# Canicross & General Running Introduction



## Ben94 (Jan 1, 2020)

Hi! I have a 7 month old springer x cocker mix. I’ve been holding off any structured on lead runs with her until she’s 1 year old but after a chat with the vet they recommend that she’s fine to start being introduced to it (slowly) now. 

I’m obviously not going to launch into any 10k’s with her any time soon but what have people found to be a good structure for getting a dog used to running? I’d made a vague plan to take her on a short run every other day and increase each run by 2 minutes for every second run. (Starting with 10minutes for the first run) So in about a months time we’ll be up to about 24 minutes. 

Secondly, when she’s on a harness she pulls very strong and leads dead ahead of me on the odd occasion we’ve had a little jog during a walk, I’ve seen some people say this is good for canicross but seen others saying they should be trained to run to heel next to you and not pull. Is there a general consensus for what’s considered right/wrong, better/worse or is it down to preference? 

Would love to hear people’s thoughts & advice!


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## Torin. (May 18, 2014)

The aim in canicross is for your dog to run ahead and help pull you along. Some dogs don't have the confidence/ training to do this all the time and so run at heel, but this isn't the aim.

You can start teaching dog position relative to you (e.g. teach dog that when wearing specific kit she can be ahead and pulling but on xyz kit she should have the lead loose) and directional cues now, however I would urge you to not follow your vet's advice with regards to starting a dog so young. It's not merely the running at human speeds that's at stake, but the pulling strain on the body. Canicross as a sport is in it's infancy and although it's getting more recognised in the UK now than even a couple of years back, it's very rare for vets to have any specific knowledge on the sport. The fact that your vet has said this to you shows me that they're not one of the few vets who are involved with canicross themselves.

There's some good blog posts by K9trailtime on how and when to introduce dogs to it, with posts all helpfully tagged:
https://k9trailtime.wordpress.com/


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## Ben94 (Jan 1, 2020)

Thanks for the response. I did think it seemed a bit early. I’ll take the general consensus of waiting until she’s at least 12 months then, I’d rather she was healthy than pushed too early! 
I’ll check out that blog too, cheers.


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## MissKittyKat (Jan 23, 2016)

Do you have any local clubs or events where you could go along, introduce yourself and start finding out about the sport. Maybe marshall at some events.

This would give you the opportunity to find out about kit for you and and your dog or just network with fellow canicrossers who I have found to be very friendly.


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## Rob1stoption (Jul 10, 2020)

I agree with MissKittyKat, you should have a look at any Canicross clubs near you so your dog feels more at home with the harness on and more comfortable pulling you along. With Canicross, your dog is meant to run out ahead and pull you along to some extent, they are also meant to feel comfortable enough not to need you next to them as there are obstacles that they are meant to ignore along the run. I have loads of info and can point you in the right direction to an article i have written on canicross as well give you advice on top tier harnesses that arent going to hurt your pooch.


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