Monday, December 14, 2009

My Running Buddy



I've been itching to lace up my sneaks for awhile now.  So, I took my husky running with me this afternoon for the first time ever.  Sure, we've been on countless walks and car rides, and she's always a sweet and well-mannered dog.  But I was a little skeptical of how she would do running.  I learned a few things:
  1. Huskies pull.  HARD. 
  2. Always bring a baggie for ... um ... accidents.
  3. Even when running, they'll still want to mark everything.
  4. Doesn't matter which direction you're going, they want to go the opposite.
  5. If they smell a rabbit, prepare to trip over every curb and shrub to get to it.
  6. They. Never. Get. Tired.
After a mile, I was able to reign her in and get her home.  Perhaps we'll try the harness next time.  At least we got to enjoy a break in the cold weather -- sunny and 70 this time of year?  I'll take it!  Of course, tomorrow's supposed to be back in the low 40s.  I'm guessing the cooler weather will only make my husky more frisky ...

Ohwell.  I can already tell she's going to be a great motivator ... and I need every ounce of it!

8 comments:

o2bhiking said...

So pretty. I miss my husky, long gone. yes, they do love to pull, don't they? And they are pretty tireless. I could never let mine off leash even deep in the woods, because he would smell or hear something and be gone like a shot. He once escaped and caught and killed a young porcupine, bringing it proudly home. He looked like a pincushion! Art

Marlene said...

Your dog is beautiful!

I can definitely see how it would make for a challenging run. Trying to reign her in probably counts as cross-trianing!

Benson said...

Running with a dog is great. Even if they pull a little. The harness is a good idea.
It's minus 11 degress where I am this morning. Your dog would love it.

Bob Hazen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bob Hazen said...

I had a pureblood Husky growing up. I miss her greatly but that breed is a great running breed. They'll run forever and actually help you with tempo runs since they will pull you along the course.

Rather than working with a harness (with huskies that will only encourage the pulling) I'd work with a choke chain (not the kind with 'prongs' though) Just get a simple choke chain and work with 'heeling' while on the move. In a few months you'll be able to run side-by-side with too many issues.

Good Luck!

BTW I love you music on your blog! I can't tell you how many songs I've 'taken' from you and added to my ipod playlist.

The Boring Runner said...

Huskys are awesome dogs. Glad she is doing (relatively) well during the runs!

Alexander said...

Great to see you're running. I would like to adopt a greyhound to be my running companion. I just need to convince the Mrs.

Dina's Days said...

That's one strong dog, I have a hard time running with dogs. Probably because I never had a dog before, so I don't really know how to properly handle one. My boyfriend, on the other hand, runs with a huge dog and does just fine! I admire your athletic ability!

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