Help! My Dog's Not a Great Running Buddy
When people find out that I'm a runner and that I have a 5-year old Golden Retriever, one of the first things that they say is, "Do you run with him? He must be a great running partner."
Umm, not so much.
I'll admit it: I'm totally jealous of people who run with their dogs. In my case, it sounds like it would be a win-win:
- I like to run.
- Murphy likes to run (when I take him to the dog park, he's super fast).
- Murphy has a lot of energy and is a much better behaved dog when he gets that energy out.
- I often run alone and it would make me feel safer to have a big dog with me. (Not that a goofy Golden Retriever is menacing, but people tend not to mess with big dogs just in case.)
But Murphy just gets too distracted. He likes to sniff... everything. And then he likes to pee on what he's sniffed. This takes a lot of time and doesn't really bode well for getting into a running groove.
When I do get into a groove with him, everything will be going great and then boom: he'll abruptly stop to smell something, often times crossing from one side to the other right in front of me. I can't tell you how many times I've tripped over him. It's not a fun experience for either of us.
I usually write these blog posts to share my knowledge of running with you, but this time, I want you to share your knowledge with me.
How do I get my dog to run with me? Is our case a hopeless one or can I eventually train him to be a good running partner?
