Gina is a 1 year old. I'm trying to train her to run with me on the trail. However it is been a bit of struggle. The way I was trying to train her was to have her run on my right side and keep feeding her treats as she runs. However, the training has been a bit of a struggle. She keeps stopping and then refuses to move. I then treat her and she starts walking again, followed by a stop. So our runs have not been smooth. I figure that I need to do something better or different to train her to run. Any tips on how to get Gina to run ?
I'm assuming you have her on a lead? Is there anywhere you can have her off lead? I run with my two older dogs, but pretty much always off lead, except for the odd bit I hit a road. I would say to try to work out why your dog is doing what she is. Simply running is a bit boring for dogs; the whole point of "a walk" is to sniff the trees, see what creatures have been around and read their pee-mail. They can't get to do that when running at your side. Think of it the same as asking your dog to do an obedience heel for an hour (or however long you run), not allowed to drop their head at all. Could your dog do that? Would it be fun for her? So, just like anything, you have to build duration slowly. Start with just a couple of minutes, or whatever she can manage, and then reward her with a sniffing session. Build the distance over time. I don't know how far or long you're running, but also keep in mind that it's really hard work for a dog to keep pace with a human for any length of time, both mentally and physically. Your running pace will not match a natural stride for her, so it'll be both awkward and a bit frustrating for her. I can't speak from experience, as I've not bought the harness yet, but have you thought of giving canicross a go? That might be a bit more stimulating for her?
