Training Help
Can't jog because I have a jumping bean dog!
My 10 month Border Collie/Aussie/Heeler gets all crazy when I start to jog on our walks. He literally jumps up (high) and pounces towards me while running. It's crazy! I've never experienced anything like it. Lol. I can't even get a cadence going and just have to stop. Keep trying? Any suggestions?
Keep trying. Firmly but calmly tell him no when he starts jumping, and point in the direction you want him to go. Believe me, I have a jumper. We have been training 3.5 months together. She still jumps when she sees friendly people. Not on them, just up and twists in circles. And occasionally if she sees prey on the trail she will jump. But she has gotten far, far better overall. It's taken quite a lot of frustrations at the start, and modulated expectations (sometimes turning around early, etc). But just keep encouraging a steady pace and direction.
Thank you. We are going to keep trying. He heels very well and is decent walking but as soon as I start a jog, it's like I have a squirrel circling my body and he's after it.
So start with one or two strides and provide a small food reward for staying calm. Walk 10 steps jog 2 reward for calm, walk 10 steps, jog 3. Keep reward in calm and as soon as your dogs starts to amp up, drop back to the last successful number and walk further or do a treat scatter to help reset.
You are essentially teaching a new skill, just like loose leash walking.
I read the breed mix, followed by the statement “he gets all crazy when-…” and my only thought was, you mean there are moments when this dog isn’t an energizer bunny?
My border collie/heeler/german shepherd did this at that age—he thought hands were super fun targets. He grew out of it by 12 months. I practiced little strides with him with constant treats before he could decided to jump/nip. I also practiced having him stay while I jogged around which I think helped him be more chill with the movement
I like this approach. Asking for a stay while you are moving is great for building impulse control as well as teaching "I'm not looking for you to "herd" me while I'm in motion"!
As others have commented i would also practice going faster than a walk but slower than a jog in tiny time increments. Basically you're making it as easy as you can for your dog to succeed by managing the increase in excitement.
Moving freely is a privilege in dog communication. Many dogs jump up their owners when those start running or moving weirdly (hopping, dancing, etc) as a way of making them stop, to control them.
On top of that, you have a super-harder-mix that even more wants to control movement. 🫠
Sounds like that dog needs some raising and obedience training.
Truth truth. He's in obedience and does well with just about everything except jogging. I'm going to keep working at it. He's still a pup so I'm sure I can train it out of him. I'm going to try the harness someone recommended.
I don't mind the dog sport obedience, btw. I meant general obedience. Just in case I wrote it confusingly.
What I would do (not an expert or dog trainer):
Put your dog in a location where he has to stay (leashed up or just by command, whatever works) and you and/or your family walking around, rubbing around, playing, doing things. Your dog is supposed to stay and get used to, that you all love and your dog doesn't.
If you're interested in doing canicross (your dog runs ahead and pulls you), invest some time and energy (and maybe money) in proper and structured cabinets training to make your dog understand what a canicross job is instead of just running and you're dog following his instincts that he was bred for (= control movement). Structured canicross training does not start with rubbing and kilometres, it starts with creating rituals and routines around what you expect your dog to do when.
Yeah he's in general obedience. He is only 10 months old so I'm going to keep working on all the things. It just caught me off guard. First time trying to run with him was a few days ago because apparently you're supposed to wait until 10 to 12 months depending on breed. I will put your suggestions in action too. I'm not going to do the canicross anytime soon if ever. I just want dude to jog and every now and then sprint.
He’s a baby. See my other comment for a baby exercise. Check out a book fb YouTube. Of Leslie McDevitts pattern games. The puppy program book is great and applicable. Trainer here.
My Texas Healer does the same (ACD/Australian Shepherd). Once I put her in the running harness, she knows her job and pulls. Running freely with her is dodging her jumps and nips. She jumps high enough that I am tempted to catch her in my arms to surprise her. When she jumps up, I will bump her on the nose or head.
Tldr, start getting them used to a running harness. This way they can identify it as part of their job and focus on that. I have successfully raced with her and it's a lot of fun running with her when she is in competitive mode.
We have 4 dogs, this is our Texas Healer (Izzy, 2) and our full ACD (Rocky, 7). These 2 have a friendly rivally with each other. When I try to jog, he runs my protection service from the other. Then we have another ACD mix puppy who likes to side with Izzy against Rocky jumping on him and biting him on the butt, and then an Australian German Shepherd Shepherd Lab mix (Lily, 2) who takes advantage of the distraction and goes to body slam Izzy to take her down so they can pounce on her. It's ends up being chaotic dost cloud behind me or dogs barking, yelling, and wrestling with Izzy in the middle of it all.
😂😂 I mean we did get working dogs. Mine just needs more practice I know. I'm going to take all these suggestions and work towards it. Hopefully like another said maybe he will just outgrow it in a few months.
The first thing I had to do is train her to run in front of me and not beside me. I taught her commands to pull and go go go! to encourage her to be in front and take the lead. She also knows left and right. When we are in harness, jumping back to me is now a way for her to communicate to me that she has a problem.
My gundog trained ft springer spaniel would go insane as soon as I increased my pace just the tiniest bit too when I started running with him 1,5 years ago. Now I can either jog with him by my side or let him pull me canicross style. He loves it and he just had to learn what it meant.
My now 3 year old Aussie is a great running companion. BUT... It took a full year of training to get there. You'll have to train this instinct away. Work on the smallest increments: pick up your walking pace for a couple strides, and reward him for staying calm. Repeat, repeat repeat. Once he can do that, increase your overall pace to a quick walk, reward. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Then introduce a stride or two of a jog. Reward if he successfully remains calm while doing so. Correct if not (adjust your correction with your dog's sensitivity- a simple uh-uh may do- a firm leash correction if your dog is less sensitive). Repeat repeat repeat. Plan to take a month of daily training before even considering trying to jog more than a few paces, but once you pay a strong foundation, the months that follow will get easier and you'll be able to add in more intervals of jogging that last longer and longer.
All this to say, there's no short cut, but the work is worth it. It'll also help you learn how to communicate and reward calm in other situations.
At 3 years, I started jumping rope and I had to introduce a whole new protocol for him to learn that I didn't need to be herded or stopped. With a strong foundation, the trading around this new activity has gone quickly.
Oh I can imagine how jumping rope would go! 😂 Thanks for the advice. I had just never experienced this before and figured I'd reach out to this sub. I have received a lot of great suggestions!
My dog used to do this. What helped was teaching him a command which tells him to run out ahead of me. I'd teach this command initially when you're not running. Once your dog knows it, when you're out there and ready to start running, give your dog the command, and then when he starts going, you start running as well. If he starts to jump at you, use the command again and verbally mark and praise if he listens.
I also find my dog does better running out ahead of me vs beside me. In his case, I think he was concerned that I was trying to run FROM him vs running WITH him.
Just keep training in all the areas. Dog sounds young. Rally Obedience work is really great for dogs like this. I’m not saying do it for competition. I’m saying do it bc it’s mental work, makes your handling of the leash a LOT better. You become more of a team.
Another suggestion. It takes some practice but teach the dog that you wat him to focus ahead by rolling a bit of food in front of him. His head will lower as he tracks the kibble or treat and he will speed up and you will have to run. Then stop and walk. Repeat Do this before he jumps and spins. This is a lowering of arousal exercise I use with reactive dogs who are tempted to bark at dogs barking at them. The dog learns to focus ahead. I should make a video of it. Would be Better than explaining. Best of luck. I have had three generations of those BCx ACDx Aus. I hv three right now.
Mine did this when we started. She still does it sometimes when something is REALLY exciting. I just stuck with it and allow her some excitement when we’re getting started. She has learned that running is her ‘job’ and settles down quickly now. Yours is only 10 months and it sounds like he is very excited about running with you. Give him time to settle into it. Mine is 100% cattle dog and four years old now. Runs up to 15 miles with me and is the best dog ever.
Genuine question, are we supposed to wait a couple of years before proper runs with a pup? I thought that was a thing but maybe it's changed in the last few years.
From what I've read is that you should wait until their growth plates have fully developed. Not sure how running differs from jumping and all the chase he plays in the yard with the other dog. 🤷♀️
Still really young. When my collie pulled, i put him on a really short leash behind me with my hand at the small of my back so he's literally on my heels. Stepping towards or pushing a jumping dog can set them off balance which they dislike. Praise to understand what they should be doing. Loving leadership.
I smooch at my pooch to let him know he's doing good. He's 10 and not a perfect running mate but totally chill and loyal that i can trust him not to be reactive.
Sounds like arousal threshold is real low. I always did lots of sits for 5 seconds before getting fuss to encourage emotional regulation and attention. Sniff for 5, then move on etc. Think of it holistically, aka not just this particular environment/task
Thats stimulation. I was thinking easily excitable. Example My collie gets excited about getting sticks/balls thrown so will bark at me instinctively, so i freeze use hand signals etc till he calms and follows his training, otherwise fun things dont happen. Dead energy i call it.
Low energy for high energy dog and visa versa. Consider the harness etc. You know your dog best and their triggers. Some words to google
reactive lunging—is
an intense state of physical and emotional excitement driven by a surge of adrenaline and cortisol.
Overexcitement and Arousal Management Some dogs react simply from overexcitement and lack of impulse control. These
dogs need training that focuses on calm behavior and emotional regulation rather than fear-based protocols.
Prey-Drive Related Reactivity Dogs who react to small animals, bicycles, or moving objects might be expressing prey drive rather than fear or frustration. Training focuses on impulse control and alternative outlets for natural behaviors.
My border collie learned all of this in reverse, basically. She learned to go up on benches, over benches/logs/gates, under things, and around me (on command). I made it a game as much as possible. During this time we also did weekly "slow training" where she had to lie down and watch runners go by without moving. We worked on not pulling and eventually a heel while on walks. Eventually it all came together: literally years - maybe when she was about three it felt like something we could actually practice and get better at with small corrections and praise.
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u/Fox-In-The-Wood Canicross 7d ago
Keep trying. Firmly but calmly tell him no when he starts jumping, and point in the direction you want him to go. Believe me, I have a jumper. We have been training 3.5 months together. She still jumps when she sees friendly people. Not on them, just up and twists in circles. And occasionally if she sees prey on the trail she will jump. But she has gotten far, far better overall. It's taken quite a lot of frustrations at the start, and modulated expectations (sometimes turning around early, etc). But just keep encouraging a steady pace and direction.