Please, help with dogs and running

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AneiferR 25 Feb 2019

Hi all, 

Finally, my house is ready to welcome a doggie and I would like to ask you for your experience/ opinion. Among other things, I love outdoors. I run long distances and as you may be thinking , I will love to take my dogs with me when running. Please, what kind of dog, in your opinion/experience, is the best for this sort of activity? I am really worried of choosing a dog that is not suitable for long runs

Thank you for taking time

Uxia

In reply to AneiferR:

I used to run a bit with my dog, but to be honest...whilst I was killing two birds with one stone...the run element was definitely compromised by having him come along. But this could be to do with location. At the time I was living on the outer edges of London and would go to large parks where there were lots of other dogs and muntjac. My boy is a sociable creature so would regularly stop for a lot of bum sniffing and muntjac chasing which would mean plenty of times stopping and wondering where he had got to. Whistle was essential.

I had better luck running along a coastal path where there was very limited areas of interest for him. Basically no wooded areas, and very little wildlife other than sea birds. He would truck along quite nicely. But I am now of the opinion that most dogs prefer to walk around a lot with less running unless there is a chase/game going on. 

A friend runs with his lab tied to him along paths and roads locally. the first 5 km are cheating because he is being pulled along and the second 5km i'm not 100% convinced the dog is really enjoying it

Sure others will have better stories to share but that's my experience (I have a german pointer btw)

 DancingOnRock 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

Without naming specific breeds, any dog that doesn’t suffer from inbred congenital breathing issues...

I have a cockerpoo, he is mental. He turned 1 year back in January and I had been taking him on longer and longer walks up to then. 

Middle of Jan I took him to parkrun. He’s kind of got the idea but runs like a small child. One minute stopping to sniff random objects, the next dragging me along at sub 6:30/mile. I can see it’s goibg to take some work to get him running at an even pace that I can keep up with. 

Wait until the dog is fully grown  

Get a waist belt (you), bungee line and chest harnes (dog), or you’ll end up with some odd injuries in your arm, shoulder and back. I’ve improvised something for now with some climbing sling but he has a harness. 

Post edited at 15:44
 Mark Kemball 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

A long time ago now, but my father had a whippet - he'd take her on cross country runs up to 15 miles or so. She'd run 3 times round the first 3 or 4 fields while he ran across them, then settle down to run with him.

Removed User 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

I've had two Border Collies. Niether had any health problem apart from the odd injury. When mature they could run for hours. One lived to 17 and the other to 18.5 years. Once trained they were completely reliable.

 Gwain 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

Hi, what will the dog be doing when you're not out running. I run with my springer spaniel, she can manage 10 miles or so without much problem, but they are lively most of the time. Australian cattle dogs are small  but will also run all day. If you look up canicross, most of these dogs are larger breeds that cover the ground with ease, they tend to be cross breeds. Of course border collies would also be high on the list. Also getting a rescue could mean that you can get out with it almost  straight away. Good luck!. 

 girlymonkey 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

Get a good healthy mongrel!

We run canicross with ours, so dog in a specific pulling harness and you in a hip belt with bungee lead. When you run with groups like this the dogs have an absolute blast and you run much faster than normal. Some people call it cheating, I call it sore! My legs have to move faster than they naturally would so it has made me vastly fitter than just running on my own, and I do notice that I run much faster solo than I used to.

 Wee Davie 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

I run quite a bit with my German Short Haired Pointer. He’s a big dog but manages fine. Max distance I’ve done with him would be about 17km. No issues except the odd occasion where he’ll choose to run round the wrong side of a lamppost. I enjoy the company and he loves it. A lot of it is on roads and some trails too. I have him on the lead anywhere near traffic as he’s impulsive at times and has darted off across the road- luckily without catastrophe as yet. A friend’s Ridgeback was killed in the same way while running...

andybike 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

Hi, I run with a Border Terrier. Started with a local Canicross group for training and kit. Just slowly getting his mileage up. Real mix of dogs run by people there from Cockerpoo's to Pointers. Pointers and Sheepdogs seem the most popular . Check out the Canicross groups on Facebook, very helpfully. Andy

 mrphilipoldham 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

I run with a Dutch Shepherd, and aside from looking like an absolute gent and being good home security he's also good for (at the very least) 20km which is the longest he's done. On returning home the first thing he did was start wrestling with our large staffie, so I assume he's got plenty more in him! They're a purer breed so aren't so prone to the issues German Shepherds suffer with either. 

We've also just adopted a lurcher (with a bit of something else in him) and he's happily knocked out a few 10k runs so far. 

Post edited at 18:04
 krikoman 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

Greyhound ?

Removed User 25 Feb 2019
In reply to krikoman:

Try a lurcher trainable and will run forever mine have done the south downs way, the cape wrath trail and numerous hashes plus 4.5 miles off road every morning to get the paperI They are also very handsome dogs and incredibly sociable plus the brains and stamina of a collie and the pace of a greyhound.If interested look at facebook for Hancock Lurchers I have had three from them and my son has two.

 jay.mac 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

I was looking into it a while ago and came across the Portuguese water dog

https://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/portuguese-water-dog#/slide/1

Pretty rare in the UK though so would be pricy. I run a lot with my mother in laws sproker spaniel. Really clever dog. 

 Nordic 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

I have a Red Setter and run with her up to 3 times a week, often only 5k, but sometimes further.

I also take her out on cross country skis on winter, where we can cover 20-30k on a day. During the Somer months she loves to mountain bike.

For the first few km she will haul like crazy skiing or biking, but less so running. After those first few km she's content just to keep up.

I use a waist belt and bungee lead for the running and skiing, and for the biking just tie some 6mm cord round the handle bar stem.

She has an absolutely hopeless recall, so we never let her off the lead to run on her own (which is a shame, as she loves to run)

Very affectionate pets, somewhat on the crazy side, and she was hard work as a puppy!

 SouthernSteve 25 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

Search for a previous topic perhaps 18 months ago – from memory it had a lot of useful information.

From my experience about 1 in 4 Labs love running -i.e. matching your pace, getting very excited when getting things together without fail. The others will come, but will be distracted or not enjoy it that much after a while. Our current youngster is good for a slow 5K off road and off the lead, but is nothing like our old girl was in her youth when you could run in any situation and she was really happy. Running days in the hills with her were fantastic. She would still love to come, but would be very broken after a long running day. 

A canicross belt can be a comfortable way of moving about - you might like to explore that possibility

Also remember a lot of runners have had bad experienced with poorly controlled or even aggressive dogs, so be prepared to leave your dog at home when in busy running situations.

There is a lot of information saying not to run too early in their lives. The evidence base for this appears poor, but definitely wait till they have reached early skeletal maturity. 

 Ridge 25 Feb 2019
In reply to Removed User:

Not sure about trainable lurchers, they have have a valve in the ear that closes when they see prey and they go deaf... that can take a lot of work. Also a lot depends on the cross. Too much greyhound and they'll blast off at full tilt, then get bored and look at you with an expression of disgust that you're keeping them from their bed.

I sadly had to have my lurcher put to sleep at the end of last month, but we had 10 great years as he loved to run on the fells and forest tracks. He was some sort of bull terrier/malnois cross, bit of a muscle mary but lovely temperament, as have most lurchers. Going to wait a while but will definately be getting another lurcher.

TBH I wouldn't buy a lurcher from a breeder. They're great hounds but the rescue centres are full of them, dumped by twunts who haven't a clue. My boy was just doing laps round the kennel and bouncing off the sides, but made the best dog ever. RIP Jack.

In reply to AneiferR:

Just another option to add to your thinking is a rehomed/retired trail hound there's a  charity matching retired dogs with new homes http://www.trailhoundwelfare.org.uk. When racing they cover 10-15 miles and generally trained to ignore all livestock and distractions. There's plenty of people doing both canicross and bikejor. Because they're a mongrel breed there's a range of sizes and weight of dog. We've had ours for a year and she's coped with everything we've thrown at her, full hill days, scrambles, parties and pubs☺

 JimR 26 Feb 2019
In reply to Moomin.williams: I do a lot of canicross and you see a lots of breeds. I run with my springers and they’ve done up to 26    Miles with no problems. Other popular breeds are pointers, Weimaraner,vizlers, huskies,collies. One thing to be aware of is to watch the temperature as dogs cannot lose heat as easily as us so it can be dangerous for them if it’s too warm.

 GraB 26 Feb 2019
In reply to Ridge:

I would echo this about lurchers. The term covers anything crossed with any kind of sight hound so they can have anything from no endurance at all (something with a lot of greyhound for example) to a frightening amount (something like a deerhound crossed with a collie ?). 

We have a lurcher (a rescue) and have previously had an ex-racing greyhound. Not 100% sure what the lurcher is, but we think a saluki mixed with whippet + something else. She has the nicest temperament - really fun, playful, sensitive etc, but makes a hopeless dog to take running on the hills. My pace is just all wrong for her and she gets tired very quickly and gets further and further behind after just a few km.  She'd much rather be running flat out for 10 minutes or walking / trotting - which she'll do for hours. So she's fine for taking on hill walks, just not for running with. Its a minor downside though, as her character makes up for so much. She's also a beautiful looking dog.

Lurchers are wonderful dogs, but you just need to have an idea of what the cross is if you want to run with them.

Post edited at 15:34
 krikoman 26 Feb 2019
In reply to Removed User:

I think I'd go for a lurcher too, my sisters got a 15 year old one, he's great, or at least he was when younger.

 nufkin 26 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

At the risk of sounding churlish and derailing the thread, have you considered not having a dog? They're not obligatory. Plus it might save you from becoming the target of this sort of thing:

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/off_belay/dogs_off_lead_and_damage-700916

3
 girlymonkey 26 Feb 2019
In reply to nufkin:

Children aren't obligatory, or climbing, or going to the mountains, or watching TV.....

but plenty of people choose to do all of these things. 

 Tig44 26 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

I've had two Lurchers - both girls and both have been marvellous running companions. First was a whippet crossed with a collie and she regularly did 12mile with me, current dog Tess is a whippet/Bedlington terrier and a rocket - she's happy with 10mile thou

 Mark Edwards 26 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

I think you need a young dog or one that is used to running and that the breed is mostly irrelevant.

About 15 years ago I used to run with a Samoyed. After seeing what he could do I occasionally cycled with him. He was my ex’s dog and had been trained from a pup to pull her on a scooter. He could take his time to have a sniff and then run me down even when I was on the bike and trying hard to out run him.

When we split up I got a 5 year old (rescue) Akita (I missed the dog, not the bitch), his build seemed perfect but on our first run he started flagging after about 200mtrs and collapsed shortly after (at the time I just thought he was being lazy). He was never able to run any distance and I found out that for his first 5 years he was just a yard dog.

So my thinking is that like ballet dancers, if you don’t start early, you just can’t make up for those early years, and once the musculature is set, that’s pretty much it.

 nufkin 27 Feb 2019
In reply to girlymonkey:

>  plenty of people choose to do all of these things.

Yeah...but sometimes they probably shouldn't...

An argument for elsewhere though, really. I just bridle sometimes at dogs seeming to be regarded as lifestyle accessories, not decade-plus-long commitments (generally, I mean, that's not aimed specifically at the OP)

1
 GraB 27 Feb 2019
In reply to Mark Edwards:

> I think you need a young dog or one that is used to running and that the breed is mostly irrelevant.

I don't agree with this I'm afraid. Breed really does make a very big difference. It has to be matched to the sort of running the OP wants to do: terrain, distance, rough ground, tarmac etc. For example, a greyhound would make a pretty rubbish hill running dog (they don't have the stamina and are very prone to lower leg injuries), a whippet might be a bit be better but a deerhound better still. But if what you want is to run up and down a beach for an hour at a time then a greyhound would be much better suited. 

 Age also isn't that important. That's like suggesting that somebody who's middle aged and has never run in their life isn't capable of taking up running in their 50's and running a marathon or even starting hill walking.  Its just not true.

Post edited at 10:48
 Ridge 27 Feb 2019
In reply to GraB:

I'd agree with pretty much all of the above. A decent mongrel, (i.e lurchers and other crosses), with the 'right' mix of breeds will do the job, plus they tend to be less afflicted by all sorts of genetic conditions and mental issues you get in pedigree breeds.

Plus the rescue centres are full of them at reasonable cost, plus you give a dog a home without encouraging the puppy farms and unscrupulous breeders.

 dovebiker 27 Feb 2019

We have a new addition to our household - a 14 month old black Labrador rescue - rehomed as she was too energetic for her owners - she was locked in an empty room on her own despite them having 3 other dogs. She's totally taken to running - a bungee lead and belt is a necessity - we only run offroad / on a towpath and there are numerous rats and voles that scoot across the path - fortunately she's not too heavy as she'd have me in the water. Up to an hour is no problem but I'll have to build her up to longer distances. She's also totally fixated on her ball, so she'll run to heel if I have it in my hand. I would look at rescues about a year old, not too heavy a breed, plus you can also see how well they'll respond to things like a ball and recall etc.

 Dax H 27 Feb 2019
In reply to AneiferR:

A mate of mine had a pair of Huskies  he used to harness them to his push bike and they would run for miles on the canal tow path.

A guy I was working with yesterday just got a huskie from a rescue center, I don't know if its true but apparently they are becoming the new staffie in pounds. People are getting them because they look like the wolves on game of thrones then getting shut once they realise how much work a dog like that is. 


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