safe enough that the dog won't have to fight for good footing, and make sure that the path is free of anything that might injure his paws.

Walking and running with dogs should be a bright spot in the day for both of you, so take some time, make sure that both of you progress slowly, and enjoy!