Last night we took delivery of a very clean, white spitz (dog). We're dogsitting for a friend, while she is off in LA LA land, rubbing shoulders with celebs and media. He is very overweight, so this morning our first trip (second actually, as he went to school already) is to the vet for a weigh in, so that we have our benchmark for when he goes home. He's a lovely little chap, but he currently has a pink tail (I know!), so I was thinking that skinny dog boot camp should include a little rough and tumble in the mud. He seems to come when called, so rather than pounding the pavements I thought I'd take him off road and onto chobham common. Then post a few pics on facebook for my friend
Am looking forward to having a running buddy over the next few weeks, let's hope he's low maintenance and can keep up (I won't run him too hard/long to begin with, I don't want to finish him off).
Any tips specifically for running with dog? I'm an experienced dog owner, but only ever walked and cycled with mine.
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vixiej
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As you have probably read, I always run with my 'doggie'. Hey, I actually said 'I run' ! Even though I'm just week 3!
My doggie and me love it. But she always checks to see which way I'm going, and stays reasonably close. We never run on roads, both of us would hate it.
Maybe a long leash to start with? Until you get to know each other better. Treats work well of course, so that the chance of him coming to you when called are greatly increased.
thanks for the tips. He's a very well behaved chap who comes when I call him already, although I appreciate that's so far without the distractions of other dogs, etc. I have his retractable lead (although she forgot his collar, I will get one this morning). I'm hoping to be able to run in the middle of nowhere so that I can let him run off the lead. I may have to just brisk walk him for a few days, as I'm worried that he's not as fit as he was when living in LA, so he needs to build up to running
If he's anything like Fred, he'll come back two tone! Brown underneath and legs, white on top! Make sure there's a towel by the door so you can dry him off as he comes in the house.
Several years ago a friend dog sat a rather overweight lab for a couple of weeks, watched his food, took him out for a couple of walks a day with her two dogs, he trimmed down and got a lot fitter. When the owner came home she took one look at him, said 'What have you done to him? He's got fat!!'
ha ha, owners often don't see their dogs the way others see them (bit like kids!)
I used to have a GSD who came cycling with us (mountain biking), I learned to always have a chamois leather, you can't beat it. You can wet it before you go out, or in a puddle if need be and then wipe away the mud, it dries them really well and doesn't hang around stinking of wet dog the way towels do, especially if you transport them to a walking area via car.
I'm not going to have time to run today, so he will have a walk in the local park, hopefully not too muddy, but I will take him for a long muddy one on Sunday
I do have his shampooo, if need be, as he's taken quite a shine to my sofa/cushions when I'm not looking
I'd suggest trying with a 'training lead' (the sort you can have at two lengths) until you've had him a bit longer, and make sure you go out with a well stocked treat bag. I rarely use our extending lead now, especially not for running. I prefer off lead but if we're on the canal towpath, then the little grebes and water voles need my spaniel not to go in the water and only a lead will achieve that. She does now 'get with the programme' and understands it is a running day not a sniffage day.
The warm up walk is useful for 'ablutions'. As mentioned elsewhere, I always have a Muksak with me to store used poo bags - running with a swinging full poo bag is particularly unappealing.
poo bags, yes, I hadn't considered that. He seems to go first thing, so I'm hoping to run when he's empty, but will take bags just in case My dog could poo on command, so we could empty him before going out or at least ensure we had a good spot (not on the path!).
He's not motivated by food at all, but he's very obedient and has accepted me as his new 'temporary' mum. He trotted in from the car to heel yesterday (I live on a quiet road and we were in the car park at the back of the buildings), except he did stop to wee, but when I called him he changed his mind and kept up. I'm confident that if we were on the common he would stick with me and he's a tiny dog, so he wouldn't get far if he headed in the wrong direction (just because I don't run fast, doesn't mean I can't, I was a sprinter as a kid, 30 seconds of really fast followed by total collapse)
Well done on getting your spaniel to understand not a sniffage day, that is some mean feat!
The key to cycling with your dog safely is to have an incredibly well trained dog! My parents bred/showed dogs, so I grew up lead training all the puppies before they were sold (because I liked doing it) and my ex was a dog handler in the army, so between us we were able to train our dog very well (on hand signals, so you don't have to scream across the park/common). I never like to cycle with a dog on a lead, but wouldn't have him off the lead on the roads, so he learned quickly that he couldn't have pee stops (very dangerous) or even consider greeting other dogs. The key is for you to spot potential hazards/events, in much the same way you anticipate what pedestrians and other road users are going to do before they do it when you are driving. So if you see a dog coming you just tell them 'heel' firmly before you get to them. Or 'no', 'leave', whatever works for you. Word of caution though, I think seeing someone telling their great big GSD to 'leave' is not terribly reassuring for other dog walkers or people with small kids Off road, we let him be, but he was never far from us, as we used to change direction on him a lot when he was a puppy, so that he learned to keep checking where we were and kept close to us. Again, just anticipate events. If you see someone walking their dog/kid just recall your dog. Seeing a well trained dog is reassuring for people, I rarely put him back on the lead off road. If people panic and pick up their dogs (happens a lot if you have a GSD/Rottweiler/etc) then I always politely asked them if their dog bites
We only had 2 'issues' in years of cycling with Max. Once, when he was about 8 months he tried to catch a cyclist's pedal The man was not impressed, but Max was still a puppy in training, so we were working on that (he kicked my dog! ) and another time Max had been in the canal and he decided to come out just as a lady walked past with her very clean dog and her even cleaner white trousers on. Of course, that was the one time I didn't spot him and he leaped out and shook all over her. She was very abusive, so I apologised and politely suggested that she wear more suitable clothing on a muddy canal path.
Gosh, sorry for the long post, think I need breakfast!
Thanks, very interesting! I am limited in how much exercise I can cope with and a cycle (or run) for me means, unless she comes too, a no walk day for dog which (whilst she is no stereotype hyper spaniel) seems hard.
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The man was not impressed, but Max was still a puppy in training, so we were working on that (he kicked my dog! 
) and another time Max had been in the canal and he decided to come out just as a lady walked past with her very clean dog and her even cleaner white trousers on. Of course, that was the one time I didn't spot him and he leaped out and shook all over her. She was very abusive, so I apologised and politely suggested that she wear more suitable clothing on a muddy canal path. 
Unhappiness is a phone dropped in mud
Mud, sweat, darkness and...face paint? 
One more for Malcy perhaps?
First time on here and need some motivation and advice!!
